A big hat by any other name

A big hat by any other name would have to be... Emily's annual sombrero birthday, complete with fried ice cream and Mexican waiters singing "Happy Birthday" like a funeral dirge.


Did I ever mention how much I hate the way most people sing "Happy Birthday"? It drives me crazy. It's supposed to be a quick little ditty. Instead, people draw it out like Methodists.

(That was Mama's pet peeve. She grew up Baptist, a denomination which seems to believe that if you can't sing well, sing fast.)

Amy and I sing "Happy Birthday" like champs, and we're loud enough to usually force people to either keep up or get out of the way. Sadly, Amy no longer lives here, and I was busy trying to take pictures without red-eye (unsuccessfully), so the Mexican waiters led the song and it sounded almost as pitiful as -- wow, I am all out of similes. Let's just stick with "funeral dirge," shall we?

Regardless, Emily turns 18 tomorrow. Save me, I'm drowning.

Off to the mall -- Em prefers Cinnabons over cakes. I do so like the way she's turning out.

Perhaps later I shall tell the tale of Emily's birth. It's a nailbiter. Emily -- like her dear maman -- believes in making grand entrances.