Happy Friday everyone! It’s a lovely sunny day here and I’m celebrating by putting my feet up and catching up on email. And doing a little thinking, always a dangerous thing.

Tomorrow is my birthday and it seems I’m turning a bit older. Apparently, this happens every year. My 32nd year will be celebrated with a prenatal massage (yes!) and dinner out with Neil. Dash will be home with his grandparents, which is close to the best thing ever for him.

Any talk of birthdays always makes me think of birthdays when I was a kid. Big parties, presents, and a day that was all about me. And how I wanted wanted wanted things for my birthday (and sometimes even got them) and how it’s really not like that anymore. Adult birthdays are less about presents and more about spending time with the people you care about. For instance, no one really asks what I want for my birthday anymore, nor do they expect to hear that I want a Strawberry Shortcake doll.

But when it comes down to it, wanting doesn’t go away, does it? I still want all kinds of things. An elliptical machine, a new house, a housekeeper, and this beautiful thing from Ban.do:

These are the kinds of wants that come with explanations like, “with an elliptical I could work off all the baby weight after Pickle is born,” or “we have a lovely home but it’s not quite right for our growing family,” or “If we had a housekeeper I could spend more time with my family or building a business,” or “with that peacock feather thingy in my hair, I’d be unstoppable.”

And it all seems so rational, right? But they’re still just wants. I could get by without them, I just don’t want to.

It makes me wonder… if I made up a list of every single thing that I want and I somehow got them all, a near impossibility… how long would it take me to start wanting something new?

What about you? What do you want? How do you cope with want vs. need vs. just chilling out about it?

Gosh and golly, before I forget…. I won a contest! More specifically, I won THIS contest from All Star Me.

Woo hoo! Magnets (really good ones, by the way), books, strange glass pig, and much much more. Such a fun thing to find in the mail.

So, as the rules go, it’s my turn to put together a Pay It Forward contest for all of you. I’m still putting it together but I know it will be a mix of vintage and new goodies. You’re gonna want it. Promise.

Stay tuned….

[Edited to add: Um, this contest might be postponed since Dash has disappeared the camera battery charger. Or maybe I could just describe each item in vivid, mouth-watering detail and you could all use your imaginations. What do you think about that?]

I’m just getting around to checking in on my reader and my good god! How am I supposed to find the time to catch up with you all?

From new babies
to
big moves
to
scary moments with blood
to
really happy moments with maracas…

I promise to be good and do my reading and to catch up with all of you as soon as possible. As soon as I have one more cookie.
And maybe some coffee (as this new “hi mama i’m up and it’s 5:30am, wanna play?” really doesn’t fly with me). Sigh.

… And we’re back!

While I try to avoid unpacking, laundry, and basic house clean up that I neglected to do before we left, here are a few choice pictures from our delightful, relaxing, sunny week on the lake.

Dash ready for his early morning canoe ride. Note pj’s, silly swim outfit, and doggie, who went on every canoe trip we took.

Sittin’ on the dock on the murky side of our private peninsula.

Happy baby and daddy.

Anyone know how to edit out foolish-mom-shadow? It couldn’t be avoided here and I really like this shot of Dash’s reflection.

Gathered at the end of the dock one afternoon.

Ok, back to real life now. Hi everyone!

As if on cue, the sun is finally out. Just in time to send us off on a week of vacationing on the lake. Nothing but sun, swimming, relaxing, eating, sleeping, maybe some thrifting, and a wee bit o’ working. That couldn’t be helped, but at least my “work” involves reading fiction. Not too shabby even on a bad day.

So I’ll be away from the computer for a whole week (!) and will miss you all dearly. Farewell.

The other farewell is for Aunt Ethel who passed away today.

Aunt Ethel, Neil, and Dash (at about six months) last year. Ethel and Dash had a real bond due to baby talk being the major form of communication for both of them. You will be missed Ethel.