Let the Birthday Dinners Begin!

My birthday is December 6. I will be turning - gulp - THIRTY! This day was NEVER supposed to come...it's all downhill from here! hehe

Luckily I have a great bunch of friends and family who celebrate all month long with me! On Thanksgiving my parents surprised me with gifts, which was awesome! Then, on Friday we met up with some friends at Buffalo Wild Wings for wings and beers. Dusty and her family gave me a beautiful hand-crafted necklace from her home studio. Click HERE to check out more of her beautiful pieces. After dinner, Corey and I went to Best Buy to pick out my new iPod! Of course I had to get the orange one - DUH! I have played with it all weekend!

Saturday night, Corey's parents came to Murfreesboro to take us to dinner for my birthday. We went to Five Senses. If you have never been, I HIGHLY suggest you go for your next "special event." It is pretty pricey, but delicious! We started with the always yummy cheese & olive platter, then unique salads using local lettuces, and for the main course I had filet with mashed potatoes and caramelized onions and mushrooms, for dessert Corey and I had an upside-down pear cake and coffee. That was the best dinner I have had yet from Five Senses. We have been 3 times now and it's totally worth the money! To top off the evening, Corey's parents gave me a check to help out with paying for the iPod and a beautiful necklace and earrings set. His brother's family gave me iTunes gift cards, so I've been racking up the music all weekend! My new favorite is the "Single Ladies" song by Beyonce. I've been going around the house all weekend singing, "...if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it!" It's my new jam! ha!

Corey also got me some cheddar and caramel mix popcorn from Garrett Popcorn in Chicago. This is THE BEST popcorn you will ever douse with saliva! Trust...

I am looking forward to seeing what my students do for my birthday. Each year they all try to out-do each other with pictures and homeade gifts. They are too funny!

It's supposed to snow some this week, so bring it on! That will be a lovely pre-birthday gift as well! I'll keep you updated on what happens on my actual birthday! Should be good times...

Have a lovely week!

Thanksgiving Dinner

On Thursday, my mom made a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner - or lunch - or whatever you want to call it. We ate around 2:00. We had all the usual goodies: stuffing, turkey, ham, escalloped corn, sweet potato casserole, green beans, gravy, pies, cake, you name it! I took a few pictures of the family just hanging out waiting to eat...or sneaking a bite.

It was nice to see my parents and my grandpa. Corey and I trade off years for Thanksgiving and Christmas on the actual day with our families. This year is my year and it's always more special to see my family on the actual holiday. We stayed with them from Wednesday to Friday. We enjoyed our extended vacation away from school!

Monthly Dinner Menu: December

This month is going to be crazy with all we have to do for school (my birthday, programs, Corey's grad school, parties, etc...) so the menu is a little less planned, but we'll still eat! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas - or whatever you celebrate - and a happy New Year! I'm ready for summer!
(Please click on the menu to enlarge)