I received this Yorkie graphic message from my guy's niece, wishing me a Happy Birthday today! I was surprised to hear from her! Actually, I have been surprised by a lot of folks today...

At my work, in my department, we do this thing where if it's your birthday month, you are in charge of the potluck/luncheon. I've been at my current job for nearly seven years now and this tradition has become fun. When you're in charge of the monthly lunch celebration, you get to bring what you enjoy most.

Today was different only by the fact I have been at my employment there for quite some time now, and folks have started to request a particular dish I've made before. So last night, I threw together my Pozole (Mexican Stew) and let it simmer over night.

This morning, trying to get everything together, I was running late. When I arrived at work, my receptionist shouts, "Goooood morning!"

I thought it odd, her shouting so early in the morning, but I was carrying a very heavy pot of my stew and was darting for my office where I could set it down, and didn't give her loud welcoming another thought. As I stepped inside the door of my office, I caught a glimpse of another one of my employees! She was jumping down from the top of my desk! LOL The girls were thankful I had been late this morning, and did a great job decorating my little part of the office.

I received phone calls, emails and text messages throughout the day from friends and family. My guy sent me a singing text, wishing me a happy day. Later, I received a personal voicemail on my work line where he sang his birthday wishes to me. ;)

At lunch, the whole facility joined me for a cup or two of soup. Mmm! So good on a freezing cold day! Everyone visited and had a good time. My boss had two helpings! He told me too, they had a card for me, but that the last known person to have the card was not present. He would track it down and assured me he'd get it to me.

As you know, I raise Yorkies, and no matter how special the day is, I have to run home at lunch time to let the dogs out. The surprise was when I got back to work. I found a couple of cards and a present left on my desk! Wow! Decorations, cards, gifts, emails... Wow! They have never treated me so well before!

So the facility card was full of warm wishes for my birthday and a gift card to a local scrapbook store! Cool! The second card was from my personal staff. These girls are just so sweet! They got me a blouse and a gift card to a nice clothing store. Wow! I was almost overwhelmed.

Then, if that wasn't enough, these same girls ran to the Cheesecake Factory and got me a slice of cheesecake, leaving on my desk when I went to my afternoon meeting. Wow. I split the cheesecake with them, it was so rich, just a bite or two was plenty for me.

Another co-worker and close friend, took me to dinner after work. Boy! I had a wonderful birthday this year, and it's not quite over... my guy comes home tomorrow night after a week and a half run from Idaho to California to Utah to Arizona to California to Utah and back to Idaho.

And, it all started last Sunday when my parents took me to dinner because my birthday fell on a Wednesday this year and I work long, long hours. Sunday just made sense, a better time to relax and enjoy each other's company without rushing. My son and his wife joined us. We had a good time.

Anyway, I just had to share that I've had a great day. ;)