Guess Who’s Turning 29 For the 31st Time In A Row!?!?!?

See how courteous I am?  I didn’t actually blabber out your age, Madre.  I’d say that there deserves daughter of the year award!  Or, just round it up and give me Daughter of the Century!  Today is Madre’s birthday and as we speak, Madre is celebrating in a bonnet and Laura Ingalls Wilder getup, pushing a handcart through the Wyoming wilderness with 250 youth ages 14 to 18.  Now, I ain’t no expert or nothing, but if that weren’t a party, you don’t know a party!  Digging a hole for your bathrooming duties, sleeping on the dirt, eating over a fire of buffalo chips!?  Where the crimeny was my invite?  Trek… gotta love it.  So, since she isn’t around to read this until Friday… I figure I can spill ALL the dirt… no one will be the wiser.  Pioneers don’t have no Internet (but according to Madre, they do have sunglasses, Chapstick and most importantly, Diet Dr. Pepper all of which she did bring along).  Consider this post, “Get to know Madre Time” and I ain’t holding back!

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– Wearing her muumuu/housecoat/ugly colorful dress-like things from 6:00 p.m. on EVERY NIGHT!  I didn’t stutter… every night.  She comes home from work and puts one of her ugly concoctions on and lives in it for the rest of the day.  It don’t matter who shows up at the door… she’ll be answering in a muumuu.  Serious… come visit at around 8ish and ask for Dessa… she’ll be wearing it… GUARANTEED!  And she has 8 billion of them.  Used to embarrass the cream puffs out of me when I was a teenager and I even tried to sneak a couple of them into DI bags, but she had muumuu radar.  In fact, to give you the extent of her muumuu love… she wore one to the 24th of July fireworks the other night… albeit she sat in the car the whole time… but you gotta ask yourself… what if Brad Pitt and his 87,000 children walk by?  What then?

–  Shopping.  Shoe shopping… clothing shopping… toilet tissue shopping… bolt and screw shopping… if the place has a cash register, she’ll likely enjoy being there.

– Manicures, pedicures, hairdo appointments, massages, foot zoning… etc., etc., etc.  If it requires pampering, sign her up… especially if she can attend it in her muumuu…

– Chocolate, lemony foods, oh and chocolate!  I tell you… my choc-o-holic illness was in the genes!  It’s no wonder I’m an addict!  I think she was bottle-feeding me chocolate milk by the time I was 2 weeks old.

– Exersaucing… whether it be hiking, biking, walking, zumba, or her favorite to brag about… the mini-triathlon that she completed at the gym (and by mini… I mean mini), you don’t get very far wearing arm floaties in the swimming portion.  But, she did it… did a half marathon once too.

– The Food Network, cookbooks, and recipes.  My ma is an excellent cook (thanks for not passing that gene along!)  She especially loves watching the cooking shows on the Food Network and trying adventurous new recipes… most of which I won’t touch with a 45-foot pole…  Some of my favorite traditions, though, are her famous rolls she makes twice a year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, the cinnamon rolls she makes on General Conference weekend, and twice baked potatoes for Easter!  I make room for those items once a year in my calorie plan even now!

– Music.  She always tells the story of how she would sing when she was pregnant with me, and that’s why I came out singing.  Madre instilled in me a love for music… all kinds of music.  I started piano lessons at the age of 5, violin lessons at the age of 8, and voice lessons at the age of 13.  I was exposed to all kinds of musicals, choirs, orchestras, bands, concerts, etc., and was taught to appreciate each and every genre (opera… I’m trying… I really am).  I am forever grateful for that… even if I cussed up a storm when it came time to practice the piano or violin.  Music has gotten me through many a tough time… and I will always be able to rely on it in the future.

MERRY BIRTHDAY, Madre!!  I hope your 29th plus 31 is a great year for you and that you get all the happiness you can handle.  There was a time when I wouldn’t have considered my mom a friend at all… we butt heads back in those days over my eating and food… but it takes a big person to change, and my momma did just that.  Today, I’d consider her my best friend.  Love you, mommy!

Question of the Day:  What’s your take on muumuus and wearing them in public?  She needs an intervention here!