28

Those who know me well know that I don't just celebrate my birthday, I celebrate my birth-month. This year is no different (i.e., I am still celebrating)... but before the weekend feels far away, I wanted to create a little post dedicated to my most awesome birthday weekend ever.

Friday: The day began as a day of crazy errands with one great errand. The great errand was heading to REI; Mom and Dad generously sent me a gift card, so I was able to purchase real outdoor sport mittens (necessary for the upcoming weekend). I love birthday gifting to myself, so I must say thank you Mom and Dad! In the evening, I headed to dinner at Scusi with Dougherty. It was a great meal (with the best dessert-- raspberry bread pudding) with excellent conversation. Dougherty continues to be one of my most favorite people ever.

Saturday: Pat and I decided to take mini-trip to Hayward, Wisconsin for the night. To start the day, we woke up super early and Pat got me my new favorite breakfast, oatmeal, from Caribou (with 7-grain, it was a delight). Upon arriving in Hayward, we headed straight out to the trails to get a little snow-shoeing in. We shuffled in the snow for hours and even had a trail lunch before heading to The McCormick House. The McCormick House was a total winner. We had an amazing room (heated bathroom floor!) and were able to cocktail before dinner with another snow-shoeing couple. For dinner, we headed to The Fiddlehead. There we chatted with another lovely couple and listened to a great Irish band which played 'more in the style of U2-- not Danny-Boy'. With our bottle of wine being done around 11:00, we decided to call it a night and head back to The McCormick House (and our room certainly had fancy sheets!)

Sunday: At 8:00am we were awoke by the delivery of our requested coffee. We decided to begin the day by watching, Best in Show, and sipping on our java. At 9:30am, our breakfast was delivered... it was perfect for both Pat and myself. Pat ordered the English breakfast with an espresso. I opted for the healthful option: oatmeal, yogurt, turkey sausage, raisin toast, & a latte; it was my most perfect breakfast. Upon completing the meal, Pat and I packed up and we headed out to the trails. We snow-shoed for a bit, enjoying the beautiful location and beautiful conditions (it was almost 50 degrees). We made it back to the cities in time for a birthday dinner at Chris and Cathy's... and I must note that Cathy had make decadent chocolate-brownie cup cakes to celebrate; they were delightful!!

Needless to say, it was an excellent birthday weekend, more than I could have ever asked for or expected. I think 28 will end up being great!