I'll give a quick overview of the festivities. My family came to visit this weekend. They arrived about 7pm on Friday, Drew met up with us for a birthday dinner at Barnaby's where I quickly learned that he and my brother think way to much alike. In a prank gone awry, half a glass of water was poured on me. At that point, I threatened to leave both Drew and Sean in Manhattan the next day. I ended up having to work that night at Apa Security (yes, I asked for the night off, I followed the correct procedures, and the person in charge of the schedule hadn't checked his mailbox all week... that was great) so I napped for most of the night at the office, then in the morning I came back to my apartment, grabbed another hour of sleep, and then Sean, Drew, and I went to NYC for the day. We went to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, the WTC Memorial Site, and Times Square. Sean also got a crash course in the subway system. While I was on the train, I got a call from Paul and because I didn't have a cell phone signal, he left me a voicemail message and passed the phone around to a ton of people from Faith Community Church so they could wish me a happy birthday too! We got back to Po-Town around 11pm and we were all exhausted, me especially because I hadn't slept the night before. We ended up all crashing at Drew's place because Sean wanted to see his place and he needed to get some meds. On Sunday, but the time we were all awake, dressed, and fed, we went up to Mt. Belleayre to meet up with my mom for an afternoon of skiing. Unfortunately, it's been 60+ degrees outside for the last few days and it had started raining. The snow was slushy and the lift ticket counters were closed. No snowboarding for Sean. :( I got some good pictures of Mom on her skis. We all left the mountain around 4pm and headed back to New Paltz for some dinner. Good times. I had so much fun with my brother and Drew. I wish my mom would have come with us on Saturday, but maybe when the weather is nicer, she and I can go together, just the two of us, and do a whirlwind of site-seeing and shopping.
Monday morning I went into work, thinking that I was stupid for not taking the day off. I was contemplating asking to leave after the e-board meeting. I knew Drew and I were doing something together in the evening, but I didn't know what. I figured I could go home, and relax in the afternoon. Well, after the meeting, I came back to my office and there was a large manilla envelope on my desk addressed to me. I opened it up and inside was an itinerary for my birthday!! The first line said "SURPRISE!! Bill will be letting you out of work early around 1pm or so. You will need to go home and get a change of clothes. I (Drew) will meet you at your apartment and then drive you to a place where you will be treated like a princess all afternoon." ... Drew had coordinated with Bill to completely surprise me for my birthday!! It was so perfect, I couldn't have asked for a better day! When I opened the envelope and started reading the paper, I started laughing, and then I started crying because it was just so wonderful. I wasn't expecting it at all; I had no clue. And I'm all about thought and effort from the people that are closest to me. That's why I love that Barbara always wraps each gift individually and then puts them all in a gift bag with pretty tissue paper, or that my family drove up from MD for the weekend to see me, or that Drew had this whole day planned out almost two weeks ago. I felt like the most special person in the world! *gush gush gush* Anyways, and now I get to tell everyone! So I spent the whole afternoon at a spa resort, getting massaged, steamed, whirl-pooled, and facialed.. in general, de-stressed. During my massage session, Drew relaxed in the jacuzzi and the steam room. He also made friends with one of the desk staff and ended up with 5 boxes of girl scout cookies. He gave me a box of thin mints (my favorite) but I can't eat them until after Easter because I gave up snack foods for Lent. All in all, I have the best boyfriend in the world!! I know a lot of women think that, but I know it! ;) I am truly blessed in so many ways and when I'm reminded of that, it's a great joy!
Ok, now that I've rambled, gushed, and completely embarassed myself (don't care), I should probably get back to work. Though for some strange reason, it's a very quiet day... almost too quiet... hmmmm. *shrug* Oh well, cheers and such to everyone, big hugs, life is so good!
Until next time...
~Rhea :)