As of today, I can officially own this book:

Not that I do, of course. I haven't worked out since the morning Elaine was born. It's on my agenda to begin again. There's something out there called the 30-Day Shred, which sounds appropriately terrifying, that I should probably begin with. Maybe when I'm 41.

Since I and many of my friends are turning 40 this year, I'm pretty much planning to celebrate all summer. You know, like 40 Days of Purpose? Except 40 Days of Party. Mackinac Island was part of it, but yesterday was the official day.

It kicked off nicely with Darren setting the girls up in front of "That Darn Cat" (their new favorite) so I could sleep in. Then I made us a late breakfast party of Darjeeling tea and scones with jam and cream.

There has been a heat advisory for the last couple of days; fortunately we had been to the library the day before to stock up on reading and viewing materials. I basically took it easy during the day, sipping iced tea and reading the latest issues of Victoria and Better Homes & Gardens. Then in the afternoon, the girls and I made cupcakes (from Hello Cupcake again). We decided to make the West Highland Terrier ones because, in a few years and after my lobotomy, that's the kind of dog we want to get. Here they are:


Here are Maggie, Daisy, Maisy, Rosie, Asta, Katie, Janet, and Henry (all our possible names--note the one contingency for a boy dog). If you tilt your head and squint, they could also be Persian cats.


In the evening, Darren took care of the girls' supper and bath/bedtime so that I could go out by myself for a couple hours. "To do what?" demanded the girls. "RELAX," I told them. "We want to go with you and relax," Lucy said. "And me too!" chimed in Elaine.

I finally escaped to Ann Taylor with my birthday money burning a hole in my wallet, as my dad would say. They were having a great sale, so I cleaned up. Then I went to Kohls and got some jewelry--if you are looking for fun costume jewelry at great prices, that's the place to go.

Then I came home, and Darren and I made our first famous summer sandwiches of the year--bacon, avocado, and tomato on rosemary olive oil bread. He had asked me if I wanted to go out, but 9 times out of 10 I'd rather eat at home. So we ate those with a Westie cupcake apiece and watched "A Murder is Announced."

So...that was a pretty good day. We're having a party with my family this weekend, Alysa and I are going to dinner sometime soon (since her 40th was June 11), and my cousin is coming to visit for a week in July (since his 40th is July 11). I'll keep you posted on my 40 Days of Party. And when I start the 30-Day Shred...though you might not want to hold your breath on that one.