Sunday, November 18, 2007

Happy Birthday to me...ALOHA to you!!

Hey ya'll!!!

Well, I told you I'd be another year older by the time I posted again. Yesterday was my 41st Birthday.

Awww, ya'll are so sweet...I can almost hear you singing the birthday song! lol

Let's see, where should I begin? Well, on Friday night, the 16th, my sweet hubby took me to dinner. Oh you guys, it was WONDERFUL!!! Here are a few pix:
I had the Petit Filet & Shrimp (Two 4 oz. medallions of filet topped with jumbo gulf shrimp) cooked to PERfection, a baked potato with butter & cheese and the fresh broccoli. YUMMO!!!

And for dessert, we shared the Warm Apple Crumb Tart with Vanilla ice cream. It was so sweet, our waiter presented this to me with a candle in it and said it was on the house. It was DEE-LISH!!
Here's me and hubby after our dinner. We had a beautiful booth in a nice, secluded corner of the restaurant. Oh it was devine. Thank you again, sweetie!

THEN...on Saturday, my actual birthday, we celebrated Jayla's birthday. Oh you guys, it was BEAUTIFUL!!! I just don't have the words to describe how everything turned out. I'm not one to toot my own horn....but this time, I've just gotta call a spade a spade, LOL. My basement was decorated like a tropical "kids" paradise. My friend, Stacey...Oh STACEY...I could NOT have pulled this off without her. She really helped me out a lot...by having so many of the things that made this party a success for Jayla. Even down to the candle for the cake. OK..., c'mon now...what kind of mother doesn't have CANDLES for their childs birthday cake? That would be ME! I mean, I HAVE some, I just didn't know where they were, ARGH!!! (I found them this morning...DUH!!) But being that Stacey was at the party and only lives 3 doors down from me, she came to my rescue in a crisis :-). (thank goodness her husband was at home) Thanks Stacey...I owe you!

All of Jayla's friends were there, we had the tropical/hawaiian music in the background, there was an abundance of food (including 6 LARGE pizzas), real coconut cups with umbrella straws, Hawaiian leis, a sunshine pinata and wonderful gifts. Ok, ok...I've talked it up long enough...HERE are the pictures:





And guess what? To add the icing to my birthday cake, so to speak, I finally got to meet Lynilu. During her travels, she happened to stop over in Georgia. Oh my goodness, she is even more beautiful IRL! As soon as I saw her, I felt that I've known her for YEARS. Such a sweet, sweet spirit. I didn't make too great of a first-first impression, because I was running late getting to our meeting place. And I HATE for people to have to wait for me. But she was very forgiving and understanding. My second-first impression was a little better :-). I had both of my daughters with me too. I was so glad they got to meet her. Briyanna found out that there was a Starbucks in the shopping plaza that Lynilu and I met in. And the good news was that it was in a Barnes & Noble bookstore. My new friend found it pretty humorous that I'd NEVER been to Starbucks before. I mean, I've been IN one, but I've never had their coffee before. So Briyanna had to help her mother out and actually order for me :-). I know, I'm a mess. She also got a not-so hot chocolate for Jayla...it was PERFECT.

After we made our beverage purchases, we strolled back to the kids book section. Jayla LOVES books. So this was perfect for her. Not to mention, Briyanna had given her some money for her birthday. So she found quite a few books that she wanted to buy. ANYWAY, Lynilu got to see me in "mother" mode :-). Jayla was...um, shall we say, herself. Which meant Lyn got to see exactly what I talk about in my blog :-). But thankfully, she wasn't too over the top...therefore, I wasn't embarassed by any of her "Jaylaisms". And Briyanna was simply a sweetie. She and Lyn talked about their doggies, as they have the same breed.

Anyway, you guys, as I said, this lady is simply beautiful. I was a little sad when our visit was over. I could've chatted with her all night. She was SOOO easy to talk to and very interesting. Meeting Lynilu yesterday was the perfect ending to my 41st birthday as well as to a crazy, busy day. Had I not been so excited to get to meet her, I may have cancelled. I was almost beat from the party. But she made it so worth it and she gave me a new burst of energy to get through the rest of the evening. Hopefully, Lyn, you feel the same as me...in that we may have a new, long lasting friendship brewing. And I hope that the next time you're on this side of the country, you'll want to visit with me/us again. Thank you again for your time and your friendship.

Ok you guys...here's proof that I'm not making this whole visit up, lol.

Isn't she gorgeous?? By the way, I'm not sure if Lyn just remembered that purple is my favorite color or what. But she had on the most beautiful purple top. I'm just gonna step out on a limb and say that she wore it for me...for my birthday :-). Thanks! lol

WELP...that's it for now. Tuesday is Jayla's actual birthday. And I'm sure I'll have more pix to share with you. Until then, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Oh, don't forget...BE INSPIRED...I AM!!! (Seriously, how could I NOT be? I mean, I've got the bestest friends!) ;-)

Amendment: OH MY GOODNESS...where are my manners??? I totally forgot to thank those special people who gave me gifts for my birthday. I am SUCH a slacker. Special thanks to Miss Marie "Rie" (Ashlee's mom) for the sweet card, the beautiful bracelet and the salsa. I love you! To Jennifer C. for the beautiful flowers and the hilarious card. You are a special friend, and I love you. To my MIL, Mattie, for the beautiful purple flowers. Mom, you are an awesome woman and I love you to pieces. To Stacey for the hilarious card and the Dr. Pepper lounging pants :-). You're an AWESOME friend and I love you to death. Thanks for all you do for me. To my daughter, Briyanna, for the BEAUTIFUL & thoughtful letter that you wrote me. I love you bunches and bunches. To Markell for the beautiful wall hanging and for your framed, SUPER HANDSOME school picture. I love it and I love YOU. And to all of you who sent cards and the wonderful birthday wishes. You ALL mean the world to me.

16 comments:

Caroline said...

Hi Dawn. I am not sure if I have ever commented or not, but I just had to see your view on your visit with Lynilu. Lyn used to be my neighbor when she lived in KC. I couldn't agree with you more about Lyn. She is a sweetheart. Glad you enjoyed your visit with her.

Caroline said...

P.S. I can't believe I forgot to say this....HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Black Wombmyn Chat said...

Wow. Where to begin? First of all, your b-day dinner with Hubby? My stomach growls at the mere photo alone. Secondly, the Hawaiian luau B-day party? What a fantastic concept! The decorations were incredible. Your daughter is so cute. And she and all her friends have the cutest, most interesting names! Wow! Makes me wonder what are the most popular girl names going on at the moment....

TanishaRenee said...

OK Dawn, that was a super long post!

Happy belated birthday girl!!!!! Your pics from Jayla's party look great!!! I hope you enjoyed your day!

Lynilu said...

Oh, my goodness! I'm embarrassed for several reasons! First, you're going on a bit much about me, my friend!! blush!! Second, I never wished you Happy Birthday! Well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Third, I forgot to say Hey back to Marque! I'm sorry I was so caught up in the going's on with you and the girls. No, never mind, I'm not at all sorry about that, it was a lot of fun! And yes, I'll be back there and I'll definitely look you up again, but Marque has to come along next time! And yes, I thing there is a good friendship underway here. And of course I wore purple on purpose! Giggle! It's my fav color, too!

For all you say about me, you are even better! Thanks for everything. It was wonderful!

Adrienne said...

Glad you had a happy day!! Loved all the pics!! Jayla is GROWING UP!!!!!!

Jada said...

Happy belated birthday to you and your beautiful daughter!!!!

Miss Misi said...

Happy belated Birthday!!! Looks like you had a great time!

Monogram Queen said...

Happy Belated birthday Dawn! The party looks FAB!
Isn't Lynilu the BEST! I so enjoyed meeting her also. Glad you had a wonderful birthday and your sweet girl had a wonderful one also.
Lynilu was sure impressed by you and your girls. Were your ears burning last night? LOL

Cheryl Wray said...

Oh my goodness...there is SO much good stuff to comment on in this post!!!

First off...HAPPY BIRTHDAY again to you!!!! It soundslike you had a fabulous day! The birthday dinner with your husband looks fabulous and the two of you look gorgeous in that picture!!!! I love it!!!

And the Luau birthday party turned out great!!!! The decoraitons are awesome!!! Wow!! I know that Jayla just had a super-duper time!!!!

And then you got to meet Lynilu! How fun is that???

Hope you have a wonderful Monday!!

Brown English Muffin said...

OMG I LOVED the pics...I literally stopped all work and just watched them go by at work...as if nothing else was more important!!!

Jayla looked so happy and you did a fantastic job on that theme...ever thought of opening up a theme party business!!!

Happy Birthday to the both of you!!!

Susie Q said...

Dear Dawn...I am so awful and feel like the worst friend ever. I am posting a BD greeting for you and Jayla now...and have a little gift I want to send you both but it will obviously be late. : ( Just know I am thinking about you and so happy that your BD, and Jayla's was so happy! You look SO beautiful in your photos.

And I am majoring envious of Lynilu!!!! Some day I want to meet up with you and see Grace and Jayla together too!

Soon....


Love ya dear Dawn!

Sue

Muriel said...

Happy Belated B-day!!!!!

Hope this year gets even better.

Plus aren't you a lucky one, that has a sweet hubby to take her to Ruth Chris for dinner.

P.S. Send me your address again.

Veroncia Butler said...

I'm so sorry I missed shouting you out on your special day! The flu is not playing this year. Happy Belated Birthday! I'm so glad you had such an awesome day.

You did another great job again with Jayla's party. You are so talented.

Gretchen said...

Boy, it seems that a lot of my bloggy friends have b'days in the fall. Can I just say--the picture of you and your hubby is incredible. So nice. It's rare that we moms get a good shot (or any for that matter) of ourselves, but that one's a framer.

I am having fun catching up with you. You really are inspired, just as your blog says. Jayla's party looked so fun. How could you not enjoy a b'day so close to hers? And...I'm LOL at the CFA sandwiches. ;)

Jacki Marie said...

It was Thankgiving weekend. I remember glancing, because I had company. The party looks fabulous! I'm going to come to the next one... to help. OK?