I wanted to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year. I think that most of us are looking forward to the possibilities of things getting better in 2009 with the job, housing markets and overall economy.
I am also looking forward to SPRING already! Winter can be pretty at times but overall it stinks!
I wanted to post (after my birthday) about the great (surprise?)birthday party that my family pulled off for me on December 20th. It takes a lot to get something past me and to be honest, I cannot say that I didn't know something was up but I did not expect all of the people that came to be there. They went above and beyond and I am very thankful to them all. I honestly hate having a birthday so close to Christmas because I feel like it puts my family in a position to buy something at an already tough time of year. I got a lot of great gifts..... some that people drove for miles to get. LOL (Thanks Deidre and Dave) Here is a gift that I would not have expected in a million years:

I saw this on etsy.com and fell in love with it! It is rare these days for me to like something this much and I made it clear to Melissa and Danny that I LOVED this. I never, ever would have expected my family to all chip in and buy it for me. So....to my family and friends who went out of their way to make my birthday special this year:

I love you. Thank you all very much!