Birthday Extravaganza in SC

It's been a long time coming. Both a new blog post and a trip home to the greatest state in the US of A. Since it's been so long I crammed a lot into a short time span, but loved every minute of it. I got to see some new family, old family, and dear, dear friends.

But before I take you on my journey to SC. I must say a big "Thank you!" to everyone who helped make my birthday such a fabulous one! And there were many of you. My cubicle at work was decorated and stocked with Starbucks for two days straight. I was beyond elation that I received not one,

not two,

but three beautiful floral arrangements.

If you know me, you know I love, love, love fresh flowers, so this was triple the excitement for me! I also got several phone calls and a bazillion facebook/email messages. Danielle even wrote her own bday song for me! The work crew wouldn't let me pay for lunch at Hard Times or happy hour. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Thank you!

I was also excited when this photo on my tweet about birthday lunch at Hard Times got retweeted by "Arlington's Best." Yay!

On Thursday after the birthday my plane lifted off from Dulles Airport (my not-so-favorite airport) en route to home home. Someone asked me on the plane if I was going or coming home. I wasn't exactly sure what to tell him, so I said I was coming home from home. Which really is the truth. Whether I'm coming or going, it's home.

There were a few main goals to the trip, and since I'm quickly approaching my self-set 10:00pm deadline on this, I'll use photos to tell you what they were. Check out the picasa web album here for more from my trip.

Reason #1:

The newest branch on the Young family tree. Isaac. It was such a delight to hold him in my hands and praise God that my sister, Brooke was able to bring him into this world healthy as he is, despite the complication thrown their way.

Reason #2:

My first nephews Andrew (left, red) and Matthew's (right, blue) 7th birthdays. I feel old. 7 years ago they were as tiny as our beautiful little preemy Isaac. So grateful for 7 amazing years, 5 of which I spent watching them grow up just a 30 minute car ride away. Miss you boys!

They greeted me in the airport when I got off at baggage claim. I was so happy to see them that I squeezed Matthew so tight in a hug that he said, "Ouch, Aunt Sarah! Too tight!"

They're all growing up so fast! Lillian is about to turn 4. I loved this photo too much not to share! I know, photos galore!

Reason #3:

A beautiful wedding and rehearsal dinner for my former boss (and former NRA employee) Jennifer Bradey, and the man she met and fell in love with under my watch.

This is Jennifer with her dad, but I must tell you that if you could see her footwear, you would understand the purpose of the photo at that moment! Jennifer sported cowboy boots under her wedding dress for the reception at the Spartanburg Country Club. AND, in their engagement photos they're sitting on the bed of an old pick-up holding their prized possessions: their hunting firearms. I died when I saw it!

I spent a good portion of the evening catching up with my big sis and fellow Converse alum (Jennifer is one too) Mallory Beckett. We really did have a great time, and the wedding was absolutely beautiful. Photo props to one of my favorite HBA board members and his wife, Jay and Allie Beeson.

Reason #4: Celebrating my birthday with my parents, which I somehow... didn't get a photo of, and I'm REALLY hoping my dad got at least one photo of each of us together.

Mom scheduled a visiting hour for my friends from Lexington and Aiken (she tried to surprise me), and I was so delighted to have some quality time with three of my closest girlfriends.

My "might as well be" lifelong best friend Courtney stopped by on her way to the hospital where she just got asked (repeatedly) to take a promotion to Assistant Nurse Manager of the night shift, (aka she's amazing at what she does). Yep, that's my friend!

And a trip to SC just wouldn't be complete without seeing my fellow Connie besties Margaret and Danielle. Wooh, I was so tired by the time his pic was taken, but I was so happy to welcome them for a visit.

Oh, and how could I forget my boys? Well, I should say my men. :) Clay and Jake both made time for me on Saturday to hang out with them and catch up on life as we know it. Unfortunately, I have no photo documentation, which I'm hitting myself for now.

I'm going to TRY to blog tomorrow after Trivia about my visit to the old stomping grounds of Converse, but please forgive me if it waits a few days. I'm already 10 minutes over my deadline, and I must put my freshly washed sheets on my bed before I can tuck myself in it for another nights beauty rest!

xoxo

I drank sour milk today, and it was yucky

Well, I only had one sip, but it was still enough to make me gag. Bleh! I really needed it to go with my cake that I made. Boo! I felt like baking today, since it was a little chilly and I had no big plans, I thought baking would be perfect and a great opportunity to use my relatively new bundt cake pan. It's not exactly a birthday cake, but I guess some people might assume that's what I was going for.

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake Oh it is yummy! It tastes very much like a coffee cake, but the bottom of the cake has this delicious crunchiness like a tasty snickerdoodle cookie. It definitely was in need of milk. Too bad my milk was sour. Sad.

In two hours, I'll officially be 24. Maybe I should've made two dozen cupcakes instead of a bundt cake. I spent this weekend exploring some new places in my neighborhood thanks to the October issue of The Washingtonian.

As I was in line at the grocery store, one of the headlines on the magazine caught my attention: "The Best of Capitol Hill." I made an impulse decision and purchased it to see exactly what they think "the best" of my hood is. Several spots they mentioned are right-on with things I know, but others were places I didn't know existed, or small places I've passed a billion times, but wasn't sure they would be any good.

One such place was 7th Hill pizzeria just a few steps away from the Eastern Market that I so often go to for fruits and veggies. I decided to try it for my birthday dinner on Saturday night. Although the establishment is quite small, the pizza is incredibly delicious. I only regret that I didn't get any photos of the food or the night.

This morning after I walked to church in the surprisingly chilly air, I stopped by Peregrine Espresso to grab a coffee to knock off the chill from the walk around the market. Peregrino was also recommended as a "best" by The Washingtonian. I got excited because the Macchiato was only $2.75, but then I found out that the macchiato was two shots of espresso and a splash of milk in a cup the size of a bathroom Dixie cup. I quickly realized that was not going to do the trick of warming me up, so I changed my order to a latte with a shot of vanilla. I've never seen a coffee that looked so beautiful.

It was different from my standard Starbucks grande skinny vanilla latte, but it was good! And, I discovered that they're vanilla syrup was legitimate vanilla syrup not that stuff that comes out of a squirt bottle. I'm most assuredly going back there to try the treats in their bakery counter including a spinach and gruyere scone. Mmm, so good. I think they're all-organic. If only I could have one of their lattes for my birthday tomorrow morning. Work crew is throwing me a shindig after work, I'm excited!

I'm going to continue checking out what they think is the best, and see if I agree or disagree. I'll let y'all know my thoughts. But in the meantime... Ironman 2 just ended, and it is bedtime! Unfortunately it's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I guess I'll have to skip my morning run. Good thing I walked so much this weekend my feet hurt!

Happy Birthday, Mom and Dad! Love y'all!

xo

On the Road Again

Seventh grade SC History class is a class I will never forget, although the subject matter may be a bit blurry and the teacher's name may or may not have been Mr. Corley. One of the things I remember clearly is this show we'd watch on Fridays that aired on PBS and had to have been made in the 70s. The premise of the show was this guy traveling the state in an RV, and the theme song was "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson. Still to this day, that song gets stuck in my head.

I know for many people, being on the road for work is a way of life, and it becomes a thing they hate, but my weekend trip to Albuquerque, NM, was a nice change from the scope of my everyday job at 11250 Waples Mill Rd. The point of the trip was originally to observe and learn about the Clubs side of our division by attending their Club U, but when the normal Friends of NRA presenter for the state of NM dropped out unexpectedly, I was called on to fill in and speak about our program. It was a quick trip, leaving Friday morning early and flying back home Sunday morning early. Although it was short it was quite exhausting due to the time change and my encroaching illness. A larger selection of pictures can be found here, but I've included some of the highlights in this post.

The land was so desolate! Miles of brown with no house.

This is no river like I've seen before.

Friday afternoon we traveled into Old Town and saw some of the interesting shops that make up the historic portion of the city of Albuquerque. I was fascinated with the red chiles hanging, and when I first made the comment that they could be the focus of an artsy photographer, our professional photographer Lars laughed and thought I was kidding. Guess who has as many shots on his camera of chiles as I do?

We discovered this cute shop filled with kaleidoscopes. I felt like a kid again, until I saw this beautiful piece of art. It's equipped with a light to shine on the balloon that makes the colors almost heavenly when you look through it. The photo is actually contraband, because after I took it while the shop owner was in the back, when she came to tell us more about it and Lars tried to take a snapshot, she refused to let him do so. Oops! I just had to share. The pricetag: $1400. Not a toy!

We then traveled up the 2.7 mile long cables of the Sandia Peak Tram to the High Finance restaurant on the top of the mountain overlooking the city. It is the highest tram in the US, and has played host to 270,000 people since it's opening not all that long ago. I must admit, that although I'm not afraid of heights, I did experience altitude sickness.

The scenery at the top was well worth it though. Here are just a few of the shots.

Saturday was work, and my speech went really well! Then we were off to dinner at Sadie's for traditional NM cuisine.

Carne Adovada Enciladas in blue corn tortillas

On our way back on Sunday, we flew over one of the Great Lakes as we descended into Chicago's O'Hare Airport. And the colors were just remarkable.

The trip was great, but I'm still recovering from it and the DC allergen that has been tormenting me for the past week. I'm actually in a hurry to get off here so I can stop dozing and actually fall asleep. It'll only be a few days, and I, like Willie Nelson, will be "on the road again." This time I'll be heading home, not away from it.