Happy Birthday to Me!

I've had a really nice birthday, one of the highlights being my fun blog post from Mark and all the comments from so many people, both family and friends!! I'll comment on those on the thread itself for those who have subscribed and because I'd love to thank everyone individually. 25 so far! WOW! That is a blogger's dream! :P

I've been getting fun emails and cards and phone calls and gifts in the mail--very fun. A friend even brought an extra treat to our book club meeting this past weekend in honor of my birthday! I'm always amazed at the thoughtfulness of our good family and friends. We're so grateful. I love, love, love simple thoughtfulness--that means more to me than fancy, expensive gifts. I'm just not that kind of girl. ;)

I woke up to 2 very excited and happy kids running in to our room with awesome homemade cards (and homemade word searches!), then I got snuggles with them, and Mark brought us breakfast in bed (Dutch Babies--one of my absolute favorite foods--and sausage and OJ). Then we had a mellow morning--I enjoyed checking out the blog, playing, hanging out. I got some fun birthday calls and even got serenaded in one of them! Mark kept his clinic schedule totally clear, got someone to cover for him at the college, and put off his Google work to another day. It was SO NICE to have a totally carefree day.

We got a little bit of Chinese take out (little being the operative word--reference breakfast in bed and ludicrous amounts of sushi and other yummy foods for dinner) and ate lunch on our patio. See, one of God's birthday presents to me was a day of over 60-degree weather!! Hurrah! It was LOVELY.


While we hung out and played in the backyard (omigosh, we love our house and yard and location so so so much!!), we brought out some games and some of our friends came by for a bit--2 different families from our homeschool group called and came by to play with us in the backyard.

My friend Terrie got me a beautiful, adorable, delicate little teapot and 2 boxes of tea, including my favorite (Tension Tamer) and a new-to-me kind (a dessert tea--Almond Sunset). Mark and I drank the dessert one that evening after the kids got to sleep--it was delicious! I may have a new favorite!

So, we got all cleaned up and enjoyed a REALLY good dinner at a Japanese restaurant--here is what we ate:





Seaweed Salad (one of my favorites!)
Regular salad with yummy ginger dressing
Onion/Mushroom Soups
Miso Soups
Shrimp Tempura Dinner
Hibachi Chicken, Veggie, and Rice Dinner
An enormous "Sushi for 2" platter (that we all share)
And a few extra rolls:
*Infamity (Eel over a Shrimp Tempura and Avocado roll) -- YUM!
*Hershey Roll (whitefish, crab, and something . . . tempura shrimp? Eel? Don't remember, but it was very good and has a yummy sauce on it, too)
*Spider Rolls (another favorite)

I think that's everything. Omigosh, we got so full! (And yes, we got to-go boxes!). I swear that sushi is the one food item keeping me from going vegetarian . . .

We got home and had "cake." See, Mark and I do whatever suits our fancy for cakes--sometimes it's donuts, sometimes it's apple pie, yesterday it was cookie dough. Yep, straight up cookie dough. With a candle in it. Happy Birthday to me! We all attacked it with spoons. So very gluttonous. Yes, we woke up feeling gross after a day of gorging like this. :P But hey, we're celebrating, right? ;)



Then, I even got a bonus from a surprise night visit--a bottle of some sparkling non-alcoholic drink from our same good neighbors and friends! We love our friends! :) So sweet! I love making birthdays special and it's fun to be on the receiving end as well and enjoy birthdays with family and friends. I even have some fun dinner and ice cream dates with friends this week (the celebration really does go on and on). :P I *love* food and eating out so those are fun gifts, too!

Anyway, all in all, quite a nice and mellow day, full of fun, sunshine, family, friends, relaxation, and really good food!! Thanks, all, for being such wonderful friends! :)