Wednesday, September 15, 2010

It's my party and I'll blog if I want to

I'm going to write my birthday post in two parts and post half today and half tomorrow.
I figured my birthday was a good time to turn over a new leaf and cut my blog posts in half.
Yes, this post is half its original size.
You're welcome.

Anyway, hubs has some super secret plans for the weekend and I don't think blogging is on the agenda so I'm a posting a little bit early.
Thanks to everyone who sent me a question.
You'll have to read to the end of tomorrow's post to see who wins the prize with my favorite.
Or I guess you could skip this post entirely and go straight to the end tomorrow but that would be cheating and you know how I feel about rule breakers.

Let's get this one out of the way right off the bat...

Kathy asks, " Exactly how old are you?
Is this one of those round number birthdays?"

Kathy's blog is one of the first blogs I ever read and in her defense she says she's pretty sure she is older than me so she feels like its okay to ask.

Yes. Yes it is. Birthdays are good, right? As a matter of fact, it is a round number birthday~50. I want you to know that in my head I am way younger. And telling people I'm turning 50 sounds so much nicer than saying I'm hitting 'the half century mark' don't you think?

Along these lines Tina wonders what my first few days on earth were like.

Well, obviously I'm going by what my mom has told me. First of all, she says I was her best baby. Sorry siblings but you all know its true. Apparently you three were trouble early on. My mom says she felt like out of four children she deserved one easy baby and that was me. I was born in Hawaii. My dad was in the Marine Corps at the time and my baby pictures almost all have beautiful backgrounds.


This is me and my dad in front of a banana tree in our backyard. I think my love of all things ocean-beach-sunshine related was in my DNA before I took my first breath.

Christine asks, "Are you a coffee or a tea drinker?
Do you need it to wake up?"

That would be a yes, yes, and a most definite yes. I drink coffee. And I need my coffee first thing in the morning much the same way I need oxygen. I also drink tea. Pretty sure its against the law to reside in Great Britain for any length of time and not drink tea. Every day around 3 ish I have a cuppa as they like to say...it perks me up so I can stay awake until
8:30 PM 10 ish.

Carol asks, "What's your favorite recipe and will you post it at some point but not necessarily your birthday week?"

This one is too hard. Whine whine. I have many favorites but since its a birthday party I will post a recipe one day next week that is handy to have in your repertoire. It's called Fudge Pie and it is super easy and delicious. Everyone always loves it and the ingredients are items I generally have on hand because let's be honest...there are moments in life when you need to whip out a fudge pie and I never want to be caught unprepared.

Leaving the food genre for a moment and moving on to a blogging question...I almost picked this one as my favorite because as I've said before I do love a good post title....

Catherine wants to know "Is it easier to create the title then write a narrative or create a killer title from the narrative you've written."

Most days as I'm writing a post a title forms in my head. I can't think of a time where I had a title but didn't have at least an idea of a post already sketched out in my head or online.

FB friends chimed in too and
Connie asks, "What makes a great birthday present?
What is the best present you've ever received?"

A great present is one that shows thought...that a person didn't just feel obligated to buy me a gift because its an occasion but that the person really and truly thought about it more than five minutes prior to the giving. Maybe its something that I've mentioned in passing that the giver remembered or something they saw that made them think of me. One year my daughters gave me a salad spinner. They were just little bitty things then and remembered me saying I wanted one whenever the ads came on tv. It was so sweet and they were so excited to have me open their present.

Of course you can never go wrong with jewelry. One year I'd had a 'mishap' that required surgery on my hand. I had a ring that I'd always worn on that hand that had to be cut off. The ring, not my hand. Anyway, my hubs surprised me by having the stone reset into a new ring that I loved so much more than the original setting. Plus it was a complete surprise and for me, surprise is often a key element in a great gift. That ring is still one of my very favorite pieces of jewelry.

There's more. There always is with me. This is sort of like the blogging equivalent of the British Prime Minister's Question time where every Wednesday Members of Parliament have a half hour to ask the Prime Minister questions. Yes, I did just compare my blog to Parliament. Hey, it's my birthday, remember?

16 comments:

  1. Joyce, I know you are so excited about your birthday. Sorry, but I did not know it was your BIG 50!! I can't wait to see what Tim has in store for you on your birthday. A trip back to England to celebrate with friends??? I can only imagine. I enjoyed reading all the answers to your questions. It is so fun to learn more about each other. Take care and I will look forward to your next post about your birthday. Love & blessings from NC!

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  2. Happy Happy Birthday!

    Delighted to meet you. Hope you don't mind if I splash around a bit to get to know you. This looks like a refreshing spot to get drenched in goodness.

    Splashin,
    Sara

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  3. Happy Early Birthday Joyce! You are younger in my mind too! Looking forward to hearing what the secret weekend plans are. You two have a great time!!!

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  4. I'm pretty sure this post is NOT half the usual size, although it was a nice try on your part . . .

    But it's your birthday and you're entitled to write like Tolstoy if you wish!!

    Happy Birthday my online friend! I hope the weekend is fabulous!

    Catherine

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  5. Happy Birthday! I hope it is as special as you are! I can't wait to hear what your hubs has in store for you!

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  6. You can NEVER go wrong with jewelry. I've been thinking about doing a linky entitled "Show me your favorite piece of jewelry" because I am a little obsessed with the bling.

    Speaking of, hope you get some nice bling for your birthday.

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  7. Happy birthday, Joyce! I hope you have a wonderful birthday week{end} celebrating. Love this picture of you and your dad. Priceless!

    And oh-so-glad it was just the ring getting cut off. ;) Presents that show thought are the best, yes?

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  8. This was fun! Looking forward to part two.

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  9. That fudge pie sounds so good! I can´t wait for you to post it. Sorry I missed asking a question, but I love reading these and your answers.

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  10. Happy Birthday, Joyce! I hope it's a great one for you! Trust me, age 50 is just hitting another gear...a tad slower gear, but it's still okay:) I love these questions/answers, it's nice getting to know you a little better:) I can't wait for that fudge pie recipe--and to hear what the hubs has "up his sleeve"for your birthday. Have a great weekend! Kathy

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  11. I am so happy that you posted this...so much fun. I can't wait to hear all about your weekend. I am going to say have fun, but I know that you will!!

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  12. Darn it! I missed the questions post. Darn homeschooling! Darn laundry! Darn naughty boys! Darn, darn, darn.

    Well.
    Happy Birthday nonetheless. :)

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  13. Great questions and answers. Love that pic of you and your dad too. Looking forward to reading the rest.

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  14. I'm still wondering where hubs is taking you this weekend! Have a good one!

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  15. Joyce,

    I prefer to see it as you are 21 with 29 years of experience to go along with that. Sounds much better than the first. I too love gifts that show how much they've been listening and understanding my needs.

    Have a blessed and wonderful 21st!

    Love and Hugs ~ Kat

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  16. Happy Birthday, Joyce! Hope you've had a wonderful celebration and I look forward to hearing/reading all about it! Love your posts!!

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