It's my birthday!

Yay! I love birthdays. Especially when it's mine. :)

I was thinking this morning (as I was getting ready to meet Brad at Chick-Fil-A for a birthday biscuit!) about the great birthdays I've had through the years. Here's a little run-down on some of the highlights:

1. 4th grade: My friends and I were picked up from school in a limo! We had a "Star" themed party (of course, I was the star of the show). The limo was talked about for several days after that. Way to go, Mom.

2.. 5th grade: We lived in the Middle East and thusly had a Middle Eastern hoopla which included a room FULL of Muslim women, sans sharshifs, DECKED OUT and ready to party. Henna was involved and a lot of dancing.

3. 15th birthday: Surprise party! It's usually pretty difficult to completely surprise me, but, once again, way to go, Mom!

4. 21st birthday: I lived it up big. I got The Complete Sherlock Holmes and a mutual fund. I did have a sparkly tiara to wear.

5. 22nd birthday: My roommates blindfolded and kidnapped me. I remained blindfolded for TWO hours until we arrived at Lambert's in Sikeston. Surprise that I never saw coming. (<-- I wrote that and then realized that it was a terrible and unintended pun. And then I left it because it made me chuckle a little.)

6. 23rd birthday: Tornado warnings in Jackson, so we (roommates, Brad, and Hunter) were hunkered down in the hallway of the apartment, waiting it out. However, in the midst of the tornado, I got a phone call, letting me know that I would be moving to Ukraine for two years. No big thing...

7. 24th birthday: I was in Ukraine, and my Ukrainian friends threw me a surprise party! It included a lot of tasks in Russian. Stress...

8. 25th birthday: Spent on the road between Poltava and Kiev, in an effort to travel back to America for Amiee's graduation. It was the same day that public transportation was having some sort of strike and my marshrutka was FLYING across country. It was one of my least favorite public transportation experiences ever. When I got to Kiev, I wanted to kiss the ground (but not really because...ew) but rather went to bed at 6:00 p.m. because of my 3:45 a.m. check-in time. Good times.

9. Today! 26th birthday! Breakfast with Brad at Chick-Fil-A. Surprise office decorations, courtesy of Amiee (pictures will come tomorrow...Lord willing). Scones with my boss. Phone calls, cards, Facebook posts, and a cook out at church (this wasn't solely for my birthday, but it was great fun). All-in-all, it's been a pretty good day.

I love birthdays.