Actually, Happy Birthday to me! 
" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Yesterday was the big day, and it was a good one – the whole weekend was, in fact. Yaa! " class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> I had to work at an event on Friday evening, but it went by pretty quickly which is always a bonus. On Saturday, I worked a bit and went out for a lovely dinner at La Gloria with my family – their food is AMAZING, and their sangria ain’t half bad, either. Woohoo!! After a beautiful Sunday morning with my Wee One, I went up to Austin to go to the famous Franklin BBQ for lunch – and what a lunch it was! After waiting nearly 3 hours in line (I cannot believe that I did that, but it wasn’t too bad….I made friends in the line, had some drinks, ate the samples that they brought around, played some games – it was a pretty good time), I got my food – and I am so happy to report that it was well worth the wait. I had the tastiest brisket that I have EVER had in my life, some really solid potato salad, and pickles. Yum. I tasted their sauce and decided that I had somehow perished and ended up in heaven…it was THAT good. I kept tasting a coffee flavor in it, which I found positively magical – there were no labels on the bottles, so I had no idea what I was eating. I looked it up online when I got home – turns out it is Espresso Barbecue Sauce…and it’s incredible. Here are some pictures:
A small piece of the line, full of pretty fun people :-)
Samples that were brought to us in line – SOOOOO GOOOOOD!!!
The whole waiting in line thing is such an epic part of the experience that they have a line etiquette manifesto – I love that!
Yummy!
It’s the sign!
Me taking a picture of the Franklin’s sign!
I love their mascots!
This is where the cooking magic happens
Hot Stuff!
I brought brisket home for my Wee One, as it is her favorite food (she’s got some Texan in her) – she nearly melted into a puddle, she was so in love with what she was eating. Yaaa! For the mama of a kid with severe food allergies who has struggled all her life, there are few things as gratifying as watching her devour food and really enjoy it – without worrying that it will make her sick. Yaaa!
I get excited about birthdays, as I feel that they are kind of like a mini-New Year’s Eve…and you get a fresh start. I intend to make some changes this year – trying to drink more water, eat better (although that went right down the shitter this morning as we had a waffle party at work – however, we are still celebrating my birthday, so technically the healthier eating doesn’t really start until tomorrow 
), exercise more, stress less… I always say these things – as do most people – but I want to try to make the effort. I do so many things to try to help those around me – I really ought to put a bit of time in to trying to help myself.
Happy Birthday – here’s to another great year!
xxx
PS: My Dad gave me Lambie on the day I was born – she and I are the same age, but I think she’s totally aged better than I have….what do you think?
My lifelong BFF :-)