. . . is it too late? . . .

. . . six days ago i turned fifty-three . . .

. . . i've been meaning to blog about it . . .

. . . best laid plans . . .

. . . blah, blah, blah . . .

. . . anyway ~ my "special" day started

around three in the morning . . .

{my bladder is like a newborn . . . it never sleeps through the night any more}

. . . then, when my brain didn't go right back to sleep, what else was there to do

but check email and facebook? . . .

. . . where i already

had several happy birthday wishes . . .

{including an original limerick ~ which is quite amazing ~

seeing how not that much rhymes with stephanie}

. . . thanks to my night owl and east coast friends . . .

{hi, friends!!}

. . . i eventually managed to sleep in until about 6:30,

which was awesome . . .

. . . but getting ready for the day took forever . . .

. . . what with the constant tri-tone iPhone alerts

signaling facebook posts . . .

{and taking my turns at words with friends ~ do you play? addictive!}

. . . facebook made me feel super popular,

and it was fantastic!!! . . .

. . . seriously! thanks so much for all the love . . .

. . . i finally left the house ~

destination el charro! . . .

. . . with my mom and my husband . . .

. . . what you may not know is

el charro closes for vacation every july . . .

. . . they stay closed all of august . . .

{those are dark, dark days . . .}

. . . but they always reopen

just in time for my birthday . . .

. . . bless their hearts! . . .

. . . fun fact: i almost always order

a green chili burro enchilada style

with a side of beans . . .

. . . the same thing i used to order

over thirty years ago

when i worked at brown and brown chevrolet

and went there on lunch dates . . .

. . . i am nothing if not consistent . . .

{night time google image ~ but we went there in the daytime}

. . . for dinner, we took advantage

of the birthday special at joe's . . .

. . . and why not? . . .

. . . the two people in front of me in line

were ordering free birthday meals, too . . .

. . . how in the world do they make any money? . . .

{day time google image, but we went there at night time ~ so confusing!}

. . . my sweet mom gave me this pretty perfume . . .

. . . we both admit we don't have

the most discerning sense of sniff . . .

. . . but i do know this smells really good . . .

. . . got a couple of these . . .

. . . i'm thinking ♫♪♫♫♪♫♫♪♫ . . .

. . . maybe cds . . .

. . . maybe prelude music . . .

. . . thanks, generous friends! . . .

. . . even apple's gift cards are classy . . .

. . . this one came from amber's family . . .

. . . i was so surprised . . .

{wink, wink!}

. . . i'm supposed to spend it

on a cover for one of these . . .

. . . oh, my goodness! . . .

. . . thank you, best husband ever! . . .

. . . we had an little email malfunction

the day before . . .

. . . "reply all" can create a sticky situation . . .

. . . but it's all good . . .

{read bill's comment}

. . . drew remains my least favorite

and my most favorite son . . .

. . . not pictured: a child~size thomas the train

table and chairs . . .

. . . thanks to manders' and mimi's families . . .

{what? are the boys tired of sitting at the disney princess table?}

. . . i spent part of the day working

on some church stuff . . .

. . . invitations for a young women event . . .

{did you know there are fabulous people out there

who create beautiful things and are willing to share them?}

. . . they turned out darling . . .

. . . i did take time for

a little online retail fabric therapy . . .

. . . i've been waiting and waiting

for this fabric line to appear . . .

. . . and now it appeared in my mailbox! . . .

. . . heaven in the form of priority mail . . .

. . . but my main obsession these past few days . . .

. . . has been this top secret sewing project . . .

. . . involving lots of aqua . . .

. . . with a touch of cheetah . . .

. . . and plenty of snuggly minky . . .

. . . i finally dropped it off

at the quilter this afternoon . . .

. . . now, just as soon as

the fox/google republican debate is over . . .

. . . i probably ought to get started

writing my talk for church . . .

:(

. . . to sum up: •a year older

•thank yous all around

•projects finished

•go mitt

•speak in church . . .