So my bday celebration began on friday night with dinner at Do Di Yo’s with Eric!  I have to go ahead and tell y’all that I wasn’t strict vegan this weekend…it’s been wearing on me for a while now and I gave in and had grilled salmon for dinner…but that (my adventures in veganism) is another blog altogether!  After dinner we went back to Eric’s, opened present #1 and had some quality us time listening to Exile on Main Street on vinyl and Eric giving me a lesson in Rolling Stones history!  It was a great night!  Saturday my dad, stepmom, aunt and uncle got into town and came by for a visit.  After that, Eric, Jackson and I stopped to pick up Emmett and hit up Do Dah Day.  It was packed and a bit crazy with 2 boxers but we got some sun and saw some friends.  We stopped by the nick and Jackson took a nap on the cold, dark (and disgusting) Nick floor while Eric ate a hot dog.  After that I headed home to get ready for my party!

My party was WONDERFUL!  All of my favorite people (with the exception of a few out of towners that couldn’t make it) were in one place.  That was all I wanted and I’m so glad everyone was able to make it!  As with most big parties I came away feeling sad that I didn’t get to really spend much quality time with many of the people that came…especially my dear friend Krysten who drove from huntsville 😦  Everything was just busy and crazy but I hope everyone had a good time.  The private room at Rojo is an awesome space for a party and the people who work there are top notch!  All the pics are on my FB page but here are a few:

I had plans to go out singing Karaoke afterwards but that didn’t happen [draw your own conclusions here] but let’s just say I definitely made the most of the party 😀

Now…I got some of the coolest stuff for my bday.  Eric got me the Nike+ armband which I’ve been lusting after for a while and I love it.  It gives you real time stats on your run like your pace, distance, calories burned, etc.  Then you upload your runs and can track your progress, map your route, etc.  It’s the perfect companion for running.  And please note this does not replace my much loved BodyBugg which gives you stats for regular workouts like heart rate and calories burned.  The Nike+ only works for runs.

Okay moving on….the BIGGIE!  So for those of you that know me and have seen the inside of my house, you know that I’m slightly obsessed with photographs.  My walls are covered with my own photos, those of other people, pics of places I have been, places I’ve never been, pics of people I know and people I don’t know, buildings…you name it.  And it’s always been a dream of mine to have a really awesome, professional camera [ie not a point and shoot] so that I can take my own amazing pictures.  I have been looking at DSLR’s for a while but really didn’t think one was in my near future.  And since my mom is already sending me to NYC to visit Joey in June, I didn’t think I’d get anything else for my bday.  But she and Greg got me the camera with 2 incredible lenses and a bag too!  I got the Canon 50D..it’s alot of camera to learn but I’m ready.  I used to have an old 35MM Nikon that I shot with when I was doing dark room stuff…so I have a bit of experience with manual settings.  I’ve just never experienced something so wonderful as having all that power and it being digital too.  It just makes me giddy all over.  I took some pics of it with my point and shoot and here it is!

I have been submerged in the manual and looking at online tutorials for 2 days.  I am having a hard time focusing on other things that need my attention.  ha! I have so much to learn but I’m up to the challenge and I LOVE that I’m not wasting film figuring it out.  It’s got so many amazing features but I won’t get all geeky and go into all that here.  Thanks to everyone that helped with that purchase! I shot a few things right out of the box before I really started playing with it.  It’s not much since all I had to shoot at that moment was Eric and my front yard…and I hadn’t even cracked open the user’s guide.  But all of this was done manually with no auto anything.  Take a look…

So that’s it.  It was an amazing weekend.  I am so blessed to have the friends that I do.  They’ve been there for me for a decade now and it’s amazing to think back about all that we’ve been through together.  They are my rock and they know who they are 😉  I’m so blessed that…although we grow and meet new people, expand our social circles…my core group has changed very little over a very long time…that’s something I’m proud of and says alot about the kind of people they are!

Here’s to 30…it’s going to be great!