Birthday goodies!

Non-News 

Well, what's new?  I am a pretty boring person, I guess, because not a whole lot has happened lately.  I am enjoying that, though.  We have yet to carve our pumpkins, and so there probably won't be any pumpkin carving to come.  There will still be seeds, though, and some fresh pumpkin puree to freeze, so all is not lost.  

We just came back from a family visit in Michigan.  I got to meet my dog-niece, Ninja!  What a sweet doggie.  It was a short, but good, time while we were there.  We attended a benefit Halloween party for my sister's work, where we ate delicious food and saw all sorts of funny costumes.  I have to say, the most impressive costume was a group of three people all dressed like the cast of Dog the Bounty Hunter.  It was classic!  Poor hubby has been sick with a cold, or sinus problems, for a few weeks now, and I haven't been feeling 100%, and we were both party poopers.  We were so tired that we left around 11 that night, before the prize drawings ended and the costume contest winners were announced.  Too much excitement for this old bird! 

Jobs are still going well.  Thanks for asking.


It's That Time of Year Again
Well, another year has almost come to a close for me.  My birthday is a few days away, and my husband always dubs the week of my birthday as "Birthday Weekapalooza".  It's always an enjoyable time, even though I don't feel like celebrating is necessary.  I am old enough that I have to stop and remember my age!  Yikes!  Oh well.  I have to tell you about all of the birthday freebies that I get though!  There are so many restaurants that send you e-mail certificates for free birthday goodies that you must sign up for:

Texas Roadhouse is a great one (and my favorite restaurant!).  Sign up as a "VIP Roadie" and you will not only receive free appetizers for your birthday, but you will also receive freebies for your wedding anniversary, sign-up anniversary, and other events.

Cold Stone Creamery will e-mail you a certificate for a free Like-It size with one mix in for free if you sign up on their website.  Yummy!

Auntie Anne's Pretzels will send you a buy one, get one free certificate for signing up for their e-mails.  Great if you are near a franchise!

Dairy Queen will send you a buy one, get one free Blizzard coupon through e-mail if you sign up on their website.

Baskin-Robbins, if you are fortunate enough to still have one in your neighborhood, offers free ice cream on your birthday, just click on the name link and sign up for it.

El Chico, a Tex-Mex restaurant, will give you a free dessert on your special day, just ask.

Famous Dave's Barbecue offers a special birthday treat (rumor has it that it's a free meal) for signing up to be a PIG club member.  Check it out if you have one nearby!

Outback Steakhouse will give you a free dessert (I think a piece of cake) and embarrass you with a song, but you don't have to sign up for anything to get it--just go in and tell them it's your birthday!

Red Lobster will also honor your special day with cake and a tune.  Just mention it's your day.

Click here for a list of other places that might offer birthday treats.

Granted, not every restaurant will have these birthday surprises, so you should always check first before going.  Well worth it!  There are many more than this short list, it just depends on what restaurants you have nearby.  You won't go hungry around your birthday if you just do a little checking around.  Others celebrating with you will sometimes get to enjoy the benefits of your special day, too!

Celebrating birthdays is something that tends to lose appeal as we get older.  Maybe we look at aging the wrong way--we could be celebrating the fact that God Himself created us, and allowed each of us to be born on this day to serve His purpose.  Psalm 139:13-14 reminds us of God's hand in our earliest existence: "13For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Perhaps instead of grumbling about getting older, and complaining about the new parts of our bodies that don't seem to work the way they used to, we should give thanks to the Lord for creating us and loving us every day of every year!