A Week of Celebration

Well, this past week has been a big one. I got an offer from the company that I wanted to work for, and it was Branden's birthday. So I was in the mood for a big night of celebration, and it was my turn to plan the perfect evening.

After piecing together everything that I wanted to do, the plan was to go shopping at the mall, run 15 minutes away to the movie theater, and then go out for a celebratory dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in Murray. I was planning on using the tickets that I won in the radio contest to go see the new twilight movie.

That day I hung out with Bryce while the Pugh girls went to see the movie (did I mention it was opening day?). We went down to the lake to check on the sailboat, and then we drove around the airport and watched planes takeoff and land. We picked up the lock from the boat, and I taught Bryce how to open combination locks. By the end of the trip he could do it every time! I guess I wasn't paying enough attention to the clock, and I got home later than planned.

From that point on, nothing really went as planned that evening. We went to the mall, and crammed a brief shopping trip in. I put the wrong time on my calendar for the movie and I couldn't find the proper address for the theater. I called them for directions, at which point I realized the time on the tickets was about 10 minutes away. After discovering that there was no way we could make the movie, I called the theater to find out if we could trade our tickets in, and they told me that we could. After driving out there for a half an hour, the workers told us that I couldn't trade them in because they were a part of a group sale. I was rather embarrassed, and frustrated that my plans for dinner had been pushed off, making for a very hungry dinner. In the frustration of the moment, a few tears trickled down my face. It seemed like everything was going wrong on that day.

I will say though, that Branden was the perfect gentleman. After some deliberation, we decided to drive the half-hour back to Murray to go eat at the Cheesecake Factory. I will say, it was worth it for sure!

The wait was probably near an hour, so we went back into the mall and actually had an enjoyable shopping "spree" (in which nothing was purchased, but plenty was tried on). Because by that point we were starving, we stopped by the coffee shop at Nordstrom, and picked up a steamer and a Mexican hot chocolate.

After a while we made our way back over to the Cheesecake Factory, and this is the real point for my post. I have never had such good food in my life! That probably ended up being one of the best evenings of my year. We sat there having such pleasant conversation, and just enjoyed the atmosphere. It really is a perfect "night out" restaurant, though the decor never fails to remind me of Las Vegas, but then again, Las Vegas reminds me of the concert that Branden and I went to in May. We started out dinner with calamari. It was a great texture, and not nearly as chewy as most calamari served in restaurants. Branden got the goat cheese pizza (which he said wasn't great), and I ordered the Mahi Mahi Mediterranean. It was the most expensive thing on the menu (about $20), but it was the most delicious food that I have ever put in my mouth... ever!!!


We sat there for quite a while just chatting about the future prospects in our lives and enjoying the moment before we headed out into the windy night carrying take-out boxes with the rest of my food, and a slice of cheesecake each. I got the chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake, and I enjoyed that thing for the next 3 days.

On the way home we took a slight detour to my possible future office, and I couldn't help but feel like I had the world at my feet. It was a pleasant evening, and a great time spent with my best friend.

Here's to growing up!