January 11

Today is my 48th birthday.

I took a few minutes just now to look back at entries I've written on previous January 11ths and enjoyed the high level of detail I included, so I figure that future me will appreciate the nuts and bolts of number 48, too. So here goes.

I woke up eight-something and texted Adam to let him know I was awake; he in turn asked me what kind of ice cream I'd like with my (white cake with strawberry frosting) cake. (I initially chose chocolate, but when he responded to say that they had Neapolitan, I jumped onto the tri-flavored ship instead.) Then I mobile ordered my birthday freebie from the Mother Ship, which he very kindly picked up and brought home for me to sip. This year's winner was the newly introduced iced Dubai chocolate mocha made with almond milk. It absolutely would've been tastier with regular milk, but age has made my tummy too sensitive to handle it.

Since Abby's flight to Chicago left early this afternoon, we flipped our usual birthday schedule so she could take part. That meant that gifts were up next. I settled into the loveseat next to the Christmas tree in my Pretty Room and opened a collection of very thoughtful and useful presents from my favorite people. I like and appreciate every gift I received, from the new Kindle to the wall art and picture frames. And Abby --who as I've said before is a very talented artist-- outdid herself with a drawing of my grandparents' house. I was surprised to feel tears stinging my eyes the moment I saw it and know I'll have to find a special place to hang it up.

Then it was cake-time. Adam did a great job both baking (no eggshells anywhere) and decorating (with perfect white printing) my very pink cake. And he also did a great job of loading said-cake with 48 candles and successfully transporting the inferno to the kitchen table without extinguishing any of the tiny flames. I, on the other side of the cake, did a good job of blowing out every single candle on my very first try. It was a winning moment.

The saddest part of the day followed as we loaded into the car to take Abby to the airport. Although it was a bummer to see her go, it was actually a very entertaining ride as Adam had prepared a specific playlist and BearBear sang some of his special cover songs during the journey.

Lunch was at CPK, where I had one of the best pizzas I've had there (the Neapolitan Burrata) and a cute little birthday sundae. And then we headed back home for the day. Since it was wildcard weekend for the NFL playoffs and the Niners were playing the Eagles at 1:30, I knew my guys would want to be near the TV to catch the action. I joined them for a while and worked on a sweater I've been crocheting for Abby, but eventually stole away to the bedroom to watch an old episode of "Columbo" on my new Blu Ray player. (We haven't had one in years since we typically stream content, but Adam got me one so I could watch my old DVDs. I love it!) I could tell what was going on out in the family room based on the intermittent shouting, and emerged to join them again after the Niners secured the win. (It was too stressful and loud to sit through the whole game.)

Although I'd initially planned to eat my leftover lunch pizza for dinner, "Columbo" made me hungry so I caved and ate it during the afternoon hours. So I requested a breakfast sandwich from Jack in the Box for dinner, and we ate while watching the night game.

And that was the play by play of my day. Aside from Abby needing to head back to school for the Spring semester, it was a wonderful, happy day filled with lots of family time and awesome presents and cake and emails and texts from friends. I am grateful to God for the 48 years I've had on this earth and for the people He's put in my life to help me to learn and become a better woman. And most of all, I am grateful that Jesus came to save me from myself. I am blessed beyond measure.