Awesome Birthday Gifts

So, I enjoyed a very nice luncheon out with several girlfriends and we had such a nice time!! Once everyone RSVPed, we switched from Duke's to the Batdorf (it wasn't a huge group so doing something a bit more intimate/fancy sounded nice) and had a really lovely time!! Not everyone knew everyone else at first, but everyone quickly became friends and conversation didn't lag at all--it was really quite nice! :) And I got a fun coupon from Pat for a home-cooked meal (lunch or dinner) to be delivered or picked up! Yum! So, great time! I don't know why I didn't think to take a picture . . .

TANGENT: Oh! And the waitress said someone had just been in telling her about how much they love our clinic! We know the waitress from the pool this past summer and she took down our website because she's all excited and knows where we are and wants to come in! And today, our tenants told us that they overheard people saying nice things about us at the Farmer's Market this week, using our clinic by name. So, we're becoming a community name and with really great reviews! We're so thrilled!! :)

BACK TO BIRTHDAY STUFF: And I am LOVING my lunch/dinner/dessert dates out with friends (one of my very favorite kind of birthday gifts/celebration traditions is eating out)!! I've got a date next week with Ruth. We're both very excited. :)

This past week, I had SUCH a fun time eating out with Den! She came over and played with the kids while Mark and I attended a rather interesting HOA meeting (townhouse). Then we got back and Den and I went to Ruby Tuesday's and ordered FOUR appetizers and gorged ourselves on YUMMY delights--Southwestern Spring Rolls, Guacamole Dip, Tai Phoon Shrimp, and a yummy crabcake (which I usually don't like but this one was great since it was "more crab than cake!")--all with SUCH yummy sauces!! Omigosh, I so love food. (Robynne, we really miss you, by the way!! You're supposed to be HERE eating and celebrating with us--but you are so great and thoughtful even from all the way across the country). Anyway! Besides great food, great friends, great fun, I also got SUCH an awesome present from Den!!

She got me this AMAZING theme present--all things Hershey! She got me a HUGE, beautiful Hershey's Tote Bag and put a great (awesome and obviously very thought out) birthday card in the front pocket. I wish I'd gotten a "before" picture because the presentation really was beautiful. It was all full of red, blue, and yellow tissue paper and in and around all the tissue paper was LOTS of presents (including some wrapped ones, too!). Here's what was inside:

*An AWESOME (as in, I wear it every evening it's so cool-looking and snuggly!) periwinkle blue vintage long-sleeved Hershey shirt with a great design on it

*Some LOVELY-smelling and fancy Hershey Estates soaps (they don't smell like chocolate; they are really CLEAN smelling, which I love, and made from silky cocoa butter)

*A really cool 1000-piece Hershey puzzle (full of old-fashioned Hershey logos and such, my favorite kind of jigsaw puzzle)

Chocolate Stuff:
*2 boxes of my favorite Hershey's Mayan Hot Cocoa
*2 Cartons of the most awesome and indulgent Starbucks (Hershey has teamed with them for some of these amazing products) Hot Cocoa (Double Delish and Marshmallow Dreams)--really, you have to taste it to appreciate how AMAZINGly yummy these are, plus the cocoa is made of mini square chocolate nuggets, not powder, so you can snack on the stuff that makes the cocoa (and we do!)
*3 different kinds of absolutely DECADENT truffles
*3 different kinds of bags of Hershey's Bliss (Hershey's delicious answer to Dove)
*2 different kinds of boxes of Starbucks Chocolate Tasting Squares--SO YUMMY!!

Spa Stuff (the kind of stuff you can't get in stores--I love when we get to try the most awesome Hershey stuff she knows about before they hit regular stores or this awesome, unique stuff that just isn't available in regular stores)--oh, and this stuff does smell like chocolate and isn't edible; we checked :P
*Hershey's Moisturizing Bath Soak (in such a cute container--looks just like the baking cocoa containers!)
*Hershey's Gentle Body Wash (with a rich, chocolate scent)--looks like chocolate silk
*Hershey's Shimmer Body Lotion (with a rich, chocolate scent)
*Hershey's Exfoliant Body Scrub (with a rich, chocolate scent--this one looks like THICK fudge!)

I may even be forgetting something, I'm not sure. LOADS of great stuff!! I love, love, love this thoughtful and fun gift. And omigosh, it's so yummy. Den, you're awesome. You already know that even without all this great chocolate stuff, I'm so glad we're friends--the chocolate is bonus. ;)

Every single thing was obviously so thoughtfully considered, from the colors of the bag to the size of the shirt to the kinds of chocolates to the cocoa she knows I love to the kinds of puzzles I love to the beautiful sentiment of the card. She is truly an awesome friend.