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Happy Birthday to Me

Even though my birthday isn't technically until today, that hasn't stopped me from celebrating all week

Last Sunday, Sexy Nerd agreed to play Mario Party with me, which he never, ever does. In fact, the last time we played was for my birthday last year!


On Monday, Sexy Nerd took me to dinner at Chili's after work, followed by a trip to the mall. I used a coupon at Chili's for a free birthday dessert (in case you missed my FREE BIRTHDAY TREATS post, you should absolutely check it out! Oh, the coupons this cheap thrifty girl has received! Life is good!)

Tuesday, Sexy Nerd made dinner. It was his turn to make dinner anyway, but he insisted I count it. To be fair, it was pretty tasty Hamburger Helper. What's Sexy Nerd's secret ingredient? Soybeans!

Wednesday and Thursday, Sexy Nerd brought home little goodies for me, like cans of Diet Coke, a piece of cake from a meeting he'd had at work, and a candy bar. He also rubbed lotion on my feet! For him, that'a a huge deal.

Another fun Thursday activity? At work, one of the girls made me a birthday cake. She enrolled in a cake decorating class recently. I am a huge fan of her new hobby! My boss also got me some fancy clothes for our cruise!

Chocolate cake with chocolate pudding, chocolate chips, and chocolate frosting - does Angelica know me or what? Perhaps I should have taken this photo before we dug into the cake!

If the little old ladies on the cruise ship think they're going to out-dress me, they're in for a surprise!

On Friday, Sexy Nerd gave me my 1st birthday present: a tea strainer ball and a card with a sappy note, including smooches from Pica and Biscuit. I've needed a tea ball forever! Angelica gave me some fancy loose tea a while back and, as yummy as it was, I was getting a bit tired of wrapping up the tea in a coffee filter and holding it in the hot water each time I wanted a drink!

Saturday, my parents, Sexy Nerd, and I went bowling at the Isleta Fun Connection. If you live anywhere near Albuquerque, this is definitely the best bowling alley! It costs less than the others, it's never crowded, and everything is clean and new. Next, we signed up for the Players Club at the Isleta Casino - free $25 slot play for everyone! Even more exciting, Sexy Nerd and I won (a whopping $3! Woo hoo!) All that winning made us hungry, so we continued to Tucanos Brazilian Grill for lunch, which I also had a free birthday coupon for. The next time you're in Albuquerque, GO TO TUCANOS! They have just about the fanciest salad bar ever, with everything from sushi to mozzarella balls. While you munch on your salad bar goodies, servers stop by your table offering different kinds of meat. Oooooh, I ate SO much meat! I wasn't quite as brave as my dad though. He was the only one to accept the servers offer to try chicken hearts. They looked like rubber bands. No thanks!

Am I a bowling pro? 

No. No, I'm certainly not.

I'm a year older and a year sneakier! When no one was looking, I added a few extra strikes to my score. Even after cheating, my score was still low!

Our original plan for after lunch was to go to the botanical garden and aquarium. Unfortunately, everyone else was worn out by then! I can understand my parents being tired, but Sexy Nerd too? He's going to need to work on his endurance for our cruise. We're walking everywhere
We opted to go home instead, where we took a few photos.

A nice photo with my Sexy Nerd is the best birthday present of all!

Today, my actual birthday, Sexy Nerd and I are off to redeem my Denny's free birthday Grand Slam and my free Starbucks birthday beverage, which I'll drink while we go for a walk through my favorite neighborhood.

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