Keeping Secrets

Dear Internet,

I have a confession to make; I've been keeping secrets from you. Apparently with age comes discretion and I am learning how to keep my blabby mouth closed. There was a time when you would have told me a secret and I would have found -- someone -- to tell. I mostly managed (emphasis on the word mostly) to keep secrets from anyone who was directly involved, so there's probably a stranger out there who knows a 10-year-old secret about another stranger. Definitely. Most likely. Sorry friends. I'm better now.

Anyhow, life has kept us busy with, well, things that probably shouldn't be advertised on the internet. We've been up-and-down and back-and-forth dealing with this-and-that. And I'm happy to say that we pulled off a large, surprise 25th anniversary party for my dad and step-mom without a hitch.


I'm sad to say that all the pictures I took were terrible horrible. Being that we now live 2.5 hours away from all events like this, I nearly always forget my camera. I'm too busy remembering toothbrushes, lovies, and the like. My camera phone failed me and hipstamatic (my favorite app) failed me even more. This is about the best picture I have. At least you can see the guests of honor, the excited grandkids, and some element of surprise. Right?

The party was in The Firehouse Room at The Happy Gnome and I just can't resist saying that I have never in my life had better service. I wish I was getting paid to say that (because I want to go back), but I am not. The food was great, the location was great, the service was amazing. Let's just say there was a misunderstanding (our fault) and the party started an hour earlier than they thought it was going to start. We walked about a half-hour earlier than the party was supposed to start and they didn't even crack a frown when we all figured out the problem.

It was fantastic to see friends and family I haven't seen in years, and to meet people who knew a lot more about me than I knew about them (that's what happens when you meet people when you're two). My big brother worked his tail off getting this thing together and my sister-in-law put together the most spectacular video collage. It was the hit of the evening.

I can hardly wait to celebrate their 5oth!