My Birthday Gifts (Photo Essay)

Ok, I know that this is about a month late, but I JUST got the last of my birthday gifts (-pokes my mother-) in the mail. :) So now I feel it's safe to show ya'll what I got for my birthday FINALLY...lol.

Anyway, this was the first Christmas gift I got. Technically, it was the weekend before my birthday, but it still counts. It was from my grandparents and it's a vacuum...yes, a vacuum, which I love very much.




Some of you may be confused as to why I was so excited to get a vacuum, so I'll try to explain. Jake and I are tight financially. Vacuums cost at least $60 (maybe more, I don't remember last time I looked) and it was an unnecessary cost because we already HAD a vacuum. Here's our old vacuum:


Yup, that's right, a little handheld vacuum. So now I don't have to vacuum the ENTIRE apartment on my hands and knees. So, yes, I was excited...lol.

The second gift I got was from my wonderful boyfriend, Jacob. It's a gorgeous heart and key necklace. :) He's got really good taste...lol. He always has.



Then, of course, there was my birthday dinner that took place on my actual birthday (September 30), which was nice. I get a special dinner every year on my birthday and it's always baked macaroni and cheese, so this year Jake called my mother and asked how to make it and so I had my birthday dinner like always. ^_^





And we got to have some sweet corn that we had frozen, so it still tasted just as fresh and sweet as ever!



And what a good boy...he even bought me chocolate milk. :D



Of course, he left me a bit of a birthday mess to clean up, too. ;)



But we won't mention that. Anyway, the table looked really nice all set for dinner. :)



And yes, there were even candles so we could have a nice, romantic candle-lit dinner.



And, the best part of all, my birthday cake! It was a Reese's Blizzard cake from Dairy Queen. ^_^











Of course, my latest birthday gifts, which were from my mother and her boyfriend, just came in yesterday and I opened them while on the phone with her so that she could hear my reaction. Besides having a card with a bunch of pictures of my sister (OMG, she's gotten so big and she actually has HAIR now!), it also included the following:

A happy birthday balloon, which I can't get filled because I know Jake will play with the helium, being the kid he is. xD



A can of green tea. Thank GOODNESS for this! I became addicted to my green tea over the summer and I can't find this brand down here. All they have is either Lipton Green Tea, which I hate, or unsweetened green tea, which I hate even more, so I am VERY glad to have this.



Hot chocolate with marshmallows, like I always used to drink at home.



And, of course, my mother being who she is, sent me Viactiv to make sure I'm getting my daily dose of calcium...lol.



Wasabi Peas! I love these things and I rarely find them anymore. :D



And what's a birthday package without my favorite snack in the world? Beef jerky!



Then, of course, Kettle corn because I'm too good for just regular popcorn. ;) Just kidding. But seriously. Kettle corn rocks. xD



Who doesn't love dark chocolate, too? I was very excited about these...lol. You never know how excited you can possibly get over food until you realize how much all the things you like cost and you stop being able to afford them. xD



Then there was this little balloon towel thing that I've never heard of before. I guess you put it in water and it blows up to full length. Sounds neat to me, but i haven't tried it yet.



And, last but certainly not least, I also received two shirts that I can, thankfully, wear to work now since I'm running low on work shirts. Thanks to Jake for being a good sport and holding them up for me to take a picture of, even though he was so very much against doing it. xD





Now, because they arrived on the same day, I do not feel guilty lumping these together. jake's mother also sent a care package, though it had nothing to do with my birthday (Halloween care package, actually), but I'm going to lump it in because I got it with my birthday care package, so it counts.

In that, we got a bunch of candy (most of which Jake will eat, thankfully, instead of me).






And there was a cute little rubber bat in there.



And I absolutely LOVE this gift bag. I told Jake I'm gonna use it for one of his Christmas gifts because it's so stinking adorable. xD



Oh, and no, the bag wasn't the gift...hehe. THIS was the gift inside of the bag:



Safety Pin Angel Ornaments! They're actually quite fun to make. Oh, and there was also another Christmas ornament in there that says 'Our First Christmas 2008', which is perfect (even though, technically, this is our second Christmas since we started dating November 20th of last year, but I won't point that out to Jake's mother. The thought is still there, and it's our first Christmas by ourselves, so it counts). ;)

So, that's the whole lot right there! :D This was a great birthday, even if I was far away from home and even if it did take a whole month to get the rest of my gifts...hehe.