I find some irony in the fact that I was born on the 'Day of the Dead,' Now Halloween is a holiday and if you are Catholic, you get off on Nov. 1st, but on Nov. 2nd you have to go back to school. There is one day you get candy....the next day is reserved for saints....and I get second string...All Soul's Day.

It's been a fine enough birthday. My husband threw a huge bash for me on my 50th....this one we are kinding of letting slide by. Kind of a mid-decade slump.

Oh I got lots of nice wishes....cute cards and a brunch is in the planning for Sunday.

Rather than ponder aging or the alternative I decided to distract myself. My office is a mess and cannot be navigated anymore...so, I decided to tackle that job of scrapbooking ALL of my 31 years of photos that I had not put in books and given to my kids. ( I have started and abruptly disintegrated into crying on a number of occassions, so I figured I would never get it done...Over the years, between sobbing, I have managed to get them somewhat catalogued.)

Each kid has a baby book and a compliation of pics that they got at high school graduation,but those family vacations and just every day photos added up to this huge bin of just family pics, newspaper clippings etc. The story of a family, not so much just one kid.

They fill up one of those huge bins you use for the storage of fake Christmas trees. Well, needless to say, I am only a fraction done. It is amazing how I can fit those pictures together by which kid was born and by haircuts they had, outfits they are wearing, and by scenery outside of a window on a picture. (Yes, doing this makes me cry, but, it also makes me realize how phenomonally blessed I have been.)

Nowadays, pics are on a flashdrive....hmmm. I suppose that has its benefits, but somehow, to me, somethings need to be in a book. I am not sure I can get all those photos off the flashdrive printed out. $$$$. At least they don't take up all that much space.

Once upon a time................