Happy Birthday, Mom

My mom...

1. always has her toenails perfectly painted red (and has never paid for a pedicure)
2. finds downhill skiing exhilarating
3. maintains a flawless coif 16 hours of the day
4. made me paper-bag lunches every day until I was 17
5. wakes up before dawn to go running
6. has had some really hard things
7. has had some really hard things that would debilitate most people
8. keeps going despite those hard things
9. like Eliza Doolittle, belongs in a garden
10. was caught singing a lullaby to my rabbit when I was 11 despite her former claim to not like animals
11. wants a dog, but talks herself out of it each time she hears about Izzy & Winston's daily ventures
12. was born and raised on a tropical island
13. willingly chose to move to southern Idaho from that tropical island
14. has had four c-sections
15. has really nice legs... legs that 18 year-olds might envy
16. has sewn 75% of my church clothes throughout my entire life
17. has sewn 75% of the window treatments, comforters, table linens, decorative pillows, etc. for her house
18. has children who crave her cooking
19. is always the favorite employee wherever she works
20. has a brother whose childhood torments toward his five sisters makes for funny stories
21. gets down to business
22. spends all of her vacation time camping
23. is the most organized camper you'll ever meet
24. has a son who swears she has her own personal hole in the ozone layer because of her extensive stash of aerosol hairspray
25. can be really shy
26. used to ask me "would you like me to break her nose?" when I have reported mean girl situations
27. never gossips (even when I want her to)
28. has a serious weakness for cookies
29. is one tough cookie
30. throughout my childhood, always thought trampolines were too dangerous to own
31. when I was just about to leave for college, she changed her mind about trampolines
32. can identify nearly any plant (domestic or not) in a most non-chalant manner
33. chops and hauls her own firewood each year
34. has instilled musical talent into each of her kids through years of lessons and "reminding"(and is still at it)
35. makes desserts to-die-for
36. is faithful to Clinque
37. is way overqualified for every job she has had in the last ten years
38. thinks the scent of plumeria blossoms is heaven
39. has to be outside for a big chunk of time in order to have a successful weekend
40. adores her granddaughter and isn't afraid to show it
41. 's pillow smells like Nexxus Humectress, as does her mom's
42. is really smart even though she doesn't think so
43. passed her frequent need for a nice bath to her oldest child
44. forgave me for losing some of her most sentimental jewelry and lots of other things
45. is a really good primary teacher
46. believes that if one is going to do something, one should do it right
47. is loved and appreciated more than she knows