Birthday Thoughts...

First of all, much thanks to my buddy, Lee Erickson at Canyonware for snapping up jamesbilbrey.com the moment the other guy let the domain name expire and then surprising me by putting my blog up on it. There was no website there, the guy was just holding on to it, waiting for some sucker named James Bilbrey to buy it.

I feel a little more important now!

Well, it's been a week since I returned from Spain and I can't help and think back to "what was I doing exactly one week from RIGHT NOW" (actually 2 weeks now...). Is that normal?

I had such a great time! Spain is such a warm and inviting country, everyone was very helpful and I never felt threatened (although I didn't feel the need to be out by myself after dark...). I will always have fond memories of my first real visit to another country.

Some of my favorite moments were when I was just walking "that way" through regular old city streets. People were living their lives and I was able to just catch a glimpse of it as I meandered through. I didn't wear my MP3 player because I wanted to hear as well as see and smell everything that was around me...

I experienced so many new and exciting things that I know I have been changed forever. I won't be satisfied with just going to the beach for a vacation. I want to go to the beach in Sydney, Australia...I don't want float down the Mississippi, I want to float down the Nile.

I am going to make it a goal of mine to go to at least one new country a year. Maybe more as finances dictate...

Thanks Rich and Madelyn, you two are the best!

Today is my 38th birthday and I was able to have my boys over tonight. I cooked hamburgers on the stovetop, which is a favorite of all three of us.

After dinner we went out to the side parking lot and played demolition derby with the remote control cars...





The boys were so sweet to give me presents...things they found at their mothers house. Kevin gave me his copy of the movie Madagascar and Eric gave me a Speed Racer Happy Meal car and one of his stuffed animals named "claws" or "clause", I'm not sure...He said "claws" was "tired of him" (meaning tired of being Eric's stuffed animal). How cute!