A Pretty Good Day (with pictures!)

Earlier tonight, I picked up DM and we headed into downtown Minneapolis to meet my mom and her boyfriend, Scott, at Manny's Steakhouse.


Dinner was absolutely fantastic. I had a bit of a problem with a tooth that is bothering me (long story), but the taste of the steak was wonderful. My mom and I both ordered the prime rib, DM got a New York strip steak (I think), and Scott ordered the porterhouse. Yum! We had loaves after loaves of the bread they serve (a cinnamon-raisin and a rye bread). The salad, beefsteak tomatoes and Vildalia onions (to die for), was enjoyed by my mom, DM, and myself. They both enjoyed the blue cheese that arrives with it. I just adore the tomatoes with a bit of pepper on them.

To go with the steaks, we had a family size order of hashbrowns with onions. Dessert was brought to our table, a large piece of chocolate cake covered in ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and caramel. There were a few strawberries surrounding the cake. I'm not a big fan of chocolate, so I ordered some bread pudding and ended up taking it home.

I did not finish the 32-oz. prime rib, but I did give it a hearty effort. I have just a bit left over for lunch tomorrow, a small lunch. It always surprises DM and Scott how much I can eat of this steak. I tend to pick my food, never really enjoying anything other than steak. Prime rib is my absolute favorite food. I turn into a total carnivore whenever I have this wonderful cut of meat in front of me.

I got five birthday cards today. One from my mom, one from Scott, one from Chip, one from Pepper Jack, and one from Mac and Smoke (aka Tuna-Boy. He now answers to this). Yes, my mom gives me birthday cards signed by the pets. It is rather adorable. My mom signed her card, "You know, I still miss being around you every day! Love, Mom." I do miss living at home, even though I'm glad to be out on my own, enjoying a bit more freedom. The card from the cats has a kitten on the front with a mouse and the kitten looks just like Smoke.

The gray one is Smoke. The black and white cat is Mac. Mac is smaller now, losing weight at Mom's because of more exercise (two dogs and a baby brother kitten tends to make him move a bit more).



The card from Pepper Jack is cute, wishing a day full of favorite things to me. I don't have a great picture of Pepper uploaded yet and probably won't until I get my camera back from Sony. The card from Chip is signed in his usual large "paw-writing" and backwards letters. Chip is a really smart dog, but the joke was always that he was the baby of the family (now the oldest of the pets) and so of course, he should have the messiest writing. This picture of Chip is from 1993, the summer my cousin Susan lived with us, and he's grown a bit, but I do adore this picture.



The card from Scott is a funny card. It has the President (or troll by Johnny's vocabulary (and vocabulary I like)) stating, "Did you know my birthday is July 6th?" A person, who may or may not be the troll sr. next to him saying, "Really? What year?" Inside, the troll states, "Every year!"

Besides the fantastic dinner, cards (with too much money enclosed), my mom also gave me a DVD. It is "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season One." Rather cool! Tomorrow I will probably start watching some murder mysteries. There are 29 episodes and a few extras on the discs.

After the dinner, DM and I headed to my mom's place to play with the pets. My mom had a few other extras she wanted to give me, something she does at every birthday/Christmas. She gave me a bunch of basic necessities. There is this large bag full of things like Kleenex, toilet paper, and paper towels. Mom also made me some homemade goodies, applesauce and chicken salad. God, I love her.

Char called while I was at my mom's and we chatted for almost 20 minutes. DM and I both miss her terribly. Everyone keeps asking how she is and there's a whole lot of Minnesotans anxiously awaiting May/June 2006 for her and Tom to return.

I had a good time with DM, my mom, and Scott today. I'm happy to have another day off on my mini-vacation and I've gotten to relax quite a bit. It's been a nice, quite birthday.