Thriving and 55-ing

Today I get to celebrate my 55th birthday! In honor of this momentous occasion, I'm sharing 55 of my favorite things in life so far.

I have loved:

1. birthing and raising a child
2. being Carrie's mom
3. being Doug's wife
4. being Marti's daughter
5. being friends with my three amazing siblings
6. having Andrew and his boy Aaron in our lives
7. happy mail
8. hula hooping
9. blowing liquid soap bubbles
10. sparklers
11. practicing and teaching yoga
12. bubble gum
13. pet turtles
14. pet cats
15. Lucky the Dog
16. sitting on a mountainside
17. sitting on a beach blanket near the ocean
18. camping in a tent
19. breakfast burritos at camp
20. heart shaped rocks
21. drawing mandalas
22. teaching others how to draw mandalas
23. sewing quilts
24. painting
25. sketching
26. writing blog posts
27. being a homemaker
28. growing sunflowers
29. fresh flowers in my home
30. photography
31. dark chocolate
32. pizza with extra cheese
33. red wine
34. camo pants
35. yoga clothes
36. tattoos
37. sunshine, with a side of white puffy clouds
38. living in Arizona
39. baking cookies
40. frosting cupcakes
41. making a nice meal for people I love and not having to do the dishes
42. crafting with friends
43. coffee in the morning, made by Doug
44. being barefoot
45. the color blue
46. and red, orange, yellow, green and purple
47. traveling to England
48. meeting blog friends in real life
49. live music (especially acoustic guitar)
50. singing
51. the sound of Om
52. downward facing dog
53. nieces and nephews
54. 55 trips around the sun
55. being me. ♥

To all who have loved and supported and lifted me up, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

With so much gratitude from me to you,
♥ Deb

My birthday weekend in Sedona

Good Monday morning to you, my friends.

♥

What a fantastic weekend I had with my girl C, celebrating my birthday in Sedona, Arizona! We soaked up lots of fresh air and sunshine on a new-to-us hiking trail, ate yummy food, did some fun shopping, and found a super cool yoga class to attend yesterday morning. My heart is so full this morning, and my leg muscles are a bit wobbly. ;o)

For years Carrie and I have visited the same park and walking trail every time we go to Sedona, but this time we  found a new hiking trail recommended by a friend of hers. We vowed to go there again someday and take Doug, but we also vowed to try other trails in Sedona and not find ourselves in a rut, always going back to Soldier's Pass. Ah! It was SO beautiful...

 

There are a few points of interest along Soldier Pass Trail, including these "seven sacred pools." They were really cool to see, but a little tricky to photograph and get all seven of them in the same shot.

 

Ah! That SKY! And those pretty puffy clouds!!!

After our hike we headed back to town for a nice dinner at my favorite restaurant (The Hideaway) and some shopping and photo shenanigans. 

And there you have it, photos from my birthday weekend, 2015.

The past year of my life has been one of profound growth for me. I've accomplished some goals that have been waiting for me for a long time, and I feel poised and so ready for the next chapter.

It's a new day and age for me now!

Look at me go...

♥

Happy Birthday Momfriend!!!

{a guest post from my girl C}

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMFRIEND!

Thank you for always being there for me and assuring me that things are going to be alright. I know I probably drive you crazy with my gemini-ness, but it feels good to know that I have you on my team. I'm so happy that I get to share all of life's adventures with you. Thanks for being the best mom ever.

And the best mom ever deserves an awesome birthday, so now it’s time for me to give you your first birthday present of the day…

PaperTurtle.com!

Yes, it’s true. After years of being taken by some random turtle-lover, I have snagged this domain name for you. Try it – it redirects!

Happy birthday, Momfriend! So excited to get to celebrate another awesome year with you. Love you so much my favorite May-bee!! xo

25 Things I Love About Carrie

Today my sweet little baby girl is 25 years old.

♥

{Carrie, 2 years old, me 29}

I can still remember her tiny little baby body, how she felt in my arms and the way her skin smelled. I remember that she never cried at night, but instead made sweet little grunting noises when it was time to be fed. I love that she smiled for the first time at two weeks old while her Grandma Marti was holding her {and re-smiled at her 2-week check up and her pediatrician was impressed and confirmed that it was a genuine smile} and what a happy little baby she always was. I remember holding her on my lap when she was 9 months old and hearing her clearly say her first word as our cat walked by. "Meow," she declared. "Meow."

Ah! I could go on and on and on about my amazing girl, but in the interest of time {mine, and yours} I'm going to limit my list to 25 things that I love about Carrie on this, her 25th birthday.

1 - That million dollar smile that can light up a room;
2 - Her fun sense of humor;
3 - Our inside jokes - and there are many;
4 - The crazy nicknames we have for each other. Ok, mostly that I have for her;
5 - She's super tech savvy and can figure out anything computer program-ish;
6 - Her dedication to caring for her dad who is disabled;
7 - Her love and affection for Doug and the fun relationship they have;
8 - Her love for celebrities and the mind-boggling number of them she's met;
9 - She's a super responsible and hard working employee;
10 - She's a talented musician and has always had incredible rhythm {She played the tambourine with her dad's band when she was two years old and blew the crowd away!};
11 - Oh, and she has the voice of an angel when she sings;
12 - Those big brown eyes {A stranger in the grocery store once asked three-year old Carrie, "Where did you get those big brown eyes?" Bewildered, she innocently replied, "They're Carrie's eyes." SO cute!}
13 - She's so good with animals, and is a loving pet owner;
14 - Her love and devotion for our family;
15 - The relationship she has with my niece Britny - they are more like sisters than cousins;
16 - Her sense of pride when it comes to accepting help {although this can be kind of annoying too};
17 - Her creative spirit - she's always been a crafter;
18 - Her zest for learning;
19 - Her ability to devour three books at one time - the girl loves to read;
20 - She recognizes the value of splurging on a massage regularly;
21 - The way she's gaining self-confidence with every passing year;
22 - The way she encourages me to be my best;
23 - She keeps a journal and is an awesome writer and blogger;
24 - This girl loves her birthday;
And last, but not least,
25 - I'm the lucky lady that gets to be her mom! ♥

{Carrie, 2 weeks old, Grandma Marti, 48}

♥

Happy birthday to my amazing daughter, Carrie!

With lots of love,

~ Mom-friend

My Birthday and Butterflies

Hey blog friends!

It's been two weeks since my birthday, and I thought I'd share a few photos of my day with Carrie at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Carrie had purchased passes for our local botanical gardens, but kept it as a surprise for me. She told me to wear comfortable shoes, dress for being outside {warm weather} and to bring my camera. I knew I was going to love whatever she had planned! :o)

And I was right! We had a lovely morning, walking in the sunshine, enjoying the last bit of Arizona wildflowers in the garden, seeing cactus in bloom, and some Chihuly art pieces along the way.

{those three light green tall things are Chihuly art}

The gardens have this butterfly exhibit through May 12th, and as my good birthday luck would have it, Carrie and I were there when they received their weekly shipment of butterflies and we got to help release some.

The gardens receive 200 butterflies a week from Florida. It was interesting to learn that the butterflies are captured as soon as they are born {hatched?} and placed in a velum envelope. They are kept at a temperature of 50° which keeps them in a dormant state, and then shipped to Arizona. We were instructed to tear the end of the envelope and then open it, exposing the butterfly to sunlight. Within a few seconds/minutes, the butterfly would slowly flap its wings and take flight. So cool!!!

We had such a wonderful time visiting the gardens, and even had a lovely lunch at their restaurant - that happens to bear my sweet grandma's name: Gertrude's. :o) {The food was really yummy too!}

My birthday was capped off with rainbow cupcakes, a little afternoon nap, pedicures, and then dinner out for the three of us later that evening. What a great way to spend a birthday!

 

Big thanks to my girl C for making my birthday such a memorable one.

I loved every bit of it!

♥