Well, folks, I meant to get online and blog all about my birthday (2 weeks ago) and everything that's been going on, but I got side-tracked visiting other blogs. Now, it is almost 1:30 a.m. and it's raining, and my bed is calling my name.  I have church at 8:00, so I'll cut this a little short and promise to get back sooner than a month from now. Sound like a plan?
The day before my birthday (which is actually my SIL's birthday) we tried Five Guys' Burgers and Fries, and it was a fun evening out. My parents, sister & her family and my brother and his wife (the actual birthday girl du jour) joined us. The kids didn't have school on my birthday, which was Friday (not because I'm just that special but because it was a teacher in-service day), but the high school still had a Friday night football game, so I got to sling nacho cheese with the Band Boosters on my actual birthday. My SIL gave me a copy of Cupcake, a book about Vanilla cupcake who feels plain next to his fancy friends, then his friend, Candle comes along, and they look for a special topping for cupcake. It is the story of my life, and I loved it! I'll have to let you all know how the recipe in the back of the book turns out...when I get around to making them! My mom gave me some nice clothes which means I can purge a few more outfits from my "over-crowded-with-out-of-style-digs" closet. Woo-hoo!
On Saturday, the hubs, the kids & I tried a Jamaican restaurant not far from our house. They had a live band (not because I'm just that special, but because they always have live music on Friday and Saturday nights ;-). The short version of the long story behind that decision was: I bought a $25 fundraiser card from the Athletic Boosters from my daughter's school where several different participating restaurants give you freebies and discounts when you show the card. Well, the bigger deal was you go online and register for a $25 gift certificate for any of the participating restaurants. I decided to do it then and there, and the Jamaican restaurant (which we'd been thinking of trying anyway) was one of the choices. Win-win. My adventuresome son tried the special of the night: curried conch. I had jerk chicken; the hubs had jerk pork and curried goat. The daughter played it safe with "Rasta Pasta" which looked pretty good. I had a great time.
To close out the weekend of celebrations, we attended a jazz orchestra concert at the wonderful outdoor pavilion on Sunday evening. The weather was just perfect. We set up a couple of chairs and spread a comforter on the ground. I'd made baked chicken quesadillas and loaded them in my insulated carrier along with a cooler with salsa, chips & guacamole. My sister and her two kiddoes joined us, and she brought a birthday cookie and miniature wine bottles. Did I mention the weather was perfect for a concert under the stars?
My cousin took me to lunch at Mimi's Cafe a couple of days later and gave me a gift bag filled with my favorite snacks and guilty pleasures. Thanks, B!
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention all of the phone calls, texts and messages posted on my facebook wall from friends and family members that made my day, too.  Thank you all for helping me celebrate!
As far as work is concerned, I'm working from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. now. I love the (sometimes) more relaxed pace of the nights, but am still finding it a little difficult to adjust my sleep schedule (which is why I'm up at 2 a.m. blogging on a night I'm not at work!). In a couple of hours I'll get up and go to 8:00 mass and Sunday school for the kids (I'm not teaching this year because my schedule is far from set in stone. I never know when I'll be working or not, and that's just not fair to the kids and other teachers). Then, I'll come home and sleep from 11 a.m. until around 3:30, and get up and fix dinner and head off to work around 5:30. The kids do not have school on Monday, and Mike is on vacation, so I'll let them hold down the fort while I sleep from 9 a.m. until around 3 p.m. and do it all over again. At first I was concerned about doing that three days in a row, but I have found that I actually prefer 3 days in a row. Then, I can flip back to my regular sleep schedule (sort of) for three days and revert back to my wakeful nights the night before I go back.  I'm thinking I may stay on nights whenever I interview for my "permanent" position at the end of the year...just a thought. I'll see how it goes on other units and let you know.
Until next time...