Brandice.net Blog

I’ve finally started editing photos from Christmas and my mother’s surprise birthday party for her 50th birthday… funny how moving and then unpacking will just eat away an entire month of one’s existence. It feels really good to be getting caught up this weekend.

Click on present-gleeful Damien and Ben to see my Flickr album from Christmas morning:

I don’t really remember much about Christmas, except that I was pretty exhausted and pretty thrilled to have a new house and two great dogs, and Christmas Day itself was probably the only time I wasn’t busily unpacking or shopping or household items or taking the dogs to the pet store or the vet. Holy whirlwind, batman!

Next up is my mom’s 50th, which I posted about previously. Here’s the photographic evidence that it was a completely spectacular evening (click on my mom and her sister to see the whole album):

So, I posted fake updates over the past two days about driving to and being at a conference in Columbus, because tonight (I should be there right now when this posts) is my mother’s super secret 50th Birthday SURPRISE Party.

The whole family convinced her that we couldn’t be around this weekend (my excuse was a fake conference, my bro and sis made up similar excuses), when we are actually all surprising her with a very special birthday party at the Sebring Mansion, arranged by my stepdad, Jeff.

This is a surprise of EPIC proportions… I don’t think we’ve ever done something like this for my mom, and she has seemed genuinely bummed out all week because she thinks no one is going to be around and that she’s going to have a crappy, low key weekend for her 50th.

I’m looking forward to a night with family and a lot of Mom’s close friends (her sister is driving in from Minnesota and she has no idea!), taking pictures and seeing the look on Mom’s face when she pulls up to the Mansion to see 50+ people waiting to celebrate HER.

Here are some links to info about the Sebring Mansion, which is a really cool historical mansion in Sebring, Ohio that sits about a mile from my mother’s home:

Sebring Mansion Inn & Spa Official Site (horrible site, but has some neat photos of the inside)
Innkeeping.org Listing
Article from 2008 (Restoration was still in progress)
Sebring Historical Society
Clip from The Alliance Review

Jeff has reserved the mansion with an open bar and a fancy shmancy dinner for 50 for the evening, and it’s going to be a blast! As you’re reading this, we’ve already yelled “SURPRISE!” and begun the celebration. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM. :) We love you!