Happy Birthday to ME!

And to Arnold Palmer. Who knew?

Today has shown up to be a very fun day. I woke up and got ready for work, got a sleepy Happy Birthday from my sleepy wife, went downstairs to find the kitties were out of food. So, I filled up their bowl with hard food, thought about it, and broke out the gourmet soft food so they could celebrate my birthday – after all, they can’t have cake, so they deserve a treat, too! I was treated to a chorus of meowing Happy Birthday in kitty language. I know that’s what they were saying. Lorene thought I should’ve taken the day off and spent it with my cats… “but you could have had another party where you dressed them up in little hats and dresses and had tea and everything! My cats like that when you do that to them....” Now, that would have been a party.

My work group had already planned to do a luncheon this week, so it just happened to fall on today, my birthday. I came into work to find my desk decorated to the teeth… they covered it in confetti, balloons and made a "Connie" statue out of a sweater, two big balloons and a balloon for a head with a drawn face on it. Banners and crepe paper completed the look… it was very thoughtful.

I’ve already been given chocolates, a coffee mug and a bottle of wine, a phone call from my brother, Happy Birthday emails from my sister, Lorene, Shane and Michelle, along with e-cards from Lorene, Toni and Lindi that were just the cutest!!

Tonight is a date night with Lindi and I – dinner and a surprise. I love surprises!

The rest of the weekend, I will be baking for a fundraiser for Hometown Heroes, a charity group that raises money for the Huntsman Cancer Institute. The money goes for treatment for patients that can’t afford it, DNA and Bone Marrow testing, education, and comfort of cancer patients and their families. I will be making Banana Bread, Zucchini Bread, Devils Food cake and Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. Oh, yes, I will be busy, but I am so excited! Lindi and Sarah gave me an early present of stainless steel bowls, spatula, servers, cake mixes and frostings, decorations, a pastry bag with 5 tips and a beautiful cake carrier! It will make it a lot easier – and I just got my Pampered Chef Stoneware mini-loaf pan, too. I am so spoiled.

So, today is an excellent day in Connie-Land! Hope all is well in your world.