November 9th

We celebrated my birthday yesterday! I made a pumpkin roll for dessert (which Zoey was calling the "birthday taco"), but my neighbor dropped off a chocolate cake and the candles worked better on the cake than the roll, so that's what made the picture (although I did try a little of both, and I must say the pumpkin roll hit the spot!)

 The kids helped blow the candles! It was a great day, thanks to all who made it special for me with kind messages or visits! Brian took me out to eat the night before and we did some Christmas shopping, which I love to do (especially before the holiday crowds- I have no patience for it).

 We didn't actually have to spend much money for my birthday; when Brian and I were married, we had used all our wedding money on investing in a really expensive, but nice set of pots and pans. Unfortunately, six years later, they were in horrible shape! The non-stick coated had all worn off and was flaking into our food. I was sooo disappointed. Brian did some checking and found they had a lifetime guarantee, so we took them back to the store, without a receipt, and got roughly $800 in store credit! So it felt like Christmas coming home with a trunk-load of brand new pots and pans. I am so excited! And, if we ever have a problem, we can always take it back and get a new one! It's a wonderful thing! I think new pots and pans will make cooking exciting again :)