Chapter Ninety-Six: Birthday Blessings

Time was quickly passing, which meant I had to leave my family and friends to return back to school for another semester. Before I left, however, there was something important to celebrate: my birthday!

A couple of days before my birthday party, Mom and I decided to have a little, quiet date of our own. It wasn't anything too fancy...we just twirled some pasta over at the local Olive Garden. Yum! I was even offered a sample of wine, but, alas, I am not 21 just yet. Regardless, we enjoyed our evening together.

:)

A couple days later, the family celebrated my birthday at....Red Lobster! You see, I get a 25% discount when I eat there on my own time...so why not? My coworkers are great, so seeing them outside of work is only a little weird. We dined on seafood, and multiple desserts. It was so much fun!

Thanks for the bunny ears, Chris :)

Now, what did I get for my gifts? The Heidema's (my sister's cute little family) got me Cranium: a fun game that resembles pictionary. This will be fun to play! My aunt and granny actually let me purchase a new backpack online...so far it's been terrific for class!!

My parents, to complete the gift from Christmas, gave me four Disney Princess movies: Cinderella, Mulan (I & II), Pocahantas (I & II), and Brave. With wide eyes, and a huge grin, I realized that my Disney Princess collection is complete! I'm sure I embarrassed my family thoroughly with my excitement, but this 20-year-old has been wanting this for quite awhile. 

My Collection (missing Princess and the Frog-which is in Lubbock) feat. Nosy Jack

Two days after my sweet celebration with my family (and boyfriend), I was packed up and leaving to return to school. I have to say I am not as excited as I was last year to return to school, but I am still anxious to learn in these new and interesting courses I am taking. I am taking Solar System Astronomy, Introduction to Meteorology, Political Science II, Elementary Geometry, and Introductory Fieldcraft. Now, if you google "fieldcraft," you will get the wrong idea. I will not be learning how to be stealthy in nature...As far as I know (which is not a lot), Introductory Fieldcraft will be about experiencing nature on an intimate level. My professor's book, How to Keep a Naturalist's Notebook, looks very interesting, and the first thing she talks about is how she grew to love and appreciate nature. I am very excited for this class, and will be taking lots of pictures for you! 

Trailing behind Luke's mom, we made it to Lubbock safe and sound in the late afternoon. After we both moved all of our belongings into our rooms, we all had a yummy late lunch at Fuzzy's Taco Shop. After finishing off some churros and sopapillas, we headed to bed. It's exhausting driving all day. 

On Tuesday, Martin, Mary's best friend, drove in. He will be attending Texas Tech this semester! We are all very excited to have him join our group of friends. 

Bffs

On Wednesday, January 20, I turned 20 years old. It's so hard for me to believe that I am no longer a teenager! I'm sure that when I file my taxes, complete scholarship applications, and do other adult things, I will believe that I am now more of an adult than I used to be.

The morning of, I hung an art piece I completed on my door. All of my roommates have a cute letter on their door, representing who they are. We all decided I should have a letter, too! So with some leftover paint from Raider Awakening, and some cute little canvases Nikki had, I completed my very own "S".

Rapunzel-Inspired

Honestly, the whole day was a bit of a blur because I did so much. The morning was spent with friends trying to figure out what books we needed and how much money was going to be wasted on them. After spending some time in the local bookstore, Mary and headed to Starbucks to pick up a free drink. Luke was desperate to play tennis with me, so shortly after my Venti Berry Hibiscus Tea, I was swinging a racquet again after a year and a half hiatus. I was pretty impressed that we actually hit some balls. We definitely have room to improve, which we plan to this semester. 

After about an hour or so of tennis, Luke and I headed over to the best (and only) Pho place in town. Anyone who pays attention to the food I eat on this blog knows that Pho is pretty much one of my favorite foods. So, needless to say, dinner was fantastic. Being with an awesome person helped, too. 

White Chicken Pho

Preparing the perfect Pho

"Really"

After our romantic dinner, Luke and I met up with Mary, Martin, Nikki, and Bailey at Sheridan's Frozen Custard. This is a little bit of a tradition, since last year, after the winter break, the roomies all gathered here. Aaah, memories. Anyway, we ate some frozen custard and laughed a lot, while huddled in my car for warmth. 

Friends :)

Thursday, the next day, was the beginning of the semester. I only had one class, Geometry, in which I was surrounded by elementary education majors. There are only three middle-level majors, including me! 

Friday, I had Atmospheric Science (Meteorology) and Astronomy. In both of these classes, I found friends to sit next to. Both of these classes seem like fun, and I cannot wait to learn about Earth and the other planets in our Solar System! 

Friday night rolled around and there was nothing to do. Luke cancelled tennis on me because he had homework to do. Nikki was eating with friends. Bailey was going to a church event. Mary had a meeting. So I did what any college student would do...I pulled out some ice cream and played Legend of Zelda.

Anyone who was played Zelda knows it challenges you mentally, as the puzzles in the dungeons are sometimes seemingly impossible. I was concentrating so hard on my game I didn't notice my friends blowing up my phone asking to hang out. Oops. Eventually I noticed and was alarmed to see they were "on their way". I was nowhere near ready to go out in public, so I rushed about the dorm gathering my coat and dignity, and jumped into the car with Esther and Celia. We planned to all go to Starbucks, but we had to go back to Esther's apartment to pick up Carolina, and then we would meet Mary at Starbucks on University. Pretty solid plan. 

We arrived to Esther's apartment, and the lights were all out. Pitch black. Instinctively, I said, "Hello, it's me", because Adele is always appropriate. Anyway, I fumbled around the wall for the switch and turned it on. 

"SURPRISE!!!!"

About 20 people popped out from places I didn't even knew existed in Esther's apartment. I'm not sure what my face looked like, but next thing I know, Luke is kissing me on the cheek, and everyone is laughing and staring at me with bright eyes. I was so surprised!! 

These amazing friends of mine not only surprised me, but they also got a cake, pizza, cookies, chips, soda....they even brought a game to play. I'm surprised I didn't cry...but I think I was too surprised!

Princess colors on my cake!!

Celia, Rachel, Garret, Martin, Mary, Eddie

I just have to say THANK YOU to all of these amazing people! Jakab, Flo, Amanda, Chris, Esther, Celia, Carolina, Mason, Garret, Rachel, Eddie, Luke, Bailey, Mary, Nikki, Katelyn, and Martin all showed up to celebrate with me...something I will never forget. Y'all are amazing. I am so thankful I have been blessed with such an amazing group of friends here in Lubbock. 

I am looking forward to a great semester! Thanks for reading.