Happy Birthday To Me - But it's all about you.

I am 34 years old today. Hold on, let me let that one sink in for a moment…

wait for it…

wait for it…

DAMN…34!

Well then.

And you know what? I’m good. I’m perfectly fine with turning 34. In fact, I’m feeling pretty damn good about 34 right now.

Truth be told, I don’t feel a day over 24. Okay, fine, maybe 25. But to be honest, I feel and look better right now then I have in at least 6 years, so why should I be bummed about 34? I’m having the time of my life.

At 34 I sit before you a single, professional, intelligent, and sexy woman. I have my own home, a great job, the most amazing friends, and an incredible family. I’m in the best shape of my life, and spiritually, in a better place than I have ever been. And I might even have a new love interest (oh, more on that tomorrow).

How could I not, therefore, be thrilled about starting my 34th year on this planet? Of course I am, life is good and full of blessings.

It is those blessings I want to address in this post, because there are many, and I feel there is no better time than my birthday to acknowledge them.

So, consider this my formal thank you letter to the universe for the first 34 years of my life, as I prepare to take on the next 34 and more.

Not to sound like a rap artist at an awards ceremony, but first, to God. For all he has given me, and for the gifts, the simple pleasures, the people, the places, the moments. As I have grown in my faith this past year, my life has transformed in ways that I don’t have words to express, and for that, I am grateful beyond words.

To my family. My mother, who is and has always been, my best friend. I feel like I’m repeating myself, but there are no words to express how much I love you and appreciate you. My dad, the hardest working man I know, the sweetest, kindest man I know. We went through a lot in my adolescence, but now, as an adult, I have only admiration, respect and love for you. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have you as my daddy. Lil’ Bro, you were my favorite “toy” growing up. I loved to carry you around, and when you were older, take you places with me and show you off to my friends. In all your years on this planet, I can’t remember one single fight we ever had. We don’t always agree on everything, but we’ve always respected one another, and had this unbreakable bond. Now you are a man, and I’m proud to call you my brother.

My grandfather, who I love dearly and who has always been one of my strongest supporters, always proud of whatever I decided to take on in life, and always ALWAYS there when I really needed him.

My uncle, the Warrior, who took his time with me, but knew just when to bring me back to my faith. I’ll be eternally grateful to you for this.

My cousin M&M, girl, I love you and admire you, and appreciate you and am so glad that as adults we’ve become the best of friends, you are my rock at times, and I’m blessed to know you.

My cousin PM, not even distance could dull our friendship. We have the history, the fun times and the tough times and I love you and the rest of your crazy clan out there in Cali.

The rest of my family should not feel neglected if I didn’t mention them by name, I love them all CRAZILY.

My friends, my other family. As a single girl, with no husband, no kids, it is in my friends that I have found my family. There are so many of you I’d be here all day if I named you all individually, so I’m not going to. But I will say that collectively, and individually, you all make my life worth living. Each and every one of you (and you all know exactly who you are), bring elements to my life which help to make me a whole person. I’d be incomplete if I didn’t know you.

Which brings me to my on-line friends. Those I’ve met in person, those I have not, those I speak to daily, those I only speak to once or twice a month. The bloggers, the Twitterers, the ones on Facebook and Yahoo and who knows where else on the interwebs…I learn from you, I laugh with you, I pray with you, and sometimes I even cry with you. I carry you in my pocket (literally, in my handy dandy blackberry) each and every day, and I genuinely care about your lives, and know you care about mine. I’m glad I “know” you.

Those are the people. There are so many other blessings I am truly grateful for, but as I turn another year older, I am learning that it is definitely, without a doubt, about the people you surround yourself with. And I? I have the best in my corner.

So, this is for you, on my birthday, I want to thank you.

Happy Birthday to me…because of you.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

I have, once again, let a whole week gone by without much blogging (uh, any?), but today is Candid Mama's birthday...a perfectly good reason to blog again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!!!!

That's mom and me, when she was just a young thing, with a young thing like me. How beautiful was she? She still is. My mother is more than just my mom, she is without question my best friend and I am so grateful to have her in my life.

Have a great Sunday everyone.

A hug in a box.

My Ultimate Blog Party Post is here.

We live in a messed up world, full of crime, and hatred, negativity and misery, and it is sometimes easy to overlook the good, and focus solely on the bad. But every once in a while a fellow human being does something that re-affirms your faith in the beauty of humanity. With a simple gesture or two, some people can help restore the balance in the world, simply by thinking of others.


You're getting all this rhetoric, simply because on Saturday night I received a hug in a box. Something that brought tears to my eyes for the the pure thoughtfulness of the gesture.


I arrived home from my day at the casino right around midnight, and was thrilled to find a box near my mailbox. When all you ever receive in the mail are bills and junk mail, getting anything that doesn't fit into those two categories immediately brings a smile to your face. Because it was my birthday, I'd been getting birthday cards in the mail all week, but this was the first (and only) package. I read the return address, and was confused, and excited. Bella Bags. I had an idea what this was, but from whom, I couldn't begin to guess.


So, imagine my surprise when I open up the box to find this:





Pretty ain't it? I absolutely love it, and the colors and style couldn't be more fitting for me (they even match my living room). But the best part? The little tag hanging there (which I tried to photograph, but after about 15 attempts and no luck, gave up) said "Happy Birthday Candid Karina, with much blog love from Sognatrice". My blog buddy from Italy completely surprised me, and absolutely made my night (weekend).


Thank you again Sognatrice, I really was touched and am extremely grateful. I have no doubt that if we didn't live on separate sides of the ocean, we'd be hanging out regularly. As it is, I'm so glad we get to be blog-buddies, you are one of a kind.


Just another wonderful way the blogosphere has blessed me.


Do yourselves a favor, and head on over to check out Sognatrice's blog, it'll become one of your favorite places to visit, I promise. Also, (edited to add) do check out Bella Bags by Marcia, where Sognatrice got that lovely bag from, they have some fantastic stuff!

And don't forget to stop by Cafe Karina for this week's recap of American Idol.

Birthday Fun - With Photos

So, as most of you already know, yesterday was my birthday, and I've always been the sort of person who makes a bit of a fuss about my birthday. It was always a big deal growing up, and I've carried that through to my adulthood. Hey, we're only given one day a year that is all about us, and we spend the rest of the year working really hard to please others, so why shouldn't we celebrate ourselves? So, I do.

And this past weekend I had many opportunities to do just that, and to enjoy the company of some great friends in the process.

On Friday at work, my coworkers surprised me with birthday cake, a card, and a plant. Is it a sign that you are all grown up when you are genuinely giddy by receiving a plant?

The real fun started early on Saturday, when I headed to Mohegan Sun Casino to meet up with my friend Ms. B.. Since she lives in New York, the casino in Conneticut is a great half way point for us to meet. Don't know why we've never thought of it before, but I think it'll become a more regular meeting place for us. So, we met up, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and played a few penny slots. Immediately the day was off to a good start, as I won about $8 right off the bat. Let me take a moment here to explain to you what a feat this is, because you see, I-DON'T-EVER-WIN at gambling. EVER. No scratch ticket wins, no concert tickets on the radio wins, no slot machine wins, no raffles, no bingo...I don't win. So, hey, $8 up and I'm a happy camper. Of course, I kept playing and promptly lost it all again, but it was early yet, and it was only a $5 bill that I had started off with.

From there, Ms. B and I headed in to watch the show we had tickets for. It was a ballroom dance showcase featuring some of the world's champions in various styles of ballroom dance. The show was wonderful and we truly enjoyed it. I wish I had some photos to share with you, but photography was not allowed at the show. After the show we walked around some, avoided the Bon Jovi fans as much as we could (man, was I jealous), and did some more gambling on the penny slots, and a bit of Keno (where I won again...a whole dollar, but hey, still a win). Then we had dinner, and decided to hit the penny slots one last time before we left. Ladies and gents, it was then that I struck it rich. I won $94.23! On a penny slot machine, in one fell swoop! Needless to say, I cashed that baby out and called it a night.

Ms. B. and I then said our goodbyes and headed our own separate ways home. I came home to a wonderfully unexpected surprise from a fellow blogger, but I am actually going to leave that one to tell you all about tomorrow. It was such an amazingly kind and wonderful surprise that it is deserving of its very own post, so please do come back tomorrow so I can tell you all about it.

On Sunday I slept in quite late, and then woke up to the great surprise (read sarcasm here) of my internet being down. After much battling and effort, and the assistance of a wonderful customer service technician at Buffalo (the makers of my new internet router), I was back online...just in time for a date with my mother to go grocery shopping. After that errand, I had just enough time to run home, put away my groceries, and head out to dinner with my friend Shopaholic, and another mutual friend of ours. Shopaholic surprised me with a bag of goodies, including the plant on the right in the photo below (the plant on the left is the one my coworkers gave me). Yep, I'm all grown up, my plants are gifts I'm completely excited about.

Speaking of plants (or plant like things), since mom and dad had given me my birthday present back in January (this Sanseo coffee machine, which quickly became my favorite appliance), while out grocery shopping mom presented me with these:

Ain't they pretty?

Then yesterday mom and I took the day off work, and had planned a mother/daughter day to celebrate my birthday. As a wonderful surprise, my brother decided to join us on our outing to the zoo, and the three of us had a wonderful time walking around and checking out all the animals and their wild antics. I will have photos from the zoo posted here on Thursday, as well as a tale you won't believe...with video for proof. Trust me, you'll want to come back for that.

The celebrations ended with a family dinner at a local Japanese restaurant with mom, dad, grandpa and my brother.

I want to thank you all for your birthday wishes throughout the past few days, they have each and everyone of them been greatly apreciated. You have all brought a smile to my face, and made me feel loved.

I had a wonderful birthday, and am feeling great, even if I am a WHOLE YEAR older (or is it just another day older?) and back at work. Now I need to do some serious blog hopping, I practically missed Fun Monday and there's a party going on, you know?

Happy Birthday to me

The thing about birthdays is this, you either love them, or you hate them. I fall into the LOVE THEM category.

I think birthdays are fantastic and everyone should celebrate them no matter how old you are. In fact, I’m a firm believer that the older you get, the more you should celebrate. After all, you made it through another year, what a gift that is. Appreciate it; be proud of it, LOVE IT.

I’ve always been a big birthday person. From the time I was a little girl, birthdays were always a big deal in my house. My mom would make these insane cakes, of little dolls in a dress made of cake, or a picturesque scene by a lake in a park, with edible swans. Every birthday was a special occasion. So I’ve grown up to think of my birthday as a very special day.

As I get older, a lot of my friends don’t want to acknowledge their birthdays, either because they don’t want to recognize the fact that they are getting older, or because of some misplaced sense of guilt, that perhaps it is inappropriate to celebrate one’s own birth?

I disagree wholeheartedly. And maybe as I’m proudly stepping officially into my “thirty-somethings”, certain people feel that I shouldn’t make a big deal out of it, but to them I say “phewy”! That’s right “phewy!” It’s my day to celebrate me, to celebrate life, to celebrate another year on this planet, and I will make a big deal out of it if I want, and if you don’t like it…well, I don’t much care.

So, yes, I am one of those people that tells everyone around me that it’s my birthday, and I dress extra nice on that day, and I treat myself to something special, and I get giddy when others remember that it is my day. I throw myself birthday parties; I buy myself gifts. I love the attention on this one day of the year.

And I don’t know why it is that society makes it seem so wrong to do so. Why should we feel guilty that we want to celebrate ourselves one measly day (or maybe the week surrounding it) out of an entire year? I work hard all year, I take care of others, and I remember their special days and make a big deal out of them as well, so why shouldn’t I be excited when it’s my turn?

I’ve attempted the so-called good manners on this issue, attempted to tell people that it wasn’t a big deal, that I didn’t need presents…like everyone I say, “oh, you didn’t have to, you shouldn’t have, I don’t need anything”, but damned if I don’t get happy like a kid in a candy store when someone gives me a present, surprises me with a cake, or just simply sends me a card.

And to every single person who has remembered me today, I just want to say THANK YOU; you really have made my day, over and over again. I feel blessed; I have some incredible friends. You guys make it worth it.

So there it is, I’m 31 today (30 freakin’ ONE), and I still act like a child on my birthday. And you know what? As long as I have birthdays, I will continue to do so, because I’m blessed each and every year with a new start, and I intent to start each and every year celebrating myself.

Who’s with me?