Birthday recap: Check out my loot

Yesterday I blew out 47 candles. Kidding. I did turn 47 but know better than to light this many candles at one time. 

I went to work. At lunchtime I went to spin, where my excellent friend, coworker, and spin instructor Cheryl played a mix called Cindy's Mix, which is all the stuff I listened to in high school (we agreed it is mostly a white-kid-stoner mix). I neither cooked dinner nor was taken out: I picked up a pizza from here, threw together a salad, and we opened a bottle of prosecco. Whee! And—the best part—Sophie made birthday cakes out of her new children's cookbook:

It's called something like the chocolate volcano cake. It had chocolate chips inside, which made it kind of gooey, and is frosted in melted chocolate chips. 

But let's check out my birthday loot:
Sophie (with some financial help from Husband) got me my very own digital camera. In her favorite color. She's assuming that once I get it set up, I will stop monopolizing hers. It's so tiny and cute. Good gift. 


My mom always gets me a subscription to Cook's Illustrated. Good thing too—I probably couldn't live without it. 


Husband got me a gift certificate for Indian Springs in Calistoga. I've already got my treatment picked out: a salt scrub massage (I decided last time I was there in a "note-to-self" moment that women suffering from hot flashes should not indulge in mud bathes). Husband and his friend went mountain biking near there the other weekend and thought how excellent if friend's wife and I (she's a good friend too) could drop them off at a certain trailhead and "wait" for us in Calistoga. Not that she and I couldn't find anything to do with ourselves for a few hours there, but this certainly simplifies it for us. 
And I bought this cookbook, which I've been eyeing for a while, for myself. 

And finally, the MIL send me a check so ridiculously large (she's in that "getting rid of money" stage of her life) that if the economy picks up, you'll know I'm behind it. Seriously, maybe one more cookbook and the rest goes in savings. Unless I buy a new road bike and switch up my present hybrid for trails. Hmmmm. Still plenty left of savings.

And did I mention all the good wishes I received over on Facebook? They were like little gifts sprinkled throughout the day.