Happy Birthday to ME!!!

I turned twenty-four years old on Thursday. How have I almost lived a quarter of a century? I'm not exactly sure. Either way... the reality is still the same. I am normally not very consumeristic when it comes down to it. (unless food is involved) But I saw an ad that the BYU Bookstore was selling wax and seals for letters. I splurged and treated myself for my birthday. Perhaps this will give me the incentive to write people in Russia!

Marta, my ex-roommate, busted into the office (where we all TA) and presented me with a cheesecake. Then came Kelli with blueberry muffins! I ate four slices of cheesecake, six (mini) muffins...and later that night I attended a lecture and had four HONKIN' chewy, chocolate chip cookies. While everyone was delictable while eating...after allowing that sugar to sit for awhile...I realized how irrational I had been in the day's consumption.
Also, the Whites have five children. Their oldest, Courtney, is the same age as me. She was born around 2:30 a.m. Utah time...and I was born at 3:30 a.m. Louisiana time. Also, their youngest, Sophia turned twelve on the 11th. So on Friday, 13 February...we had a birthday celebration. We had a buffet. Sophie requested lasagna and salad, Courtney wanted stuffed peppers, and I insisted upon fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy. We topped off the meal with a strawberries and whipped cream angel food cake.
Gift giving this year was especially fun because BYU was doing a "canning" for Valentine's Day. You purchase gifts and candy...and put them in a can...and they seal the can for you like food storage. haha. It was great fun! No opportunities for peaking. :) And you must use a can-opener to "unwrap" your gift! Hurray!
Courtney got for me a Jesus Calendar (actually two: one gianormous one and the other a small one) and a necklace with a mustard seed in it. It's really cute! Megan got me a gift card to some apparently super cool second hand store! Yippee!! I love second-hand! And the White family as a whole gifted me a box of honey buns! (my favorite present yet!), a gift card to Borders (a bookstore), and a gift card to Jamba Juice...which I already know what I'm getting (my favorite smoothie has orange, pineapple, and banana!) Besides all the gifts...the best thing I got on my birthday was a letter from Feriya! Sister Delgertsetseg and I found her one day while serving together! Sister Pilipchak and I continued to work with Feriya and her children when I was transferred back to Samara. They were baptized on -Sunday- 06 April 2008g. Feriya wrote to inform me that her husband, Sasha, had also gotten baptized before the New Year! Enclosed was a picture from the baptism!

Later on the night of the 13th I attended a "Sisters' Sleepover" in Sandy, Utah at Chelsea Wrathall's house. Also in attendance were: Rachel Atwood, Emily Wheeler, Kalia Kuligowski, Marta Anaya, and Jennifer Perkins (obviously Chelsea Wrathall, too, seein's as it WAS her house!) :) It was pleasant to see some of the sisters from my mission. But their reminiscence was not all that amuzing for me because I never served with any of these girls while in the field. And they all served in areas that I never served in. So I didn't know the places, the people, etc. concerning their stories. But...I did get to sleep on a HONKIN' pillow by a fireplace! :) Pictures are pending...