Friday Five--Las Mananitas

Mother Laura at RevGalBlogPals writes:

Éstas son las mañanitas These are the morning verses
Que cantaba el Rey David, That King David used to sing,
A las muchachas bonitas To the beautiful young ladies,
Se las cantaba así. He would sing them like this.
(The Mexican birthday song, sometimes sung as a dawn serenade).

Youtube Mariachi version here.
Piano music and eleventy-zillion more verses here.

My forty-third birthday next Wednesday will inaugurate the "Birthday Madness" season in the Grimes-Honkanen household. The next day Katie will turn five and just over two weeks later, on Feb. 3, Nicholas will be eleven. In the middle, on January 30, we celebrate the gift of Grandma Di; Nicholas and I were both due on my Mom's birthday but I was uncharacteristically early and he was little late. We will be doing a trip to Disneyland to celebrate them all in a couple weeks; in the meantime I offer this birthday-inspired Friday Five.

1. When is your birthday? Does anyone else (famous and/or in your own life) share it?
My birthday is in late October. I don't know of anyone who shares the exact date, but my mom's birthday is also in October and that's kind of a nice thing to share with your mom.

2. Do you prefer a big party or an intimate celebration for the chosen few?
I think I like smaller parties...or bigger parties that offer the chance to have good conversation with individuals or small groups of people.

3. Describe your most memorable birthday(s)--good, bad, or both.
My most memorable birthday was several years ago when my husband and I were dating. He surprised me with a trip to Colorado (we were living in TX at the time). We spent four days (I think it was about four days) driving through the mountains, seeing the aspens and breathing in the crisp air. It was the best birthday ever!

4. What is your favorite cake and ice cream? (Bonus points if you share the cake recipe). Or would you rather have a different treat altogether?
I love chocolate so I guess I would have to say any kind of chocolate cake will do...and I love Baskin Robbins Chocoalte Chip Ice Cream--yum!

5. Surprise parties: love 'em or hate 'em?
I don't think I have ever been given a surprise party and I'm not really sure if I love them or hate them. I suppose if I were to be surprised on a good day, it would be good. But if I were surprised on a difficult day, that might not be so good. There are too many surprises in ministry already, so maybe a planned party is the thing for me =).

Bonus: Describe your ideal birthday--the sky's the limit.
I think the ideal birthday would be to be surrounded by family and good friends. Doesn't really matter where or what...just to be with those folks and celebrate the gift of life that God gives would be a wonderful thing.

Journey On...