I realized something this birthday...I realized how nice it feels to have people just remember it and think of you. I got several birthday cards, e-mails, facebook and myspace messages, and quite a few phone calls yesterday...and it just made me feel so very very special and loved. Even happy wishes from friends who I haven't talked to in a long time. THANK YOU, everyone!!! I am going to make a bigger effort to remember other people's birthdays, and to find time to send a though and greeting on the day.

This year my birthday felt less like a big deal than it ever has before. This is the last year that all the candles for my cake will come from one box...the last year that I will have to keep the current photo on my driver's license...the last year before my car insurance goes down...the last year that I can't rent a car from any agency...the last year that I'm closer to 0 than 50...the last year before I've been alive for a quarter of a century. Yep, I'm 24. It also felt like any normal day...I almost forgot it was my birthday when I woke up yesterday. In the midst of all the activity and preoccupation around here...it felt a little forgotten...and I forgot it a little myself.

The activity I spoke of began on Wednesday morning when Lowe's delivered a truckload of building supplies. Then basement finishing commenced. We framed the walls and ran plumbing, and starting the wiring, and are getting ready to work on the ducting. All in the hope of turning this:

Into THIS:
I will have to show you some pictures of what it looks like on the way, though.

So, what did I do to celebrate my day? Well, my sister's boyfriend and my husband were working on the plumbing in the basement and had the water turned off all morning. I made two trips to Home Depot without being able to shower or put my contacts in or even brush my teeth (ew, I know...gross, huh?). We had to be at my grandma's for dinner at 3:00...all three of us. At 2:00 they still weren't ready to turn on the water. Did I mention that it takes 25 minutes to drive to my family's? I was begging them to turn on the water...I finally gave up and decided to take all my stuff with me and go shower and get ready at my mom's house. I packed my bag and was about to walk out when Chad grabbed the keys and said they needed a part from Home Depot. That left me waiting for him to get back. Long story short...they finished up...turned the water on...I showered. We were late.

Although, while I was in the shower, something must have gone very very wrong in the basement...because I heard lots of hollering and banging. When I went downstairs, both guys were on ladders focused on the ceiling and water was dripping on the floor. I left. They fixed it, and showed up fashionably later than I was late to my birthday.

My mom and grandma made me delicious, enormous king crab legs. They were so so good! My grandma also whipped up a fabulous "death by chocolate" cake from scratch. Chocolate cake with tons of cocoa in it, chocolate buttercream frosting from scratch, and white chocolate shavings on top! I wish I'd taken a picture.

After all that, I got to open my gifts. I was not expecting this at all...
Yeah, they're knitting needles. I got:

6 crochet hooks
8 circular knitting needles
2 sets of double pointed needles
12 9" straight knitting needles
12 13" straight knitting needles
1 pack of stitch ring markers
1 yarn cutter pendant

Believe it or not...this makes me happy. I love knitting...and I've been doing more of it lately. I've been finding new and interesting yarns to use...and beautiful patterns that I want to try. It really is addicting. (and time consuming...shhhh...don't tell anyone) I now have a complete set of any type of needle I might need! I love these bamboo needles, they are nice to use. The only problem is...my cat loves to chew on them. If I leave them lying around, he will bite up the tips so badly that the yarn will snag on them. I have to be very diligent. I'm telling you, having him is like practice for having toddlers.

So anyway...we finished off the night with my mom, sister, and aunt going to see Manheim Steamroller in concert. It was really amazing...and so much fun. I really really enjoyed it, much more than I even thought I would. Seeing the way the music is put together...it is an orchestra...not just all synthesizer...was really cool. Especially after growing up listening to their songs seeing them perform was an awesome experience. Go see the show if it is coming to your city.

Today Chad went for a run, and I rode my bike along with him. Since the weather was so beautiful. We had to get out and enjoy it a little.I don't think it is going to stick, though. I wish it would. I am so ready for spring and flowers and open windows. I've got a few more things popping up in my yard now...and the weeds certainly aren't having any problem.

Having the windows open today confirmed my fear. This fear, I've had it since we moved in. It started as something that began to dawn on me...then I began to be sure it would happen as the months went by. I'm talking about the neighbors' dog. Their hunting dog. The dog they keep in a kennel near the back of their yard. The dog that barks at everything. The dog that HOWLS. Howls when it hears sirens. This presents a problem because we live almost on the same street as the fire station. See "Exhibit A":The square on the left side is the Fire Station. The two squares on the right are for our house and the dog, two houses down. Having our windows open makes it much harder to ignore the noise than during the winter when our house is all shut up tight.

Well...I'm beginning to lose my train of thought. That's probably mostly due to the fact that I made myself this...to go with my quesadillas for dinner.
Chili's Chambord 1800 Margarita. The recipe I found, called for Cuervo 1800 tequila, Cointreau, and Chambord. If you're like me, and you don't want to spend $30 and up for EACH of those bottles...you can substitute Cuervo Especial Tequila, DeKuyper Triple Sec, and DeKuyper Razzmatazz. It's not exactly the same...but it's close, and pretty darn good.