Tom's Birthday

Friday was the first.....

1) Birthday of Tom's we got to celebrate as Husband and Wife
2) The first time I donated blood!

For Tom's 27th birthday, we were fortunate enough to celebrate with both his family and my own!

On the evening of his actual birthday, Tom's parents picked me up from work and we met Tom at Cosettas in St. Paul for an Italian buffet-served dinner then followed that by watching a play on a showboat on the Mississippi River. When we filed out of the showboat after the play had come to an end and the sun was tucked far beneath the earth, we whipped out our folding chairs and a picnic basket to tailgate in the dark parking lot w/ a bottle of white wine and assorted cheesecake. Can I say DELISH!?

Saturday we had Tom's work party at Treasure Island so we spent the day gambling away and boating on the Mississippi River (again, although this time much more South) for a dinner cruise. It was a triple celebration---the celebration of summer, of Tom's birthday and the farewell of one of Tom's good friends and coworkers before he moves to Wisconsin. Goodbyes are always hard. The evening was a blast though filled with lots of new friends and good company. I met a friend from Mexico who only spoke Spanish so I got to test my skills, which I may add are NOT good.

Then Sunday we got to celebrate with my parents by going out for dinner at Girvan Grille. This is one of our favorite restaraunts (fabulous food + golf course view) AND it has a coupon! :) I'm a Barthel, I have to love those coupons. The combination of fresh seafood and crusted chicken hit the spot.

It was a wonderful birthday celebration weekend to say the least. And to top it off, we met with our friends last night at Buffalo Wild Wings for one last birthday hoorah. I am a firm believer of birthday weeks instead of birthday days. Thanks, friends and family, for making Tom's birthday one filled with love!

And to close off this post, I have to say I'm so proud of myself! Last Friday was the very first day I bit the bullet, conquered my fear and donated blood! Surprisingly, I did amazing--it didn't hurt at all, no anxiety of any sort (ok,maybe just a TIDGE when I sat in the chair) , and I never felt faint. The best part of it all- I got an extra PTO day at work for donating--gotta love those incentives!

Until next time,
Brenda

Love is in the Air

Best Friends + Engagements = Excited Brenda!

Congratulations to some of my bests, Jon/Jenna and Shallon/Andrew, who recently got engaged! Love you guys!

To celebrate Jon/Jenna's engagement a few weeks ago, we went to Edina Grille to "try something new" which ended up being a menu we surprisingly already knew from Three Squares. We had to laugh; the trek was still worth it! Got a peak of the Edina Art Fair and Jenna was even able to score some "window art" for herself!  Later in the evening we went to the Stanchion in Corcoran. The night was filled with a little bit of karaoke, lots of dancing and lots of mingling with great friends/family. 

Oh yeah, and the groom-to-be won $200 on pull tabs....niiiiiiceeeeee! :)

To celebrate Shallon/Andrew's engagement, they hosted a wonderful Sunday BBQ at their beautiful new home this past weekend. We had champagne toasts, delicious food, great conversations and kicked it back in the garage while we introduced the men to one of the games us high school girls like to play when we get a group of us together, What If. 

Gosh, I love these girls. I love every minute we get to spend together. I love how we can laugh, laugh, laugh until our cheeks hurt. I love how my happiness revolves around their happiness. I love that I know they would do anything for their friends. Life is great! I wish I took more pictures that day, but here are just a few to wrap it up:

Love you guys and congratulations again! You both are FABULOUS couples and I can't wait to hear the story of your love unfold over the years! 2011 is going to be a AWESOME year--CHEERS!

Until next time!

Brenda