35

today is my birthday.

so far, it's been great. i slept in, then read for a little while until winn brought me breakfast in bed from starbucks--a mocha and a piece of coffee cake. yum. then winn, wyatt, and seth, and i all sat on the bed, crumpled covers all around us, while i opened some cards and gifts. the boys made me cards this year, which is the best. next, we got up, got ourselves together, and went to the pool. the combination of water and sunshine is one thing that always makes me happy. add to that two boys who have just learned to swim and whose laughter is one of my all-time favorite sounds, plus my adoring and adorable husband, well, a girl just can't go wrong.

winn just left to take the boys to a friend's house, and when he gets back, we--along with two of our favorite people--are going to leave for a night away in atlanta. (i just love hotels. . .and sleeping in. . .and not having to clean up). while we're there . . .mom, if you are reading this, this is probably a good stopping point for you. just click that little x at the top right of your screen. . .anyway, while we are there, three of us, including winn, are going to get tattoos. i'm so excited about that! then we'll do dinner, coffee, conversation, your basic enjoyable, delightful evening, and tomorrow juli and i will spend the day at the mall for our 4th annual summer shopping extravaganza. (we always do this right around my birthday so that i've got a nice little wad of birthday cash.)

all in all, can't think of a better way to spend my 35th birthday. this feels like a significant one, for some reason. i've got a ton of change coming my way, and i'm going to have to summon all my strength and depth of character and my 35 years to enter into it head-on.

my friend ginger sent me this great card that she framed for me. it says, "she packed up her potential and all she had learned, grabbed a cute pair of shoes and headed out to change a few things."

exactly. here's to being 35!