I walked into the kitchen this morning to find that my daughter had decorated with a birthday banner.

My breakfast was an experiment. I have had a rash on my eyelids for about two weeks. It is clearly related to makeup, because it is in exactly where eye shadow goes. But I stopped wearing makeup more than a week ago, so there has to be another component. It might be that the month of August has always been my worst month for allergies. It might be that I've been sleeping with a mask to make the room darker in the summer. Monday I was reading in Heidi's archives, and she describes two people who had a similar rash from flax seed. It might be that I eat flax seed for breakfast 6 out of 7 mornings. Tuesday I fixed eggs with onion and spinach for breakfast. Today I ground pecans to use instead of flax in my fruit and seed breakfast mix. The taste and texture were good, but flax is beneficial and pecans are neutral.

My son has really enjoyed working out at the gym all summer. Today he took me with him. They gave me a 5 day trial pass. My son showed me how to use the machines for muscle groups I am interested in improving. I have outgrown the little hand weights I have at home. However, I'm not sure whether I'm ready to join a gym. For now I will enjoy trying the equipment with my pass.

My husband and I agreed to postpone my birthday dinner for a week. Our son will only be home for a few more days, and we want to maximize family time while he is here. Part of family time this week is the Olympics. It didn't seem right to rush through a nice meal just to get home to the television. I baked salmon for dinner and it was delicious. I also baked a walnut torte for my birthday cake. I had made it once before, but it was even better this time.

I got many card and e-mail greetings. Some were funny, some were serious. Here is my favorite, "When we believe in God's plan for us, every age is the perfect age to be.