29

I thought about calling this post "29 and feelin fine", but then thought it might be a little too cheesey- even for me.

Yep. Today marks my 29th birthday. Twenty-nine. Two...Nine. A year away from the big 3-0.

...I'm trying to get used to it.

I'm not really one for odd numbers. Or the number 29 for that matter. (Is anyone else funny about numbers, or is it just me?)

However, despite the misfortune of the number that will be my age for the next year, I am quite looking forward to the next 365 days.

I think 29 is going to be a great year. And here's why:

• For starters, I got one of the funniest blog comments yesterday about this post that I may have ever received:

• I'm not sure if it was the timing, the comment, or the fact that I was in the middle of enjoying a pre-birthday glass of wine as I read it, but I just cracked up. It is, by the way, quite true. If you have ever made any of my recipes, you know that sweet onions and garlic are in just about every one of them.

• Last night, Matt walked in the door with these:
• And I pretty much figure the whole year will be a sweet one when the birthday eve starts like that. ;)

• Yesterday at school, my kids were asking me things like: "Mrs. Nelsen, I don't want to know for any reason, but what is your favorite kind of cake?", while other kids were "sneaking" birthday cards around the class for the kids to sign when they were working in centers. Then, at the end of the day, one of my kids asked for me to not look at the board until tomorrow and proceeded to draw a "Happy Birthday Mrs. Nelsen" mural on the white board that I tried very hard to avoid looking at as I walked out the door (or as she stood on a chair to put the finishing touches on her work of art). Kids are the best. 

• This past Saturday, my friend Andrea (see comment above ;) ) brought Cinnabons to tennis and gave me four to take home. So my birthday celebration pretty much started then.



• I received some sweet birthday cards in the mail from sweet family and then a package from my dad filled with two italian cook books and a DVD! Cannot WAIT to try out some new recipes and share them with you guys!
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• Tally gets his cone off on Friday! Sweet buddy has adjusted well, but mama's ready to give to guy a bath and not hear him move around in his crate all night.
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• Tonight, Matt and I are using one of our Buckhead Life gift cards (thank you sweet and generous parents of kids I teach!) to go to Chops Lobster Bar, and then we're heading to the new Skyview Atlanta that opened just a couple of months ago! ...It's like the London Eye of Atlanta. Speaking of, Matt and I actually got to go on the London Eye when we were in college- which is another story for another day for sure... but here's a throw-back pic for kicks:
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• Come to think of it, I could probably make an entire post about what we were wearing. It was apparently really cold. And hair cuts did make either one of our college budgets it seems.

• Then on Saturday, we're going to the Georgia State Fair. Because turning 29 makes me suddenly want to pretend like I'm 17- which is the last time we went with just the two of us.  I'm not gonna lie- I'm pretty pumped about it. I don't have a picture from our first trip to the fair, but we looked something like this:



•  or this:
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• Oh heavens- that second picture is a gem.

• That night, we're celebrating with Matt's family. We're meeting at our house after the fair and heading to dinner somewhere in Buckhead.

• And then on Sunday, after we celebrate KidStuff Pajama Jam (or pajoma jom, depending on how you pronounce it) with our 2nd graders in UpStreet, my family is coming over for lunch. My mom is making her Uh-maz-ing Brunswik Stew, Grilled Cheese sandwiches on white mountain bread, and carrot cake for dessert. But I'm excited about seeing my family too. ;)

• More details to come on this, but we're heading to New York in December with Matt's sis and brother-in-law and just booked our tickets to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular! Matt's never been to NYC, and I grew up growing, so I can't wait to show him the city- especially at Christmas! 

• We've finally decided on a paint color for the house and are getting it painted THIS WEEK!!! By the way, thanks for your input on the colors! I'll share pictures of the finished product next week!

And just to prove that my go-to meals are really my go-to meals, Monday we had Chicken Divan, and last night we had spaghetti. ;) I'll be sharing my recipes for both next week!

Have a great day!!!