I'm still celebrating...

Because I had to work on my birthday I will be extending my personal celebration over the weekend with early dinner and a movie on Sunday but I needed to pop in and share. This year my wish list was very practical. You might think that my gifts are a bit off but I'll tell you that I love them.

First I'll start with the pretty gift.

It's a Camera Bag for my pride and joy.
I own a Nikon and a couple of lens but my current Camera Bag was a bit of a clunker.
I had been eying this one for a while. At first I wanted it in Red but I 'eyed' it for too long and they discontinued it. I was excited that the brown came out and it matched so well with my other bags. My 'baby' now has a beautiful new home. Woot Woot!! Happy Birthday to Me!!

Second.. The whopper of all gifts...

Yes. It's a Rice Cooker.
Do you know any Hispanic families? We are breed on Rice and Beans. Our standard for Rice is unique. It's something we have in common with Asian families. The difference is that we like our rice loose. Well, our household had been struggling with the rice cooker for many months. The rice would either turn out raw, over cooked, or a mixture of both, but it was a rare occasion when the rice would be perfect. Sigh. I might not eat rice every day but I want my rice to be delicious every time. I have not given this baby a test drive but the reviews have been positive AND it's so pretty, I just might put up with bad rice for a bit longer if my test drive flops. Happy Birthday to Me!!

Thanks to my sisters and my baby girl for the wonderfully, thoughtful presents!

What else did I get?

After work I headed over to Vera Bradley - I have a weakness for Vera Bags.
They were having a sale event and I needed to pick up a cosmetic bag to match my Weekender bag. I was telling my sister that I was having problems because I used my new bag over the weekend but my cosmetic bag didn't match. As everyone in last weeks retreat found out... I'm a bit anal. Everything in it's place and all that. LOL! Not only did I pick up the cosmetic bag but a new Gym bag too. Happy Birthday to Me!!

THEN to top things off, when I got home, My Short Story quilt was waiting for me on the doorstep! Mary over at Quilt Hollow had completed the quilting and put it in the mail early this week. I was so excited!! I could not take a picture because it was already dark but I'll be sharing soon enough. Happy Birthday to ME!!

Okay, so now to what you all have been waiting for.
I will tell you that I read each and every one of your comments. I loved reading your stories and I appreciate that you shared them with me. That was a wonderful gift. Thank you.
After pulling out any double postings, I ended up with 82 comments. From Random.org...

Our winner is # 52

April from Artsy Fartsy Designs who wrote:

Hi Sandy! Happy early birthday! we should have celebrated this weekend at the retreat along with Lisa's! and Angie's was last week! so many birthdays!
i hope yours is a great day!!

Birthdays were always a huge ordeal to my Mom. She made our birthdays so special & made us feel so loved, even as adults. She passed away 4 1/2 years ago the day before my 25th birthday. So unfortunately I share my birthday with a not so great anniversary. HOWever, 4 years later & I'm finally able to enjoy my day again. I would have to say this year (my 29th) was the best birthday since her passing away. Just feeling loved from friends and family really makes it great :) We celebrated my *last* birthday celebration- as next year I will not be 30, but it will be the 1st anniversary of my 29th birthday! :-D

This is what I'm talking about when I thank you all for sharing your stories with me. Many were as touching as April's. Funny thing is that April was at the Modern Guild Retreat last weekend with me and we got to know each other better. She understands my anal tendencies because, as Juanita commented on another post, my workstation was definitely the tidiest. LOL!

I just might have to adopt April's idea of having an anniversary of my birthday but I'll wait to hit 50 since so many of you said that was the BEST of all!!

Cheers to many more wonderful birthdays to come, for you and for me!!