I have to say I'm 23 now.

Back at our apartment in Ickenham (I think...somewhere London!)

Me and my brother, back when we were wee young kiddies.  I was trying so hard to hold up that cake...so proud.  Weren't we freakin' adorable?  My brother especially.  I don't know what happened to both of us...such potential.

As noted, it was my birthday this past Friday (much thanks to those who wished me a happy birthday!), but things have been kind of strange with the responsibilities stacking up that happens when a military kid turns 23.  I did get to go to a lovely dinner with my family on Saturday night, and I was able to go out with a small, select group of friends Friday night for a yummy dinner as well.  There was drama, and I did get a bit upset so it wasn't the best of nights, but overall it was a rather decent run.  It definitely beats the birthday I was dumped (6th grade! So naturally, I was heartbroken beyond belief) and the birthday my first year in college when I had a final and later found out I indeed failed the class--which was not only the first university class I ever failed, but the first class I'd ever received lower than a C on in my entire life.

Oh 19th birthday, you slay me.

Anyhow.  Don't say "aww" to me or feel bad, because I've never really cared too much about my birthday.  The fact that I did something for it pretty much makes it much more memorable than most of the rest.  Next weekend will be the full celebration with my friends, so hopefully I'll have some fun stories and pictures to share with you then!

No pictures of these last two dinner celebrations (I was entirely too focused on the pizookie from BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse and the delish barbecue sauce and apple butter from Lucille's.  So bad for me, and so good for my taste buds), but I do have pictures of the two gifts my family gave me!  They're footing the bill for next weekend's birthday celebrations, so I was quite surprised to have received these things in the first place!  Apologies for the small, crappy pictures; I was too lazy to use my real camera so I resorted to my crummy webcam.

excuse my chipped nailpolish! and the reflection of my computer screen

We all know I love penguins, so it was natural for my mom to choose this for me.  My walls in my bedroom are disgracefully bare, so I'm excited to hang it.  And, it is pretty freakin' adorable!  Her co-worker makes these, so it's even more personal for us.  I took a picture of the detail (again, sorry for such shite quality!) so you can see that the penguins are actually scrolled paper.

And from my brother...as I told David, I have a soft spot for Wall-E.  I love him, I love the film, I pretty much love it all.  And most especially, I love the Microbe Obliterator, aka MO!  I mean, he's small, he's cute, he's the cleaner of the ship and maintains the proper order--what wouldn't I love about him?!  One of my favorite parts is when Wall-E puts his foot/tire tread onto MO's face and he has a freak out..ugh.  So cute!  Which made this little gift perfect.

I want to take him out of the package, but I don't want to ruin him!

My family knows me so well.

Before I close out this post, two things to take care of:
1) Thanks to [another] David for the One Lovely Blog award!  I never thought the order of me following someone would pay off :)  And I am very glad, because you have quickly become a favorite!

2) ABC Family had a Harry Potter marathon this entire weekend.  I'm not sure if this ruined or made my days.  But they did show sneak clips of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1), which I am going to consider a personal birthday gift from ABC Family, Disney Co., and all companies therewithin.  Thanks!