The 18th Anniversary of My 29th Birthday

My family really loves me. I know this, because they woke me up before eight a.m. on a Sunday to tell me so. Mo coordinated a delicious breakfast with grits, toast, fresh fruit including kiwis, bacon and coffee spiced with cinnamon. (I cleaned up the kitchen. Remember that Mother's Day when it took me two days to get the dishes washed? : ) Yummy.

Eileen played 'Happy Birthday' on the accordion. It's worth the price of the ticket just to watch his facial expressions. All of my children should be actors.

Big Mo used her beading skills and made me two sets of colorful bracelets. Your brother printed out four free carwash tickets. Dad capped off the family gifts with a Brighton wallet. Fab. You know how I love a good wallet. Not that I ever have any money in it.....

We went out to dinner at the Macaroni Grill. (M.D. and Dad claim it is a Irish restaurant ~ Mac Aroni), where I wore the beautiful necklace you sent to me from the sand box.

Did you see it in the picture of me and Mary Lee?

One of my funniest presents was from Aunt Diana. She takes oodles of time thinking of the perfect gift and ships it overnight, express mail to make sure it is on time.

The gift? Wicked Italian for the Traveler, for our trip in October!

Chapters include:
Classic Border Pleas
Fending off Gypsy curses
Italian Drugs You May Need
Lying to Policemen, the National Pastime
Beautiful Names of Revolting Dishes
Your Emergency Confession
Authentic Screaming for Spectators
Men: Unleash the Latin Lover Inside You
Women: Deflate the Latin Lover Behind You
Denying your Infidelity

Phrases we might want to learn before our trip:

'Non ero molto in forma quando ho fatto la foto' ~ I was not at my best when the (passport) photo was taken.

'Avevamo riservato una camera con vista!' ~ We reserved a room with a view!

'Cos'e quell' odore?' ~ What is that smell?