A Very Lovely Birthday

It is no secret to those who know me that I love birthdays – LOVE THEM!

Some may say, “well you are only 28, what till you get older and tell me what you think”. As of 4-22-08 I don’t believe that. (See why below) I just L.O.V.E. my birthday and, for that matter, I totally love other people’s birthdays!

So here are some highlights from my birthday weekend!

* My parents came in to town! (thank you for EVERYTHING mom & dad)
* We went to Nagoya Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Restaurant over the weekend and had an overall good dinner, sans our rice! (blog to come)
* 2 Yummy Flirtinis at the restaurant…could have had a few more of these!
* I got the following DVD’s: Sweeny Todd, Across the Universe, Little Shop of Horrors, Must Love Dogs, and Psych Season 1 – AWESOME!
* I got Carnival Games for our Wii (my arms are sore from this game!)

*K. and I played Wii for hours and unlocked all of the Cooking Mama recipes...Bring on Cooking Mama 2!
* I got a fabulous 8 qt Rachael Ray pasta pot with orange handles! LOVE IT! I also got my first, true glass pie pan, and a 3 piece non-stick skillet set! Who knows me?!

*I hung out with my family and some friends.
* I will be getting the John Barrowman’s book once it comes out. (K. you rock)
* T. got me a spa package! (total surprise to me!)
* I got My Chemical Romance Black Parade album on Vinyl
* I got a Red Velvet Cake, a DQ Ice Cream cake AND a combined Red Velvet & Ice Cream Cake! Yes, I shared with others!
* I had a Wonderful surprise lunch Monday at work. Thanks again for your fantastic sneaky surprise M., A., S., & MD.

*Had some time just for myself.
* I took Tuesday off work! Enough said.
* I got a fantastic facial (blog to come)
* T., my sister and I went to PF Changs and had a very delicious dinner.

*T. and I rented some movies and just chilled.

And most importantly,
* I had many wonderfully kind and flattering birthday wishes from my friends and family! Thank you all!

I realize that I am blessed with a great family, an Awesome Husband, and fantastic friends and I do not for one second take that for granted. The list above is not to gloat but to say thank you b/c people put so much thought into the last few days and I am truly appreciative of them and in awe of their kindness & generosity.

The thing about birthdays is that they not only make me happy but they are also a time for reflection….sure you are one year older, maybe you are not exactly where you thought you would be by that age, maybe things didn’t go exactly how you wanted that year, maybe even bad things happened, but the thing is you HAD a birthday. You are at the start of another year to live your life to its fullest with the people in your life you love the most. You have a new year to make the most of the time you DO have. You shouldn’t be sad about this because if anything your birthday should be a reminder to just live. Sure the presents are nice, and if you can spoil yourself that is a bonus, but ultimately (for me) a birthday is the time to reflect on your previous year and a reminder to just live and take whatever the new year has in store for you…b/c that is life and that is just fantastic. Yes, I can be overly optimistic (with a dash of realism) but I get one shot to live my life to its fullest, love the best I can, and be the person who I (and hopefully others) can be proud of. To me, a birthday is a reminder of the most important "gifts" in my life I have and a time to celebrate with those dearest to my heart.

Yep, that is why I love birthdays! Oh, ok…and the presents are nice too! ;)