Happy Birthday To Me

                          
Some times I find just the thing I need to see on FB. I know it's not a coincidence, it's God getting in touch with me. He encourages me in different ways. What I see and read is one way. Imagine what people get from contact with you one day or each day. Maybe it's a smile to someone you pass on the street. Maybe it's sweet words you speak to the busy person at the drive thru who often may be yelled at by customers or the boss. Maybe it's just saying good morning or hello to someone you don't know. You might be the only person who spoke to them today. It doesn't cost us anything to spread kindness. Imagine how you will feel just by being nice to people and noticing them.

I had a discussion with Sarah who works in retail. She said it's sad that customers are mean and say things to her which are mean and nasty. As thought because she works in retail, she's somehow below them and the customer is always right attitude.

Sarah said because of how she is sometimes treated at work, it makes her go out of her way to be nice to others knowing what they're dealing with day in and day out.

We went to her former place of employment and spoke to the woman who does the ordering, decorating and all the little extras that are done. This is a greenhouse with a beautiful gift section. This woman told us she has 1 year before she retires. She said it's amazing how mean people can be towards retail workers. She spoke much that same as Sarah about it.  How sad that people feel they can take out their mood on workers who are there to help them.

So today is another birthday for me.  I don't despair when birthdays come. I celebrate that I'm alive and living the life God gave me.

Sarah took me to breakfast this morning and spent part of the day with me. It was so much fun just spending time with her.

 My twin sister calls me early on our birthday and we sing happy birthday to each other. Then we talk for a bit before going on to our day.  She's been doing this for so long I can't remember when she started it.  We were both working so she'd get up at 5 to call me here at 6. She's an hour behind us here in Ohio.  Then she'd get ready to go to work as a nurse at 7 and I'd get ready to teach my students.  Such a fun tradition.

It made me think of birthday traditions we had here with the kids. I'd ask them the night before what they wanted for breakfast. I'd make it for them and bring it to them with a lit candle in the waffle or bagel or whatever bread they had. I'd sing to them, they'd blow out the candle and eat while we talked about the day they were born.

Kids love hearing about the day they were born.  Then if there was time, we'd look at their baby album and talk about that day and what went on, who visited and gifts they got.  I'm telling you even when they got older, I did this and they never once complained.  (The things kids do for their mamma.) 

We'd go to the restaurant of their choosing, then come home for presents, cake and ice cream. My son didn't like cake especially, so he chose an ice cream treat instead of cake.

When I was a child, my mom would make our favorite meal.  My favorite meal was spaghetti and garlic bread. My mom's garlic bread was amazing! She'd buy a loaf of Italian bread at the bakery and slice it long-ways. Then she'd butter it, add a layer of cream cheese and sprinkle garlic powder on top. It would bake in the oven until the cream cheese was soft and warm. Yum, nothing like the smell of garlic filling the house and your mouth! LOL

Think of some of the things your family did for birthdays. It might bring back some wonderful memories.

 This is one of my favorite pictures of Santa. It really spells out Christmas for me.

 'Tis the season for Christmas cards. I have many friends who are card makers like I am. This is a gorgeous card from Jane. I love the detail she put into this. She colored the brick of the house and added so much sparkle to the tree behind the window.  Her envelope was decorated as well. She stamped the tree and decorated it. I really enjoy getting handmade cards.

 This is the mug I got for myself today. I needed a few 12 oz mugs or larger for coffee. When I saw this I just had to have it. Meowy Christmas!

Speaking of meowing...this is the color challenge card for yesterday. We were to use garden green, cherry cobbler and silver. I made this card with Phoebe in my stamping area. So I took her picture with the card. She's such a sweet cat. Munchkin cats are very people oriented, like a dog would be. They want to be around people.

I saw this today on a blog and had to share it.

 This is the card I made for today's sketch challenge. This stamp set was perfect for it. These are my favorite snowmen. Whipper Snapper is the stamp company name. This is called snowman quartet.

Verse of the Day:

Check out the video. It's truly amazing what the Piano Guys did here.

Blessing of the Day: I got to celebrate my birthday with Sarah and Tim.  I spoke to my twin, and I receive many wonderfu blessings from friends and family.
Tim took me to Macaroni Grill for dinner. My favorite pasta is fettuccine alfredo with chicken. I love the thickness of the noodles and the creamy sauce. It was also great because this restaurant ran a 25 percent off gift cards yesterday. So I bought a 50 dollar card for 37.50. Cha-ching! Nice way to save money.

Ben called me to wish me happy birthday. Many friends and family wished me happy birthday on Facebook or in texts or emails.

Thank you God for bringing me into this world. I pray that I will continue to be open and available to do what you'd have me do to bring glory to you.
Thanks for stopping by.
Blessings,