A Leprechaun Birthday

Today is my husband's birthday. I doubt he is wearing green, but you never know. He works an early shift so going out to dinner can be kind of tough to coordinate in order to get him and my son, a night owl like me, to be hungry at the same time. So it was decided we would do something this weekend instead.

The good thing about my husband's birthday attitude is that he attempts to make every day such a good day that a special event like a birthday or anniversary has almost no meaning for him. He doesn't require specific dates on a calendar to decide if a day should be special or not. He looks at every day as special. Isn't that great?

Too bad he married such a romantic that DOES like those special days as reminders. Just goes to show you I could use a healthy attitude adjustment, but I don't think I'll ever reach his "par". I'll just enjoy the smiles I get from him every day and bask in that glow.

Happy Birthday, Honey...now, make a wish!



Get your green on everyone...oh, you aren't wearing green today??? Pinch!

I remember so clearly...

My son turns 22 today. I remember so clearly the day he was born that it is amazing...considering how much I forGET these days! At my current age, my mom already had her first 2 grandchildren and my son is only now preparing to move away from home (at the same age as I did). I am also 9 years older than my mother was when she had a 22 year old child (me) so she was still sharp as a tack. My poor son has had to deal with my feebling old mind since he was 17! (I'm sure he'd say it was longer than that).


It is really tough to NOT tell a child the story of his birth day...think of poor Billy Crystal's character in "City Slickers" whose mother called him every year after midnight to recant...once AGAIN...his birth story...geez! Well, I will just enjoy the fact that I still have my darling just-turned-4-years-old nephew with whom I can share childhood with. I visited him and his mommy & daddy for a sugar cookie holiday bake fest this week. I stayed overnight and gosh, it was so much fun watching him roll, cut, and decorate. It was funny because he only wanted the pumpkin cookie shape...and would only DECorate the pumpkin shapes!


They turned out messy, pretty, yummy and crumbly...mmmm...nom, nom, nom. In my own home, the three of us just did not feel like going through all the Christmas tree doings so I just strung lights on the stair bannister instead.


Some of the best gifts I received at our family celebration were copies of my mom's special recipes, written in her beautiful penmanship, AND her and my dad's wedding bands since Dad has remarried and Mom passed away in 2002. I am so happy that her ring fits on my pinky so I can wear it next to my own wedding band. Man, her ring is a real wide hunk of gold, with minute scratches but no warping. Not bad for 50 years of wear on a 14 karat ring. Nice to have her "with" me daily.

Even Better

Not much to say since I'm working on custom orders & a few more Christmas pieces of jewelry.
Just wanted to show you my birthday flowers after 5 days...even better than the first day!

See you soon.

Inside Out

This vase of flowers from my husband started my Thanksgiving, which was also my birthday (falls on this day every 7 years). The lilies are big and fat and the roses pink & fragrant. He brought these to me with a sweet card and a fresh pot of coffee...ahhhhh. Then we drove up to Napa where my sister was hosting Thanksgiving. The drive is only a little over an hour so that is a treat in itself.

We actually ended up with the grouping of family we expected at Christmas, but Thanksgiving turned itself inside out this year.


Originally, we were due to visit my in-laws for several days but the entire household became ill and we didn't get a phone call until Tuesday. I thought, wow, so maybe we'll just stay home but we aren't prepared to cook a turkey dinner, and I sure didn't want to spend my birthday doing THAT! So I called Sis and she was SO happy since her regular group of people weren't coming and she was down to her family of 3 plus her father-in-law.

As it turns out, my dad & stepmom had to cancel their southern California plans as well, so they were looking for an invite somewhere. We ended up with 9 munchers and Sis was so happy to insert her table's extension to accommodate us all. She and her dad-in-law fixed all the food while her husband smoked a turkey and baked pies.

The side dishes were pretty awesome and it was tough to pick a favorite. When I was young, I would demand one entire turkey drumstick which is pretty crazy since we were a family of nine who always had one other family of 6 at the table. But I got it a couple of times.

Well, bro-in-law offered the drumstick to me so I happily took it...heehee.

It will be interesting to see what happens at Christmas! Did any of you have a quick flip flop of plans for turkey day? I'm wondering if this occurred for a lot of people this year.

Happy Birthday to me, I feel like A Little Princess!

It's my birthday today and I just had to share something funny with you. Last night my hard working husband was getting ready for bed and he said to me, "oh, Honey, I'm SO sorry. I didn't get you anything for your birthday! No card, no flowers...I'm sorry".

Well, I raised my eyebrows and replied, "Oh yeah? Well, my birthday isn't until tomorrow, there's still time" and we both laughed.

Well, I awoke this morning and immediately checked email at my bedroom computer. My husband had sent a message saying, "Hello Birthday Girl, did you enjoy it? Tell me all about it!". I replied that I had just started my day and there was nothing to tell yet.



So, I finished my emails and was walking downstairs thinking about his greeting and I thought, oh! He must left me a little something this morning before work..THAT's what he meant!

Well..that little something was not only a card, and not only a dozen roses in 4 colors, but also a gigantic cupcake balloon (me LOVE cupcake anything!) and a fresh pot of coffee (his is the BEST). Wow what a huge surprise from someone who had nothing the night before!

This means he went out early this morning to do all this just for me before he went to work...what a wonderful guy! I was about to pour my coffee when I noticed the balloon had a little tag


that said "I sing!" (last photo) so I tapped it and this woman, backed up by a full band began to sing "happy birthday" loud and fast! I just cracked up and danced as I poured my coffee...hiLARious! Singing cards I've heard of, but a singing balloon? Never.

When I brushed past the balloon to grab an apple...it played. When I brushed against it to open the curtains...it played.


This thing is so sensitive it takes very little to activate. I called my husband to thank him and when he answered I tapped the balloon again to make it sing for him. He said that there he was in the car on the way home with all my gifts and every bump in the road set that darned balloon off...it sang to him all the way home....funNEEE!


Betcha that's the last time I get a singing birthday balloon! Next year my birthday is smack dab ON Thanksgiving which is the day we usually travel to see family so I have to say that I'm glad THIS year's birthday is toDAY so I can go see "Four Christmases" with my son before he cooks me dinner for my present.

Oh, my other surprise today was my son leaving a video on my worktable... (yes, videos are apparently still in production) of one of my favorite stories, "A little Princess". I love stories of coming of age and rags to riches and this has all that. Good move, Son.

Plus, my friend who is retiring next year just contacted me to say his new manufactured home is being installed on his property today. He is at work and can't be there...he is just itching with excitement, so this is a day to remember for several reasons.

So you can see I have extras to be thankful for this holiday, two men in my life that sure like to make me feel good. I'm thankful I could entertain you today with my story. Happy Thanksgiving.

Lazy, hazy days of Summer

A touch of Christmas for you even though our weather here in northern California is very much like summer. While my friend in Illinois was cozy in her slippers, I was in my bare feet!

We had such miserable batches of heat this summer and now we are being rewarded with the most perfect weather. I took my walk yesterday at 3:30 in the afternoon and the sun was still warm and the air was still. Just incredible in the middle of November.

A section of the condos we live in have been getting new roofing. When the company quoted they could start in early November I expected months of these condos with plastic sheeting in the midst of
rain. But the project is nearly complete with not a raindrop in sight. Sadly, this all is a reminder of the water situation over here as well. Lakes have been dangerously low for a few years now.

Today I have photos of some fun Christmas items from my MomsArt shop on Etsy: a delicate clear glass ornament filled with the most amazing handcrafted origami "lucky stars". I purchased the stars on Etsy and they are each so perfect. I

cannot imagine my fingers being able to craft such teeny perfections. They are bright and shiny in jewel tones. I also punched some Christmas tree stickers from my favorite and most popular "Paris Chic" paper. The pinks, blacks and whites are so pretty and there are 5 patterns that make the set a whole lot of fun.

Lastly, no more jewelry consignment for me. I don't enjoy the pricing structure, so I have in my hands a necklace that is so pretty in black and white (left). Thanks to Lezlie Belanger, it's got a big handcrafted round focal bead topped by a tube with delicate white swirls, all suspended from a black silk ribbon. Available at RockerJewlz.etsy.com.

My birthday is the day before Thanksgiving this year which is already next week...wow! We will probably go to Kincaid's in Burlingame, a wonderful restaurant across the bay from the SFO airport where we can see jumbo jets arrive and depart but don't hear them. They have the most scrumptious food and elegant atmosphere. Then we are off to be with my in-laws.

My wish for you is that no matter the situation in your lives that you are thankful for whatever good you have.