Most Certainly Not: 38-Special

Today was my birthday. I'm 38. It occurs to me that I am getting old. And, it's funny that in my 20's when I was skinny and perky and energetic, I was not exercising, eating right, etc. Now, though? I'm actually trying to run and not eat as much junk. I suppose had I appreciated my ridiculously high metabolism when I had it, I might not find myself in the dire straits I'm in now, but whatever. Bygones. I'm down three pounds from the last time I checked and that's saying something given the holidays and my lack of regular running thanks to the arctic temperatures.

My birthday weekend started in a lovely way when we arrived home Friday and found a box from Proflowers.com on the front porch.

My husband had sent me a huge bouquet of dendrobium orchids.

Each stem had its own little water holder so that flowers arrived in top condition. There are lots of blooms waiting to open too, so I'm sure by the end of the week, it will be even more lovely, if that's possible. The color is amazing and the shapes of the flowers are very delicate.

I absolutely love this bouquet.

Usually, my husband sends the most beautiful roses, so I was very surprised when I opened the box and found these beauties inside it.

I very much appreciated the fact that even though he is very far away with horrible internet speed, he took the time to order me something so pretty for my birthday. And, additionally, to attempt to wish me a happy birthday at the right time, given the time differences, with comical results. He's a good egg.

Yesterday, I had a minor meltdown contemplating the busy day. WAY too much going on and I had to miss M1's first tournament game to take M2 to her basketball game. My mom, who is a gem among women, drove down and set to work handling mountains of laundry, horrific scenes in both girls' rooms and babysitting duty for M2 so I could go to a Euchre Party unattended by wee ones.

The euchre party was so much fun. My friend, Mo, hosted and she and her husband, Chris, are wonderful hosts. Great food, great friends and a lot of fun. I didn't even play so badly which was nice. I think I actually remembered more about the game than I forgot for once.

This morning, my mom hung out for a bit and took some Ethiopian coffee to go. My in-laws came to take M2 and I to brunch/lunch. They had lunch, I had blueberry pancakes--it's my birthday. We did a run through Target and hit Tim Horton's before they took us home.

M2 visited with the neighbor's granddaughter this afternoon while I watched three episodes of Burn Notice. Then, M1 arrived home and we headed to Cheesecake Factory to meet the Momtourage for birthday dinner/dessert. Another evening of good food and good friends and fun conversation. I really do have two of the nicest women in town watching my back--thank you K-Wow and Mo.

The girls were very sweet on my birthday. M1 coerced her dad into helping her bring home a gift for me, complete with a gift bag and card.

The Michael Buble CD she picked out is terrific and it isn't lost on me that her favorite song is on the CD. I'm sure she will load it all on her iPod too.

Sneaky!

The girls also presented me with a coupon for a night in a hotel ALONE, funded (I'm sure) by Grandma. I'm not sure Mamaw anticipated M2's idea of what this means. M2 told me I could go wherever I want and that I would be allowed to stay until Sunday--that's a WHOLE week, she said. She suggested that I go to Florida and stay where we did when we went to Disney. At the Grand Floridian, she thought I'd enjoy the hot tub and going on all the rides at the Magic Kingdom. She thought it would be very relaxing. I think I could tell that M1 brokered the deal with Mamaw because the details M2 would have added would have been deal breakers, to be sure!

I also decided today that it might be fun to participate in the 365 Project. I thought starting the photo-a-day for a year project on my birthday would be a good way to go. Today's photo was taken on my cell phone (so the quality is janked), but

I'm thinking my photo quality will get better later this week.

Today's photo choice is from our dinner out--tropical iced tea at Cheesecake Factory.

Very yummy stuff!

I decided I could go confidently into my 38th year knowing that I will have some wonderful days and milestones to photograph.

My husband is coming home. My daughter is coming home. I will be seeing my SpouseBuzz Friends. M1 and M2 will continue to grow. My nephews will be doing fun things. We will be welcoming some new babies into the world very soon. And, I'm also determined to appreciate even the simple things like a glass of iced tea on a table in a restaurant where I'm seated with my girls, my friends and my friend's daughter--these are the things I want to remember when I look back on these photos as the year passes.

Oh! And, the birthday present I purchased for myself? Like I needed anything, but whatever. Sears advertised in today's paper a camera I've had my eye on.

As I'm not prepared to shell out the money for an SLR camera at the moment, I decided to go for a nice, point-and-shoot with a lower profile than my current, clunkier camera.

So, I ordered a Canon Power Shot and it will be waiting for me at my local Sears this week to pick up and take home.

I love shopping at Sears because of all they do for our military. And, when their price is a full $10 less than the other papers advertising this same camera, I'm even happier to hand them my money. Thanks, Sears!