Happy Birthday to Me, and Happy New Year to You

Since Christmas:
The Day after Christmas is my birthday. HH took the girls & me out to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. I wasn't sure how it would go with the girls there too-- it was a necessity because we hadn't planned ahead enough to have someone babysit at dinnertime--but it was IDEAL. The food was absolutely delish, the girls were well-behaved, and the restaurant was gorgeous.

We did have a few "post-cruise" laughs-- HH pointed out the differences between the waitress & our server on the cruise (Christopher): The waitress never said, "I cannot say no to you" or anything that resembled "You can't decide? I'll bring you both" or "If you don't like it then I'll bring you something else." She also didn't read our menu to us with her recommendations (and even if she had, I wouldn't have known whether to trust her, unlike our beloved Chris).

This is a slight tangent, but speaking of HH's post-travel humor: Monkey has a bad habit of dropping food onto the floor if she doesn't want to eat it. So after we were back & she dropped some food, HH said, "Monkey, if you don't want it, just leave it on the tray and 'someone will be by to collect it shortly'."

OK, back to my birthday lunch: I found myself thinking that I wouldn't trade the lunch with the girls there (me basking in a very happy family moment) with a quiet dinner with HH, though I'm sure that would have been lovely too. It was just too perfect with my little family all together.

After lunch HH suggested we walk across the street to the park to check out the ice skating. It was cold but clear and sunny, and the park was delightful. The girls got to see doggies & ducks & ice skaters & fountains & a moat-thing, and play on the playground. As we were leaving I found myself thinking that it was one of the best birthdays ever.

We also ran some errands, came home and ate leftovers from Christmas, & I opened my presents. Then we put the girls to bed & we watched "Julie & Julia," which I enjoyed. HH slept through it entirely, but I knew he was feeling a bit sick & was really tired. The fact that he cuddled with me on the couch REGARDLESS was actually like an extra birthday present.

So, that's my birthday. Monday morning I woke up in a bit of a funk & HASTILY took down all of the Christmas decorations & deleted 2/3 of my facebook "friends." I totally wanted to declutter, you know? (NOTE: If I deleted you, please don't be offended. Some people I felt were better kept in touch with via blogs or email...I'm not really into facebook)

That evening was my niece Rachel's wedding open house. I let Chick pick her own dress, and when it was time to go I discovered that she had also ACCESSORIZED all on her own (the gloves).

You can't tell so well in the picture, but her gloves have pink satin bows, but they're on wrong-side-up because the tag "was boggering her."

Chick was excited to "match" Rachel (who looked gorgeous, of course...she always does, even in normal clothes, let alone a stunning wedding dress)

Chick had no problem going into the area where all of the teenage boys were & (dare I say) FLIRTING with them (or at least the one next to her). When I was her age I flirted with my older sisters' boyfriends/fiancees, so I guess it's all good. (They just had the fireplace rebuilt...isn't it lovely?!)

For New Years Eve, I kicked out 2009 by going thrift store shopping (I had a VV $50 off $100 coupon that I didn't want to pass up--especially since the 2010 calendar didn't have that coupon). They closed at 5, so I had to take the girls during the day, but they were surprisingly well-behaved & were rewarded with a trip to the McDonalds Playland. Anyhow, I didn't take a picture of everything, but I got some good loot : ) Nice grow-into coats for the girlies, some maternity clothes for me, one of those ice cream maker balls for camping, a brand new little (1.5 qt?) crock pot, some sewing notions, and the most expensive item was a pair of shoes--still new, and Italian & the perfect fit. Yay. It was a really fun trip. I also bought the dvd of "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio," but my review of that is: good to see once, but far too sad for me to want to watch repeatedly.

We didn't do anything special for the new year--I did stay up, because I couldn't put my book down. On New Years day we just hung out at home (More games of Hello Kitty BINGO. Thank you G'ma J, Chick loves it!) and babysat my niece that evening.

LASTLY, (I know, this is a very text-heavy posting) here are my New Years Resolutions.

• Have FHE each week
• Follow Flylady to the "T"
• Remodel the Kitchen
• Log onto sparkpeople daily
• Save $50/month
• Entertain guests once a month
• Write & follow a dinner menu

I forgot my resolutions for 2009 as soon as I wrote them, practically, but this year I'm determined to stay focused!

(G&G N got these darling piggy banks for the girls for Christmas...they are here to represent my goal to save money each month. I told HH that I was thinking of sewing my credit card into the lining of my purse, to help me think twice before using it...he said he thought that was a really weird idea.)