Want to know my favorite thing about my birthday? It was this guy coming home! :-)
He's been away for work for like two weeks! He's in GA...jealous!!!
My other favorite part about my birthday? All the
messages from people, phone calls, text messages, and cards! Those things make a person feel so special! Thank you dearest friends and family...it means the world to me!
I started off my birthday by sleeping in....LOVE IT!
Then went and got my
on!
Melissa & Roy (my cousin and her husband) called and said they were on their way back to Huntsville and coming through B-ham...so they treated me to a lovely little birthday lunch!
FYI - I look like poo b/c I had been sweating it up at Zumba and there is no makeup involved. Also, Misha is not in the picture b/c he was at the shooting range testing out his new rifle.
We had a delicious lunch...Southern style! Love me some fried okra, squash casserole, broccoli & rice, and turnip greens!
Oh yeah ~ there was a warm birthday brownie and vanilla ice cream involved. Good thing I went to Zumba!
After spending some quality time with my Alabama fam, I went back to the house and began cooking for our Russian birthday party. I LOVE love LOVE the Russian tradition for birthdays....it is expected that you give your own b-day party! You don't have to have someone else do it for you! There is this other couple that we hang out with (and they are Russian - no surprise there) and his birthday is coming up on Feb. 10th so we decided to have a joint birthday party!
The February birthday buds
His name is Oleg, by the way, and this is his wife Marina. They are such a sweet couple
So we had the party at my Russian teacher's house. I LOVE this little lady! Her name is Larissa and she and her husband have just taken Misha and I under their wings. It feels like we have known them for forever. They make us feel at home away from home.
Sweet gift that Marina hand-made for me!
Blowing out the candles (well, CANDLE b/c we are beyond the age to have one candle for every year! Ha!)
Marina made this yummy cake from SCRATCH! It's called a honey cake
Look at all those layers! Now your really impressed about her making it from scratch, right?
Birthday party!
Birthday flowers!
Aren't they pretty? They totally brighten any day!
Also, when I got back to work on Monday, my office peeps surprised me with chips & salsa (I love Mexican food) and homemade chocolate cupcakes with homemade frosting! YUM!
They also decorated my office and gave me a very, very sweet card. :-)
Isn't that nice? Well, now I'm 26....like not in the young adult/college age crowd anymore. That's 18-25, right? YiKeS! I'm going to go have a glass of wine! ;-)
