Birthdays

Randy and I are both October babies.  This year we celebrated our individual birthdays with dinner dates while Meg was at cheer practice. (Sneaky, huh?) His choice of restaurants was The Olive Garden while I opted for Carrabba's Italian Grill.  We had two really nice meals, with uninterrupted adult conversation, and have decided to make dinner dates a much bigger priority in our house.

While at Carrabba's I discovered one of the best cocktails I've had to date (and trust me, I am a very good taste tester *wink*).  It's called a Razzamatini (raspberry martini) and it was absolutely delicious.  I've done some online searches for the recipe and will definitely be do some experimenting at home.

My birthday also brings something that my entire family looks forward to each year...home canned goods from my dear friend Catherine.  Below are her tried and true favorites in my household.  Bread and butter pickles (she is so kind as to send two jars which I share with my dad), peach jam (to die for) and good old fashioned peaches which my daughter has now claimed as her own.  As you can see by the empty jar, she had polished off an entire pint before I could even get the photo taken.  LOL!!!  To quote Meg, "they are better than candy!"

I've dreaded birthdays my entire adult life so it's really nice to have something to look forward to.   Many thanks again, Catherine.