Fast Forward past 2013 >> it's Christmas in July 2014

Monien, France at 33 weeks

Our gift this July will be a baby girl!  That's right, just 11 days from today our little bundle of joy is expected to arrive.  No one knows when she'll actually make her entrance, but I'm fairly certain about the girl thing.  The fetal scan technology these days is very reliable.  So unlike my 2012 year in review post.  This one will be in reverse chronological order.  Starting now with July, where Will and I are spending my days close to home and enjoying the last days of my pregnancy with home cooked meals, fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, air conditioning, and visits from my friends and family. It's not been our typical summer, very few days have been spent by the pool, none have been spent in tents or sleeping on the ground (at least not for me), there have been no vacations, and I haven't been on my bike since November 2013!  That's probably no surprise if you consider that May-July have been the third trimester of the pregnancy. Now that's not to say we haven't been enjoying life, because we have.  We've just been enjoying life in a different way - a slower, more domestic kind of way.  

I am having a healthy pregnancy with no complications.  According to my doctors, our baby is growing normally and her heart beat is regular. I'm experience little to no "pain" but due to immense swelling since late May, my feet and ankles are tender and I'm carrying a lot of water weight making certain things more difficult, such as putting on and wearing shoes, picking up objects from the ground that I've dropped, or sitting in one position for long periods of time.  I have a new appreciation for pregnant women and an insiders view of what it's like to be rotund.  I miss being active, nimble, and quick.  I can't wait to not be swollen anymore.

Now in June, or what I like to call the best friend birth month - Will turned 27, Sara turned 37, Laura turned 32, Daniel turned 38, Natalie had a birthday (not sure how old she is), Julie turned 35, and my Mom turned 56.  So we celebrated all those in some form or fashion.   For Mom's birthday we went to see Iron & Wine in concert at the NC Museum of Art outdoor amphitheater and on a breezy summer night alla picnic style.  The music took me back to places in my past since I've been enjoying Sam Beam's voice for almost a decade since I moved to Raleigh.  I recalled walking from the Rose Gardens to classes at Nelson Hall and long bike rides along the green way or drives along Interstate 40 singing or crying, depending on the moment. Then Sam Beam addressed us neighbors because he now lives in Durham, and that made me smile.  Will preferred a nice dinner on his birthday, so that Monday night after he returned from a day hike at Pilot Mountain, we enjoyed a decadent dinner at Braza Brazilian steakhouse and deep meat induced sleep followed. I think he was pleasantly surprised to open his gift of legos that I'd gotten him and we've been enjoying building with them these past several weeks.

View from flat in Bordeaux, France

At the beginning of June I traveled for work to South-western France for a work trip.  I took advantage of the location and added a couple days pleasure with my dear friend, Julie.  We started in Bordeaux and stayed at a flat rented out by airbnb.com, the owner was around put made herself scarce and despite the nightly visits by mosquitos and the lack of A/C - it was a very pleasant trip.  The location was perfect - her flat was right above some hip boutiques and trendy restaurants and within walking distance of everything. Bordeaux is a great place to visit with your girlfriends, lots of shopping and people watching and places to stop and sip wine and enjoy the European architecture.  It was easy to navigate and not too expensive, I would highly recommend a long weekend visit to the city.  After three nights in Bordeaux, I took the train to Pau and a taxi to Monein where a room was reserved for me at a quaint provincial B&B called Entre Vignobles et Vergers.  This B&B would be perfect for a stop along a bike tour, or longer European vacation, or a nice quiet honeymoon.  The town is pretty quiet and you would want to rent a car to explore further the area, but the owner and concierge Michel, is one of the best.   For more on the trip this link is a photo diary.  

May is Mother's Day month and this May my mother moved to Raleigh.  After spending her entire life in Bluefield, West Virginia where I was born and raised, she packed up, got her company to transfer her job to the Raleigh office, and came to live here; just 14.8 miles from my house. We celebrated Mother's Day together at my cousin Lee's house in Winston-Salem surrounded by family.  As always Lee put on a spread and we enjoyed the company of his wife, Erin and their children, George and Mary.

During my second trimester, February - April, we carried on as usual.  Easter weekend in April we drove to the mountains and Will's mom threw me a Cowan/Painter Family Baby Shower.  I hadn't been the center of attention in a long while and to have twenty some people doting over me and showering me and the baby with gifts and words of affection felt really good.  After the shower and the visit with the family, we started to put the room together. We also announced during the second trimester our baby's name, Stella Day Cowan.  

Anniversary of 3 years and 5 months pregnant

We celebrated our three year anniversary in March by going to Chef and the Farmer  restaurant in Kinston, NC and enjoying the ambiance and tasty good I'd been watching on the series PBS, a Chef's Life.  It was surreal to be at the restaurant after watching the TV show I admired so much. I won't get all foodie here and list out our courses, but know that it surpassed our expectations and to this day is one of the best meals I've eaten in the USA. The second trimester is a stabilizing one, where I started by pregnancy routines, bought maternity clothes, and began making lists.  It was hard at first accepting that your body changes are normal and that pregnancy is beautiful and not grotesque.  My prenatal yoga practices really helped me with acceptance and letting go of the past forms of myself to enjoy the present moments of pregnancy. Now don't confuse my acceptance with bliss because I was not/am not floating around as if pregnancy is the best thing that's ever happened to me and I don't think I'm most beautiful this way. However, I do appreciate what my body can do and I'm grateful to be given this opportunity as a woman to experience growing another human being inside me.  To lay here in bed as I type this and feel her movements inside my belly and know that she will grow and see and smell and hear and touch and taste and feel and talk and walk and become a woman like I am today.  Then to wonder how she will describe those senses and what path she walk to become the girl, teen, young lady, and woman of what will be a different generation then when I grew up.  When she is 33 years old, then I will be 66 years old and the world will be a different place.

So to welcome baby Stella into our home, Will has been busy on improvement projects. The upstairs room is now multi-purpose:  man space complete with air-soft equipment closet, laundry room, spare bedroom, and home office/Will desk and it's all complete with a fresh paint job and laminated wood flooring.  It looks great and is a welcoming space from it's former life.  The yard has been expertly improved as well.  New plants, bags of mulch, and a path of brick colored paving stones later, it's a stark contrast to the overgrown vine infested hedges that stood there since I moved in.

We thought we would try some place new for Valentines Day this year, and we went to an Osteria downtown and it was pretty bad. Luckily, we always enjoy our time together so the fact that the food and atmosphere were subpar, we still enjoyed our date together. Will got me beautiful roses to mark the occasion and we went out despite with snow and ice on the roads.

That brings us to the first trimester, October 2013 - January 2014.  In January we laid low, it was a blistery winter for the area and we actual had some snow days. It was so early in the pregnancy that at New Years I didn't even have a glass of champagne and although we were at Kristin and Matt's new house surrounded by their friends, it just wasn't a good night for me.  Will got his celebratory buzz on before I convinced him to leave and drove us home to lull in front of the TV until midnight.  Oh well, we have NYE 2012 to recount should we need party memories.  

On Dec. 5th, we saw our little baby in utero and received the projected due date - July 24, 2014.  We conceived October 19th according to the ultrasound math.  

All around December was a great month.  We knew we were pregnant, Will proposed on Christmas Eve, and we got to celebrate our news with friends and family over the Christmas holiday.  The proposal took place at home in the morning before breakfast and as I was finishing up some work at the kitchen table, Will called for me to come in to the living room.  There he was illuminated by the Christmas Tree lights, down on one knee with a ring glimmering from a box in his hand.  Of course he didn't need to say a word, the gesture told the meaning and my answer was a resounding yes, but he said, "Sarah, will you marry me?" and I threw my arms around his neck in joy.  

Nantahala National Forest

We were both a little distracted during Thanksgiving last year because we knew the at home  pregnancy test said I was pregnant but the doctor wasn't so sure.  She'd recommended a blood test over the holiday to confirm, which meant that on Thanksgiving day Will's mom, Debbie and my future mother-in-law, would drive us to the hospital in Franklin, NC where she worked as the Head of Pharmacy to take the blood test looking for the pregnancy hormone HCG.  A couple days after Thanksgiving we drove back to get the results, and while we were waiting Debbie drove us through some of the Nantahala National Forest and we stopped at Dry Falls, which was featured in the movie, Last of the Mohicans.  During the first trimester I experience nausea similar to motion sickness but I never threw up.  Those roads were curvy and twisty and although the blood test results weren't known yet, I was still feeling different. The blood test was still a bit misleading, although the HCG levels had risen they hadn't "double" which is what we were told they needed to do in order to confirm the pregnancy.  We drove home to Raleigh still in doubt but hopeful that all would be well.  

White Oak Canyon Trail

Our vacation in early November 2013 took us to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.  We started the vacation in Vass, NC at Will's Uncle David's retirement party from the Army. After serving many tours, he tired as a Colonel and the party to celebrate was fantastic. The next day we drove to Charlotte and spent the late afternoon riding roller coasters.  Then we drove to Lake Norman State Park to camp overnight.  It was a great campground and we discovered it also boasted miles of single track mountain biking, which we plan to go back to. My fondest memories of our Shenandoah Trip are (in no particular order): fall foliage, sweeping vistas, drinking bourbon by the fire and talking and laughing with Will all night (I didn't know I was pregnant at the time), the sunsets, roadside bear sitings, and getting close to nature.

20 Questions for 2011

[I started this post draft in 2010 I suppose. I'm going to post it half-answered, in an attempt to revisit someday and measure my progress. The answers in italics are from EOY 2010 and after reviewing them this NYE 2012, nothing has changed.]

1. What questions should I be asking myself?

Questions that help me understand if I am happy with who I am and how I got here. Questions that force me to answer how I feel about my life in this moment, so that I can reflect on them in the future and see progress, regress, success, and contentment.

2. Is this what I want to be doing?

Honestly I can't imagine myself doing anything else. I am not a performer, so I don't long to be on a stage. I can't remember meeting anyone recently where they explained their job or what they do, and I thought to myself, "Wow! That sounds amazing, I could totally see myself doing that." Perhaps I thought instead, "Now that sounds 'interesting'" and almost always I thought, "That sounds good for him/her, but it is not for me."

3. Why worry?

I worry about love and offspring (or lack there of), but not about where my life is headed. I probably should worry more about my mother and my brother and family in general, but I don't. Worry is not a frequent word in my vocabulary, unless I am in a relationship where there are feelings of doubt (which is common) and I worry my feelings aren't being reciprocated. Until I can learn to read minds, I will most likely always worry about this. Occasionally, I worry about the way I look, but for the most part I am confident in my own skin.

4. Why do I like {cupcakes} more than I like {people}?

5. How do I want the world to be different because I lived in it?

A good friend told me once, that if I like someone there is never any doubt. I share how I feel openly and I show it too. My friends know they are loved and I want the world to be a different place because I brought friends together. Another friend told me I am a connector. Funny enough, I connected these two friends and they are in a healthy, happy, and loving relationship, so they are both probably biased. But do I want to invite the cure for cancer or even a new swim stroke to be approved for the US Federation of Swimming? No, probably not. I am not a big achiever, I am small achiever and just hope the world remembers me by pushing up fragrant flowers from the earth where my ashes are spread instead of kudzu or stink-weed.

6. How do I want to be different because I lived in this world?



7. Are {vegans} better people?

8. What is my body telling me?

9. How much junk could a chic chick chuck if a chic chick could chuck junk?

10. What's so funny?

11. Where am I wrong?

12. What potential memories am I bartering, and is the profit worth the price?

13. Am I the only one struggling not to {fart} during {yoga}?

14. What do I love to practice?

15. Where could I work less and achieve more?

16. How can I keep myself absolutely safe?

17. Where should I break the rules?

18. So say I lived in that fabulous house in Tuscany, with untold wealth, a gorgeous, adoring mate, and a full staff of servants...then what?

19. Are my thoughts hurting or healing?

20. Really truly: Is this what I want to be doing?

LIST SOURCE

Whirlwind 2012 in Review

I awoke this morning in a sea of pale blue crisp sheets, warm and rested; Will slumbering lightly beside me.  The year of 2012 has been amazing for me and my small family here on Edmund Street.  I think of Will, the dog, and myself as a small family.  I plan our meals like a family head would, I check in after a long work day to see if there are evening dinner dates or what time we're going to the gym, and when the holidays roll around there are multiple schedules to consider before settling on a date.  I'm no longer alone, single, solo, unaccompanied, or leaving the +1 box blank on RSVPs.  I believe that I will be checking that +1 box for years to come with Will at my side, and I'm grateful for having a caring companion to share life's many adventures with.

I leave for Shanghai tomorrow and I'm thrilled and anxious at the learning that will ensue on the first days of the 2013 year.  Asia is quite foreign to me and everything I know or understand about the culture, I've learned from movies or NPR.  During the past two years, my interactions with Asian colleagues is frequent but I doubt how truly ready I am for the cultural differences I am about to witness.  I welcome it, as always, when it comes to travel and learning.  For, "one who makes no mistakes, makes nothing at all," Giacomo Casanova.

Iron Mountain Trail, TN

It's been an amazing year...we survived last New Year's Party at CA's and kept things rolling until February when my Grandmother Jean Ruth turned 82.  In March, we celebrated our one year anniversary with a snowy icy hike along the former AT - Iron Mountain Trail, TN. Check out the natural shelter that Will made and the fire I built during the slight snow storm.

Savannah, GA

Will's friends and I threw down in Savannah for St. Patty's Day.  Talk about a party!  I had so much fun, I got my face painted.  Safe to say it's the only time this year that I was that "spontaneous".

Cary, NC

In April, I completed my first duathlon in Cary in 2:01, it would've been less than two hours but I missed the last turn for the finish line on the bike portion and added on a couple minutes.  Oh well, still felt good to run 2.5 bike 18 and run 2.5 miles for the finish.  As always with the onset of summer, May was a busy month - camping & biking in Uwharrie, graduation parties, Memorial Day celebrations at East Fork, more bikes rides through the Smoky Mountains, purchase of the new car aka "the FJ" and a bachelorette party.  In June, the first of my best friends got married at Marbles, Will turned 25 at Kings Dominion theme park and pretty much everybody else that I know had a birthday too!

Kings Dominion, VA

After KD, we spent the first week of July exploring the Adirondacks, which is a gorgeous spot and mother nature at her best.  Following our trip to NY I flew to CT for our annual HR meeting and enjoyed a nice dinner boat trip along the river, passed the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.  I stopped over in Greenpoint to visit my dearest friend and hit the trendy wine bars and pictured myself walking the streets of Willamsburg.  Unfortunately, my beau would have nothing of living in the city - he longs for returning to the NC mountains, which I'm sure we'll do some day.

Brooklyn, NY

My brother and cousin came down for a visit in August and we drank ourself silly before and after the Allman Brothers & Lynrd Skynrd concert.  I would like to go on record by saying that the Lynrd Skynrd concert was one of the best shows I have ever seen in my life.  I grew up listening to them and the setlist brought my teenage years flooding back to me.  It was amazing.  For our mid-August trip, we headed to Pipestem State Park for the Waters Family Reunion.  Baby George was the baby super star and we shared a cabin with my cousins, which was quite fun.

Mordecai House,  Raleigh

In September there was a neighborhood wedding, which I almost missed because I had the time wrong.  But all was saved and we were there to see the happy couple ride off under sparklers on the bike rickshaw. We spent a lovely Friday night Shakori Hills Music Festival in mid-October and I turned 32 in late-October.  Will set for (and passed) the FE exam.  I finally made it Moogfest in Asheville, and I successfully made it through another Halloween without donning a costume!  We saw Baby George turn one year old in Winston at his birthday party and spent Thanksgiving at Camp Creek with Will's family this year.  We made our annual trip up to Painter Knob to sweep out the cabin and get some good one-on-one time.  We love that place, so remote, so rustic and so perfect.  This Thanksgiving, I had so much to be thankful for - safety, security, love, family, friends, good health, and wanting for nothing.  I am truly blessed.

Painter Knob cabin, this photo is from May - but you get the idea.

December in Raleigh is not wintery at all.  In fact, I think it was 70+ degrees the weekend of the 15th and my friends and I went for a 2 hour bike ride.  It rarely snows, and when it does it's a sputtering.  My wonderful friends from college and I finally got together for a reunion in DC, one of the highlights of this year.  We spent two days just us girls talking about girl stuff and I needed.  As we round out the year today, we will celebrate with a bonfire party and I will burn a small piece of paper with all the things I wish to let go of in 2013 and all which I wish to focus on.  I started yoga practice in November and it's been like an awakening to a peaceful state of bliss that I was unaware of.  Lastly, I want to share a photo from last weekend - Will and I hiked to Pinnacle Rock in western NC and then over to Black Rock, it was a helluva hike but it was grand!  I'm looking forward to another glorious year of learning, seeing, hearing, doing, and experiencing life.

Atop of Pinnacle Rock, December 27th 2012

31 and lovin' it

For my birthday this year I requested an Adventure and that is exactly what I got. The trail, White Top Mountain - a section of the AT starting in VA, was familiar but the hike itself...very unpredictable. Will and I went on our first backpacking trip for my 31st birthday. The weather report on Friday as we were leaving Raleigh was rain and freezing rain - fun!? I definitely had my doubts when we pulled up to the trail head and the field of tall grass has already started to ice over. The hike itself was nice though. Beyond the treeline the weather was welcoming, crisp and cool. Then Will found a great place to pitch the tent under a rock ledge. It was cold at night, real cold and then we woke up to 2 inches of snow in October 29th! We had a great time, then we drove to Bluefield and I showed him around. Having a birthday weekend with love in my life is the best gift a girl could get.

Semi-annual year in Review

My oh my, I looked up today and realized six months have passed and I've been delinquent with my blog entries. A recap of Jan-June of 2011 in chronological order.....
January I rang in the New Year with friends at a rented cabin in Hendersonville, NC. I enjoyed from that trip: the drive up with Natalie & Harmon, it was intellectual yet light, flowy yet structured, and in the end I felt like I knew them better. The end being arriving at dusk to a mudflat instead where a lake should be and driving aimlessly in circles around it wondering where the stinking cabin was. Well when we found it, I got the room "the couples didn't want," (it was find room btw) and really the only disappointment about the cabin itself worth mentioning was the hot tub was more like a whirlpool bath and it took three attempts before we were able to use it. Plus I really I liked the confetti. It was a bitch for everyone to clean-up in the morning, but fun in the making. I also got introduced to quinoa on that trip and although I've yet to cook it at home, the dish we ate on New Year's Eve is one of the best I've had all year. Yes, I was sad that I didn't have a man to snog after the ball dropped, and no the kiss from Jenna didn't make up for it.
February After the "Ninth-Wheel Trip" I hit the online dating scene in full force and I also got pretty involved with training for my first triathlon. Which meant no smoking, eating healthy, and exercising frequently. For two weeks I had a slew of dates. Several different dates in one week once. One I really liked, but after the second date he told me he didn't really like me. One I kinda liked but he really liked me, so we kept going out on weekends and I was excited not to be alone on Valentine's Day, and in fact he really impressed me: green curry (my fave), dark chocolate fondue, a nice bottle of wine, and an adventure movie, 127 Hours. It was memorable. He's not around anymore. I used to see him on the bike trails and say hey, but he's takin' a summer of finding himself (divorcee after 11 yrs with the same woman) and scrambling up Colorado's 14er's. Anywho, all the while I'm working away still boss-less after mine left the company back in May 2010, and planning to do some major renovations on my house.
March So far, my favorite month of the year. I was still cracking away on my master's degree, staying with my cousins at the Hue while bathroom at the house got remodeled, riding all the time, and meeting some of the dandiest boys. Then one night at a spontaneous trip to Neptunes/Kings to get down at the Discovery dance party, a handsome young man started chatting with me while waiting in line for the john. I remember him telling me, "...that sometimes he's gotta listen to some Metallica and jam out, but other days it was Bill Withers or Otis Redding." I thought that comment was rather intriguing, but he was off to dance upstairs where he knew the DJ. As he walked away, I admired his physique; tall with broad shoulders and a great ass. Well when Sarah & I got upstairs to boogie, it was packed and the club lights were flashing, bodies were pulsating and I drug her up onto the stage. Then I spotted above mentioned hottie dancing off to the side with some petite chatterbox talking his ear off. I'm not the shy type, so I swaggered over, pulled his ear down to my mouth and yelled, "Are you going to stand around talking all night, or do you wanna dance?" In less than 30 minutes we were making out. I don't if was the booze, the beats, or moment but it was on. Our courtship was/is fun, and after several dates we both wanted to go steady so after several years of dating, playing the field and being played, I have a boyfriend. A wonderful boyfriend.
April I moved back into the house in April and couldn't believe my eyes. Here's a list of the all the things I had fixed in/on/at my 1957 Cape Cod house appraising at 1196 sq. ft.: new wiring in the basement (to include panel box upgrade from breaker box), first floor wiring, light added in pantry, new ceiling fan hung, new lights replaced in bedrooms and dusty outdated ceiling fans removed, a "fart fan" (as my contractor so fondly says) for the bathroom, new duct work and routing for HVAC to include new insulation in sub-floor, exhaust fan over stove, water damaged repaired in 3 rooms, walls repainted, ALL NEW WINDOWS, carpet ripped up and all hardwoods refinished, fresh paint, NEW BATHROOM (walls, tub, tiles, plumbing, sink, block window, floor), laundry room moved inside to second floor, vapor moisture added over dirt basement floor, front porch remodel (new wooden rails and pickets, new gable of hardi-plank, new light and numbers), and last but not least....outdoor shower install. Everything looks great, but my favorite part is probably my outdoor shower. Built like a beach showers with a wooden stall and hinged door, it is the perfect way to clean up on our balmy 90+ degree days. I ran an 8k for St. Patty's Day and I did my first triathlon in 91 minutes in 30 degree weather with a light drizzle - :P I had a new boss start in March, and if there were a recipe for the perfect boss FOR ME, then she would represent all the necessary ingredients. I couldn't be happier with my work situation. It's tough, but I really like it.
April a month full of love. William and I spent lots of April in bed talking, laughing, and being close. He rolled up his sleeves on Sundays and would help me with whatever project needed done: installing a light fixture, picking out, moving and hauling furniture, whitewashing the porch, drilling stuff, or anything else I needed. In return I cooked some delicious meals and showed him how a real woman gives a back rub. I met all his wonderful friends and then he met all mine. We boogied to our first concert together, Pretty Lights, and passed all his exams.
May William met all my family this month, as we celebrated my cousin's first baby (due in November), my aunt's new marriage (happiest I've seen her in my whole life) and well being awesome. May was the month we celebrated being awesome and loving life. He moved out of his condo of disrespectful roommates and found a one-bedroom all his own. I kept buying new stuff for the house and finished up another course on my degree. Work continued to chug along and I was riding my Xcaliber more than ever and loving every Spring minute of it.
June did my second triathlon today (well 2/3, co-worker ran the 5k). Mom just left after a nice visit, and last weekend we rocked Tsali on our bikes and rafter the Natty. I met William's folks last weekend too. They were delightful. William's favorite summer ensemble is his jorts and my american flag bathing suit (pictured above). Can't wait for 4th of July....

Old Reliable 10k

Me - 1:00:26 chip time; 9:49 pace; bib #613; place 541 out of 817. Fastest in my age group - 44:14; 7:10 pace. ¡Merda! I'm slow.

Bunnies 3.0.

Wow! Three decades down and what...five/six to go??? Crazy to think that I could live to the year 2070 when I vividly recall bearing down the hatches for the turn of the 21st century thinking that the world might end. I was laying on a stuffed mattress in the middle of my living room floor surrounded by candles and eating canned tomato soup. My ex saying to me in his best worst Italian that at least we made it to Europe before waiting for the world to end.

I guess I can say the same for turning 30; no regrets! I've been fortunate enough to travel to other countries and see life outside my limited scope. I benefit everyday from the formal education I've been able to receive. Some mornings I wake up thankful for my own warm bed and a roof over my head when some share a single room with all their extended family and sleep on bed rolls. When I run in the evenings, I think about having a strong heart and body to carry me and how lucky I am to live in this body. When I walk in the mornings and I'm greeted by the sun, I can't imagine life without it.

For my birthday I took time out to celebrate mid-month by going on a spontaneous trip to Paris with my newest closest friend. Taking spontaneous trips energizes me and this trip went off without any snags, so once again the spontaneous trip cravings are subdued. My return to Raleigh however has been less than glam. My recent Mr. Fabulous turned out to be Mr. Houdini, and pulled a wonderful disappearing act once again tarnishing my trust and faith in the male species. If anyone reads this and has recently spotted the asshole, call me - it will confirm my suspicion that he's a fool and not a corpse. But enough about outside parties...let's talk about my family. They may not be hand-picked like my friends, but they love me attitude and all and I wouldn't trade their stubborn republican asses for all the rubies in India. We threw a 60th birthday party for my Aunt last weekend and she squealed with delight. In turn, my cousin's new wife and my new cousin, cooked me a delicious brunch and baked some very delicious pumpkin muffins to celebrate the fall and my 30 years on the planet. Awww...like I've said before Life is Good and to repeat a quote that I'm told all the time from my Mama, "Someday your prince will come, and along the way you gotta kiss a lot of frogs." Why couldn't that fable 'be kiss a lot of cute bunnies' instead?