Before I regale you with memories of birthdays past, I want to say thank you to you all for the well wishes & kind words.

This birthday has been the hardest one yet.

21?…no biggie – I don’t drink. 30?…no biggie – I didn’t feel any older. 39?….39?….

39?….well, let’s just leave it at that, 39.

But again – thank you for all the kind words.

Birthday Dessert #2: Cake batter & the stereotypical yet iconic image of a toddler holding her first batter-covered beater.

(But I think this one was a yellow cake.)

Birthday Dessert #7 (I think…that could be me at 7, right?): Mom’s labor-intensive homemade barbie doll cake – complete with matching brown curly hair.

(That would be me in the back looking ever so impressed & wondering when I’m going to actually get to eat that cake.)

Birthday Dessert #33: Chocolate dessert martinis (no alcohol, just a whole-lotta chocolate luuuuvvvvv)

(Yes, I know – I skipped a few years. But all my other family photos reside in a box…in a warehouse…in Oklahoma.)

I was still a swingin’ single woman livin’ up the nightlife at Sambuca’s in uptown Dallas wearing a fabulous Chinese silk-fringed strappy number wondering when I would find my ‘damn man’.

Damn Man: The name I gave my unknown Mister Right because I knew when I finally saw him I would take one look & think ‘Damn’.

Birthday Dessert #39: Well, what birthday dessert #39 was supposed to look like minus the swirl & strawberry had I actually made it last night.

It sits still in the pan…now in the fridge…waiting to be melted into chocolate lava luv.

Maybe tomorrow night.

It started last night when Eric came home with boxes from the mail room.

Boxes we didn’t order….boxes with goodies inside….goodies we had no clue of.

He was so excited to see what was in the boxes (even though they were my boxes) that he opened them up right away.

They were from my dearest friends, Kim & Lisa. And while we opened the contents of box 2, we left box 1 for me to open today – on my actual birthday.

[that would be hurry up & wait number one]

The card made me smile. And after unwrapping the rest of the goodies & eating the M&M’s she stuffed in box 1, I got busy with making my own birthday dinner.

Pulled Pork BBQ.

I had wrapped up the pork shoulder last night with all kinds of good spices.

Nestle it in the crock pot…

Turn the timer to 10 hours…whip out the BBQ sauce Lisa sent me to add at the last hour…and wait.

[hurry up & wait number two]

Ten hours later, the pork is fork tender & then it’s time to start on the buns.

Have I mentioned that all the bread at the commissary expires within a day or two?

There’s never any fresh bread – so I’m glad I brought the bread machine my mom got me years ago. (Thanks, Mom.)

Start the  dough cycle…and wait.

[hurry up & wait number three]

Hmm…these don’t look so done. So back in the oven they went.

[hurry up & wait number four]

While those keep baking, it’s time to start on the chocolate lava cakes.

Unwrap the chocolate…without eating the chocolate…

Put all the goodies into the double boiler….

[ring, ring, ring]

It’s Eric…he’s having to work late. Fudge.

[hurry up & wait number five]

So it was dinner for one & wait to do the cakes another night.

Lovely tender, juciy pulled pork BBQ with a dill pickle & diet Sprite – because I’m all about counting calories.

I may make the cakes tomorrow night, I may make them Friday night.

I don’t know.

It’s been a long day of hurry up & waits and I’m ready to go crash for the night.