scottish breakfast tea. [ch-ch-changes]

It's been a while since my last post and a good many things have happened in my life since then, nothing too grand and life-changing, but those little changes that tend to just make your day brighter. The first thing being that my mom came into town and I was able to spend some quality time with her--she currently lives in Germany, and I rarely get to see her beautiful face in person. We were able to go shopping, go out to eat, check out Asheville's new Barnes and Noble, and also get some hot tub time at my uncle's house. It was wonderful just being in her company, and having the leisure to talk to her about things that don't really matter, as opposed to Skype where we only have a certain amount of time and try to find only important things to talk about.
Another exciting thing about having my mom here last week, was that last Thursday was my twenty-second birthday. She actually flew out that day, but I was able to have a great breakfast with her, as well as my Aunt Susan and cousin, Jenna. The rest of my birthday day consisted of working at Movie Gallery until 4:30, then heading down to Townville, SC with Laurel, my sister-in-law, to see Jeremy and cook dinner for him and the other stone masons living in the cabin with him. It was great getting some time with Laurel on the way down, she and I always have a good time together. Then cooking dinner for four hungry stone masons was a gratifying experience, they all loved the Teriyaki Salmon I cooked, and appreciative grunts could be heard throughout dinner--though I think anything would taste good after being on the rock pile all day.
That night Laurel, Jeremy and I drove back the two or so hours it takes to get back to Montreat, through thick fog and groggy eyes--Jeremy did a great job staying awake, though Laurel and I were a different story.
Friday was mostly a day for Jeremy and I to spend together which is always nice when he's gone all week. We watched Marley & Me which is such a sweet movie. A tear-jerker to be certain, but so so good. That evening Chelsea and Laura came over and we drove down to Hickory, with Rachel and Laurel following us, to eat a birthday dinner (and have a few birthday drinks) at the Olde Hickory Taproom. The Taproom is a great pub/restaurant with great pub food, and plenty of drinks to choose from. It was a great night of family, friends, and my favorite drink--a Black Velvet, Guinness and hard cider--even though our waiter left something to be desired as far as good service.
Saturday was another wonderful day, beginning with teaching a swim lesson at Cheshire, then my writing group, Snippets, at 10. Getting together with those girls never fails to leave me with a smile on my face, and writing ideas in my head. Later in the evening I had a very special appointment (thanks to Chelsea for pretending to be me, and making the call). On Saturday night I got my second and last tattoo. It is one word of script, that I designed, on my left wrist. The word is oidhreacht which means 'heritage' in Gaelic. I really love it, Mark, the tattooist did a great job, and also played the Pogues while he did it. It was great, it wasn't too painful and I was able to watch him do it. Chelsea and Laura came with Jeremy and I and we went and ate afterwards. Chelsea, Laura, and Kelsey all helped pay for a little bit of the tattoo as their birthday present to me, which makes it mean that much more.
Another thing that has changed is my job. I still have the job at Movie Gallery and Cheshire, but only one day a week. My biggest job now is being nanny to a pair of four-month-old twins, Amelia and Marshall. My first full day was yesterday, and it went so well. I was tired by the end of it, and Lord knows that they fussed some, but all in all everything went really well, and I'm really confident in not only my abilities to take care of those two, but also my ability to evetually be a mother myself one day. I'll write more about this job, maybe tomorrow, now I have to run off to work at Movie Gallery until 4:30, then Cheshire at 5 until 9. Hurrah, long day.

Caitlin