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Birthday Milestone ~ Turning 40!
Sweet friends started my birthday celebrating a little early and took me to Serranos, a favorite Mexican restaurant of mine. They also blessed me with flowers, chocolate, and an Ulta gift card so I can invest in some makeup for 40-year-old skin. ;)
Mom took me out for Sunday lunch.
Mark sent a friend and me out for a mani/pedi and lunch on my actual birthday. I've only had like 2 manicures and 1 pedicure in my life, so it was a real treat. :) I will admit, though, that it was sort of weird having a guy doing my nails!
That evening Mark took the family and me to my favorite restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory!!
Mark also bought me two apple trees since we have our own home now. :) Oh, how I miss having apple harvests!!!! So glad to have Santa Anna and Dorset back in my life.
My sweet boys went shopping together for my birthday and put together a pink Easter basket ensemble. They've learned the importance of PRESENTATION from their daddy! Shiloh gave me a little bowl to match some glasses I have, and of course, she filled it with candy: Junior Mints.
The flowers (and a Starbucks gift card) were from my friend's sweet girls.
This was the best birthday ever. A huge thank you to my hubby for making me feel so special the entire weekend!
Hair Milestone ~ Highlights
I've waited a long time to finally get my hair
highlighted. My goal was to try and wait until I turned 40, I and my husband
and I had a goal to meet before we committed to the financial aspect of keeping
up my hair. Even though my grays aren't too bad yet, those silver strands make
me feel old and yucky!
I think my talented sister-in-law did a fantastic job highlighting my hair and making it blend better with my extensions. :) I don't wear my extensions often because of the extra work involved, but I sure do love the way they make my fine hair look so thick and pretty!
Life Milestone ~ Getting a Puppy
This one
is a HUGE milestone for me! It's been about 15 years since I've had a dog, and
I would've been just fine living the rest of my life without one. There are things I
like about dogs, but I wouldn't consider myself a "dog person" or a
"pet person" for that matter. Truth is, I wouldn't have a dog if it
was up to me. HOWEVER, the rest of my family wanted a dog, especially my daughter
who has spent the last few years of her life researching all things DOG. Her
life dream has been to own a dog and one day be a dog trainer or something of
the sort.
What does
a sweet daddy do with a daughter who has a dream like that? He promises his girl a dog when our family
buys a home. Well, we left our 3-year renting phase behind us at the beginning
of this year, so I knew my dog-free time was short. My two requests: please let
me get my new house settled first, and please WAIT until AFTER my 40th
birthday. Getting a dog for my birthday would be about as exciting as going
camping. And if you know me, you know that camping is at the very bottom of my
list of fun things to do.
Even
though I didn't really want a dog, I figured if I had to have one, I wanted it to start
out as a puppy. I thought the cuteness would help me bond with it better.
Shiloh found the perfect lab breeder, but the puppies were out of our price
range, so we had to look for other options. We turned to rescue sites with
Shiloh doing most of the research. The puppy thing didn't seem to be working
out all that well, so Daddy and Shiloh started to talk more about adopting an
adult dog.
To make a
long dog search story short, Shiloh and Daddy had set their hearts on this one
rescue dog that they kept visiting at Pet Smart. He seemed calmer than the rest
of the dogs. I visited once, but being in a Pet Smart surrounded by stinky dogs
isn't my idea of a fun time. I finally gave up my puppy request and sort of
gave my "blessing" to go and get that one dog with the name I wanted
to change. "Chubbo" - no thanks. I'd be embarrassed to call my dog
that!
Anyway,
THE Saturday came when Daddy and Shiloh went to rescue Chubbo, a 2 year old
mutt. I stayed home to do chores and such. Hours later they came home, not with
Chubbo, but with this cutie below.
I was pretty surprised, but Daddy noticed some fearful aggression behavior in Chubbo and decided it wouldn't be a good idea to get him. He and Shiloh ended up visiting a bunch more Pet Smarts, and happened upon this super cute lab mix puppy - only 9 wks old. We named him Kylo. Yes, after the Star Wars character. I so hope Kylo Ren forsakes the dark side before it's all said and done. ;)
I will refrain from rambling on about HOW MUCH WORK puppies are and how I've had a few meltdowns (okay, a lot of meltdowns), and instead, I will just shower you with the cuteness that is KYLO!!!
Kylo has his first visitor! Ninabird. :)
Enjoying a family Sunday car ride around town. Even stopped at Grandma's house for a visit.
Shiloh's friend came for a visit.
Seriously, that face! I just know that one day, Kylo is going to be the best dog ever. My dream (since I have to have a dog) is to have him certified to go into hospitals to visit sick kids and stuff like that.
Arizona Milestone ~ Getting Stung by a Scorpion
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Even though the above photo isn't mine, the scorpion that stung me looked just like it: big and light tan. It stung me on the side of my foot while I was putting my garden hose away outside. At first I thought it might have been a bee, but the pain level seemed much too intense. When the scorpion thought came to my mind, I lifted my hose container ever so carefully, and there it was. I'm getting chills just thinking about it! Anyway, I smashed it into about 300 pieces with the hose's spray nozzle before hopping back into my house. I couldn't even walk on my foot, and the pain/pins and needles felt horrible. What made the whole episode even worse was the fact that it happened just a couple of hours before my hubby and daughter came home with a new, surprise puppy. Just my luck!
I've lived in Arizona for about 18 years of my life and have never really had to deal with scorpions before, but I guess our new neighborhood has them. I've seen and obliterated another one - in the garage this time - since then. I have to say, scorpions have been one of my biggest fears since moving back to AZ 9 years ago, and now I have to face that fear. :(
Well, obviously, I survived the sting, but it was an extremely painful experience. That first night was the worst: not a lot of sleep for sure. Just crazy pain. All I could think about was Revelation 9:10 when it says, "They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months." Through gritted teeth I thanked God that he's taken away death's sting through Christ's sacrifice on the cross and his miraculous resurrection! I was also thankful that it was me and not one of my kids. Seriously, I wouldn't wish 5 months of scorpion-like stings on anyone, so please, for the love, if you don't know Jesus, now's the time to get right with God. :)
On that note, I wish all of my fellow Arizonians happy desert lives free of scorpion stings! I gotta go and order a black light and a sledge hammer . . .
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, puzzles with my girl (
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