37 Candles

Yikes -- that's enough to light a small village! Fortunately, no one was dumb enough to try and light that many candles at one time... but I did have my very own princess cake :) My friends at work really went out of their way to give me a special day... from a large choir singing down the halls of our office, to balloons, cards, candies, cookies, cakes, pizza and then an evening out with my two favorite boys (and one of Dallas's sweet friends). I think everyone was trying to fatten me up a bit. But seriously, it was a great day!

And it got me trying to remember some of my other memorable birthdays. Unfortunately, I really do have a bad memory...I mean really bad. Bad enough that I worry about how bad it is :) My grandma had Alzheimers and both of my parents have pretty poor memories (I have proof -- my mom thought this was my 34th birthday and my dad thought it was last weekend.), so I guess it really depresses me to know that mine is slipping, too.

The first one I can vividly remember was my fifth birthday. I remember my mom made me a cake that looked like a doll and I wore a dress similar to the one on the cake. This was a big deal for me as I have never been one to wear dresses OR play with dolls. I also remember that birthday because it was my first glimpse of how selfish and self absorbed I could be. My mom gave me a lovely party with my friends from school (Sargent school at that time). We played games and I remember getting angry and crying and pitching an all out temper tantrum when I didn't win "Pin the Tail on the Donkey". (I really did want to win that prize!) How horrified my mom must have been!

Somewhere around 12 or 13, my mom threw me a surprise party at our home in Littleton, Colorado. I remember that one because I had been fighting with some of my good friends at the time and I think my mom threw the party hoping to mend our friendships. I was shocked to hear them yell surprise and even though we didn't really make up that night, we are all still friends to this day, so it obviously all worked out in the end. My mom has always gone above and beyond the call of duty to make my birthdays (and every other day) as special as she possibly could. I am very blessed to have such a wonderful mother!!

My 16th birthday was a good one! My gift was a pink MG convertable! I know what your thinking... pink?? But lets remember back to that 5th birthday I described... I was a bit self-absorbed and rather spoiled. SO -- of course, if I wanted a pink car-- a pink car it was! This was a gift from my dad and even though it only lasted 6 months before I was run over by a 1 ton farmers pick-up truck, it was still a very generous and awesome gift. Plus it went well with the image of "Barbie" that was perpetuating around town about me and my fellow blonde friends :)

21st... I remember this one because I was holding my three month old daughter in my arms! Also, my good friends from Target (where I was working at the time) took me out on the town to celebrate the fact that I could OFFICIALLY buy alcohol and hit the night clubs. Not that I was much of a night clubber... I never seemed to fit into that crowd. Also, my dad took me to Cripple Creek for that birthday to have my first go at gambling. I lost $200 and decided I didn't need to do that ever again. I haven't.

I've been with Bart since my 23rd birthday and he has frequently gone out of his way to make the day special for me. This year he bought me a new road bike, which I so desperately needed and wanted! It's beautiful and I love him for spoiling me with some new wheels... blue this time, with two wheels instead of four! Besides... remember, I do like to be spoiled... it really is ALL ABOUT ME, right?? :)