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This birthday weekend has going to be busy. I had several plans, including dinner with my husband, a meal with my family and in-laws, and a movie night with my friends. I was looking forward to these plans, but was not expecting anything out of the ordinary. So imagine my reaction when Tom and I showed up for our dinner reservation, and 15 of my good friends shouted, "SURPRISE!"

Actually, my first thought was, "What is everyone doing here?"

I've participated in several surprise parties for other people, but I've never been the guest of honour myself. I gotta tell you, it's a pretty awesome feeling knowing your friends have pulled together for you! And I was definitely surprised! It probably helps that I am gullible and unobservant as well. But there were many good friends presents, some that I do not get to see often enough (and some that I see nearly every day!)-- and not a single person spilled the beans beforehand!

Thanks, Ashley, for organizing everyone! You are the best friend anyone could ask for! And thanks everyone else for coming out! I had such a great time, and it was good to catch up!

In addition to this surprise party, I got some lovely flowers from Tom.

Birthday flowers.

I was also showered with attention, and demonstrated by all these delightful cards!

Birthday cards.

For the last year or so, I have been thinking about learning how to play the guitar. I've been hesitant about buying a guitar, because I was worried that I wouldn't take to it, and it would end up sitting on a shelf, or being jammed in a closet. But in the last few weeks, I have been thinking more and more about signing up for lessons.

At some point, Tom must have mentioned this to his dad. So my father-in-law gifted me with his guitar!

I'm pretty excited about getting started on this. I'm going to look into lessons as soon as we get back from our holiday.

Guitar!

It's been a really great birthday; definitely one to remember. I even managed to stay awake for all three Back to the Future movies last night, after stuffing myself with Ashley's panna cotta, Jeff's slow-cooked ribs, and Steve's over-supply of ketchup chips! I'm looking forward to lasagna with my family tonight. Thankfully, I still have room for lasagna after hitting up the Pfantastic Pannenkoek Haus with Tom's parents and grandma for brunch today. A weekend of delicious food!

2.5 days of work, and then we're off to Scotland!