Busy Weekend.

Arg...ok...so I just spent the morning going around thanking all the lovely folks who left me birthday greetings over the weekend. Then I downloaded pictures from the weekend so I could document how busy it was. Next I spent time resizing the pictures so I could upload them more easily in non-ginormous sizes. Now I can find the darn things on my computer. In the interest of just getting a post up here since it is already after 11 am and I have a few other things that need doing today I am not going to have the pictures I intended to have. Instead, here is a boring, mostly pictureless recap of my weekend.

Friday: Mom arrived in the morning to take me out for my birthday. She decided I needed some new clothes for my birthday. I know I am weird but clothes shopping ranks just above taking out the garbage in terms of giving me pleasure. I was in need of a pair of dress pants and a half decent coat. We found a coat, a blouse, and a pair of pants on sale 50% off. I was able to use Diana's employee discount card for another 30% off. I got all three things for about $80. I LOVE a bargain! (she imparted a spirit of thriftiness in me, if not a love of clothes!) Mom took me out for a very lovely lunch too and we had a nice time together. Oh she also brought me a very cute birthday cake. See? Cute, huh? She baked the thing in a mug. She found some recipe for a single chocolate cake in a mug...in the microwave, which gives it kind of a funky texture. But the idea is for a chocolate cake fix in a pinch. It was fun and we had a good giggle over it.

Friday night: Homecoming. Mom stuck around for the parade so we could see Diana's float. Each class had to do a float related to a Disney film from the 50s. Diana's class did Alice in Wonderland. They really did a terrific job. Sorry about the lack of pictures. Trust me. Their float was awesome.

Saturday: Calypso and I worked at the Harvest Festival at a living historical farm all day where I kneaded 35 pounds of flour into pretzel dough over the course of the day. I posted about doing the same thing last year. We had beautiful weather once again and the leaves are approaching peak color. Just gorgeous. But man, I was exhaustimacated when I got home.

Saturday night: I went to shower off the grime of the day and when I came out of the shower the girls told me I was not yet allowed to leave my room. Diana had baked me a cake which just came out of the oven before I got home. When she heard the car pull in she ran the hot cake and icing ingredients into her bedroom to finish assembly. Very cute. She was a little unhappy that the cake was kind of caved in and the icing was sliding off it but I was very appreciative of the sweet offering and tickled at the efforts made. I enjoyed the tasty chocolate fix at the end of the long day. She decided I should have my cake a day early because she thought she had to be out for most of Sunday afternoon.

Sunday (the actual birthday): The commitment the girls had to an afternoon rehearsal was cancelled and they were happy. Calypso mentioned to a college aged friend at church that it was my birthday, at which point the friend insisted we come up to their house. The friend builds sounds systems that can rattle the teeth out of your head and wanted to show the latest additions. It was apparent that no other plans existed so I accepted the invitation to take the brood and Mr. Lime to watch Iron Man with the tweaked system in use. I am glad to report all our teeth are still in our respective heads. Let me just say, I was given a seat on a futon that was about 6 feet from the screen and 3 feet from the speakers. The futon bounced so violently with the sound waves that if I were in a car that bounced that much I'd take it in for work on the suspension system. Holy Moses on a pogo stick! I fear for the foundations of the house. Fun movie though. I give it 2 thumbs up.

Sunday night: The girls had a long awaited social engagement so we dropped them off. On the way home my van's brakes started making very bad grinding noises. Upon arrival home and attempted engagement of the garage door opener the door itself broke. Mr. Lime engaged in a fair bit of sulkitude. (It may not be in the dictionary, but it should be). By now I was hungry and it is well established practice that I don't cook or clean up the kitchen on my birthday or Mother's Day. I grabbed my new coat and Mr. Lime's keys and took myself to dinner at my favorite restaurant since he preferred to remain wallowing in sulkitude (and had already spent most of the day doing so anyway). Isaac was happily munching leftover birthday cake and snacks while watching a football game...nutritional rules are suspended on birthdays. You only turn 40 once.

Thanks once again to all of you who took the time to offer special greetings.