Friday Musings

Today is Friday! It's almost my birthday - I turn 38 tomorrow. Crazy. I somehow never think of myself as being late 30's. In my mind, I think I am still 31 or so. Not in my 20's, but not in my late 30's, either.

I look in the mirror and am sometimes startled by the lines on my face. They are not bad, yet, but I see the potential for some serious lines. My face is much thinner than it has been in a long long time and there is not a lot of fat below the surface, plumping out the lines.

I have been asked if my kids or husband are going to get me something. I have no idea. It's very hit or miss in our household on gifts for any other holiday or celebration other than Christmas. Last year, Warren bought me a gorgeous earring and necklace set that I have since only worn once. It's beautiful. I would love to wear it again. I just do not have that many occasions on which to dress up and do not wear much nicer than nice slacks at work. I will be pleasantly suprised if he found the time to get me anything.

My parents, on the other hand, are awesome at remembering events. They sent gorgeous tulips to me at work yesterday. They also sent a cute t-shirt from my alma mater. Somehow, I think I would be very disappointed if they failed to remember my birthday. After all, they are the reason I exist, right? I have fond memories of Mom sending things like iced animal cookies (those things are the bomb) and other fun items.

More and more, I want to tell Warren that what I really want is a dinner with Anne & Allen. Now, that would be something we do not get to do very often. Anne & Allen rarely have evenings out and never with us, so it would be special for me and for them (I hope!). But, I want to wait until all the wine arrives (and the bubbly) from Napa.

See, we shipped about 5 cases of wine to ourselves. Good stuff, too. We also indulged ourselves and bought a wood inlaid game table. It is beautiful. It should look lovely between the two leather chairs we recently recovered. But back to the wine. We went tasting on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday was a fluke, but we ended up at Rutherford Grove, then headed to Elizabeth George and then to a small vineyard named Arger-Martucci. We sat at the bar area in a kitchen and chatted with another couple and the host. We were rudely interrupted by a young man and his friend (friend was nice) who were there simply to try the petite syrah, skipping right over the viognier, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and the blended Odyssey, all of which were quite good. Then. Then! He said the cost of the wine was too rich for his blood and promptly left (at $60/bottle, it was not that bad, really). Thank goodness. We all breathed a sigh of relief and talked of how rude we were when we were young. But, to sit in the kitchen like setting of a small boutique winery and talk about wines, the region, youth, and then venture to music and literature was a wonderful experience.

Boy, I made quite a change in topic, didn't I?

Anyway, the news of the kids while we were gone. Nathan lost his first tooth on Wednesday morning. Jocelyn is now sitting up by herself for a few moments at a time. Apparently, mother-in-law grew very attached to little Miss J and had a hard day away from her yesterday. I can understand that. She is a sweet little baby. Even Piepie, MIL's dad, who now lives with them, said he missed the little girl yesterday. Oh, and that she is the best baby he has ever seen.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, full of friends, good times, and good health.