Since my birthday is over the weekend, my staff threw me a birthday shindig at work today. My reporter brought an amazing cake from the Great Dane Bakery that looked like a wedding cake. It was a delicious moist four layered white cake with strawberry and cream filling, and the outside of the cake is a fondant-like covering of white chocolate hand-decorated with grape vine design around the top circumference, metallic gold swirls airbrushed across the top as the background to a script “Happy Birthday Cindy”. The sides of the round cake had elegant hand-applied whorls and curlicued flourishes in a white puffy cream. I wish I had a photo of it. I didn’t think to take a cameraphone picture like I did last year.

People gathered, sang and made me feel good, I reminded everyone that I’m not 32 for a couple more days, and then I opened cards and presents. My judge had a great card that is worth commemorating. The front reads:

If you want to be HAPPY, be!
-henry david thoreau
HAPPY BIRTHDAY

On the blank inside he’d written simply:

Cindy,
Be as you are and have been.

What a concept, huh?

While I was in the jury room with everyone reminding them I’m not 32 yet, my realtor called. The #1 house’s agent got back to him, and said that altho they’d received some calls of interest, they’re not in offer/counter offer mode with anyone, and they’re willing to resume negotiations with us where we’d last left off before the #2 house’s sleaze screwed us. My realtor faxed over our acceptance to their counter offer, which was signed and faxed back. We should be getting our financing and entering Escrow soon! YAAAAAAY! (almost)