Today

6:45am
I woke up later than usual this morning, probably from watching this movie last night--cute, super cute :). Soy latte at 7am, it disappeared so fast! I just might have to get a frozen something later, because I have every reason in the world to say "yes" today...

9:00am
Dance class, a perfect way to start a birthday. It was a packed studio, but the energy was electric, we were all excited to be exactly where we were. When the instructor asked what our focus should be today, I wanted to speak up and say "celebrate!!" But shyness took over and I hesitated, and someone else said "let go" and another said "surrender" and yet another said "joy!" And I realized, I didn't have to say anything at all, we were all there for the same reasons.

10:13am
I had a date with a Green Goddess dressed in spinach, kale, apples, lemon, ginger and apple juice. This is why I need a good blender friends, because I can't get enough of all things green in a cup.

1:15 pm
By this time, the happy birthday messages, calls, and texts have started dropping in, and I see that wishes are coming true...


And now I look ahead to the rest of my day, I see reading some new mags I picked up,  I see sushi in my near future, I see a few surprises being planned by the three people I love most dearly...

Oh!! And one more thing I have to share!! Speaking of surprises, look what found its way to my house anonymously yesterday! I've been subscribed  to receive handmade gifts!! For June and July I will be receiving a variety of lovelies in the mail--all from independent artisans, all handmade.  Someone knows me very very well :). It's such a wonderful idea, I just may have to share the love :)...



Have a wonderful weekend, thank you for all the birthday wishes :)!
xoxo

what I wish for

It's easy to wish for the tangible things. A blender, a new phone, our own home with a mountain view.... These things I can handle having or not, things I can control with a click of a button or a slide of a card, or even follow with a gaze accepting that I may never know its touch. Will these tangibles find a fiber of memory forty years from now when I am almost 82?

Maybe....but as I sit and listen intently for what I want, the wishes that come are nothing I can hold, nothing that can be bought with a warranty for an additional $12.99. More real and alive to me than a fancy pair of jeans, the intangibles are what I ache for. With a simple wish I dare them to sustain or bloom again just as spring and summer are promised to come. Knowing how change is a fixture congruous with time, I hold my breath and wish for the consistency of happiness that I find spattering my days. I wish for the continued health that resides in all whom I love, I hang on to bliss that exists in my closest relationships, for friendships to endure and for love to remain...I wish for the unveiling of dreams, for pathways that I have not considered, for patience, for awareness, for humility, to trust when all I want to do is scream....

It's a lot to ask, I know. I have been a lucky girl and maybe a new blender is on an easier list to cross, perhaps more of a sure thing than all that I hope for. Yet how will I know unless I try? I see 42 walking my way and though I am shy to raise my eyes I will not hide, for if these are the best days of my life, let it be so and may I never ever forget them.


xoxo

Welcoming 40

Normally I do get handmade cards, but this year Hubs decided to take the kids to the card store and have them pick their own.  I thought I'd share them with you as I think each one is telling of their personalities.

For M., who isn't quite reading on her own yet, Hubs read from one card to another for an hour, until she found one she was satisfied with.
She's six. And this is what she picked...

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, I believe I did both. Sometimes cards do express more than what we can express ourselves :).

On another note, I received another kind of card welcoming this next phase of my life...

My doctor said something rather shocking as he handed me this script. He said there is an ongoing debate about reneging the recommendations for women at 40 to get mammograms. He said that apparently not enough women in their 40's are getting diagnosed as opposed to women in their 50's. He also said there are more false positives and needless procedures than there are women actually having cancer. I don't know about you, but if I have a chance to catch cancer early in me, or in any other woman I know, I will do the damn mammogram, no questions asked. I could care less about statistics, average risk, or false positives. I will take the false positive over a true one any day.

Sorry, I don't know where that soap box came from.

Save the Tatas :)...

Much love
xx oo