That's right, folks. It's my birthday. I generally don't make too big of a deal when March 12th rolls around. But this is the BIG 2-6, people!! It's different!!!

Ha. Ok, not really. It's sort of that odd in-between age where you suddenly just feel "over 25" and "not quite 30, but on your way". It doesn't really feel any different... especially since I actually had to pick up a calculator the other day to subtract 1984 from 2010 to figure out how old I was.

I talked to my Mom the other night on the phone. She said that when she went into the hospital to have me, there was lots of snow on the ground. When she came out of the hospital 4 days later, it was all gone & the sun was shining. Hopefully this is how it'll turn out here too!! With a birthday on March 12, you can never guess what the weather will be. Could be snow or shine, parka or spring jacket, maybe even an umbrella! ...that whole lion or lamb really throws you off.

My most memorable birthday party from when I was a kid was when we had a crazy ice storm in Michigan (maybe 1995, 96 or 97?). All the snow had melted quickly and we had gotten a ton of rain. Then the temperatures dropped far below zero. I had a bunch of girls over to spend the night...some couldn't come because the roads were so bad (many trees and telephone poles were down due to the weight of the ice). The power went out during the party and we had a blast under candlelight & managed to make a mess of our ice cream sundae bar. Fun times!

Plans for today? Other than lunch with some co-workers and a fruity beverage after work, nothing elaborate. I'm learning to love the low-key, relaxing nights. :) I'm thinking Wii resort is on the agenda!

I'd like to give a few bday shout outs because........well, I can do what I want today, right? I can CRY if I want to, for crying out loud!

To God: thanks for letting me be born
To my parents: way to go!!
To my friends: thanks for convincing me that birthdays should be a big deal & for making me feel very special
To the age of 30: see you in 4 years! (Hope they're long ones...)
To the girl scouts: it's their birthday too (Happy 98th!)
To Darryl Strawberry, James Taylor, Liza Minnelli for sharing this day of birth (as if we each planned it ourselves)

Look out! According to the Los Angeles Times, here's my horoscope (which you all know I will put much stock into *wink, wink*): "You are so productive through the next 10 weeks that you'll finish a big project in a fraction of the time it usually takes others. You'll make yourself over in April and 'wow' the one whose opinion matters most. Virgo and Leo people adore you. Lucky numbers are 6, 2, 33, 10 and 17." (Sounds like I better get back to work! But good call, Amber - my volleyball number for the tournament tomorrow is 2. I'm sensing good things to come.)

Happy March 12 to all!

amber is 26 today!