VERY much delayed Christmas Pictures

We got to spend a few days (VERY few) in PA visiting with my family. My sister and her adorable little family were blessed to be able to fly in for a visit. I got to meet her little girl for the first time, and see the TINY bump with what we have since found out is another niece for me! YAY for girls! I guess my Dad must really really love girls.... or he needs to love them some more. Hmm... no one will know for sure I guess. I promised my best friend, Erin, that I would post pictures of the girls and of her while she was able to come visit (also very briefly). I hope to visit PA soon and stay a bit longer than 2 days!! I look forward to seeing you guys! I miss you all!



My best friend, Erin and my super cute niece!!


Erin with my first baby! Golly I miss that hair sometimes.


Look at that little ham! This was how she smiled when prompted. TOO CUTE!


The grand babies! Just think... by October of this year, there will be 5!!


My beautiful little sister, her hubby Cameron, and little girl Cambri!! (plus one!)

Slacker

Ever looked up the word slacker in your dictionary? If you have, you'd find my picture RIGHT next to it!! A lot of things have been slipping through my fingers lately (card exchange, playgroup, cross stitch, etc) and oh boy... I'm getting behind. So many great intentions, so little energy. For starters, gearing up to send my other half (and at this point better half) off exploring the world without me. It's been kind of tiring. Getting the car fixed (well maintained is a better definition), sort of rearranging my house (meaning it's half done), getting rid of things, washing everything, trying to organize everything that needs to take the trip with him, plus having enough time together (which we never have), and coming to grips. Crazy crazy crazy. It's times like these I really am amazed by those other seemingly stronger women. Then again, each time he has left for a lengthy period of time - I've had the great pleasure of pregnancy hormones. haha. I guess it is Heavenly Father's way of keeping me weepy. Then, after all the praying I have been doing about the girls being ready for potty training and fighting my own "symptoms" of great fatigue with the occasional gag reflex, I had a break through! Why not potty train them WHILE I'm feeling yucky and have no desire to go anywhere (including the gym)? So... that is what I am doing - we are on day 2. So far today, one successful potty trip and no accidents. Yes, I am knocking on wood right now. I won't be at book club tonight, but my thoughts will be with you ladies!! I loved the book and look forward to reading March's.

The other way I am slacking is in updating (of course!). I have so much to post. Including from way back in December. I have family pictures to post, some funny clips of my children and my nephew running around my house, and a few things we've done in preparation for Jeremiah's big trip. Oh, and quite a few recipes for that recipe blog I've got going with my sister. I have a lot to do - my goal is to do it within the next few days so I can be caught up and get to do some of the other things I've been wanting to!

Spread the Word....

I will be having a Pampered Chef Party at my house on the 27th of February (Friday). It will begin at 6pm. I have a few invitations going out today - but I ran out of invites before I ran out of friends!! I didn't get to address anything for the 1st ward - so please spread the word to the other women in the ward as well. (Michelle, Jaesi, Nicole, etc) If you want to drop me a line and let me know if you can make it.... you can leave a post on here if that is easiest. Come have a fun time visiting with friends and check out some of the Pampered Chef items you may have always wanted to see in action. The more the Merrier! Thank you!

Fun filled Day!??

Saturday was pretty hoppin' for our family. We started the day off with Melanie's first Primary Activity. She was pretty excited to go to church. Her teachers must be something!! After that, we had lunch out on the town so that we could see a movie that was playing on the base close to the church. Jeremiah first wanted to stop and check out the new uniforms at the exchange. It was pretty stinkin crazy over there and there weren't very many sizes Jeremiah could try on. Hopefully we will have better luck when we go to the exchange by us later this week. Then we attended the movie and actually saw some friends that had been up at the church as well! After that, we tried to visit the commissary. Tried is the key word there because, it was PACKED!!!! Payday weekend of course! So.... we decided to take a little more convenient route and stop by Walmart on our way home. We were finally home for the day around 4 pm. Oh... and did I mention I am feeling nauseous pretty much all the time these days!? GOLLY! When all added up, not the most exciting of days for me, or my girls.

Ode to the Military Spouse

A few pros (plus a lot of cons) to being a military spouse.


.....getting up at the crack of dawn the day your W-2 is posted to file your taxes and wait for that great return (I missed it by a day... and services were free)

..... dragging your children to church yet again without the help (and sanity) of your spouse (thank heavens for friends!!!)

..... turn on the tube to find yet another news reporter complaining about the war and how terrible things are over there. Or, to tell us all about another attack where military men and women were killed

...... waiting for the phone call(or email) from your spouse - just so you know they are ok

...... sending off the package full of goodies and pictures drawn by your children in hopes it makes it there in one piece (and before they come home)

..... hearing about where your spouse's ship is on the News (because he can't call and tell you)

..... getting a 10% discount at most stores (if you ask)and for plenty of tickets

...... having the benefits of the commissary and exchange

..... going to the clinic to get all of your medication free including check ups (if you have the afternoon free)

..... job stability (blessing)

..... waiting for the weather to change so that your husband CAN come home as scheduled (having to move your day around because of the change)

..... Weather (fog) can defeat the United States Navy


Here's to waiting for the ship and our much anticipated and dreaded last few weeks together before the Oceans separate us.

I think I need to clarify

I think I left the wrong impression with my last post. My life is not horrible, nor is it even kind of close to horrible. I have some wonderful family members, and some that cause me to pull out my hair (thus the closure thing). Overall, I am very blessed and know that the slight challenge (mentioned in the previous post) that will come with deployment will go smoothly and all will be fine. I'm sorry to have put across a negative "ambiance". That was not my intent. I just needed to let off a bit of steam and figured that I could get some sound advice from friends (which I did). I appreciate you all and am blessed to have you in my life.

I think the thing that always keeps me wondering is that life is just too short. It's too short to be upset or to hold things in. I can see it with Jeremiah being away so much - CARPE DIEM!! You have to "seize the day". So... in my quest to seize the day, I am going to dote all over my family time for the next few weeks and handle my "stress" in a very healthy way. I am going to learn to speak up when necessary too. So... I've fixed my problems (minus the need to have Super Nanny LIVE with me) and am glad to be done venting. Plus, I'll be adding some of our dinner recipes to the food blog over the next few weeks. I'm REALLY excited about that part!


Well... off to conquer the world!! =0)

Boy do I need to update....

Ok, So I know I need to update, but I don't have a lot to tell really. I will give it my best shot (though pathetic). Mel loves her hair cut so much that she decided to cut a few chunks herself! (Don't look too closely at it and you might not be able to tell) Things are getting crazy around here.... Julia has amazing climbing capabilities. Not kidding you - she can get to ANYTHING she is in the mood to eat!! Anyone have a size 3T straitjacket??
I have the cookbook bug, just not the cooking one! I love to look at my new cookbooks (courtesy of the Waldenbooks sale). I will be adding my crock pot Chili recipe tonight if it turns out yummy!! I have finally marked every recipe that I would like to try. Be on the lookout in the next few weeks for some great recipes on my recipe blog!! I have just a few days to get things "tied up" around here to welcome home the hubby. Yay, he will be home for less than 30 days!!! FINALLY!!! To have him home! (note to readers: read that sentence enthusiastically instead of sarcastically) I already have some challenges of my own to deal with while he is on deployment. You won't be left out of the loop. Keep checking back.
The library has been LOVING me lately with all the books I have been putting on hold about quilting/sewing. I have to take them back now - there is just too much information. I do plan on quilting in the VERY near future though. I think I would like to start with a tote. That way I can have a smaller, yet more functional Church bag.
Then comes the subject of closure. Boy do I need a little bit of it right now with some things in my life. They just happen to be difficult things to actually get closure with though (if anyone catches my drift...maybe I am sounding just TOTALLY nuts to everyone right now) I do need some advice though. Should I get my closure (or my say rather) - or should I let it slide for the next 18 months?
I got a chance to talk to the 8-11 year old girls on Saturday (thank you Heidi for the opportunity!) and really had a blast. I was teaching a little bit about skin care for them and they washed their faces. At the end, a little girl asked me, "How come everyone looks the same?" It was too cute! Beware of that face wash you use today - it may change you into something different!
Then I got the chance to help out with the Primary Bulletin Board. Well, my Cricut helped actually, I didn't do anything. I had a good time visiting with the ladies that came by and really wish that my house could stay in a "mostly clean" state so that people can do that ALL THE TIME!!! (stop by that is) Plus, that would put me in the mood to bake more often because then I know I would be sharing my treats with friends instead of them sitting all alone in their container until I slowly (but surely) eat them all.

Why is it....??

* that not even 6 hours after you mop and clean the floor, something sticky lands on it
* children want to come right behind you and mess everything up you JUST cleaned
* my husband is always gone...(oh, I know that answer - IT'S THE NAVY!!!)
* that tub time is more like a water war zone
* my youngest child will do the potty thing better than my oldest
* my children have super kung fu powers (Watch Kung Fu Panda and you'll see what I mean) when it comes to their favorite snacks
* one or the other of my children almost always has a runny nose, keeping me from going to the gym (gee,Thanks winter)
* when you are prepared, nothing happens, and when you aren't prepared - the whole thing comes crashing down on you!?
* that I have so many negative family members?!
* that drama always ruins your life!!! (I HATE drama by the way)
* people think it is SO easy to take advantage of me!? (not any of you all)

A few changes...

So, the past little bit has found a few changes in our lives. First being:


FINALLY cutting Melanie's hair!! (She loves it by the way)


I told her she would look like a princess if she let me cut it (Everyone, please play along). I think she looks beautiful! It is no where close to Nancy's great work, but it'll have to do for now.

Some friends of ours got engaged:


We were there to witness (and photograph) the event. We ate at a great place called Zushi's (which is also our Next change as it has been added on our great restaurants list) near the Cheesecake Factory (which was our intended destination). It just stinks how long the wait is for some of those restaurants!! However, Zushi's was a hit (no wait, and great food.... we didn't try the sushi though... we stuck with THESE dishes)

Zushi's food added as one of our FAVORITES!


Jeremiah's Salmon Teriyaki


My Chicken Teriyaki with a breaded squash or eggplant?! It was yum either way. These dishes were just too beautiful to eat, so we had to take pictures as proof!! =0)

The newly engaged couple ordered this:


Sushi galore with some extra little things I can't recall

Finally.... I found a Sugar Cookie recipe that turns out SO YUMMY!!!


These suckers are SO good! If you want the recipe, you will have to visit my recipe blog (that I share with my talented sister and Mother). I will post it later today. And, of course, you need to ice the cookies for the BEST cookie possible!! I kind of have a thing for sugar cookies.

And lastly, but not least (I just don't have pictures for these yet...)

Some Friends of our have moved (or are moving) back to the area.

Some Friends are leaving (and we'll miss them greatly)!!

Book Sale

Ok, now I am telling you all this in good faith that you will not buy up all the awesome books that I want. Please spare the cookbooks when you visit. The Waldenbook in the Military Circle Mall is going out of business. All of their bargain books are 50% off and everything else in the store excluding magazines is 25% off. I heard that it just happened recently. Keep an eye on them, I'm sure the discounts will get deeper! I hope you all enjoy!

I'm gunna do.....

Awhile back a friend of mine posted a list with things she has done highlighted. Since it is the start of a new year, I think that it would be great to highlight the things that I WANT to do this year(will be in italics). Plus, I'll follow the traditional idea and make those I have already done BOLD. I'm a little nervous to do this because then you all will know how unadventurous I really am. (Not that I think it really would be hard for anyone to believe) I hopefully have plenty of life left to "live a little" and try some things - so, here is where I am going to start. Wish me luck! To those of you with lots of guts.... could I borrow some for a while???

Challenge
Rules are: Anything you have done has to be in bold. How much have you done?

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (love girls camp!)
3. Played in a band (in Jr. High)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower (always meant to, fell asleep)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo (in my house every night when I put the girls to sleep...no hidden meaning there)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (girls camp...yeah!)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight (good fun right there)
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (guilty as charged)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (how about I start with a 10K and work up to it, eh?)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (go PA!!)
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (yes, and feel terrible for those who heard!)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (OBX)
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (if a caricature counts!)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (not the salesperson type)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies - I bought some
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason (to save my poor husband from embarrassment - he HAS gotten me flowers, they were for reasons though)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (once, and that will be my final as well....scared me to death)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (my blankie, I have it here at our place)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (yuck!)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (twice)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (my hubby did before we were married)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (Family Scripture Study)
86. Visited the White House {outside if it}
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - Got to pluck the feathers off a chicken on Pioneer Trek when I was 16)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (General Authorities, Cosmo)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (only once, now I am terrified of them! Silly story really, if you are really bored you can ask me about it sometime)
100. Visited Italy

Happy 2009!!

Midnight found us surrounded by friends this year. It was wonderful. The eatin' was great and the game we played was a HOOT! I wish you all a wonderful New Year and we'll be praying you all fare well this year. *Toast* to a President who I hope will do what is right and best for our country - I'm praying he will, safety during deployments, happy reunions, safe travels - for those friends whose journeys will continue to other states this year, health for our family, continued low gas prices, and to wonderful friends and the opportunities to make many more!!

For those interested in the fun game that we played, the name of it is CURSES.

What should I tackle this year!?

I guess it has come down to the end of the year, and instead of procrastinating (like I have done a lot of in 2008) on my resolutions list, here it goes a whole day early!

- Lose 10 lbs AND be strong
- Get organized
- Hang out with friends more
- Eat less sweets! (key to the first item)
- Blog more
- Read A LOT more than I have been (maybe tackle a bunch of those books sitting around waiting to be read...hmm)
- Work on finding my talents and strengthen the ones I do have
- Become a more interesting teacher for my children

Another highly important item for the first half of the year is to not freak out while my husband is away and step up to the challenges that come our way.

P.S. If there is anything on your list you would NOT like to do this year that you would like for me to do FOR you this year, leave me a comment and let me know! =0)

Amazing Talent

I like to watch Regis and Kelly in the morning when I go to the gym. One day a few weeks (or months) ago they featured a man named Terry Fator. If anyone watched America's got talent - you may have seen him. He is a ventriloquist that does impersonations of singers. This is one of my favorite clips of his amazing talent. If you get kind of hooked on his abilities like I did, there are plenty more on YouTube. Here's his Kermit the Frog and Louis Armstrong impersonations!

So that is a pretty small image. It will do just fine for what I wanted to mention. I had a blast at IKEA and have so many little ideas for my home and my girls room that I just really don't know what to do with myself! The best part is, it is affordable. I love Pottery Barn and Land of Nod items, I just can't afford half of them! You can check them out here.

Merry Christmas!

I know that I am a few days late....
Our family was blessed enough to visit my family this year for Christmas. We try to alternate holidays to keep both sides happy. =0) This year was special because my sister Jamie and her little family flew out to visit too! Since Jeremiah had duty on Christmas Eve, we had a whirlwind of a 48 hour visit with my family before needing to be home for Jeremiah's duty day. It was nice to take it easy a little bit once arriving to PA. I needed my license renewed (joy of having a Dec birthday!) so we spent early Friday morning trying to get that straightened out. I am happy to announce we were in and out within a half hour! YAY! I got to go to the outlets to do a little shopping (found next year's Christmas dresses at OshKosh for $9 each)! Then of course went to Walmart to scout out potential great deals in the Christmas "leftovers". We hit terrible traffic on the way home Saturday and decided we would take a break from the monotony by stopping at IKEA to look around. That was the first time we've been in our ENTIRE lives. So, we definitely had fun and walked out with a few small items. All in all, the trip took 7 hours when it should have taken 4 1/2. That found us home about 10:30 pm still needing a small trip to somewhere that was open that late at night for a bit of milk. We were pretty exhausted. Overall, we had fun. I'll post a few pictures of our small family "photo shoot" in PA later when I get on my computer and mess with my camera. Stay tuned!

HOMEmade Family Pictures

We finally decided to just try to take some family pictures at home (again) this year. The thought of going somewhere to get them done terrifies me quite frankly. I almost want to scream my head off and get started on pulling out all of my hair. It's just so hard to get those two little girls to smile at the same time and make sure that we REALLY like the picture as we say yes to advance to the next picture (of 7?? or 8??) included in the sitting. Anywho - I feel as long as I can "doctor" them up a bit (which I still need to do to these) they can't be too shabby. One of these days we'll get a fabulous family picture done without me having to run and pose in 10 seconds or less! Maybe we'll get lucky and my brother-in-law can take a ton of pictures for us while we visit with family in PA!

The favor I am asking my readers is to vote for the one that looks the best in each Category (since it is my family -and my face- I tend to be a little overcritical). There are a few people in my family that would love a family picture more than anything - so I want to make sure they get a good one. Please help me out! Don't forget while choosing, I still need to cut/crop/and resize them a bit to make them look better. A quick little message with F: G: and J: with your numbers afterwards would be just fine. Thanks!

FAMILY
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GIRLS

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JEREMIAH AND JANICE A quick side note... Mel took these!!! She's got MUCH more talent than her poor Ma!

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Finally....

Decorated for Christmas. I've been so excited for Christmas - but I have been dreading decorating for two simple reasons. Melanie and Julia. I figured that if I decorated nice and early, everything would be destroyed by Christmas (or re-decorated 10-12 times). Since Jeremiah's leave ends this Sunday and he'll be on duty Christmas Eve until Christmas morning, we decided to move it a few days forward. In lieu of doing this, we figured we should decorate today so the girls had some things to be excited about before the arrival of Christmas.


"Merry Christmas to All and to all a Good Night!!" - Santa Claus

Another one of my favorite things at Christmas time is Nativities. The Washington D.C. Temple has a Nativity display every year. They display Nativities from all around the world. I never tire of looking at the Nativities, or the decorated trees for that matter. My mother has a special love for Nativities as well and has rubbed a bit of that love off on me. I decided a couple years ago that I would like to have a Willow Tree Nativity set. Each year when we go to the beach in the summer, I buy a different set of figurines to add to my Nativity. This year at the beach, I purchased the 3 Wise Men. Our display "area" is going to need some planning. We use what we can get for now as we are still acquiring things that we would like to adopt as a more permanent furniture/decoration piece.

Great Place to eat!!

If any of you are fairly new to Norfolk (we are as far as restaurants are concerned!! However, we've been here for a little over 3 1/2 years already!) here is a great place to add to your restaurant list!! No Frill Bar and Grill. They have a little bit of everything on their menu and according to quite a few people "Everything Tastes Great!". I can attest to that statement from the Pita that I ordered. Come with an appetite though. I was seriously full for the rest of the day and still couldn't finish everything that was brought to me! It's a little confusing on how to get there, so DEFINITELY Map Quest it before going. Thank you to everyone that was there - I had a BLAST!

Click here to check it out! (or copy and paste)
http://www.nofrillgrill.com/default.asp

For those of you who have tried it, what did you order and what did you think?

Ward Christmas Party

Our ward Christmas party was the evening of the 12th. There was tons of food, performances from the children and the youth, and Santa Claus. Yup, you heard it. That man thought our ward was important enough to come in the flesh! ;0) Here are a few pictures.


Nativity given by the children. It was SO cute!! The younger ones (hidden in the back) were given a nice little tug by one of the Mom's behind the Nativity to put them exactly where they were supposed to be! Notice all the neat animals as well with the Donkey being played by none other than DONKEY from Shrek!! =0)


A bit of a better view of some of the wise men and that cute little angel!! Played by Gracie.


The youth held pictures that symbolized Christmas time and each read a little bit about their picture. There were more youth than the few pictured here, we included the picture of my girls favorite YW!!


First picture with Santa this year! Melanie wasn't quite sure where Mom was.


Julia, always interested in the "treats". She is definitely eyeing that candy cane she just received and doesn't care at all about the picture trying to be taken! She promptly broke her unwrapped candy cane on the floor (by accident). SO silly!

Dress and Short Narrative of our Evening

Dress

Me modeling the dress for the first time. I think I could have made some alterations - next time will be better!

Me and Jeremiah. Sorry about the fuzziness, my relatives are photography challenged.

Ice sculpture of Jeremiah's ship. Pretty cool, eh??

Views from our room in the A.M. Can you tell that I am SO used to getting up with my girls??? See the sunrise in the distance. They've totally ruined sleeping in for me.

Jeremiah sleeping in.

Each year they give us glasses with the ship initials on it. Dwight D. Eisenhower. The glass style has been different every year.

More views from our room and on the way out of the hotel. SOO pretty - that's something I love about being in the Navy. We will almost ALWAYS be close to water!!!



Last, but not least. My birthday present from the Ike.

Quick Catch Up

I'll have to post some pictures later, when I can get on my own computer (I'm on Jeremiah's now). Starting December 1st, I was a girl on a mission. I had to finish a party dress by December 5th for my husband's Ship Christmas Party. The party would also be the start of his leave time with us. He will be on leave until Dec 22nd.
I dedicated most of Monday to my dress and completed the skirt. Then I did a little more sewing on Tuesday evening to get the parts for my top cut out and ready to sew. I sewed my top together on Wednesday and learned how to do button holes from a friend. (I am SO glad someone showed me, I would have never been able to figure it out on my own!) By Thursday afternoon I had completed the dress with just a hook and eye left to hand sew. I spaced it out so that I wouldn't get too frustrated and accomplished my goal! I wanted to add a little bit of lace around the neck line, but I couldn't find what I wanted. Maybe I will add some later, and it can become an entirely different dress!!! HOORAY!!
At the party I even got a few compliments. Although I attribute it to the fact that I wasn't showing as much skin as 99 percent of the other girls and they were appreciative. So, my first ever attempt at a dress of any kind turned out to be a success!
The party had quite a few raffles that were done and quite a few people won some fun things, Tara and James won something as well. The night drew to an end and we thought we would walk away prize-less. Then I get a call from Tara saying that I had won a prize downstairs. I was so excited! They told me "Merry Christmas" as they handed over the prize and I thought to myself, "No, Happy Birthday!!!!"