Mama was here and now she's gone home...

My mom came out for my birthday and ended up staying 2 nights and sleeping on the new sofa. I was to meet her at the Outback Steakhouse on Friday, my birthday and the darn restaurant doesn't serve lunch. Why didn't I call first? We tried another place that 'use' to have excellent pizza in the same shopping center and they were gone too. We ended up with premade cold sandwiches from Starbucks of all places. I look at my mom and my heart breaks a bit more each time. She has aged a lot since she's been sick last year. She is thin and her hair is wispy. Brian said he is truly amazed that she is driving at all this year because of the way she was last year. Back to after lunch. I am a hopeless collector of cross stitch stuff. There is a great shop across from Starbucks that I have been going to for years. I went in and bought myself some overdyed floss and charts that I don't need. But I will probably use them sometime. We went back to the house and I opened my gifts from everyone. Brian gave me some nice soap and lotion, a cross stitch program for the computer and two amarylis bulbs. Sean gave me Bridget Jones Diary-lol-I had asked him a number of times to rent it for me. Yes, he has a chubby mama just like Bridget. Now my mom over did it. I asked for t-shirt style night shirts and maybe a crucifix for my collection and she got both. Then she got Christmasy items (why do people who have birthdays in Nov. get gingerbread houses and ornaments?). I opened an old cigar box that she found in the basement. She said it had had a rubber stamp in it with my name on it and some pencils. That was a long time ago as I didn't remember it. Inside she had a lovely red necklace with round crystals that she and my grandmom had had forever and a blue rhinestone pin that belonged to my grandmom. I read the card and started to cry as it was so me. Maybe the tears were more for the box and the jewelry. I am tearing up now.
So we went down to 'The Grille' a local restaurant for dinner and I got steak Diane (of course) and it was really scrumptious and we all had too much to eat. So much the Carvel ice cream cake that sat in the freezer until the next night. I didn't ask for it as I had showed Brian the two containers of Haagen Daas in the freezer. I swear that man doesn't look or listen sometimes. More tomorrow....