The Celebration Continues!

I have to say that so far my 25th year is the best ever! Who knew I would be celebrating for weeks but it has been so much fun so far! After the dreaded parent conferences were over on Friday my grade level spent the next three and a half hours going through every single second grade student's permanent record file getting them cleaned out and shredding duplicate copies of information. Our school is Title One with a huge ESOL program and we are preparing for an upcoming audit. There were over a hundred files for us to sift through making sure all the paperwork was in the correct order so if by some random chance the auditors pull that file it looks perfect. It was a tedious and time consuming job that took our entire afternoon. For a "Teacher Work Day" I was pretty disappointed that I never had time to actually work in my classroom and prepare for the weeks ahead. Oh well, such is life!

After that whole ordeal I headed out to dinner with my good friend Daniele. She met me at a Mexican restaurant near my house called Chepes. They have delicious food and we spent three hours catching up, eating, and enjoying some fruity margaritas! It was so nice to have that time to talk since we hardly see each other anymore! She was on Spring Break so I was so happy she came home to spend time with me! Saturday I woke up to the sound of rain knowing that my tennis match had been cancelled. Linc and I spent a lazy day around the house and finally around 4:00 I got out of my jammies to prep for the night ahead.

My girlfriends from school had given me a night out on the town for my birthday and we were headed to Two Urban Licks in Atlanta. I got all fancy and actually spent some time doing my makeup and went over to my friend Amy's house to hitch a ride. If you live in the Atlanta area and have never been to Two, you are missing out! I would fail as a food critic because all I can think to say is "wow!" The food was absolutely amazing and what a neat atmosphere. The building is located in a warehouse district and very deceiving to find but once you navigate the signs to the complimentary valet you're all set. Amy and I met Rachel and Jenna at the bar and were quickly led to our table. It also happened to be prom for some area high schools so it was so fun to see all the kids dressed up in matching dresses and tuxes!

Food highlights of the night included:

• Open Faced Ravioli with Tomatoes, Shrimp, and Swiss Chard
• Mahi-Mahi served on spicy rice and topped with Shrimp/Mango Salsa
• A side of Gouda Grits (unbelievable!!)
• Banana, Carrot Cake, and Chocolate Cupcakes served with a side of Brown Sugar Ice cream

Oh my goodness. What a treat! While we were eating a Blues band began playing so we savored our food to the sounds of some great music. We were absolutely stuffed at the end and made promises to come back to try everything else on the menu! Since it was still somewhat early we made our way over to a pub called Hand-in-Hand and had a few more drinks to finish up the night. When we all began yawning around the same time we knew it has time to head home! Thanks again girls for an awesome dinner!

Now as if this wasn't enough...we're having another birthday party next weekend for all of the March birthdays at school! My friend Sandy and I are planning a pot luck dinner at her house next Saturday and so far the guest list is close to 35 people! Yikes! I am really excited for it though and can't wait to see what else happens this month. Here is what I am looking forward to so far:

• Courtney finds out the sex of her little one
• Dad's birthday
• Going to see Jon and Kate + 8 at RUMC with Halie
  
• March Madness Birthday Party
• Rachel turns 24
• Sandy's birthday