Happy. It was a Happy Birthday indeed! I'm still happy about it, ha. We opened with a Nathan basketball game, then made our way to Lucia's for brunch with Stacey, Bowen, and soft-n-sweet Baby Cooper. We didn't actually eat Cooper up - although it's tempting because he is insanely adorable, we're all complete idiots around him, laughing at his every smile, grimace, coo, and giggle. But we did share a feast of scrumptious Lucia's-style (aka top-notch) food...cherry scones, a sweet-potato waffle with cinnamon butter, eggs - scrambled, omelet-ed, and frittata-ed, oven-roasted potatoes with sour cream alongside, thick-cut bacon, salads, to-die-for cheese grits and yes, pear-streusel tart, chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate cake for post-brunch dessert! Washed down with lots of coffee and for me, a marvelously clammy, salty Birthday Bloody Mary, mmm...

After rolling out of the restaurant - and a post-brunch trip into Lucia's Bakery for, you know, more food for later (!) - we headed over to the Coop's new home to check out the estate sale of some of the previous owner's belongings. After tours of the new digs for John and Nathan, we made our way home...

...and here, more delights, because there were two - TWO! - gorgeous flower deliveries waiting for lucky me! And then presents, beautiful presents, from Nathan and John, my parents, and my in-laws Dot and John! Yay, presents! And lots of fun phone messages and calls, which put an even-bigger grin on my my already grinning face! And emails and cards to pry my goofy grin even wider! I'm so lucky - it really was THE BEST! I loved it all, in the purest way, I think I enjoyed this birthday particularly, for all my grumbling below. Or perhaps because of it. Like I said, I don't stay down for very long, it's really not my nature. Not to mention, I've never been one to shun a gool ol' weekend of celebrating and gifts, ha, also not my nature. Turns out, woo hoooooo for my 40th (gulp) birthday!?!