Normally, I Hate Commercials

I love to watch the Hallmark Hall of Fame on CBS. I think the movies are well made and often touch my heart. But even more than the movies I watch the Hallmark Hall of Fame for the Hallmark commercials. I know how silly that might seem to some people, but it's the truth. There are times when the movie doesn't particularly interest me when I see the promos for it but I still watch it to see if they will play some of my favorite commercials. The latest Hall of Fame movie is a perfect example of this. I thought about not watching it because the story didn't really interest me. I knew I wouldn't be home Sunday night to watch it so I recorded it to watch later if I became so inclined. That inclination came tonight after I got home from my ward's Family Home Evening. I admit the story is very compelling and inspiring, but my favorite part came once again during the commercial break. I knew as soon as I saw the first image of the commercial that it was my all time favorite commercial.




Every time I see this commercial I cry. There is just something about a father showing his love and support for his daughter that really gets to me. The belief that this fathter has in his daughter is something that always reminds me of my own father, both the one who raised me and my Father in Heaven. I sometimes forget this, but there is always the truth that "Good things will come."

Looking Back

I figure it's about time I let those few people who actually read my blog know how my birthday went. It was amazing! I started the day off by going to the temple.

After the temple I went to the airport to pick up my Mom and take her up to Grandma's house. The three of up went out for lunch at The Egg & I.

After lunch I went back to my apartment for a little while. It was a good thing that I did because my older brother sent me birthday flowers!

Note: this is what the flowers looked like after a few days.

They were not blooming when I got them.

Throughout the day I talked to friends and family over the phone and through text messages. While I was taking care of my flowers one of my friends, Nathan, suggested we take advantage of the beautiful weather and get some ice cream before dinner.

We had won this gift card to Cold Stone over a month before my birthday.

It was time to use it!

The spotanious ice cream run made us late for the dinner reservations I made at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen. When I arrived at the restaurant most of my friends that had come were standing outside. They weren't used to me being late. Anyway, I enjoyed 4 pounds of boiled crawfish and a mason jar of banana pudding for dessert as well as some of the best company a girl could ask for!

Boiled Crawfish

Banana Pudding in a Mason Jar

(I got to keep the jar!)

Just a few of the awesome people that came out to celebrate with me.

Back: Laura, Crystal, Barbie, me, Rick; Front: Jessica, Debbie

Nathan, me, and Dustin. These guys are such sweeties!

The end of my birthday brought me to the hospital near where I live. No, I was not there for me. One of my good friends, Jason W., was there and I stopped in to visit him. Alas, I did not get a picture of us that night.

That, however, was not the end to my celebrations. I decided to go ahead and make some changes the Friday after my birthday. I started by going to see Crystal to get my hair done. I decided to let her do whatever she wanted while I had my eyes closed. When I opened them, this is what I saw:

I also decided to finally get my ears pierced. This may not seem like a big thing to most people, but to me it was something I'd been thinking about and putting off for years. That and sometimes it's fun to be spontanious!

Note: This was a couple days after getting my hair done and ears pierced.

The Saturday after my birthday I went with my older sister, her family, and my good friend Ashlee to see Mary Poppins on stage. This was my present from my Grandma (she's way awesome!).

I loved this show!

Me and my handsome date/ nephew James

Two weeks after my birthday I flew over to Utah with my Mom for a little visit. While I was there I bought the new Barenaked Ladies album "All in Good Time" (absolutely love it!) and went with my little sister to see Michael Buble in concert! I had a blast!

Frances and me, waiting for the concert to start.

So, that about sums up my birthday celebrations. I had a great time and look forward to the year ahead. I noticed as I was looking back that I have already experienced the first six out of eight things that I was/ am looking forward to (see post titled "8 Things! REALLY?!?" if you're confused). That doesn't leave much for me to look forward to, but who knows... maybe life will start being nicer to me like it was on my birthday.