Mom's Bday

Yesterday was my mom's birthday so my sister and I (and my niece) took her out to dinner. My mom has always loved Tomato Pie and when we moved into our current neighborhood I saw a place called Alfred's Tomato Pie. So, when it came time to pick a place for dinner, it only seemed appropriate that we go there. And we did. It was pretty good.. not quite what I had fully anticipated but it was delicious and it was cozy. It was a BYO establishment, so my sister and I had wine and mom had good old Rolling Rock. That's her drink of choice, and hey, if that's what she wanted to bring in, brown bag and all, then so be it. Anyhoo, the Tomato Pie was great, nice and garlic-y and we had a great time laughing together and talking. My gift to my mom was practical. I got her new sneakers. I know it sounds odd but she really needed them and I wanted to get a 'gift" that she'd use. I also put a little box of Whitman's chocolates in the bag because she loves her Whitman's and I get her a box for almost EVERY occassion. I also gave her scratch off tickets ...... that had already been scratched off. Huh???? Well, here's the story on that. Have you ever given someone a few scratch off tickets tucked in a birthday card? I have. So you open the card and scratch off the lotto tickets only to find that they're losers. Well, that's kind of a rip off right? So, when I was going to get my mom some birthday themed rub offs, I realized I had two winners sitting in my car that I hadn't redeemed yet. So, I gave her them instead! When we sat down last night and she looked at them, she was laughing so hard at first but totally clueless as to why I gave her "used" tickets. Then I explained it. She thought that was even funnier, yet clever. So there, now she has $15 in winnings from her birthday scratch offs. Not bad. And while we're on the subject... I played my dream # for two days straight, knowing I'd play for one more day... (if you dream of a #, you're supposed to play it for 3 days). Old wives tale. Anyhoo, my dream # came out yesterday, box, BUT it came out in the mid day drawing. I never play the mid-day drawing. If I dream of a #, I play it in the evening drawing. So I don't know how much it would have paid, but oh well. Phooey!