I am 25...

So I turned 25 on last Saturday... although I guess I should start this story on Friday to make it complete. Friday night we went to a friends' place for a Christmas dinner. Ham, sweet potatoes, cheesy potatoes, etc. etc. made for a nice meal. We then had a white elephant exchange. Oops, Nate forgot to tell me we were having this exchange so we didn't bring any gifts. Luckily they had plenty of gifts for all, so we both got really nice gifts for free!! I got all of these bath oils and salts, and Nate got an REI beenie for skiing. We then drove to Jeff and Abby's to celebrate a little Christmas of our own. We gave Abby an Alf fleece, and Jeff some rock climbing stuff for which I know not the name. I got an ELECTRIC BLANKET!!! Yeah! I have taken many a nap under its warm softness, and watching TV is now much more pleasant! Nate got a lantern that is lit with LED lights, his current obsession! When we arrived home, Nate gave me a birthday card.

Inside it, he told me of how he had planned to take me to New York to see a Broadway show on Saturday. BUT... the NY metro/bus (MTA) decided to strike. Yeah, the city was most likely going to be chaotic with no transportation system. In addition, Abby's grandfather died last week. Jeff and Abby were going to go to New York with us, but Abby had to fly out for the visitation/funeral etc. Let's just say we didn't go to NY. However, I had a lovely birthday anyways.

We slept in Saturday morning, and then I opened my gifts the moment I woke up!! Nate's family got me an Alf fleece and wool slippers!!! My Momma got me an REI fleece vest, kitchen stuff, and so many more things (like peaches in a can and bagged chicken, oh yeah and my old volleyball camp shirt from Junior High). She's a sweetheart! We drove to my favorite breakfast place, Original House of Pancakes and I got the strawberry pancakes with 2 eggs. Oh, the yummy goodness. We then shopped for a bit for a few Christmas presents we had left on our list. Next, we headed to a junior high and watched my friend Xavier's team play basketball. He is coaching (pro-bono what a sweet guy) some young boys.

For dinner we went to Olazzo in Bethesda, MD. It is a cute little bitty Italian restaurant that I really like. I had the lasagna (soooo cheesy!). We shared a lovely bottle of Riesling, AND I got a free tiramisu for dessert. Happy Birthday to Me! We then went over to 10,000 Villages and did a little bit of shopping. Finally, we headed home and watched The Interpreter (a Nicole Kidman movie).

All in all, I had a great birthday! On Sunday I performed with the gospel choir, we went to lunch with some people from our Sunday School class, grilled out some New York Strips, played frisbee with our new glow-in-the dark frisbee, and played a rousing game of Scrabble with Jeff.

We leave for Illinois at 8pm, Thursday. Hope to be there by 8am, Friday! Soon I will have my sweet little RAV-4!!!! Soon!