you've got (birthday!) mail.

This year, I will be better at writing birthday cards.

Sunday, I had a birthday, and I came to the realization that these days, the cards really are the best part. I've always enjoyed my birthday. I think a big part of it used to be that, in being a twin, there was always extra to celebrate! My family always did a good job in not lumping Audry and I together as "the twins", and instead, focused on the fact that we were two babies born at once. Therefore, twice to celebrate! I used to get burst after burst of excitement as family members and friends would walk into our birthday parties with two gifts each! What could they be? would they be the same? different color? why is one gift small, and one circle?! it didn't even matter. there were 2. and being of the same gender, we both really scored big. we really both got twice as much. But see, even in those days, beyond the gifts, was the tradition of the cards. I'm not sure when it actually started, but as long as I've known how to read, I've been sharing my cards with an audience. In our family, each card is read aloud. The tradition has a slight resemblence to storytime in a kindergarten classroom. The birthday person shows off the card, and then proceeds to read it. The process is then repeated with every card brought to the party.



The older I get, the more I can appreciate a good card. This year was the best of them all. I got cards at home and at work, some hand delivered and some via snail mail, some outright hilarious, and some that truely touched my heart. They are the best. Each one from a person that loves me enough to write me out a card. A card that gave me a little boost, and made me feel appreciated, loved, and best of all, known. I even solidified my consistency as a granddaughter, seeing as both my granny (moms mom) and grandpa (dads dad), got me identical cards. So, I vow to be better at it. I want to be more like the people that love me. It may not come naturally to me, but those I love deserve to hear it. Especially on the anniversary of their birth!


Here is one of my favorite funny ones. It's from Deepa.



































I'm holding her to it!

what have you been watching?!

Welcome to "Blog Mondays". What can I say, i've hit a few bumps here while trying to master consistency... but I'm back!

for now.

(i think).

Anyway, with the encouragement of fellow friends, and bloggers, Katie and Krista, I've been re-inspired! And to get the entries rolling on our old/new blogs, we're starting "blog mondays". Basically, they're going to be a short, themed question each week, for us to answer in as much or as little detail as we want. I hope you find them enjoyable!

Todays question: What were the last 3 movies you saw?

I'm not going to try to do some in depth reviews, b/c frankly I don't think I'd do that well. When it comes to movies, I'm pretty predictable. If it's a rom-com or a suspense movie, chances are it will be a worthwhile viewing in my book. But here we go! the last 3 movies I watched!

It's Complicated:

With a roommate that has a Netflix account, I'm slowly catching up with movies I've let slip by in recent years. A few weeks ago when the little red envelope showed up, I was hopefully optimistic about having this rom-com to watch. Surprisingly, however, my favorite thing about the movie, was the bakery that meryl streeps character owns in it. I'll fill you in on why at a later post, but until then, google it! it's amazingly inspiring!

The Back-up Plan:

No surprise here, another rom-com! Every other Wednesday, a group of my friends uses going to the movies as an excuse to spend time with each other. With this habit, we get a lot of new movies seen, but our beloved chick flicks end up taking priority. This one was surprisingly better than I thought it would be. Again, it's predictable, but I figure that I paid my $5 to be entertained, and i was.

Babies:

It shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone that knows me, that I'd want to see this movie. For one, I'm often pulled into documentary type shows. I'm definitely a visual learner, and there's just something about getting to peek into the lives of other cultures that is truly fascinating to me! and two, it's babies! I love 'em. With no dialog in the entire movie, it still managed to be remarkably entertaining! Each baby had his/her own charm, and their little personalities just made my night. It did make me think how it's amazing how protective some parents are of their littles. If they could only see the way kids are Mongolia are still managing to make it to adulthood when their parents merely hold them on the back of motorcycles as infants; Or the animal mouths that some babies stick their hands in, it's pretty amazing. It's reassuring to see that at the end of the day, the thing all the babies had in common were nurturing parents, that were taking care of them the best they knew how. and with love.

It's good to be back.

for now.

X's, O's and blog mondays!