Birthday bashing

Today's my birthday, and let me tell you, I'm not getting any younger. I guess we are all traveling down the same path. Some just seem to be traveling at a very different rate than I seem to be barreling down. And what's the prize at the end? Gray hair, achy joints and fallen arches? Aging isn't for the frail!

But today is a good day. I am really just another day older, just like every other day that I wake up. The old AA saying, "One day at a time", sort of rings true under this circumstance. Because any day that you can pry open your eyes, hoist yourself out of bed, and face the world head on, is a great day. Life is good, and it's always full of surprises. I love surprises, don't you?

In honor of my birthday, some friends took me out to lunch. It's a real treat to be with people who make you laugh, and who you want to make laugh! It's a real delight to know wonderful people. I am truly grateful for my friends.

We ate at a Vietnamese restaurant in Costa Mesa, called East Borough. Oh my gosh, it was so damn good! I ordered the Grapefruit Lemongrass, which was a delish salad with sesame chicken, red cabbage, shredded carrots, a wonderful mix of grapefruit, peanuts and toasted shallots and cilantro on top. I ate every morsel! I couldn't help myself!

It was that good!

But of course, I forgot to take pics before I ate the entire meal! Sorry, you'll just have to imagine how gorgeous the dish looked, just like you have to imagine how yummy it was, too.

My friend said her salad was amazing, but she just eats much slower than I do.

The beef stew with baguette, Vietnamese style, was tasty, too.

So, happy birthday to me! And may the years keep sneaking up from behind and passing me by. I know that sounds weird, it would be great if things would slow down a little, but that's not likely. I just want to embrace getting older, stay somewhat optimistic about the whole deal. I hope that I can always enjoy the simple things, those little daily surprises that life keeps hurling at me. Because, for me, that's what makes it all worthwhile. And like I said before, I'm not getting any younger, this may just be as good as it gets.