8/7

It’s my birthday…..yeah, yeah…..it’s my birthday……yeah, yeah. I feel soooo much older (at least my aches and pains tell me I am) . Mom made me get up this morning and says we’re going somewhere. Hmmmmm. A surprise. I LOVE surprises (most of the time anyway). Woohooooo! Catch you later!

WHAT a day! The perfect day….I LOVE being 14! I don’t even care now how uncomfortable or embarrassing my party will be for me. Today was a great birthday. Okay, first Mom told me to dress comfortable, then she took time to cover my ickiness really well. Of course, the black eyes have started to fade, but she made it where you could barely tell there was anything wrong! I was very relieved. Then Sophie showed up and Mom said she was spending the day with us. Woohoo! So, turns out it was a whole “girls’ day out” kind of thing. First, Mom took us to IHOP for breakfast, yummm. I got the strawberry crepes, as usual. Then we stopped by Starbucks and got Frappacinos, which we took with us to get mani/pedis!!! My first ever!!! Mom even offered to let me get fake nails! But I thought it would make it harder to play the flute so I turned that down, but I got hot pink polish on fingers and toes, and have decided that a pedicure is my new FAVORITE thing in the whole world. I know what I’ll be using some of my hard earned money on from now on. I’m not a huge “foot fan”, but it makes them feel so pretty! I’ve been looking down at my feet all day!

But wait, there’s more. After the hand and foot treatment, she took us to her salon and let me get some blond highlights in my hair! I was speechless. She said she wants me to feel pretty and confident to start high school, and I think she’s the sweetest mom around. I asked her if Dad would be mad, and she said she already cleared it with him and he was okay with it as long as the change wasn’t too drastic. So all three of us got a wash/trim/blowdry, and I got HIGHLIGHTS!! I can’t believe how it makes my hair look….not that much different really, but soooooo different to me. It just doesn’t look so mousy. I love it.

Ah, you would think that would be plenty, but Mom had another surprise up her sleeve. She finally let me get my ears pierced…..and WOW that hurt! Sophie said, “Oh, it’s no big deal really,” but she’s had hers pierced since she was eight! I could actually feel my earlobes throbbing…..but it was so worth it. They put in a pair of stainless steel ones to start, and showed me how to keep turning them and keep them clean so they don’t get infected. Mom let me pick out one silver pair and one gold pair of studs. She said I could get my own funkier ones later, but not to go too crazy. I feel very girly and yes, pretty….even with the rotten flesh look hidden under the make-up.

Yes, there’s still more. The last stop we made was the beauty department at Walmart, where Mom helped me pick out my first make-up. MAKE-UP. I’ll admit, I was starting to get super-tired, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. I think she could tell, though, because because we didn’t linger over the choices. She said to start with I could wear a light blush and some mascara, so we picked out those, and a flavored lip gloss…..grape, yum! She bought Sophie a couple of things too (that she knew Sophie’s mom would approve of).

It was the best birthday EVER, and I’m glad I got to spend it with my BFF. And Mom’s the best.

Then I came home and slept at least 3 hours! Mom woke me up for dinner, Matt had brought home pizzas and Mom had made homemade ice cream (Reese’s, of course). Mom and Dad let me open one gift tonight, just one, but it was a doozy……my very own cell phone. I just sat there staring at it for a minute with my mouth open, then I jumped up and hugged them both with tears in my eyes. I just couldn’t believe it. There has been no hint of me getting my own phone, and even though you can’t tell it from today, my parents are very strict parents, very conservative. They explained that since I was starting high school and would have all kinds activities and a busy schedule, I definitely needed a cell to call them for rides and schedule changes and stuff. (they also gave me a short lecture on the responsibility of having my own phone….yada yada….you know, the stuff parents are required to say by law) They added me to the family plan, and I have to pay them $10 a month out of my income. My very first BILL! Ooooh, I feel so grown-up. I have a monthly bill to pay! It’s just a fairly plain slide-phone, with no data plan, but it does have a full keyboard and a camera and they got me a hot pink cover for it. I have a pho-one, I have a pho-one. Mom had already charged it and put Sophie’s number in the contact list, so I called her immediately! She already knew about it (Mom was too excited to totally keep it to herself), and she had just been waiting for me to call! Sophie’s parents haven’t let her have a cell yet, so it’s one of the few things she didn’t get before me…..oh yeah, I got mine first…because I am soooo mature, and I can handle the responsibility. I am on my way to ADULT…..oh yeah.

I repeat, BEST BIRTHDAY EVERRRRRRRRRRRRR!