1. Celeste sent me this totally sweet birthday message that I stuck on the wall of my office. Elena is so cute, and it was so nice, that I couldn't stay grumpy for long!
2. Joel sent me flowers at my office!
3. My mom called me at 12:25 exactly just to say that 30 years ago that exact moment she was meeting me for the first time. Go ahead and cry. I sure did.
4. I got to have lunch with my MTC companion, Jensen Shimai (she goes by Jessica now) and her adorable family! They just happened to be road-tripping from Charleston to Orlando - how cool is that??
5. When I came back from lunch, more flowers were sitting on my desk -- Thanks Mom & Kristen! They're beautiful!
6. My dad wrote me a birthday card that made me cry. In a good way.
7. My parents got me (real) pearl earrings to replace the ones I lost a couple years ago at a truck stop at 2 a.m. Thank goodness for parents!
8. My brother called me (first time in 2009)!
9. Joel got me a (real) pearl necklace. I swear, Joel and my parents didn't even coordinate it - how cool is that! Notice I'm wearing both!!
10. When we came back from dinner at Bonefish, we got to have this incredible 3-layer, strawberry cake with strawberry frosting in the center and Rainbow Chip frosting on the outside. Yeah. Awesome. Way to go, Joel!
Bonus 1: When I tried to open my birthday box from my parents with my teeth ...
... I forgot momentarily about the Swine Flue pandemic.
Luckily, I did not contract Swine Flu. It must have been a "contaminated surface" (thank goodness!)
Bonus 2: My mom picked up this "hideous" (her words) clutch as a creative gift bag for my pearls. It also contained temple names and two Cadbury creme eggs left over from Easter. She knows I love them. But, hey - I get a new clutch too! :) Great ("hideous") taste, Mom!
But, seriously, thanks to everyone who was so nice to me on my birthday (well-wishes, notes on Facebook, phone messages, and more!). I went from dreading it to loving it. I think I'm okay with being 30 now. You've convinced me.
