33!

My birthday was last Sunday, and my family conspired to make it a wonderful day for me. It was a busy day, with both church and bible study, but we also had a nice lunch from Macaroni Grill, delivered by my brother and eaten with the addition of Steve's sister. I almost got a nap, but The Boy didn't seem to get the memo about when he was to fall asleep for his nap. I did get some alone time during the day, too, and some football time (watching, not playing). A big kudos to Kristen for bring lasagna to Bible Study for me! We finished it off with a big fat cookie cake from a new (to me) cookie place. Yum!!

Is this a happy birthday or what? The "33" I'm holding are from my birthday gift. I asked for our street address numbers to put on the side of the house. It's something I've wanted, but they aren't cheap, and there's always something we need more. I decided, Hey, this is actually what I want, why not ask for it?? And look at the smile on my girl... precious!
These came from my dear sister-in-law. It was a gorgeous Autumn arrangement with oranges, yellows, reds and lavendars. I still have 2 lilies left standing a week later.

And this little sweetheart is a gift. He is 3 months old today!! So a happy birthday to you, too, little Chunk!

Um, could we talk about ME now?

Ha ha! =) Just kidding. Isn't this blog all about ME anyway? =)

Thought I'd post a couple of fun pictures of yesteryear just for the heck of it. It's been a good life so far, and I'm so thankful.

My graduation from Biola. that was such a good day!

Speaking of good days...
Okay, tell me that's not just too cute? Little girls in tutus are just cute.
First day of school. LOVE my bowl cut. =) And I noticed recently that the cal students are still wearing that exact same Cal shirt my dad has on.
My mom painted this for my birthday, and I had it in my dorm room all through college. It is hanging in his office now, right by where they weigh the babies.

Learning to Like Tomatoes

So I'm 33 years old minus 9 days. Grown up enough not to whine about my own pickiness, right? I remember a few of those moments when food I didn't like was placed in front of me and I had to suck it up and chew, and smile, gosh darnit. There are some things which I think I may never like. Curry. Walnuts in pastries. I've given sushi a good, solid try since childhood (one of my close friends was Japanese). Coconut (with the exception of coconut flavor. I could go for a pina colada right! this! second!).

But then there are the foods that I think have been worth learning to like. Coffee, for example. Calorie-free, easily accessible, and socially useful. Now that I'm nursing, I'm drinking only decaf, but the action of sipping my morning brew is cathartic. Almost like I think a cigarette might be, only without all the deadly stuff. And because I am drinking Swiss-water decaf, it doesn't carry any of the scariness of chemical decaf. And no calories!! Did I mention that?? It took me several years in college of triple choclate mochas, then down to lattes, then Americanos with cream, and now I just like me the plain stuff. I love it HOT, and I love to sip it all morning long.

So now I am working on tomatoes. My dad hated them when I was a kid, and it was kind of a big joke in the family. Plus once when I was a kid I thought it would be fun to work a day in the cafeteria (you got to leave class early), and they served canned stewed tomatoes in the hot lunch line. Ew. No wonder I've been off tomatoes. But as I've grown up, I learned to appreciate the many iterations of tomatoes. Tomato sauce, salsa, dishes made with tomato paste in them. So I'm on a mission to learn to like tomatoes in the next 10 years. Start slow, incorporate bits here and there. Guys, I ate a sandwich with a tomato in it last week. And it was good! So are you proud of me??

Wow, ramble, ramble.