Terri Honey

It's Mom's birthday!  Woohoo!!!
(At least it is in Macau.)











Time for another tribute.

Mom, if I could make you an enormous birthday cupcake, I would have this guy deliver it:
(In the course of finding this image I learned that you and Godzilla are the same age!
No wonder you're such a fan!)

And, here's a creepy rendition of "Happy Birthday", compliments of the Twilight Zone:

And here are three things I love and admire about my mom:

1. She is always learning, exploring and creating:

Here's Mom trying out her star pointer a few Christmases ago.  Mom really loves astronomy and gives us star talks on clear nights.  I totally enjoy nerding out with her about language, and although I've never been great at science, I still think it's interesting and enjoy listening to all the stories she reads about in Discover magazine.

I may not be a great cook, but I can bake like a champ.  Most of this was learned from and encouraged by Mom, since she loves homemade baked things even more than I do.  A few years ago we decided to celebrate our Norwegian roots by learning how to make lefse together.  It's fun!

She's crafty too.  Both my parents are extremely creative.  (Is it any wonder that I became first an art major and then an educator?  Creative planning is in my genes, yo!)  Here I'm modeling a pair of slippers that mom knitted and felted for me.  Love 'em!


2. She really goes out of her way to make things special for us:

 Whether it's helping Santa to get us just the perfect gifts...

or making us the custom birthday cakes of our choice, year after year...

or sending us beautifully wrapped packages weeks in advance all the way to Macau, Mom always knocks our socks off.  (Isn't it obvious why I'm such a perfectionist?)


3. She's always encouraged us to be adventurous:

For instance, when I decided to get a motorcycle a few years ago, many people reacted negatively when I told them about it and said things like "What does your mother think about that?"  Luckily I was able to respond "Actually, she (and my dad) helped me finance it."  Thanks for always encouraging our wild and crazy individuality Mom!

 Our adventures began with family camping trips which we were fortunately able to take every summer.  Mom has neat and tidy camping down to a science.  I'm sure it was tough keeping us all in line when we were on the road - thanks for all your hard work Mom!

And finally, when I was old enough to start making my own crazy-elaborate plans, my parents were cool enough to go along with them.  When I was 16, I planned an epic road trip out to California for us, stopping at every major landmark the West had to offer.  It was a very memorable adventure and their willingness to encourage me to pursue great things really made an impression.  There's rarely a time when I feel unable to follow my dreams and I'm really thankful for that gift of confidence. 
(p.s. Notice anything familiar about my bangs?)


Thanks for helping me become the person I am, Mom.  I really appreciate you and I hope you and Godzilla both have an outstanding year.  I can't wait for our adventures to continue when you come to visit in Macau!
Love you!  xo