Twenty six years is a lotta livin

It's my birthday in one month. I was going to post my "birthday wish list" on here for friends and family to see, and it had things like this one skirt I've wanted and a book of paintings. But I had to think long and hard to come up with those things, and they're things I can definitely live without. So here's what I want instead. A weekend with some of my dearest friends.

I have been blessed with an incredible group of friends, friends who are more like family than anything else. I've known some of them for a good five or six or seven years now, and we've been through everything from car accidents to weddings together. Our individual journeys have taken us from Idaho to Oregon to England to California and back again. We don't see each other as often as we used to, but we're close enough to be able to pick up where we left off.

One of these friends had an idea that's been percolating for a while now...spending a weekend together at the Oregon Coast at the end of the summer. And although it, like the skirt and book of art, is something I could probably live without, it's all I want for my birthday.

So that's what I'm asking for. Because we can't afford it on our own, unless we sell something like our car, in which case, we won't have a way to get there. Or back. So there's a button up on my blog. It says "DONATE." And if you can't donate, or if you don't care, or if you feel weird, don't do it. I'll still love you, and will still write blogs to make you smile. =) But if you were planning on getting me a birthday present, take that money and send it to my paypal account instead.

I've never done anything like this before, and ethically, with my new readership, I'm not sure how I feel about it. But it's worth it to me to give it a go.