Saturday Photo Hunters - Through the Years with Me, Myself, & I

Usually I hate to be photographed and prefer to be the photographer, but I guess if I want to play...

Okay - this is me at age 6. I can actually remember going to the portrait studio with my mother and two sisters to have this done. Unfortunately, the chubby cheeks remain to this day.

I attended the University of British Columbia right out of high school, with a couple of small scholarships. I worked every summer at the telephone company to help pay for my fees and residence costs. The photos of me at age 6 and this one are the only portraits I've ever had done, other than my wedding photos, of course.

Then, at age 22 we were celebrating Christmas at my aunt's house. I don't remember this photo being taken and only got it when my Mom and Dad both passed away and it was found in one of their photo albums.

A while ago, just for fun, I did something on Facebook called Hair something or other. So I used the following photo...
and, using my face, put on a bunch of different hairstyles. You can see all the transformations here where I did a post on it. Anyway, here are my two favourites.

I must confess to doing something a bit , well, "sneaky." I used the above right photo (my Dana Delaney lookalike) and posted a bio on "Plenty of Fish." I already had a bio on there with the photo of me in the green shirt but had only had a few responses. I'd hardly hit the enter key when I started getting emails from men all over the place! Hmmm....I wonder why? Needless to say, I removed it.

Anyway, I am me. I am myself. I am I. This is the real me now - a goofy Gramma who loves her kids and grandkids and every precious moment I get to spend with them. (However, I wouldn't mind meeting a goofy Grampa with whom I could share those precious moments.)

Blues Turn Purple

Note: I just checked and if you click on the photos they'll open up. Yay!

I woke up this morning with a slight case of the blues. So much so that I just lay in bed watching TV until nature forced me up. I was hurting all over from yesterday's massage therapy and wanted to stay under the covers all toasty warm and cosy. Peeking through the blinds I could see that the day appeared to be as I was - totally grey.

I finally stumbled downstairs and picked up the newspaper at the front door and headed into the kitchen for some coffee. Not even having the energy to make fresh, I simply poured what was left from yesterday and popped it into the microwave to reheat. Finally, I walked into the family room to open the blinds and what should I see? My irises are blooming! I rushed upstairs to get my camera to record the event and after taking its photo, wandered around the garden to see what else was new. Well, three of the poppy buds are fully open now, so I took a photo of them. Also, more lilies have appeared and the rhododendrun by the fence is in full bloom. All of these wonderful colours have truly perked me up and the sun has finally managed to appear.

Earlier this morning, I was almost devastated by depression and started thinking about some of my favourite tear-jerker movies. I felt like I need a good cry to wash away all those toxins that got stirred up with the massage therapy. I got to thinking about some of the times in my life when those tears actually made me feel better about myself and my life. Some of those soul-cleansing movies were:

Shadowlands - starring Debra Winger and Anthony Hopkins, the story of C.S. Lewis' love for an American woman, Joy Gresham, whom he marries. Of course the story ends tragically and I remember sobbing out loud in the theater and having to rush to the ladies' room afterwards to compose myself. This was the first movie I'd seen since my husband had died, and my friends had not known what the movie was about when they dragged me out, hoping to cheer me up.

The Bridges of Madison County - starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. Would you have opened that door and jumped out of the truck? I sobbed at the end of that movie, knowing that I would have done as she did, sacrificing the love of my life for my children and husband who had done nothing but love me for who I was.

Sophie's Choice - another Meryl Streep movie. I've always been interested in WWII and the Holocaust, wondering how people could have possibly lived through such terror and torture. The choice Sophie was forced to make by a Nazi officer was the most horrendous thing anyone could ever do to a woman, and she sacrificed one child for the other - something she had to live with for the rest of her life. This great screen play shows what hatred and ignorance do to the innocent.

Steel Magnolias - starring Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis. How many of you knew that this movie was based on a tragic, real-life event? And who could ever forget the scene in the cemetery when M'Lynn goes crazy with grief over the death of her daughter?

The Way We Were - starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. I saw this one all by myself one day after having an argument with my new husband. To this day I wonder if it was an omen of what was to come - real passionate love that would never last to the end of our days together.

My list also included Beaches, Terms of Endearment, Brian's Song, Imitation of Life, Schindler's List, Fried Green Tomatoes, Saving Private Ryan, The Notebook, Life is Beautiful, and Sybil.

What movies have made you cry? What cleanses your soul when you have the blues? What turns your blues into other colours of the rainbow?

ABC Wednesday: S is for SICILY

ABC Wednesday is up to the letter S this week so I'd like to take you on a tour to some of the places I visited when in Sicily/Sicilia .

The second week of November, 2006, we took the overnight ferry from Naples to Palermo, the capital city of Sicily. From there we drove west to the town of Erice, which is at the top of a mountain above Trapani on the west coast of Sicily.

By the time we arrived, I was sick as a dog and went right to my room and had delusional dreams until the next morning. Thankfully, the ladies I was traveling with and our guide agreed to stay over another day so that I could rest. While I was sleeping the second day, they took a day trip to Trapani where they viewed the salt-pans, a magnificent sight amidst all the fishing boats. On the morning of the third day, I was well enough to travel (although still sick) and I managed to take a few photos as we were leaving. Below is Trapani from Erice.

I'm disappointed I was too sick to appreciate Erice, because at 2,500 feet up, it's an intriguing medieval town of churches and forts, of silent cobbled lanes and miniature piazzas. I took this photo as we were driving down the mountain from Erice and the Mediterranean Sea was spectacular in its brilliance. And it is said that on a clear day, you can see Cape Bon in Tunisia.

We drove through stunning countryside ....

to reach Segesta where we viewed ancient Greek temples. Sicily has a rich Greek history because it was always considered a crucial strategic location due to its importance for Mediterranean trade routes. At one time it was considered to be part of Greece. We had to take a bus to the top of this mountain to view the amphitheater and other ruins above this temple. I took the shot from the window of the bus as we were returning to the car park.

I also took this shot from the top of the mountain that overlooked the countryside of Sicily near Segesta. It was paradoxical to see a modern highway snaking its way through old farms and ancient hills.

From Segesta, we travelled south to Selinunte on the south coast of Sicily. Another ancient Greek site, it contains five temples centered on an acropolis, which literally means "high city." This is one of my favourite shots because I took it as we were approaching the area and this temple stood out from behind bushes that looked like sagebrush. Actually, this part of Sicily is considered to be the "wild west" of the area.

The area was dotted by ruins through which we wandered for quite a while, imagining ourselves back in ancient Greek times. Some of these ruins were caused by massive earthquakes.

The site at Selinunte is so massive that we weren't able to see all of it. I took the following photo using my telephoto lens. You can see the Mediterranean out on the horizon and one can only imagine the size of the original temple.

From Selinunte, we drove through luscious countryside to Agrigento where we saw "The Valley of the Temples." I'm not going to include photos from there because I have to pick and choose what to show. I don't want you to get bored, but I do hope you will take my word for it that Sicily is certainly a destination to keep in mind for your future travels. I must admit that I wasn't that keen on going there at first, but I quickly realized that my guide was right!

We stayed overnight just outside of Agrigento in the most beautiful villa! Through the window of my room, I gazed at the city as the sun set and watched as the city lights came on. Stunning view! The next day we traveled through Enna - sort of central Sicily) and then south again to Piazza Armeria. (click on the link to see more photos.) There we viewed the most gorgeous Roman mosaics I've ever seen in my life!

We then headed for Siracusa where we stayed two nights. By the time we arrived, it was dark and I was exhausted and starting to feel worse again. So I hit the sack at the five-star Hotel Roma in my own room of a two-bedroom suite. The next day I missed the outing because I had to find my way down the street to the local farmacia where, in my halting Italian, asked for the drug that my doctor always gives me when I end up with bronchitis. I was thankfully able to understand the pharmacist when told I had to go and see the dottore a few doors down. When I entered the door, I expected to see something similar to what we see here in Canada. But the room was empty and a tall, good-looking young man was just coming out of another door. I asked if he was the dottore. He was and spoke enough English to understand me when I explained my symptoms (using hand gestures and notes the hotel manager had given me) that my doctor gives me Xithromax when I'm sick. He said, "Oh, one a day?" I answered, "Si! Si! One a day!" I was so excited that I was going to get my prescription! (Did I mention he was a handsome young Italian dottore?) He told me to go to the farmacia and I asked if I needed a prescription. But he just said, "No, just go and ask for the xithromax." Wow! So off I went and told the pharmacist that the dottore had said "Si, xithromax per mio." Or something like that. So I got the drug, went back to my room and slept some more.

We weren't leaving until around noon the next day, so as the first pill had done its duty and I was feeling much better, albeit still a bit weak, I went off on my own to explore the city. The following photo is of the harbour in old Siracusa. It was a lovely day, just warm enough to not need a jacket but not too warm for me to work up another fever. I really would love to go back some day and see more of that city. I think the rest of the group got to go on a boat ride or something like that. Boo Hoo!

We arrived in Taormina that afternoon - up the east coast past Catania where the airport is and just below Mount Etna. This is the "Riviera" of Sicily! Beautiful town with lots of wealthy tourists roaming around. We went and had gelato and coffee in the piazza while watching Mount Etna spew some smoke. The next morning we heard that it had erupted that night around 11:00 pm, but we were all tucked in at the San Dominigo Palace Hotel by then. Since this post is getting quite long, I just want to suggest you google this place and look at images and read its history. It's one of the leading hotels in the world! Our group even took high tea there one afternoon. This is the view from my patio.

I could show you all sorts of photos, but you'll just have to come over and see the album. But I do want to show you a typical scene along any Sicilian street.

If you're interested in Sicilian recipes, just go over to Welshcakes Limoncello's site. She is an ex-pat from the United Kingdom, currently residing in Modica, and experiments with the local fare. She shares recipes and photos of lots of Sicilian meals along with her point of view of Sicilian life.

Our week in Sicily ended early in the morning November 14, 2006, after driving back to Palermo where we caught another overnight ferry. We arrived back in Naples just in time to see the sun rise.

To view more ABC Wednesday participants' photos, click on Mrs. Nesbitt's place here.

Bitch of an Itch

About every 6 - 8 weeks I go to see Colleen, my friend and hairdresser. I get a trim and she touches up the colour. Today I got more blonde highlights for summer and I really like the look. The cut is just a teensy bit shorter than it was and I'm happy with that, too.

However, it seems that every time I get my hair done, Colleen puts in so much "product" that by the time I get home, my hair feels icky sticky and dirty. AND the worst thing is...my head is so itchy I could scream!

Usually, I try to ignore the itch and shampoo my hair the follow morning. Then it's like ... AAH ... no more itch and squeaky clean hair. I seem to be able to style my hair basically the same way Colleen does by blowdrying it and putting velcro curlers in. Then I do my makeup and when that's finished, I take out the curlers and brush it out, using a bit of hairspray to keep it in place.

I think I might be allergic to the dye she uses. Has anyone else ever had this reaction? Should I stop colouring my hair? EGAD! PLEASE DON'T SUGGEST THAT!!! Or maybe it's the brand.

HELP!!! I can't wait until morning ... I'm going to shampoo my hair now!

Will planting turn to pain?

I've been so bored lately what with being so careful about my back that I did some gardening anyway this afternoon. I figure the doctor gave me a prescription for pain, so if my back seizes up, I'll take a pill. Aching right now, but believe me I will not hesitate to pop that pill if I need to.

Anyhoo, I bought 3 geraniums and a pot of 6 marigolds and wanted so badly to get them in the garden. They were starting to look a bit pathetic (see photo below) so I got down on my hands and knees and began the process. First, dig up the weeds and turn the soil, flick the worms out of my way (ICK!), place the plants equi-distant from each other, dig a hole, and cover them up with soil and a firm pat. The whole process probably took me a half an hour and believe me, between my back and the heat, that was plenty for today. I took a few photos of what's happening in the garden so far this season and hope you enjoy them. My garden could be so much nicer if I were able to do more, but bit by bit I'll get it all spruced up. First up is the rhododendrun which is right by my patio. Last year I really hacked it back and the first flowers are looking healthy and magnificent. Try to click to enlarge the photos, but usually they won't.

At the far end of the garden along the house, is a poppy plant that we think floated in on a seed when I had new topsoil put down a few years ago. At first I thought it was a prickly weed, but before I had time to get out to remove it, a flower appeared! So now I just keep it trimmed back and each year we get more and more flowers on it. Here you can see the end of one flower and six more buds on the bush.

Nearby the poppy are some lilies. The garden used to be prolific in lilies and I had to cut a lot of them out. They were just taking over everywhere. Because of our weather this spring, they are late in blooming. Here's the very first one of the season.

Here you can see a bit of the lily plant next to the other rhododendrun, which is redder than the one by the patio. Underneath the rhodo are English poppies that bloom all summer long.

Opposite the house and along the fence is a long garden starting with an azalea, blue cornflowers (see closeup below), and more English poppies. It was at the far end of this section where I put in the geraniums and marigolds.

Et voila! Here they are in their new home. If I'm sitting inside, I can see them straight out the patio windows and I think because they look so pretty, I just might get more and thin out the cornflowers so they can border the garden all the way along. If you look really closely, you can just make out one of my two irises that has some buds on it.

My feet and back feel much better lying on the chaise admiring our handiwork. We now wait to see if that aching turns into anything worse. Oh well, I'll just pop that old pill and wait until the pain passes. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend - sunny like ours was - and that you got everything done that you wanted to do.

The Wind That Shakes The Barley

Boredom took me to Blockbuster this afternoon and I found an interesting-looking film under "Staff Picks." I always look there and have found many great films that are generally unknown to most people. Today, I chose "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" - a film depicting the early days of the Irish Republic Army. Wikipedia has an excellent overview of the movie, and I highly recommend you read it before seeing the movie. I found the Irish accents a bit hard to understand, but the movie is definitely worth watching. You can also watch the trailer here.

Synopsis:

Ireland 1920: workers from field and country unite to form volunteer guerrilla armies to face the ruthless "Black and Tan" squads that are being shipped from Britain to block Ireland's bid for independence. Driven by a deep sense of duty and a love for his country, Damien abandons his burgeoning career as a doctor and joins his brother, Teddy, in a dangerous and violent fight for freedom. As the freedom fighters' bold tactics bring the British to breaking point, both sides finally agree to a treaty to end the bloodshed. But, despite the apparent victory, civil war erupts and families, who fought side by side, find themselves pitted against one another as sworn enemies, putting their loyalties to the ultimate test.

As I was watching "The Wind That Shakes the Barley", I began to be ashamed of my British heritage. The English here aren't just repressive occupiers — they are bullies, humiliating Irish men and women to the point of unforgiveable cruelty.

I'd be interested in knowing if anyone else has seen this movie and their feelings about it. I found it all the more horrendous knowing that this actually happened and why the Irish are so bitter towards the British even to this day.

For more critics' reviews go here and scroll down to Critical Consensus/Critics Reviews. They're definitely worth a read.

A Bit of Fun ~ Which Sports Car Are You?

I'm a Ferrari 360 Modena!

I've got it all. Power, passion, precision, and style. I'm sensuous, exotic, and temperamental.

Sure, I'm expensive and high-maintenance, but I'm worth it.

http://www.tomorrowland.us/sportscar

ABC WEDNESDAY - This week is brought to you by the letter R

R is for Richard Roe.

Who the heck is that, you may ask!

Well, I first became aware of Richard in May of 2005, when I read an article in the Vancouver Sun about a "senior gentleman" who was seeking his soulmate. This is part of what he writes on his webpage:

"The idea for Senior Bachelor grew from the realization that after 10 years of being single, I miss, very much, being in a loving, healthy, committed relationship. I travel a great deal every year, and let's face it, being in a gondola in Venice, or on the beach in Bali watching the sunset, or seeing the Taj Mahal under a full moon, is a heck of a lot more fun being with someone you love than being alone! So I decided to become "the poster boy" for promoting Romance and Adventure for folks over 45. I dubbed myself “Senior Bachelor” to crusade against all the “over the hill” stereotypes."

"This sounds too good to be true," thought I, as I checked him out on the computer. He was offering each of 6 women a month-long, all-expenses paid trip with him somewhere in the world.

"There has to be a catch," I insisted.

But I was intrigued.

I read everything on his webpage and participated in his blog that he started in June. There were lots of women from all over the world who blogged there and eventually I felt as though I knew some of them personally. Several friends urged me to send in my bio but I still felt like it was somehow a hoax. However, Oprah had him on her show in April (I saw it rerun in August) and he was featured in the June 27, 2005 issue of People Magazine's 50 Hottest Bachelors. I waited until practically the very last minute before sending in my "application."

On August 31, 2005, I flew down to Manhattan Beach by myself to meet this man. He was hosting a "Meet the Senior Bachelor" weekend there in his hometown. I had arranged to room with a woman I'd met on his blog and to meet several others with whom I'd become friendly. So even though I was going alone, I'm quite outgoing and just thought of it as expanding my horizons. Below is the first group of women who arrived to meet Richard. The man in the photo is Joe, his business manager - another great guy who, unfortunately, was and still is happily married.

This is when Richard arrived and all the women were taking pictures! You can see my shadow on his body and he's looking right at me. To the left is Umberto, Richard's handsome young protege who speaks about 6 languages. Umberto is another story for another time.

So, what was he like? Charming ~ Polite ~ Well-informed ~ And lots of fun.

I was even more intrigued.

However, he did not choose me to be one of his "semi-finalists" and I figured that was the end of it. Little did I realize though, that he'd taken some of our ideas for senior singles cruises and promptly organized two Alaska cruises for August of 2006. I recruited two of my girl friends and we signed up, planning on having a really fun time meeting other singles of a, shall we say, mature vintage. We had a fantastic time and met lots of people with whom we promised to correspond. Here is a small group of us posing with Richard at dinner on the cruise.

When we stopped in Prince Rupert, I found this old guy sitting outside a fishing shop so Cathy took my photo with him. I later sent it to Richard as a souvenir of our cruise. Do you see a resemblance?

While on that cruise, Richard mentioned that he wanted to try something else. He'd lived in Italy in the past and wanted to offer guided tours if anyone was interested. Well, I was! In October of 2007, I met him and a small group of women in Rome and we departed on a month-long holiday. I've written about some of my adventures there on my blog. Here we are on our first night in Rome, sharing a pizza in the Piazza Navona.

I left Richard in Rome on a rainy day in mid-November, 2007, expecting to never see him again. However, I was wrong. He arranged for a reunion in Manhattan Beach for anyone who had been involved in his "journey" over the preceding year and a half. So I flew down to meet up with him and others I'd met through this adventure. It was a fun few days, cycling the boardwalk from Manhattan Beach to Hermosa Beach to Redondo Beach and back. We ate well and partied even better. The following photo was taken the morning my friend Suzanne and I left to drive up to Stallion Springs, CA, to stay with her Mom for another few days before I had to return to reality.

I think Richard's search for his soulmate has ended but I'm not sure if it was successful or not. But I do know that he is still doing guided tours in Italy and this year he took a few ladies to France. Other cruises that he has arranged have been through the Panama Canal, around the Greek Islands, and this July he'll be on the cruise through the Baltic Sea. So if anyone is interested, just go to his website, http://www.seniorbachelor.com/ and check it all out.

Hope you enjoyed my story about Richard Roe on this "R-day" and that you all have a radiant week.

To check out who else participated this week, please go to Mrs. Nesbitt's site and join in.

Birthday Wishes to Jaclyn

As regular readers will know, this past year and a bit has been one of the most difficult times of my life, mainly because I nearly lost my daughter to a wicked disease. And then when things finally settled down, we almost lost her again to possible cancer. (It wasn't, but it was still a very scary time!) Since tomorrow is her birthday, I'd like to honour her here and tell you a bit about her. Some of the following is from last year's post, but I've updated it because she is so special to me, and I'm so proud of how she has fought hard to turn her life around despite being burdened with a condition that will be life-long.

May 20, 1980 - a day I will forever hold in my heart as extra special. It was the day my second daughter was born, 9 lbs and 23" long. She had a round little tummy, long skinny arms and legs, blue eyes and dark hair. I'd thought all along that she would be a boy because I'd carried her so differently from her sister. It took her quite a while to arrive - we joked that she was too comfy in there and we were disturbing her perfect little world. Finally, we heard the doctor announce, "Another girl," and we had to scramble to find a name for her. It didn't take us long to decide. Since I loved my sister's name and she'd never had the joy of having a child, we just changed the spelling to make it unique. And since she was going to be the last, we made up her middle name to honour her Daddy.

Jaclyn was the cutest little girl and her personality developed quickly. She was a determined little girl and tried to boss her big sister around. When she started school, her teacher tried to be very tactful in telling us something we already knew. Even when she was a toddler, we could tell she had her own mind about things. The first year she was in figure skating and part of the annual ice carnival, she actually stole the show. The 2 & 3 year olds were part of the Anna and the King of Siam segment, and they were to simply skate around the edge of the arena as "Anna" did her routine in the center of the ice. At one point, Jaclyn left the group of toddlers and skated over to "Anna" and proceeded to copy her movements. There was a roar of approval from the audience and she ended her own little "routine" with a standing ovation! Here she is in her "official" portrait and when she stole the show that memorable day:

Jaclyn was always a leader and wanted to be involved in everything from soccer to ballet to figure skating. Being the only girl on her soccer team in first and second grade didn't bother her at all because she wanted to be like her Grampa who was a soccer hero. She loved animals and in kindergarten decided she would marry a dairy farmer because she didn't want the animals killed for beef. Here are a few shots showing her with different animals she loved.

When she saw her Gramma knitting, the only thing possible was to have Gramma teach her to knit, and when she saw her Grandmother playing the organ, nothing would do but to learn how to play the organ.

When Jaclyn was only 3 years old, she had her first solo in a Sunday School Christmas program. In elementary school, she joined the school choir and participated in many festival choir competitions. She also had roles in school and church plays (e.g. "The Miracle Worker"). In high school, she had a part in "Oliver" and other productions. She took singing lessons and sang at church and later even considered trying out for Canadian Idol. She'll often go out to karaoke with friends, too, but I've never had the guts to sneak in to listen to her. I always stop everything I'm doing whenever I hear her singing - she sings an awesome "At Last" and anything by Andrew Lloyd Weber. Here she is in her Grade 6 musical production during one of her solos.

Throughout her childhood, Jaclyn was also involved in other various sports and other activities. Here are just a few photos illustrating her interests in a vast variety of activities.

I know that some of Jaclyn's favourite memories have to do with summers at the cabin on Shuswap Lake. She was only 2 months old the first time she went with us for our summer holidays. Over the years, she had lots of fun swimming, boating, fishing with her Dad, paddle-wheeling, exploring in the government campsite nearby, horseback riding, picnicking, barbecuing, and roasting weiners and marshmallows, and sipping hot chocolate over the campfire that her Dad would make every night. Besides swimming in the lake, I took her to swimming lessons so she was very comfortable around any sort of water. Here she is on the beach at at Cape Cod where we had a wonderful vacation the year we lived in Ottawa, Ontario.

Jaclyn loved her Daddy more than anyone in the whole world. Her world was shattered in August of 1992 when her father died, and her life would never again be the same. Although she tried to deal with the tragedy and the pain it brought, she's had a really hard time moving on with her life. That fall when she entered seventh grade, she made it her goal to honour her father by doing the absolute best she could in her school work as well as being the best person she could be towards others. That next spring, she received the Citizenship Award and I cried as I watched her stand to be honoured by the whole school. I was so proud of her.

(This is a photo of Jaclyn at her seventh grade "grad." She's trying to smile, but I can see the sadness in her eyes.)

Jaclyn went on to graduate from high school with very good grades and some honours. However, she had coasted through, usually bored with her courses because they didn't challenge her enough. She tried college, but it didn't work, so she went to work. That was boring, too. Finally, she went to Blanche MacDonald School and got her diploma in makeup technology. I was so proud of her when she graduated and supported her while she tried to break into the industry. She was involved in several movies and did all sorts of makeup work - from brides to zombies. She and a friend developed their own production company but when her partner sold her out, she was devasted and decided to change course. She has a very good job now and management is thrilled with her customer service skills.

Jaclyn is a singer, a writer, a poet, an artist, a jewellry designer, a computer whiz, and a proud Auntie to Noah and Eden. She is sensitive, intelligent, generous, and has a dry wit. She is beautiful, gentle yet strong, loving, caring, and genuine. She loves all animals, especially dogs and cats and used to have a pet rat named Whiskey. (I do have to protect her from spiders, though.) Sometimes she likes to shock me because she thinks it's funny, but if I ever need her, she's there for me. I love her so much and know that my life would not be the same had she not be born. I thank God every day that He sent her to be my daugher for always. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACLYN - may all your dreams come true.