I didn’t tell you about my birthday! Well, it’s been crazy around here, and I’ve been feeling like detritus, so finding the time and energy to sit at the computer and engage my brain enough to form words and sentences has been difficult. But I actually had a pretty great birthday, and it deserves some mention.

On Saturday, my actual birthday, I slept in. Not as long as I would have liked, due to the cats needing cat food and the feed store closing early on Saturday, but still … I got up well after the sun crested the horizon. That’s always a great start to a day, even if it isn’t one’s birthday!

After the requisite coffee and procrastination, we finally got out the door and to the feed store. It was a madhouse! I don’t think I have ever seen the parking lot so full. Lin ran in to get the next month’s supply of kitty food, and I toddled around in the parking lot taking photos with my cell phone. I finally got a decent snap of one of my favorite Austin murals. It’s on the side of the building the feed store is in. Considering this one came from my cell phone and was taken in a packed parking lot, I’m pretty pleased with it. I am so loving my new phone.

Then Lin asked where I wanted to go eat. He had a list that started with Starbucks (no), but he only got as far as mentioning Quality Seafood Market before I knew that was exactly where I wanted to go. We hadn’t been there in ages, and it always reminds me so much of some of the places I hung out with my dad when I was a wee little thing. The only thing it lacks in ambiance is the scent of the ocean wind wafting in through the doors when people enter, owing to it not being anywhere near the ocean. But it does have the scent of fresh fish both in raw and cooked form, deep fried goodness, and hot coffee … and the gentle rumble of conversation among regular customers, and … the food is tasty. Really, really tasty.

The special of the day was Swordfish with a Guinness Sauce, and we both ordered that. Lin got his with a salad and green beans, and I ordered the fried okra and mac-n-cheese. I had to giggle when the waiter brought out plates, because he had them all lined up as though I was the one with the salad, and he laughed when I said the huge pile of fattening food was all mine. He said it was usually the opposite. That’s probably true, but I have never been the sort of woman who orders a salad in a restaurant. I can make them more cheaply (and better) at home. Also, when I eat out, I don’t follow any of my usual eating rules, meaning I totally pig out on whatever I want to eat (huge piles of deep fried okra being one of my favorite things to pig out on).

We waddled out of the restaurant, came home, watched some Olympics, and stuffed our faces with the disgusting pile of chocolaty-sugary goodness Lin chose for my birthday “cake” this year. It took the form of a pile of fudge brownies stacked around several scoops of peanut butter icing, and topped off with some miniature Reese’s cups. You’ll have to forgive me for forgetting to take a photo before we’d devoured some of it. As soon as I saw it, any thoughts of cameras or photographs disappeared from my mind.

I don’t know when I fell asleep –or rather, fell into a post-sugar-consumption coma– but fall asleep I did, and then it was Sunday morning. The alarm went off far too early for my liking, but we got up, got dressed and hit the road to Mom’s. We got there just in time to spend a bit chatting before sending Lin to Sonic for lunch. Yes, Sonic twice in the same week! So decadent! Hey, it’s the week of my birthday and my junk food cravings will be satiated! So we ate lunch and spent the rest of the day sitting around chatting (and showing my mom how to do some things on her computer).

Just before we left to head home, it was time for presents! I hadn’t given Mom any guidance on what I might want, because there really wasn’t anything I wanted in particular, so she added a little money to my knitting course/iPad/mad money fund and gave me a microwavable s’mores maker. Thankfully, she also put together a “starter kit” with some marshmellows, chocolate, and graham crackers, because none of those things are items I would normally have in my home. Now, my initial reaction to the microwavable s’mores maker was one of skepticism, but I have to tell you, the people who have given it good reviews on Amazon aren’t crazy. As generally opposed as I am to single purpose plastic kitchen gadgets (I call them space-wasters), I like this one. It works marvelously, and now marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers will be going on some future shopping list.

Oh, and she gave me a totally awesome pink plushy rose. I’ll have to take a photo of it at some point, because it’s really, really cute. I’ve never seen one like it before, and I do love the cute and unusual. And pink things. My constant whining about my pink bathroom aside, I really do like pink things too (just not flamingo pink bathrooms).

We left earlier than usual, because making that drive in the dark sucks, and once we got home, I think I made canned soup for dinner. I also think we watched more Olympics and that I passed out on the couch at some point in another sugar-consumption induced coma. Well, Mom made a cheesecake, and there was still some of that pile-o-brownies sitting around being tempting.

So I had a nice relaxing, stress-free birthday weekend. Just the way I like it. Just enough attention paid to the fact is was my birthday, but not so much as to be embarrassing. Also –as per usual– so many of my friends and wonderful blog readers sent their best wishes my way, and thank you all for that! Always makes me feel well-loved!

And now I am forty-five years old, and all I have to say about it thus far is … it’s not bad! It’s at least no worse than being forty-four! I actually think I am going to enjoy being forty-five. Well … as much as it is possible to “enjoy” middle age anyway.