a story and my final list this month... forty things that would be on my birthday wish list if i had one

well... i made it! i'm officially forty years old! i hoped to post at exactly 3:16p.m., as that was the time i was born forty years ago today.

gosh, that just sounds crazy! i mean, forty years is a long, long time! almost half of a decade!! and though it seems like a really long time, it also feels like it all flew by so quickly! i can't imagine how fast the second half {+, hopefully} will go!

okay, so i thought about what to write for my last thirty days of forty list. but first, i had to share this little story. {if you've been reading shutter sisters this month, you'll know the whole theme has been about stories... so i am sharing a little mini-story from my life about this last day of the month.}...

gosh, i love my guys!

here is the reason i shared this story... my list below {forty things that would be on my birthday wish list if i had one} is just for fun. i mean, of course, if any of the items below were given or offered to me, i would readily accept them, and gratefully!

but i put this story in here, because in all honesty, even if i never received another birthday gift again, i would be content. how could i not be, when i have a husband and little one {gift enough}, but not just a husband and child, but a husband and child who would do special things like what they did for me in the photos above.

about a month ago, i was eating lunch with isaac at a favorite cafe down the road. while i was in there, a woman was celebrating her fiftieth birthday with five of her friends over lunch. i overheard their conversation about how the economy and jobs situation in this country has caused them to lock up certain valuables in their home for fear that people who are in desperate need would break in and steal them... things they would have never thought to keep in a safe when the economy was doing well.

it made me stop and think... sometimes i get bummed about {or even complain about} the fact that there are certain things that i can not afford... things i have wanted for a while. but when it all comes down to it, none of these things last... and they could all be taken away in an instant... not just via theft, but by any number of other ways. and we see it almost daily on the news... people who lose their homes to natural disasters or their valuables and money to thieves. in fact, we all lose things of value to wear and tear.

so i almost felt good about the fact that if someone were to break into my home to steal valuable things, they would not get away with all that much. it reminded me of the song from porgy and bess... i got plenty o nuttin... 

oh, i got plenty o' nuttin'

and nuttin's plenty for me.

i got no car, got no mule,

i got no misery.

de folks wid plenty o' plenty

got a lock on de door.

'fraid somebody's a-goin' to rob 'em

while dey's out a-makin' more.

what for?

i got no lock on de door.

dat's no way to be.

dey kin steal de rug from de floor.

dat's okeh wid me,

'cause de things dat i prize

like the stars in de skies

are all free."

you get the picture. i am so happy that i have all i need, much of what i want, and so much more than i could ever ask for!

however, if you did force me to tell you what tangible things i'd like to have... if you forced me to come up with a list of forty {it has to be that number, or else it won't go with my theme}, these are the things i would say i want for my birthday. {*wink*} i want...

to win the lotto
*wink again*


an iPhone... just for the camera alone


this perfume {it's my absolute favorite scent, and i am about to run out of my current bottle}


this swarovski ring
{i've wanted this ring for years!!}


a new computer {preferably an iMac}


an eighty minute massage session
{scratch that... just got a gift certificate from the hubby for one! woo hoo!
goodbye, achy muscles from carrying around a boy whose weight puts him in the 81st percentile!}


a nikkor 1.4/50mm lens
{i was told i'll be getting this one... woo hoo!}


a new camera body to put it on


a video camera so that i can record all the sweet things isaac does as he grows


flor carpet tiles for my dining room


a vintage sx70 polaroid camera


film to use in the polaroid camera


a stylish camera bag... heck, even just a plain camera bag would be nice!


dinner out with friends at frontera grill
{that one's coming!}


a trip to paris... hehehe... in my dreams!
{unless number one comes true!}


any and all of the products i want from pantone {for a design freelance business}


a ginormous iPod


an iPod player/speaker stereo to play the iPod on


all the iTunes i have wanted over the years
{since i stopped buying cds}


some photography courses or online classes


a life-time supply of banana split ice cream from haagen dazs


a letterpress


a studio to put the letterpress in


a laptop {mac}


a best friend
{probably the only thing on this list that money can't buy}


anything from anthropologie


a pair of uggs for winter


piano lessons


a new television {ours is on the fritz!}


the entire collection of monk episodes {all eight seasons} on dvd


an art deco design makeover for my bedroom


a house


a doggie... preferably some sort of lab... chocolate or charcoal would be nice


a pedicure and manicure


a brand new do
{my long hair is becoming a bit difficult now that the little squirt is learning how to grab and pull}


a bicycle {preferably vintage with a basket on it}


one of those easy-breezy coffee/tea makers where you just throw in the little package and it gets punctured and the water filters through and voila!... you have coffee or tea... one, two, three!


a down comforter for our bed


a really good juicer


new joints that don't ache
{i'm hoping the old ones return after i'm done nursing}
oh, i guess money can't buy this one, either...

but money could buy the supplements that would help ease the discomfort.

well, there you have it. this may make me sound greedy. but like i said, if i never have any of these {except nos. 25 and 40}, i would still be content. i'm more about the gifts in life that you can't put a price on... like the sweet birthday gesture from my husband and son in the photos above. that had to be my favorite birthday present of all time.

tomorrow, i'll be sharing my second-favorite birthday present of all time. like the gift above, it is priceless, and i will treasure it every day of my life. i can't wait to share it with you.

thus ends my thirty days of forty series. thanks for all the birthday wishes throughout!