Ten on Tuesday - 10 Ways to Have a Happy Birthday

This is the "birthday" time of year in my family.  Mine is coming up in a few weeks, and my mother and father and I were all born within a week of one another.  This is not like my husband's family, where he was born the day after his parents' wedding anniversary.  As a small child, he didn't calculate in the fact that he had a sister who was four years older, so his parents had to have been married at least that long before he was born - he was horrified that he was born the DAY AFTER HIS PARENTS GOT MARRIED!  This is still a favorite joke in his family.

And speaking of birthdays...

Today, Wilbur, my four-legged spiritual guide and soulmate, is Lucky 13.  Lucky, because I don't know which one of us is the luckiest that we found each other.  Happy Birthday, Beebsterman.  You've made the last 13 years the best of my life.

Now...on to the 10 Ways to Have a Happy Birthday

1. Eat cake!  Pete always makes me a birthday cake, and he graciously enjoys my pitiful attempts at cake baking.  I am a good cook, but cakes have always eluded me - even instant ones!  When I was growing up, I usually had TWO cakes - the one my mother baked or got at the amazing bakery in our town, and a German kuchen with whole apples baked inside that the next-door neighbor always baked for me.
2. Remember, birthdays aren't about celebrating that you're getting older - they're celebrating your life and how happy everyone is that you were born.
3. Get away from the ratrace.  Since my birthday is in early October, Pete and I frequently head to southeastern Ohio to enjoy the fall color.  A couple years ago, we went to Hocking Hills were we stayed in a lovely B&B and did a lot of hiking...and a lot of relaxing...see picture above for the "relaxing" part.  Unfortunately, his birthday is the first week in February - when Ohio is usually hit with a major ice/snowstorm.  A few years back, we were lucky enough to be able to go to Nashville for his birthday.  Usually, we're shoveling out.  Same thing with Valentine's Day.
4. Get together with friends and par-tay.
5. Take some time for reflection - how did the last year turn out and what would you like to do in the coming year to make it the best one ever?
6. Get gifts of yarn and knitting paraphrenalia.  
7. For those of you lucky enough to have living parents, thank them.  You wouldn't be here without them!  Graciously listen to the "I had morning sickness 24/7 and was in labor for six weeks" stories.  You wouldn't be here without them, either.
8. Be grateful.  
9. Eat cake.
10. Eat more cake, including those big buttercream frosting roses.  This is the only day of the whole year when people will encourage you to do this.  Don't let them down!