All About My Birthday!

Well, let me tell you about my birthday....

I spent the morning running around trying to get the TEFRA forms done. By the time Greg got home at 1:30 pm, I was barely finished packing. So off we went.

We got to the Inn at Biltmore. That is a beautiful hotel! You are greeted as you pull in, by all kinds of guys ready to help you. Valet parking, bellmen, etc. It was all "Mr Leiby" and "Mrs Leiby". The front desk was equally helpful. And they handed me a big bouquet of flowers for my birthday. Turns out Greg had talked to the concierge, and had that all arranged.

So the bellman takes our bags to the room, and gets us all settled in. He points out that there is a beautiful wrapped box on the desk, and "that is not part of our usual package!".

I figured that it was either some free Biltmore birthday t-shirt.

So I sat on the bed and started opening the box....

Inside there were all kinds of cards and little gifts! It turns out that my dear friend Stacey arranged to collect them all from various friends of mine! She and Greg coordinated to have it overnighted to the hotel, so it would be there waiting for me!

There were gift cards for a nail place and a massage. There were bracelets with Biblical messages of strength and hope. There was an inspirational book. There was a birthday crown! And lots of little candies that said things like "40 and fabulous".

I was absolutely overwhelmed. These were the same women who supported me so much through the retreat a few weeks ago, and it was nice to feel so loved!

Afterwards, we got ready for dinner. We ate at the Deerpark Restaurant on the Biltmore Estate. It is a prime rib and seafood buffet. (With a decadent dessert bar too!) It was fabulous!! They even brought me a plate decorated for my birthday with yummy chocolates!

The restaurant is in an old renovated barn. So Greg and I joked that he took me to a buffet in a barn for my birthday. Let people think it was Golden Corral or something! HA!

Believe it or not, we were asleep before 9 pm. We've both been exhausted lately. Of course we were also both awake at 6:00 am. Yuck! Just can't reset those internal clocks overnight.

We had breakfast at the hotel dining room. It was a wonderful buffet with all our favorites. And some of the best orange juice I've ever had!

Then it was off to visit the big Biltmore house. Oh I love that place! I was there 15 years ago with my mother, and there are so many more renovated rooms to see now. Truly beautiful!

We ate lunch at the Bistro by the Biltmore Winery, and then did the brief winery tour. The Riverbend Farm was right around the corner, so we stopped there too. They had lots of farm demonstrations (a blacksmith, a woodshop), farm equipment, and animals! I always love the animals!

That was the end of our day at Biltmore. We came home, and the boys were so excited to see us (even after only one night gone!). Mom Mom and Pop Pop were glad to see us too. They were exhausted!

Mom made a delicious dinner -- her Hungarian Goulash, one of my favorites. She and Michael made my birthday cake earlier in the day. What a special treat!

Again, we were asleep before 9 pm, but after what was probably the best birthday I've ever had! If you go on our website, you can see pictures there.