Happy Birthday Pa!!

Today my dad turns 75. SEVENTY-FIVE!! Congratulations and enjoy your day, Pa! And get back here to pose with more of my pints of Guinness at South Beach Bar & Grill!!!

Love,
Paula

(PS: Your gift will arrive, uh, "late".)

I--O--WUH!!!

I finally returned to the land of my youth (& early 30s) and had a lovely visit. During my 6 full days in Iowa I was able to attain and surpass many of the goals I had set for the "vacation" in Iowa:

-Spend time with family & friends
-Enjoy state-mandated smoke-free restaurants and bars
-Enjoy illegal fireworks displays while drinking beer and holding infant...
-Meet & hog 3 month old Peyton (and view growth of them other two Kirby offspring)
-Meet & cuddle the adorable Persian Calico, Gertie
-Meet, smusch & hog 6 month old Daniel (and enjoy the magical effect of bubbles on toddlers)
-Eat: sweet potato fries, "Moroccan Eggs", delicious AE dips and multiple birthday cake slices
-Take my nieces out for breakfast (no car seats needed anymore, they grow so fast)
-Experience a torrential-to-the-quickly-reassimilated-San-Diegan-thunderstorm
-View some flood damage
-Shop til I did indeed drop at the Williamsburg outlets: The Gap, Calvin Klein and even The Dress Barn (damn you, Banana Republic! Oh wait...I LOVE YOU Banana Republic!!)
-Realize how different a perspective one can have from the childhood years to the adult years (e.g. my former bedroom, my former closet, my mom doing my laundry and making me a grilled cheese sandwich!)
-The fun of searching through my parents' basement for a few pieces of nostalgia, and finding a childhood favorite: CHUBBY CUB!!

-P