Happy Birthday to Me!

I celebrated my 44th birthday yesterday in typical weeknight fashion.  Sheesh, I hate birthdays.  My family has figured out a way to celebrate my birthday so that I don't complain about having a birthday though.  I got my gift about a week ago, my cake over the weekend, and ice cream on my actual birthday.  But let's jump right in and talk about the gift.

Joe bought me a pretty awesome gift.

I have had some trouble adjusting to my new kitchen.  I don't like to complain about it, because it's a beautiful kitchen.  It's just not laid out well.  All of the components are there, but the layout doesn't work for someone like me that spends so much time in the kitchen.  It desperately needs an island.  The walking space between both sides of the kitchen is too wide to be practical, but the aisle isn't wide enough for a traditional island.  Kitchen design fail.  I'm a big fresh fruit and veggie chopper.  Since we moved, I've eliminated nearly all processed foods from our diets.  That means I'm spending a lot of time chopping up fresh stuff to cook or just to store in the fridge for snacks.

See that little teeny amount of counter space next to the cooktop?  There's no chopping going on there.  The space is too small for any kind of cutting board.

Do you see that little diagonal peninsula thingie?  That's where I do the chopping.  That's pretty inconvenient, because the cooktop is a decent stretch away.  I chop, then I drop all over the floor on the way to the cooktop.  And to make matters worse, there are two stools on the other side of that peninsula, so I always have helping hands and maybe even baby feet in whatever I'm chopping.  It's a mess.

And do you see what I'm saying about the distance between the two sides of the kitchen?  Too narrow for a regular island, too far apart to be convenient for moving back and forth around the kitchen.

I've been trying to figure out a way to make it more user friendly, so I decided I needed a kitchen cart, a small one smack dab in the middle of the kitchen.  I was hoping for one with a cutting board top and a shelf to hold maybe a nesting bowl set or something that is taking up a lot of space in a cupboard.  I asked The Coach for a cart for my birthday.  I picked out a few and sent them to him, and he bought me one for a combo birthday/anniversary gift.  And of course, he picked out the most awesome one on the list.

I was really excited when I saw the box.  I had a John Boos butcher block before, it was the beautiful giant sage colored one that was in my craft room.  I had to sell it when we moved, no matter how hard I tried I couldn't fit it anywhere in the new house.  It was huge, and very heavy.

It's perfect!  Not only does it have the butcher block top, but it has the shelf I was hoping for, a drawer, and a towel rack.

It's a perfect fit.  PERFECT.  And it has made a huge difference in the practicality of my kitchen.  Funny how a little 24 inch square can make such a big impact.  

But you know what?  That wasn't the best part of my birthday.  The best part of my birthday came from Justice.  We have a lady at our church that makes the BEST cakes.  Everybody always wants a "Lorna Cake".  I've always wanted a Lorna cake.  And while that falls on deaf ears to most folks in the household, Justice decided that rather than attempt his hand at a cake himself, he was going to order me a cake from Lorna.  So one day at church, he slipped her a piece of paper that had his "order" on it, and his phone number in case she had any questions.  She was tickled with him and the whole process.  He was pretty cute, she claimed.  He even called her the evening after we cut it to let her know how much we all enjoyed it and to thank her again.  

Justice finally got around to telling his Dad he ordered me a cake on the day he was supposed to pick it up.  Ha!  And Jack got to hold it on the way home, so it got just a teensy bit smashed on one side.  

My favorite!  White cake, raspberry filling, buttercream frosting.  And the kid of the month awards goes to…!  I'm telling you, Justice is going to make an absolutely awesome husband one day.  I hope and pray he finds someone that appreciates his kindness and tender heart.

And finally, last night my crew took me out for ice cream.  You know, they're so thoughtful to think of taking me out for something like that.  Ha.  Little scammers.  All of them, including The Coach.  

I'd be remiss to let my birthday go by without thinking of my Grandma Mary Lou.  I love her and miss her, and my birthday is never the same without her. 

Thank you to my awesome family for working around my birthday phobia and finding a way to make it awesome and fun.  And delicious.