At last, this week is almost over.

I am so glad it's Friday. I got in super early today because I have 14 million things to get done before the weekend. We're going away (more details on that to come), and won't be back until Tuesday, so I have a bunch of stuff to clear off my desk. Of course, Microsoft Word is frozen right now, so I thought I'd throw in a quick blog post.

We are about at the end of the pantry/freezer week, and I have to say, it was a great week, dinner-wise. We spent zero dollars and ate really well. Last night I remembered that I had two cooked hamburger patties in the freezer, so I warmed those up, and we had them in pita bread (a.k.a. Syrian bread, in my house). For a side dish, I whipped up some croquetas, a favorite cheap food in Spain. They were ugly but sooo good. I love how crispy they are on the outside and how soft and wonderful they are on the inside. Nutritional value is probably pretty low, but mmmm ....

We also had beer, thanks to the Christmas gift I gave Hubbyhubs last year -- Beer of the Month Club. Well, actually I got him beer-every-other-month, because I prepaid for 6 deliveries and scheduled them to come every other month. It's been awesome. I chose the domestic microbrews package, so every other month we get a sampling of beers from two or three different microbreweries. I think next year we'll sign up for 12 months of deliveries and just not ever buy beer at the grocery store. It's definitely cheaper that way, and we get more variety.

Now for the highlight of last night. I have a bday coming up (I'll be 21+, as my mother always said) in a few days, but Hubbyhubs wanted to give me my presents early, since we'll be away on my actual birthday. Well, he hit the nail on the head. First, he gave me a ridiculously funny card, which actually made me laugh out loud. Then, three gifts (elegantly wrapped in a leftover wedding gift bag he dug out of the guest room ... ): I got two books, The Annotated Alice, which I've been dying to read since forever, and a book on word usage by William F. Buckley, one of the best wordsmiths who ever lived. Last but not least, he got me an absolutely perfect wallet (no, not the Louis ... I would have killed him if he spent that much on my birthday!).

I can't find an exact picture of it, but it's pretty close to this, only black, and no visible snap on the tab:

I love it. I switched out all my cards and cash from my wristlet last night, and it's so nice to be able to see what's in my wallet. I feel like an actual, organized grownup now. Thank you, Hubbyhubs!

OK ... Microsoft Word finally closed itself down and I reopened it, so time to get back to work.