As I mentioned in my last post, a special day was right around the corner that I wanted to share with you guys. And that special day was (drumroll, please) my birthday! I know that I say this every year, but me and Goodmommy had such a blast, and I still can’t hush up about how hyped I am.

Even though birthdays come back every year, they’re a really big deal. It’s not just a day about you, but also a celebration of the beautiful and wonderful gift of life that God has blessed us with. Life has it’s ups and downs for everyone, but the fact that we are still breathing is a blessing within itself. In reality, every day is worth celebrating.

Sending time with Goodmommy is always a blast, and I want to share how we spent our special day with all of you, as well! Okay, enough of the chatter, now! My 2022 birthday post is a go!

Our first stop was probably one of my favorites out of the whole day; and it was only just beginning! We decided to stop at Claire’s to do something that we’ve been talking about for years–getting my second ear piercing! And considering that Claire’s has been known for piercing ears for decades—or 40 years, to be exact—we thought it would be a great place to get the job done.

I actually got my first ear piercing when I was a few months old, so I obviously don’t remember anything from that experience–though Goodmommy’s retelling of my baby-self’s reaction always makes me giggle. As a result, I never knew how it felt to get your ear’s pierced before my birthday, so I was naturally a little nervous. But considering that I handle shots so well, I knew that this was going to be a walk in the park.

Despite our original plan to get the silver cross, we decided to get a stainless-steel star after the reccomendation to get a smaller earring. And I immediately fell in love with the results–it’s small, sweet, and simple. I can’t thank Goodmommy enough for getting me my second piercing! In fact, I loved it so much that I may even get another one, in a few years.

Before we left our house, Goodmommy shared with me that she was contemplating taking me to a surprise destination for my birthday celebration, and I was over the moon to find out that it was Barnes and Nobles–my favorite bookstore.

If you’re a frequent visitor of my blog, you already know how I feel about books. And what I really appreciate about Barnes & Nobles is they’re variety–not only with the genres of their books, but with the types of items that they sell, too! As soon as I saw on a sign that the Young Readers’ section was upstairs, we took a ride on the escalator and searched around the entire second floor.

After a few minutes of searching, I finally found the section in question, and I couldn’t have been more excited by the shelves of novels that stood before me. I really love how this section in particular had literature that varied from pictures books to upper-middle grade, which makes it appropriate for a large range of ages.

We ended up purchasing three awesome novels–one of which was a graphic novel–for about ten bucks each. Another one of them was on my TBR (or to be read) list for this year, so I was super grateful for the opportunity to finally read it! Oh, and don’t worry, y’all; I’ll be posting all the book reviews for each one soon. ;))

So, I’m a firm believer that birthday’s don’t have to break the bank. But a simple piece of cake is always nice. And that’s why our next stop was no other than The Cheesecake Factory. Now, in case I’ve never mentioned this on my blog, cheesecake is one of my absolute favorite desserts, and we hadn’t had a slice for like, two years. So as anyone would assume, I was greatly anticipating eating a slice.

Me and Goodmommy are on a health journey, so it was a little shocking–to say the least–to see the amount of calories in a slice of each cheesecake. Seriously though, one slice is like half of the calories for the day! And although all of the options looked absolutely delicious, we both decided to stick with the classics–a slice of Cheesecake Factory’s original cheesecake.

After we saw the fact that it was a full house inside the restaurant, we decided to eat our delicious treats in the car. But I didn’t mind, at all; we had a close up view of the entire food court section of the mall!

To all of the cheesecake fans who don’t think they’d like the plain original, I’ve got to press the fact that The Cheesecake Factory knows what they’re doing. The piece of cheesecake had the perfect amount of sweetness, and the soft texture of the cream cheese melted in your mouth with the perfect serving of sour cream to eat with every bite. What can I say? If you’re looking for a tasteful—and delicious—dessert with fewer calories, the Classic is probably the way to go, in my opinion.

While that sweet surprise was absolutely delicious, we wanted to work off some of those calories. So we ended up making our last stop at Celebration Station, which is this amusement park full of rides (go-karts, water karts, roller coasters, etc.) and an arcade.

After entering the building, we decided to buy a couple hundred coins and explore the arcade. It was actually my first time ever visiting this place, so when I looked it up and saw the booming reviews, I was really anticipating exploring. And trust me, it didn’t disappoint!

What I find so captivating about arcades are all the bright lights. As someone who’s naturally attracted to colors, I got excited by seeing the games. There were so many games to play. And I have to admit that most of them are super addicting!

One of the first games that I played was a massive claw machine that was full of large bags of 5,000 tickets. I tried it about three times, and I got a good grip on all three tries. But as always, the grabber didn’t seem like it was strong enough. Boy, I would’ve really loved those tickets; just imagine the prices I could’ve won.

After about a half hour of exploring, we decided to check out the additional games located upstairs, and Goodmommy’s eyes lit up when she spotted two huge pool tables. She’s told me several times how she used to play pool years ago, but I never had the opportunity to play pool with her. That is, until my birthday.

At first, I was struggling with getting a good grip on the pool stick, but eventually I got the swing of it, and I was able to hit the balls. Practice makes improvement!

But honestly, seeing how happy it made Goodmommy to play a game of pool with me is what really made it all worthwhile. Just look at her!

Finally, here’s a quick selfie of me to get a closer look at my outfit. Goodmommy did such an awesome job on my hair, didn’t she? She really made me feel special on my special day, and I am forever grateful to her for that.

I have to admit that this birthday was genuinely the best that I’ve ever had. Sure, I say that every time my b-day arrives, but my 2022 celebration is going to be hard to beat. I thank God for letting me and my Goodmommy having such a blast! I hope we get to make many, many more blessed birthday memories together, for many, many, many, many, many more years to come!

What are some of your favorite that you’ve done on your birthday? I would love to read your responses down below in the comments.

Have a beautiful and blessed day, y’all! God bless you all, and I will see you all next time!

Thank you, Lord, for another happy and blessed birthday! In Jesus’ name, Amen. ♡