wow.

Opening Gifts

Last night the family (and two of the 15 yr olds buddies) came over to our house for a birthday celebration.

We have a tradition in my family that before we say the blessing and eat dinner everyone says one word about the birthday boy/girl. It usually makes at least one of us cry (tears of joy or pride or something)…it is great fun!

Some of his words were:

Athletic
Fun
Honest
Strong…

I really should have written them down, but I couldn’t see through the tears

It was a great evening and if I though this year was hard…next year is the begining of the whole growing wings…leaving the nest business, at least right now, I still have him for 20 minutes a day, in my car

follow up to this post.

Last night was the family celebration for my birthday AND my uncle AND my great aunt.  All three of us got a year older in the past 9 days.

My mom made taco in a bowl for me because I used to love that when I was a kid…so simple, no need for even a recipe-all the garbage you like in a taco, in a bowl and you eat it with chips.  YUM.

Since I didn’t claim my cake, she made her Jam Cake with butter sauce for the 14 yr old because that is his all time favorite and it really is VERY good.

But, this is the really important stuff…

I got the Canon (as mentioned previously, a lovely book, a rooster box that was  handmade by some lady that my great aunt knew that is married to a guy that looks like her son-it really is a very nice hand made box with some serious history.  I want the girls name, so I can look into her work! And a bracelet with the Lord’s Prayer I also got some birthday money, which can be the best gift ever and this year it bought me Vera Bradley Microfiber Crossbody Hipster Bag and the Symphony Bag that I am more likely to put office supplies in….

AND…

My sister gave me a glass Pandora charm and a house, but I already had the house so I traded it in for a monkey charm today, because my spouselet was Monkeyboy on a game we used to play online and all things monkey remind me of him….and my mom gave me the soccer ball with the green crystals…

So all this super cool stuff more than made up for the fact that I am now 41.

Yeah, it is my birthday and I am stretching this puppy out as long as possible.

When I was a kid my birthday always fell on a teacher in-service day or a weekend and it wasn’t until college that I had had class on my special day.  And even in college just because we were in session, didn’t mean I attended!

I have never worked on my birthday.
To me, it is a National Holiday and no one else should work either!

I am not celebrating with my family until tomorrow (which is why this is Part 1).

I really started celebrating LAST weekend when my spouselet, son and one of his friends went to Florida for the week.  It was fall break (I am sure there will be a post about that too)-so see, area school still celebrate the day of my birth, and it has expanded to a FULL week not just one measly day.

This morning, I slept in and when I did roll out of bed the spouselet took me to lunch @ PF Chang’s.  Coolest thing, my server was also celebrating his birthday today.  I first thought he must not know how special October 25th really is, but then I heard him tell EVERYONE he waited on that today was his birthday.

SMART MAN!
(wish I had thought of that when I was a server-I am sure he made enough to take the rest of his birth week off!)

After lunch the spouselet and I discussed various options for my birthday present.  I was torn between a new purse size camera (for non soccer picture taking) or the new Brighton charm bracelet.

And the winner is….

I am planning on testing it out this evening.

The spouselet has an indoor soccer game, perfect conditions for a new camera test.

Bad lighting, jerky movements and nets between me and the players!

Just turned 14.
Wow.

I could go on and on about his birth story but my sister will punish the (now) 14 yr old with that later today as she has done EVERY YEAR of his life.  I can imagine when he is 55 and my sister will be wrinkled up and toothless telling him the SAME story.

I love my family.

I like the way I wrapped his present more than I do what’s inside!

Inside are soccer shoes and a ManU shirt.

I had the most fun doing this and making the tag…

Here is a detail of that:

"In The True Man is the Heart of a Child waiting to Play"

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I could totally keep this theme going for a full year now!

Today my family got together to celebrate my birthday. The picture above is of my presents and they were all awesome.

It is a tradition in our family to go around the circle before we bless our food and say one word about the person we are celebrating. No birthday person ever gets through it with out crying. Everything they said was totally cool, but the best was the 13 yr old calling me “The Best” (damn, can’t beat that) and the spouselet calling me “Gorge-a-licious”.

My grandmother also said (and I never really thought about it like this) I was the one who made her “Momaw” because I was (still am) the first grandchild. THAT was huge-my sister joked that she has been trying to catch up ever since.

Ok, enough of that, because I know you all are just dyin’ to know exactly WHAT those gifts could be!

First, I got a gift certificate to a local spa, Diva. I have been waxing my own legs for a while and got out of the habit so, I wanted a professional job to get me back on the right foot (or leg so to speak-heh.) I might also have enough to get a manicure as well-and since I quit getting my fake nails-woo doggie, I could use that too!

Then, I got the second most awesome thing-a sweetgrass basket. I love a sweet grass basket. There is so much history wrapped up into one and they are made in one of my favorite places on earth, by some of the coolest women. But, that is only part of the story. Last time the family was in Kiawah, I read a book called The Spirit of Sweetgrass by Nicole Seitz. And it is a fantastic story about a woman who makes sweetgrass baskets. She makes this one basket with bullrush and love knots and a lid-and that is what my aunt and uncle gave me for my birthday.

I cried.
I even made a bit of noise.
“It even {sob}has{sob}love knots{wail} on it!”
Perfect!

Now, if that wasn’t enough, first with all the awesome “name callin”-then the lex waxin’ and THEN the sweetgrass basket {sob} with the love knots…

It was time for the present from my sister and her family. Now let me just tell you, my sister is good at many a thing…teaching, leading women, doing TONS of service to the church and our community, but her claim to fame (second only to her famous laugh-which is a lot like mine) is her ability to make people cry (usually in a happy/good way).

Today, was no exception.

Her gift was that big clear paint bucket with all the slips of paper inside. She had my parents, and sunny and her kids write all the things that were cool about me and she put them on glittery paper and made them into scrolly confetti things…now that is just awesome. I didn’t read them when I was there because honestly-I done cried enough for one day thankyouverymuch. She said that when I am having a bad day and feeling “old” (because 40 IS ancient you know) I can pull my bucket out and read all those cool things.

I am kinda lookin’ forward to it.

What is the coolest gift you have ever gotten on your birthday?

Ok, Officially, I am forty.

EEP!

I also got the crappiest present from a co-worker ever.
A cold.
He swears he didn’t double dip. He calls it dip and flip (using the other side of the chip)

“Hey its legal”
“Hey it still got my fanny sick!”

Personally, I think this just sucks.
NOT what I had invisioned as my graceful entrance into middle age.

On another note.
Spouselet gave me some great gifts to get the day started.
He saw my cubism meme and got me this fun magnet set so i can turn all my family photos into stuff worthy of Picasso!
A blank jornal (the man knows me)
A bookmark with a beautuful doggie on it
and a very sweet card.

I really want to go to the YMCA (even if I am sick) I think it will help.