Well, it's official. I'm no longer of the twenty-something set. I think I'm actually in a new age group box. 30 to 34.

I started off my birthday celebrations with a party at a bar (this is becoming a habit - I'm hoping for something different next year). My two favoritest ladies in the whole world were there - my best friend, Christine, and my old friend Rachel. Tom and Jamie were there, and Christine even managed to get Paul to come out. A lot of people that I'd invited weren't there, but at least the ones I care most about were.

Corey got me a set of darts (?I play maybe once a month, and not very well, but? whatever). Christine gave me a gorgeous Black Hills gold necklace, which makes me feel very feminine. Rachel gave me a floating candle/candy/potpourri dish with a stand. I got a card from Tom and Jamie, which was me almost to a T.

Anyway, my goal was to drink until I forgot I was turning 30. Several glasses of amaretto and a few shots of tequila later, I think I succeeded. The last thing I remember before getting into Paul and Christine's car was puking my guts out in the ladies' room at the bar.

Needless to say, I spent the next day nursing a hangover and a weak stomach. LOL. Hey, you only turn 30 once, right?

Yesterday, the kids took me to the movies to see Flushed Away. CUTE movie. I lurved it. Corey made a homemade spaghetti and meatballs dinner, which was delicious, but my hungover stomach decided the best way to digest it was with EXTRA special burning hot acid reflux. Fabulous, no? Later on, after the kids had gone to bed, Corey was feeling restless. We decided to go out for a little while and play games at the bowling alley bar. JUST water with lemon for me, thanks.

Today, we had a lazy, "stay in bed until noon" morning. Since it's Coffee Night, and I'm not really willing to give that up, Corey took the kids and I out for my birthday lunch (instead of dinner). I wanted Italian, but when we got there, we found out that they don't have a menu on Sunday. They just do a Sunday brunch, and it's all breakfasty, which was NOT what I was looking for. Corey suggested that we go to the Italian restaurant in one of the casinos in Laughlin. I begrudgingly took the suggestion, and along the way, I remembered that there was a Japanese restaurant in Bullhead that I'd been wanting to check out for a long time. I told Corey that's where I wanted to go. The food was excellent, the staff was great. There was so much food I thought I was going to explode, and I didn't even finish my rice, miso soup, or salad! Which reminds me, I was afraid to taste the salad at first, because the dressing looked like cat puke. I finally got my nerve, though, and dipped my chopstick into it to get a taste, and it was great. It was a sesame/ginger dressing. They really have to do something about the appearance on that stuff, though. I couldn't push past the cat-puke idea for more than a couple of bites.

We were going to go see Saw III after lunch (without the kids, of course!), but it was too late. Maybe on my next day off.

the last trail...the next path