One Lucky Girl

Thanks to my wonderful family and friends, I survived another birthday event. (It was actually on Saturday, so I'm getting to this a few days late.) Anyway, they really came through and made my day fabulous. People came to celebrate, wish me well, bring me fiber and other items to help my digestive track, memory, aches, pains, etc. ..... we ate, we drank, we laughed, (and laughed and laughed and laughed), and I loved it better than Cats!

A few highlights:

• Family Party Prep -- My family came down early, primarily to visit and have some time together before the party, but I put them to work. It turned out great, and I loved sitting around the kitchen chopping, chatting, reminiscing, and laughing with them. My Mom and Dad told stories about the old neighborhood -- stuff that Laura (my sister) and I were too young to know when we were kids. Now that we've aged a few years, they didn't seem to mind dishing the dirt on all things that happened back in the old 70s neighborhood. Good stuff! They told stories about things that happened years ago ... some of them they tell every time I see them (so I'd be disappointed not to have heard them again), and other stories were pleasant surprises. We reminisced about friends we've all had, and got caught up on "what ever happened to _____?" Fill in the blank with anyone that any of us ever knew. It was great quality time with the family, and when they left on Sunday I was quite sad to see them go. I'm truly a lucky person to have such a wonderful family.

• Bunny Cake -- When I was a kid, my mother always made my sister and I birthday cakes shaped like bunnies. A fan of nostalgia, my mother came through with a good ole-fashioned bunny cake! And it was delicious!

• The List -- Schue made me a very special list for my birthday. Something you may not know about me is that I'm an obsessive list-maker. Schue captured several memories of our friendship over the years in a really funny list that had me laughing and re-reading over and over again. It's posted on her blog, so you can check it out here. She and Los are great friends, and they went out of their way to make the day fun. I know my Mother was cracking up the next day about Los' story of the Cable Guy ass-denting the old car!

• Picture CD -- My parents dug through their vault of pictures and made a "This is Your Life"-style picture CD for me. It has pictures from the day they brought me home from the hospital, all of my grandparents and great-grandparents, many of my childhood birthdays (featuring bunny cake, I might add), and other old pictures I'd never seen. This was so thoughtful and I just loved it -- the perfect gift!! Between the bunny cake and the pictures, I used several kleenex!!

• The BBQ -- Despite the fact that it was Labor Day weekend when everybody goes to the shore, family parties, or wherever ... my friends showed up to spend the day with me. While I appreciate all of the generous and thoughtful gifts they brought, it was their presence that really made the day special. The day was hot hot hot, especially in the sauna that is my backyard ... yet they withstood the sweat and mosquitos all because they like me (or maybe it was just the food?! haha). Regardless, it was a great day!

• The Name Game -- Let's just say that a few things were confirmed during a late night round of The Name Game: Farrah Fawcett is spelled with F's .... it's not Pharoah Fawcett. And there was never a US President named Willard Fillmore.

Thanks again everyone for making my day special! In the words of Claris Blecher (from "Steel Magnolias") I love you all more than my luggage!!!!