I had a most wonderful birthday yesterday. We enjoyed some great Mexican food, followed by chocolate birthday cake. Maybe not the most normal pairing, but it worked for me. At least until 4:30 AM this morning when I woke up to puke...LOL. Turns out that was a bad combination...LOL.

I would like to say thanks to all of you who emailed, called, and/or sent cards wishing me well on my birthday. Thanks so much!!

I have been kicking arse in my ethics class lately. I am learning a lot, having fun, and making good grades. Doesn't get much better than that. We have been reading "Dead Man Walking", along with several articles on capital punishment. Friday, we are having a Pardon Board hearing in class. We will be arguing whether to grant clemency to Robert Lee Willie, one of the main people in the book. Some people chose to represent one of several characters from the book, and some chose to be on the Pardon Board. I chose to be the books author (and Robert Lee's spiritual advisor) Sister Helen Prejean. Those who chose to be a character will write a paper and present it to the Pardon Board. After the Board hears all the arguments, it will vote on whether to grant Robert Lee clemency. Each of the Pardon Board members will write a paper over the weekend to explain why they voted the way they did. It should be a lot of fun. I wrote most of my paper today, and will finish it up tomorrow.

Yesterday, I bought Five For Fighting's new CD, and I love it. So awesome. Right now, I am downloading Tom Petty's new CD. He played a couple of its songs at the concert in Nashville last year, and I liked them. Also, the first single, Saving Grace, is really good. I gotta remember to ask my sister to burn me a copy of Jewel's new CD.

I have my first football scrimmage this Friday. I am looking forward to being out on the field again. Even if it is 600 degrees outside.

My birthday yesterday was also MTV's 25th birthday. VH1 Classic replayed MTV's first day. We watched for an hour or so, and it was funny. I have to wonder how it ever survived for more than one day, given that some of the videos were just hideous. Obviously, they got a lot better. Although, it seems now, that the music video is not nearly as important as it once was. Too much "reality TV" for my taste.

We have almost completed our current stage in the adoption process. We did a bunch of paperwork tonight, and need to only do a few more things before we move into the next phase. It seems time is flying.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...