December/Capricorn babies UNITE!

Ok folks... if you're reading this, then chances are, you know me well enough to know that I'm relatively obsessed with my birthday. Not in a narcissitic way- ok well maybe. But I'll blame my mom for making a big deal out of my birthday and for spoiling me like a princess deserves to be.

Seriously. Having a birthday so close to Christmas has its drawbacks. You know, like when you see something early in the calendar year and your parental figure would say: "wait till your birthday". Well for my summer-baby-brother that was splendid. For me, it sucked.

Apparently I'm not the only one with a December birhtday. It seems this year, all sorts of December babies are coming out of the wood-works and are in my life (directly or indircectly). And here I was thinking it was only me and Gerard Depardieu (with whom I share my birthdate- yep, i'm talking about the french actor people)...

My birthday, as most of you are aware, is December 27th- yes, two days after Jesus', 4 days before my sister's and 5 days before the start of the new year. And, seeing as I was born in 1979, I still consider myself a baby of the 70s...even if it was for only 4 days. Despite it being part of the holiday season, my mom has done a fantabulous job at making a special day out of my birthday- afterall, it's not my fault I was born during this festive time... Even when the grocery store had little selection for birthday cakes - and no, a fruitcake does not cut it as a birthday cake, I would have one. Although in later years, my preferred birthday cake of choice is a pumpkin pie :)

In a way of ensuring a bit of self-preservation regarding my birthday, and for it not to get lost in the holiday hoopla, I've had some birthday rules that I made up quite a few years ago, and help me (and my friends) survive the holiday season, stress free. They're a few pointers that help guide people in the right direction when it comes to differentiating between Christmas and my Birthday.

Bex birthday rules:

1. Do not wrap my birthday present in Christmas paper...come on people
2. Do not wish me a "Merry Christmas" or a "Happy New Year" in my Birthday card
3. Conversely, please don't say "Happy Birthday" in my Christmas card
4. Should you be combining the birthday and christmas gifts, please advise. note: the combined gift, should be the approximate value of two separate gifts- and lets face it, seeing as boxing day is the day before, you have great sales you can hit up!

Of course I have had friends break these rules in the past (of course no family member would dare) and I have overlooked their errors on occaision- number of past offenses gets taken into consideration, as does length of time they've known me and whether or not they should have known better.

So to all of you who share my astrology sign (as long as your b-day is in December anyway)... am I the only one with birthday rules? I'll admit, although I am proud of my rules, I do have a slight fear that people think I'm a little selfish. But if there's ever a day that's all about you, and a little selfishness is allowed, wouldn't it be your own birthday!

as an added bonus tip: an easy way to remember how old I am- seeing as I was born in 1979, take the digits of the upcoming new year and break it down: 20 + 07 = 27. So I will be 27 for the entire year of 2007 (except the last four days). Similarly, in the year 2010, I'll be 30! oh heaven's...I don't want to get into thinking about that yet...