Happy birthday to me!

So I had another birthday last week. That seems to happen every year! And the best gift I got? THE earrings. (You'll probably have to click on the picture to see the lovely earrings in their fullest):

Yes, they're gorgeous, aren't they? My sister and I got them for my mom when we were in Ohio visiting our oldest sister back in 1994ish. It was a joke, lest you think we ever liked them. When my mom opened them she said she was worried they wouldn't match anything. We assured here it had every color possible and would match ANYTHING. My poor mom was in a tight spot for a little bit until she realized we were joking.

Needless to say, since that time they've become "the gift." I wrapped them up for my mom to open on Mother's Day while I was in the MTC; Rebecca got them as a graduation gift when she became a pharmacist; I think Rebecca also got them as a bridal shower gift? In any case, they've gone back and forth during these almost 20 years (that long?!!) that it's getting harder and harder to pass them on as a surprise.

My mom sure surprised me this year. Paul told me in the morning he had something special for me. Hmmmm. Then while we were eating dinner, he pulled out a VERY NICE box from a jewelry store. (No worry about me being all excited to get a real gift -- I was more unimpressed that he had spent a lot of money! :) So I opened it and there were the earrings. Of course we snapped pictures to document the occasion (which also happens to capture the fruit loop necklace I got from Zachary).

Sad news for my mom is that my dinner was so yummy I forgot to call her after I ate it ... so she had to wait in anticipation until the next day to hear since she couldn't very well ask if I had gotten them yet. Ha! Now to figure out who to give them to next ... and how ... :)