Celebrate Good Times

 This year I had not one day of birthday celebration.... I had a whole weekend! It was awesome. Here were some of the festivities-
First up was the "WICKED" themed birthday party, complete with an approximation of the Emerald City, and entertainment for everyone consisting of me popping many balloons with my bare hands. You know, you actually get used to the popping sound after awhile...

The balloons contained pieces of a message that I had to assemble - despite my dismal puzzle skills.

This awesome cake was made by my friend Kristi. She is becoming quite the accomplished cake decorator! 

Phase 2 involved a date with my 2 favorite guys to the Provo Beach Resort in Provo Riverwoods. It was a wonderful introduction to the Christmas Season. Afterward, we headed back to my parents' house for the family presents & cake.

The boys hadn't quite decided on their Christmas lists, but came up with "transformers" and "treats".

Yes, that's a big, fat, ol' 4 - 0 on my cake. I'm trying to "own it"!

The sweetie of the family - looks a little tired....

Phase 3 was a little more complicated - it involved a flight to San Francisco and the addition of one of my best friends in the whole world! We enjoyed staying in a fancy, famous hotel, "The Westin St. Francis", right on Union Square. The morning of my actual birthday, we were awoken to room service and had breakfast in bed - it felt so luxurious! We spent the day shopping, ice-skating in Union Square (well, I did, while K. took pictures of me), and eating at Cheesecake Factory. I loved the excitement and energy of the city! SF is one of my favorite cities of all time.

The best hotel bed I've ever slept on!

Nice view, eh?

Breakfast in Bed Birthday morning...

Shopping!

Gotta love The Cheesecake Factory.

Macys Christmas floor...

Admitting you are having a baby is the first step...

The Hawaii Tree

My favorite cheesecake!

My awesome "Mermaid-colored" manicure.

The next morning began with a rare manicure (thanks K.), ending up with bright blue-green fingernails. We then spent the day at a science exploratorium in the Golden Gate Park, Bakers Beach, and Pier 39.

Our trip to the "Rainforest"

The coolest aquarium creatures!

Showing my joy at being on the beach.

Pier 39 decked out in Christmas lights. 

My ice-skating adventure on the rink in the center of Union Square. 

40

I love my birthdays. It is MY special day, better than all the other 364. It has something to do with my "love language" and how I love gifts - not the gifts themselves, but what the gifts mean to me - that the gift-giver cares about me.

However, this year is different. This year, I have dreaded my birthday, knowing it marks a passage of time in my life and perhaps represents the loss of what I have wanted most in my life. Women, unfortunately, have what we refer to as a "biological clock" that feels at times more like a ticking time bomb to the end of child-bearing years.

Yeah, that's how I feel about it...

I have a friend who turns 40 just a few days before I do, and last week I was looking for a card to mail to her. The one I found has helped with a recent attitude adjustment. I wouldn't go so far as to say I accept my age, but at least I can find some appreciation for it.

This is what the card said:

"Forty is knowing what you want and making it happen...
Forty is learning from the past and moving forward with strength and confidence...
Forty is old enough to know better and young enough to do it anyway...
Forty is a wonderful place along the pathway of your incredible life."

Thanks to the card company for helping me to see that being 40 is not all bad. I am going to look back on the last decade of my life and try to appreciate rather than lament.

Halloween 2011

This year, for some reason, I didn't get as many Halloween pictures. I had fun, however, acting out my part of "Cruella DeVil" at school. Although by the end of the day, I was sick and tired of that wig!

 My sister and her family came over in the evening to do a little trick-or-treating around our neighborhood and to show off their "haul". The boys were pretty impressed with everything they got. But I had to laugh when they said they still have candy from last Halloween!

 The boys wanted to be "blue monsters" this Halloween - I guess this comes from a Facebook game their dad plays. The masks were made by my sister. Pretty inventive, I thought - and warm!

 The cleverness of the following costumes is the play on words - my little niece, the bumblebee, is named "Bea" and her dad is a beekeeper. I helped come up with that one. (: Yes, little Bea looks grumpy and annoyed, but she usually isn't. She is actually smiling quite a bit and I was even getting her to laugh that night.