That's what friends are for...

Well. Yesterday was it. The it day. The day it happened 40 years ago! Yes, it was my 40th birthday. (Oh, wow, did I say that out loud?)

The day passed with the usual pomp and circumstance--email greetings from friends and family, cards in the mail, a family dinner where my sweet husband brought me red roses and cooked Chicken Parma Rosa (good stuff) and a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. He gave me a copy of the DVD In Good Company, which was the only thing I could think of that I wanted that I didn't have that wouldn't break the budget for our Boston trip.

The girls gave me fun presents. Emilie gave me a lovely picture of a red flower that will be nice in my bathroom. The ONLY thing that gave away that it was from a garage sale was the linty dusty stuff along the top of the frame. I love that girl, she is one after my own heart. Kristen was having me help her make little ghosties from cloth and cotton balls before dinner, and lo and behold, they showed up wrapped for me! They look nice leaning up against the sterling silver candlestick holders and antiqued bronze tray filled with fall foliage on my formal dining table. My son gave me the gift of his presence after a visit to the hospital to see the youth ministers' new baby ("Jake the snake"). Oh, yeah, he also was looking at my old web site and commented that I looked much younger now than I did then. (About 8 years ago! Woo hoo!! Hope he was telling the truth and doesn't just want money...)

Heather, Fabian, and Ian were at dinner, too, and we made all the usual stupid jokes and did other silly stuff we do at dinner together. We were trying to come up with a good costume for Ryan to wear next week when the youth group goes Christmas caroling on Halloween...'cuz that's what they do. I won't tell you what Heather's idea was, but it was pretty dang funny. (It did involve a few people wearing t-shirts with certain letters on the fronts. Kind of like when you do a word scramble. That's as much as you'll get out of me.) One of the funnier ones Fabian came up with was for Ryan to dress like one of those little birds you used to be able to buy at Stuckey's when you were traveling. It bobs and bobs until it dips its beak into a little thing of red liquid, then starts over.

So, anyway, all in all it was a pretty good day. The highlight, however, was when my friend came over to eat lunch. I won't mention any names because she is pretty embarrassed about this, but I loved it! She and I share a birthday week, so she always remembers my birthday. She'll usually mention it a week or so ahead of time, and has sent me a card or email greeting many a time, but never forgets. I am bad about remembering hers, even though it's only a few days after mine!

So, yesterday, my friend gave me the BEST present a friend could give you on your 40th birthday. She forgot!!!! It was hilarious. When she mentioned coming over for lunch so we could talk some work stuff, I figured she knew it was birthday. So, she comes to the house around 11 and spends about three hours. I had bought these yummy sandwiches from Costco that we took our time over, and talked. We can pass a LOT of time just talking about stuff, and typically don't try to get together if we have lots to do, because we know time will pass. There wasn't anything obvious around the house to remind her about my b-day. Except maybe the birthday cards on the kitchen counter.

So, about 15 minutes after she left the house, my cell phone rings. My friend leaves a message because I can't get to the phone. It says, "Julie. Call me as soon as you get this." So, I am cracking up at this point, knowing what she is going to say. I call her and she doesn't even say, "Hello?" Instead she yells, "I am the WORST FRIEND EVER! JUST WRITE ME OFF YOUR FRIEND LIST!!" I am just laughing, and telling her not to worry, that I thought it was funny.

She doesn't believe me, I don't think. She will probably hate me for writing this post about it. Hopefully, she will forgive me. But, honestly, my friend of 18 years or so, who has known me since I was almost a pup, or at least since I was a "cute YOUNG mom" gave me the BEST PRESENT OF MY 40TH BIRTHDAY!!!! She forgot. I love you!!

Mum-ified

Well, this year was the third year Ryan and Whitney did the unique Texas tradition of exchanging "mums" and "garters" for homecoming. They decided that they had had enough of the cute little teddy bears and footballs and traditional homecoming decor, and this year was going to be "Random Mum" year. I had the honor and privilege of assisting my son (i.e. I made it while he watched) with building his. For your viewing pleasure, attached is a picture of him holding the completed product. The hanger is just for moving and storage, although it might have been a nice permanent touch. Apparently, it was a hit at good ol' Nolan High today (Whitney's school). She said people came up to her all day and said, "So-and-so told me I had to come see your mum!!" and a lady who works there that goes to our church found a camera and took a picture of her for the yearbook. I'm wondering if this is the first time in history someone has had this idea. I guess it's kind of like decorating your Christmas tree with kitchen gadgets and super-sized bottles of household cleaners and personal items, maybe? It's just not done. Well, it has now been done, and Ryan and Whitney have made it through another year together and both are known school-wide for their antics. Did I mention previously that Ryan won the best 80s costume and best spirit at his schoolwide pep rally a few weeks ago? See picture down a few posts. I couldn't bring myself to comment at the time. Forgive me for using the word "random" in three posts in a row. It was not intentional.

Figure of speech, anyone?

I get into these random discussions with friends, co-workers, my SPOUSE...about what figures of speech really mean. I guess it's my obsession with grammar and other wordy type preoccupations. Tonight at the dinner table, we had a debate on the REAL meaning of the word "next" in the context of the days of the week. I told them (those people who were arguing with me) that I was going to post a ballot on my blog. My husband said he was going to vote anonymously many times in order to win, but he can't get away with it. I don't have that many readers. >:-}

Here is the question. If it is Tuesday, and you say, "Next Thursday we are going to a concert." or some similar statement, are you referring to the Thursday two days later than today, or the Thursday falling 9 days later the next week? Please vote.

a) Two days later
b) Next week, i.e. 9 days later
c) Why are you people so flippin' obsessed with stuff like this? I have better things to worry about!

Thanks!

p.s. If you voted c, why did you take the time to vote?

Random farmer and little girl

Punkin' Patch

Wow. First picture I've been able to tolerate of myself in a long, long time. I HATE MY BRACES!! I am SO ready to be done with them. I love having teeth with warts. At least that what they look like to me! Oh, well. We had fun today. We took the girls and Ian to a farm out in the country and played with pumpkins and ate really expensive hot dogs and hamburgers while we were there. Supposedly, the money all goes to Young Life, so I guess I won't feel too cheated, but $20 for two hamburgers, a hotdog, three cokes and two bags of chips. That's worse than the fair! Ian found a teeny tiny pumpkin and made it his new pacifier. Pretty funny! I couldn't get a picture of it, but I have some other cute ones I'll post.

Yeah.