Oh yeah, my birthday

I "celebrated" my 35th birthday yesterday without fanfare. I got calls from my family and e-mails from a couple of friends which was really just the greatest thing. I'm so thankful when people remember.

The demise of the hoopala began 8 years ago when my sister gave birth to my first nephew two days after my 27th birthday. It was an amazing "gift" for the entire family and we ogled over him and knew that we were blessed to have him join the family. Then, three years later on my 30th birthday and in the middle of a regular New England blizzard, she delivered her second son. Since then, I've been basically "sharing" my birthday with both the boys. Add to that the fact that my grandmother's sister also shares a birthday with me (yes, three of us in the family have the same birthday). She turned 89 yesterday and we're overjoyed that she's still sharing her eccentricities and silly songs with us.

So basically, there's joy for my nephew because he's the youngest and joy toward my aunt because she's the oldest and I'm kind of a blip in the middle.

When the calls started coming in yesterday, I felt tremendous happiness because for a few years there, my birthday was kind of forgotten about completely. It's nice to be back among the living. Now, if I could just get one of my dearest friends to remember, that would just send me over the top. I mean, we chat several times a week and my birthdate is in my screen name. It's not like I'm asking for it to be put on the calendar or anything. Let's just say my irritation was evident after making our way through the ER recap yesterday morning.

I did get big kudos from the ladies at Curves when I showed up to work out before we went out to dinner. I guess it was a big deal that I'm so committed. I have to be. Bridesmaids dresses are bad on a good day for a skinny girl. Putting a tent on and trying to pull it off as pretty is never a good idea. So, since signing up last Friday, I've gone 5 times and since being asked to be in the vow-renewal I've lost 12 pounds. The only real pothole came last night at Smokey Bones when I tried to order the kid's grilled chicken. The waitress talked me out of it saying it was little medallions of dry chicken. So, I opted for what resulted in a large medallion of dry sirlion and one side of mashed potatoes. I didn't finish either but the ice water was good.

Turning 35 is tough I guess. I don't feel old, just not as young as I should be. Probably because of my weight. I'm hopeful that turning 36 will be a blast. Only 364 days before we find out.