A Birthday to Remember...and Quotable Friday

This past Saturday I celebrated my 25th birthday with a few of my closest friends.

I had a bit of celebrating prior to that. Tuesday evening after work I ran to Amarillo to get my hair done before the weekend. Marty teased me unmercifully and asked if I thought I was some kind of rockstar since I was driving two hours one way for a hair appointment. Granted, my hair hadn't been cut or colored in about three months, so it was in desperate need of some attention. Kristen met me at Chick-fil-a after. I could eat there EVERY DAY! We hadn't seen each other in awhile and crammed about three weeks worth of conversation into an hour and a half!

The next day I received a sweet package from my dear friend, Kristin. It was a gift card for a Road ID of my choosing and some precious stationary cards with my monogram on them. When I went to visit her several months ago we went on a run and she asked me if I had one and I told her no. It took me FOREVER to decide, but I chose the Ankle ID because I already wear a watch and a Garmin on my wrists. I got an e-mail saying it shipped today and I can't wait to get it in the mail! They also sent me the following coupon for any of you to use who might be interested.

Coupon Number: ThanksCassi772125
This coupon is good for $1 off any Road ID order. It can be used up to 20 times in the next 30 days. Feel free to send this coupon via email, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, town crier, or good ole fashion smoke signal.

Thursday night I went out to Kinsey's and we watched The Real Housewives of New York Reunion special and had a lovely spread that she had made earlier that day. I stuffed my face royally!

Friday I picked Mom up and we headed to OKC. We met Becky at BJ's Brewhouse for a yummy meal and then went back to Becky's for the evening.

Saturday started with a trip to Celeste Day Spa for some pampering. I don't know that mine was as much "pampering", but more maintenance. I was really nervous, but it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. We went to a few stores and little boutiques where I snagged this handbag (that matched my shoes for the evening) at White House Black Market at almost half off!

Then met up with Tamara and Tara at Put a Cork in It Winery down in Bricktown for a little wine tasting. It was SO much fun! Red Dirt Road and Sweet Crude were our favorites. Some us used numbering systems to rank the wine, others used stars or check marks and Tara who had never done a wine tasting before wrote things like, "alright at first, then leaves a soapy aftertaste," "if I liked beer, this would be ok," "yuck". HaHaHa

We finished there and went back to the hotel to get ready for the evening. I ran across the street to the Renaissance to have my hair and make-up done and Mom followed shortly after. I was impressed. The stylist washed, blow-dried and curled my hair and did my make-up in one hour.

My favorite cousin, T.C.D. and me.

My beautiful mom and me before leaving the room. She's the one responsible for planning this amazing weekend and I can't thank her enough. It was absolutely wonderful! I am one very lucky girl!

We all met up downstairs in the lobby of the Sheraton and went to Nonna's for dinner.

This was compliments from the chef. Although, I always appreciate such gestures...really??? Cade was like, "Can we eat that?" It was a piece of celery with a pinapple, bacon, maple spread. Tasty, but tiny!

Here's a shot of the ladies at Nonna's.

Do I have some beautiful women in my life or what?! They are all equally as beautiful on the inside. I feel so very blessed to have these girls in my life. They make me a better person, push me athletically and spiritually and enrich my life. (This is true of a lot of my friends who couldn't make it this past weekend as well!)

The food was delicious, but the atmosphere was a bit stuffy for my taste. I LOVE a nice restaurant, but I want to feel comfortable as well. To Nonna's credit we split dessert which included Avis' Chocolate Cake with almonds, Chocolate Rum Sauce, whipped cream and edible flower and Nonna's A-MAZING Strawberry Shortcake on a heavy cream biscuit with whipped cream-both were unbelievable! We took a cab to Edna's, my favorite little hole in the wall place and got a table on the patio. While we were there, Becky and Whitney went in to order drinks and these three girls were like, "OMG, Cade Davis is out on the patio." HaHa He's kind of local celebrity since he's plays basketball for OU.

My running buddies, Tamara and Tara.

My OSU roomies, Whitney and Becky. I miss you girls, terribly, but always have a great time when we get together!

I don't know what I did to deserve all of these amazing people in my life, but I am everso grateful for each and every one of them. To all of you who sent cards, sweet gifts, texts or posted on my Facebook, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! I love you all and hope I make you all feel as special as I did on your next birthday!

Quotable Friday

Q: What is your definition of a rich life?
"A: Kathy - Richness to me, is me being fully present for those experiences in life that being me real joy. If I can truly be in the moment and present for the joy of this adventure - not worrying about financial responsibilities, obligations and a “to-do” list. THAT is my ultimate freedom and that is the richest possible life for me. I don't want to just be on a path, I want to be defining and owning my own journey.
Rich for me, doesn't mean having stuff, it means having the experience. Well OK, some “stuff”, like being able to buy a different flavor of ice cream I've never tried in a country I've never been to. I guess ice cream is “stuff”, but again, its more about the experience!"

Happy Friday Y'all!!!