Joyeux anniversaire à moi!

Today is my birthday! I am officially 23 years old! I'm already able to buy lottery tickets and drink alcohol, but I still can't rent a car or get a lower insurance rate, so 23 doesn't seem to really have any serious perks as far as I can tell. Actually, this birthday seemed to sneak up on me as I suspect most birthdays from here on out will. Here are 23 facts about my birth and birthday that will probably have no interest or consequence to you:

1. I was born at 5:13 a.m.
2. If you're not good at math, I was born in 1986.
3. I am the first and only child (read: spoiled).
4. I was supposed to be born around December 15 (poor Mommy).
5. My mother ate a pound of chocolate candy right before I was born (poor me).
6. Thanks to the candy, I was a chunky 8+ pound baby.
7. My father announced my name after I was born, which apparently came as a surprise to my mother.
8. My husband was born at the same hospital I was (3 years earlier) and we both have the same baby shirt from the hospital.
9. On the day I was born, my paternal grandfather opened an account for college at the bank under my name, which he misspelled.
10. I am the fourth grandchild on my maternal side, but the first girl.
11. My only female cousin was born just 6 weeks after me.
12. I've never had a surprise birthday party (and I'm okay with that, for the record).
13. No one terribly interesting (aside from me, of course) was born today, but here is a list anyway.
13. Wikipedia is a wealth of knowledge.
14. 360 days remain until 2010.
15. Because of the date, my birthday always seemed to be anticlimactic, like letting the air out of the balloon of Christmas and New Year's.
16. Sixteen was probably my favorite birthday, thus far, if only because of the excitement and promise the year held. That year I received a shiny new yellow Volkswagen beetle, an amazing gift (and probably my favorite, it's a little hard to compete with).
17. My favorite birthday dessert would probably have to be plain old chocolate cake with chocolate icing, because double chocolate is never a bad thing.
18. This is a much longer list than I anticipated...
19. A very dear girlfriend and I initially bonded over our shared birth month. We were in band together and also played the same instrument (read: nerds). Her birthday is in just eleven days.
20. I might get to see this dear girlfriend tomorrow for dinner!
21. It really has been a great day thus far, although I forgot my sweater and when I came in to work today I found the furnace had conked out in my office and it is about 50 degrees in here. Thank goodness for my little space heater!
22. Tonight I am having dinner with my parents, husband, and in-laws at one of my favorite hometown restaurants.
23. I am blessed to have so many friends and family members who love me and recognize my birthday. I hope I am always able to return the favor in kind and help make those I dearly treasure feel special, if only for one day.