Absolute Animal

Isn't that sexy? I saw it at Target the other day, and told Mark about how, in a perfect world, I would own such a vacuum, and live a slightly cleaner existence, with less stress and fewer hours spent combating the hair from Lola, Maurice, and Amelie.

When Mark came home with Felix yesterday (that in itself being quite an early birthday gift - three hours to myself!!!), they'd been to Target, where they procured for me my very own Animal. While some of you might say, "A vacuum cleaner? As a birthday gift?" I counter that it was something I truly desired, something I never would have bought myself, amd something I could certainly have lived without, so I think it was a marvelous gift.

I also was able, using birthday funds, to finally order an upgraded digital camera. The one we have is super slow, and doesn't really do a good job of capturing video. Since Mark and I aren't the type to carry an actual video camera, I wanted a point and shoot that would capture decent video with audio for those moments we just have to get on video. Here's hoping my research paid off. I can't wait for it to come!

From a gifty standpoint, it was rather a stellar birthday. What's even better, I had a lovely day, both with and without my husband and son, and got to enjoy my family's visit in the evening. Sort of makes up for being "older than dirt," as the kids at work say. (I could kill whoever taught them that phrase.)