43

So it's my birthday today and I'm one year older and feel none the wiser. I'm 43 today. So 43...what does that mean? When I think 43, I think about the last person who ran around with the title of 43 and that was our 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush.
Dubya formal

According to Wikipedia, here's some things that have gone down on my birthday:
- It's Feast Day for Korean Martyrs
- There was a Papal Schism in 1378
- The Bersaglieri entered Rome and ended the temporal reign on the Pope in 1870 (lots doing on 20 September for our Roman Catholic friends...whew!)
- The first Cannes Film Festival was held on this day in 1946
- And on this day in 2001, the above-mentioned 43 declared the "war on terror" before a joint session of Congress

I remember that speech. My dad was laying in an ICU in Phoenix awaiting a quadruple bypass and that was what we watched with him in the hospital that night. Nothing like a little declaration of war to take your mind off impending massive invasive surgery. Nice.

It's been a good day. So good to be home and sleeping in my own bed. Our tradition of getting breakfast in bed held. Although since I get up so early, it's a drag for the kids. The stunningly patient SML made chorizo burritos, or as I lovingly call them, my own little version of Liquid Plumber - the pipe cleaning outcome is the same - for me and they were awesome. It was a food-centric birthday, including a gift certificate to the best in Israeli dining, Naf Naf Grill (my love for the Naf has been well documented here as well as on my Facebook page), and a real cool new cast iron pot for some additional kitchen adventures. Dinner tonight was spaghetti carbonara jammed with CHUNKS o'garlic, spinach salad with sun-dried tomatoes and orange peppers, and garlic wheat bread. We'll top it off later with red velvet cupcakes. Red Velvet Cupcakes are my new obsession. Complete fixation. Seriously.

Like I said, it's really been a good day. Our Lady of BYU called (remembered the old man's birthday!) which was completely awesome. And she didn't have to have her mom tell her to call. Talked to my mom and she's had another good day, given all that she's been through and it was a terrific day of getting religion. Our church youth sang today and brought me to tears with how good they were. So while I'm none the wiser today, I'm happy and grateful. It's been a good birthday.