Hi each and everyone!

I think it’s only fitting to express my thanks to the Simoneaus (and some other very special people) on the Simoneau blog. Yesterday was my 30Th birthday and it was probably the best birthday I’ve ever had. There are several reasons for that. First of all I got to spend a good portion of the morning hanging out with my girlfriend Ashley. We’ve been together for two months now, a real landmark for me as I’ve never had a serious romantic relationship prior to this and to put it simply I think she’s incredible. She’s beautiful and funny and she keeps surprising me with her thoughtfulness. We both have more than our fair share of baggage but I thank God that I’m with her. I ran some errands after I left her place and I spent most of the day listening to some of the great new cds I received for Christmas (Ashley got me BOTH of Andy Gullahorn’s amazing albums!) and intermittently napping on the sofa while my brother played Hitman.

Around 8:30 Ashley came by to pick me up and take me to the mysterious birthday party that was planned for me by Mark and Andrea. Mark and Andrea are probably the best friends I’ve ever had- more family than friends really. We’ve known each other for 5 years now and they’ve had the chance to see me mature as I’ve had the chance to see them become amazing parents and we are very close. After a mysterious car trip we arrived at Mimi’s Cafe the site of my second date with Ashley. It’s a quaint restaurant that looks like a house on the outside and boasts a beautiful interior and delicious fairly inexpensive food. We were led to the back of the restaurant to a large table which was filled with good friends and family! I’ve never had an entire party in my honor (at least not since I was a kid) so this blew me away. Seeing all those familiar smiling faces and catching up with old friends with Ashley at my side was an incredible blessing to me!

At the party Mark serenaded me with a version of our old song This December with new lyrics that lightly poked fun at my love of nature and my fixation on girls and TV. It was hilarious! My brother and sister shared stories about me with the group that were very touching and we ate and laughed and had a great time. Most of the members of my old band The Green Letters were there and near the end of the party Lucas the former bass player showed up and My brother and sister, Ashley and I sat with my former band-mates and shared stories, sarcasm and had a great time. This was truly a night to remember and I want to thank Mark, Andrea, Chris, Sarah, Ashley and everyone that made it possible.

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