Speechless!

It was my birthday this week.  I normally don't make a big deal out of it, but this one was so special, I just HAVE to mention it.

The day started with a birthday hug and kiss from hubby, and was filled with so many surprises, I still can't get over it.

I received many birthday messages by snail mail, e-mail, Facebook and phone from family and friends throughout the day.  One e-mail included a story of my life my sister Jocelyne wrote, from the time I was born, complete with a made-up ending where I become rich and famous publishing my books, she wins the lottery, and we both travel and visit other countries.  Hey, it's good to dream!  ;)

My manager treated me to lunch at Toros, a turkish restaurant, and of course I ate too much.

When we got back to the office, flowers from my family in Canada were waiting for me!  Aren't they beautiful?

 My manager stepped out and came back with a cake.  She and my co-worker sang Happy Birthday to me while I sat awkwardly at my desk, not knowing what to do with myself.

 Then ANOTHER surprise came, a bouquet of pink roses from my dear husband.  I nearly fainted!

I received a birthday review from Kurt in my critique group, giving me useful suggestions on how to improve my novel's first chapter.  This was the first time someone commented on one of my chapters since I did my major revision, so I was really happy to get some feedback.

You'd think my birthday was pretty awesome already?  There's more!  Hubby treated me to dinner at Sakura-Bana, a Japanese restaurant.  I loooooove sushi!  It was nice to spend some time with him without kids squabbling and asking when we're going home every five minutes. And I'm sure they enjoyed their pizza a lot more than ("ewwww!") raw fish.  We don't do that very often, so it was quite a treat.

How awesome is that!  Everyone was so nice to me all day, and I continued receiving birthday wishes and more reviews from my critique group, from Kate and Emerin the following day.

There's more to come!  Louisa asked me for my address to send me some more Tim Tams from Australia.  Many of you probably don't know what Tim Tams are, and you're missing something!  They are Australian cookies, and there's a special way to eat them, which I discovered when Tania sent me some for Christmas.  I should write a blog post about that next.

My sister promised to celebrate my birthday next time I go visit them in Canada.  According to her, it's never too late or too early to celebrate a birthday.  Any time six months before or after a birthday is acceptable.

Thanks, everyone, for making my birthday so special!  Can it be my birthday again today?  And tomorrow?  And the day after that?