Birthday Fun - With Photos

So, as most of you already know, yesterday was my birthday, and I've always been the sort of person who makes a bit of a fuss about my birthday. It was always a big deal growing up, and I've carried that through to my adulthood. Hey, we're only given one day a year that is all about us, and we spend the rest of the year working really hard to please others, so why shouldn't we celebrate ourselves? So, I do.

And this past weekend I had many opportunities to do just that, and to enjoy the company of some great friends in the process.

On Friday at work, my coworkers surprised me with birthday cake, a card, and a plant. Is it a sign that you are all grown up when you are genuinely giddy by receiving a plant?

The real fun started early on Saturday, when I headed to Mohegan Sun Casino to meet up with my friend Ms. B.. Since she lives in New York, the casino in Conneticut is a great half way point for us to meet. Don't know why we've never thought of it before, but I think it'll become a more regular meeting place for us. So, we met up, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and played a few penny slots. Immediately the day was off to a good start, as I won about $8 right off the bat. Let me take a moment here to explain to you what a feat this is, because you see, I-DON'T-EVER-WIN at gambling. EVER. No scratch ticket wins, no concert tickets on the radio wins, no slot machine wins, no raffles, no bingo...I don't win. So, hey, $8 up and I'm a happy camper. Of course, I kept playing and promptly lost it all again, but it was early yet, and it was only a $5 bill that I had started off with.

From there, Ms. B and I headed in to watch the show we had tickets for. It was a ballroom dance showcase featuring some of the world's champions in various styles of ballroom dance. The show was wonderful and we truly enjoyed it. I wish I had some photos to share with you, but photography was not allowed at the show. After the show we walked around some, avoided the Bon Jovi fans as much as we could (man, was I jealous), and did some more gambling on the penny slots, and a bit of Keno (where I won again...a whole dollar, but hey, still a win). Then we had dinner, and decided to hit the penny slots one last time before we left. Ladies and gents, it was then that I struck it rich. I won $94.23! On a penny slot machine, in one fell swoop! Needless to say, I cashed that baby out and called it a night.

Ms. B. and I then said our goodbyes and headed our own separate ways home. I came home to a wonderfully unexpected surprise from a fellow blogger, but I am actually going to leave that one to tell you all about tomorrow. It was such an amazingly kind and wonderful surprise that it is deserving of its very own post, so please do come back tomorrow so I can tell you all about it.

On Sunday I slept in quite late, and then woke up to the great surprise (read sarcasm here) of my internet being down. After much battling and effort, and the assistance of a wonderful customer service technician at Buffalo (the makers of my new internet router), I was back online...just in time for a date with my mother to go grocery shopping. After that errand, I had just enough time to run home, put away my groceries, and head out to dinner with my friend Shopaholic, and another mutual friend of ours. Shopaholic surprised me with a bag of goodies, including the plant on the right in the photo below (the plant on the left is the one my coworkers gave me). Yep, I'm all grown up, my plants are gifts I'm completely excited about.

Speaking of plants (or plant like things), since mom and dad had given me my birthday present back in January (this Sanseo coffee machine, which quickly became my favorite appliance), while out grocery shopping mom presented me with these:

Ain't they pretty?

Then yesterday mom and I took the day off work, and had planned a mother/daughter day to celebrate my birthday. As a wonderful surprise, my brother decided to join us on our outing to the zoo, and the three of us had a wonderful time walking around and checking out all the animals and their wild antics. I will have photos from the zoo posted here on Thursday, as well as a tale you won't believe...with video for proof. Trust me, you'll want to come back for that.

The celebrations ended with a family dinner at a local Japanese restaurant with mom, dad, grandpa and my brother.

I want to thank you all for your birthday wishes throughout the past few days, they have each and everyone of them been greatly apreciated. You have all brought a smile to my face, and made me feel loved.

I had a wonderful birthday, and am feeling great, even if I am a WHOLE YEAR older (or is it just another day older?) and back at work. Now I need to do some serious blog hopping, I practically missed Fun Monday and there's a party going on, you know?