Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving

I am a firm believer that when it is your birthday there are a few rules that apply:
-You may eat whatever you want to eat (two kinds of cake, homemade cookies from a student, and a hamburger, It's all fair game.)
-You don't have to eat things you don't want to (your oatmeal, V8 juice, or your daily carrot and apple combo.)
- Whatever you wear will look good.
-Nobody is allowed to be mean to you.
-You don't have to go to the gym if you don't want to.
-You don't have to feel guilty about not going to the gym.
-You don't have to lift a finger in housework.
I also believe that when it is your thirtieth birthday, you have to do something youthful, impractical, and out of the ordinary. Therefore, I decided that even though I had only been back from Arizona for four days, I was going to fly out to Texas for my birthday weekend. If you have ever been to Texas, you know why: Everything is bigger and better there. (That's what they tell me.) While there, we bought these Texas sized rings with fake diamonds glittering in the sun to document all of our experiences. There is nothing greater then 30 glittering ring pictures at delightful and crazy places to remind you that birthdays are a little slice of heaven. It was fabulous. Pictured are only a few of those delightful moments: The old school roller rink, Texas's largest flea market, and NASA (which is highly educational, yet as you can see, fun filled. I even touched a moon rock. How fabulous is that?)

As much fun as Texas was, I'm a sucker for celebrating my birthday with my class. There is something delightful about being at school with my kids for my birthday. And so, I came back and found my room decorated with streamers, balloons, and banners everywhere. To my delight, not only were there Happy Birthday banners but Congratulations banners. I guess I had made too much of a fuss about how important this day was. Then my class brought in cake, pop, and a karaoke machine. How can you not have fun with a karaoke machine blasting out tunes, you standing up on a stool, 30 kids chanting your name with their hands in the air swaying to your song? (Which happened to be The Itsy Bitsy Spider.) As one of my students told his mother about my performance, "She gave it her all."

That night I went out with my best friends and we had a bowling extravaganza of fun. (In case you didn't know, crazy socks always help you bowl better.) One of my friends brought the most beautiful cake into the bowling alley, where they gave us a candle and applauded when I blew it out. I've always wanted to have a birthday party at a bowling alley, and it was all that I had hoped it would be. Sadly, the birthday is over, but that is okay, because even though I once again have to eat my oatmeal and V8, I am now thirty, flirty, and thriving.