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.