Today is my birthday and because lemon is likely one of my most favourite flavours (beside bacon!) I thought I would share with you this super easy and delicious recipe for lemon cookies! 🙂

It is really hard for me to believe that today I am turning 40!  When I was a child, I used to think that forty was so old!  But as I turned the page on a new decade this morning, I don’t think forty is old at all!  I feel that I am in such a good place right now that I am embracing forty with open arms!  I have a husband who loves me, a fabulous family and the greatest group of friends!  I love my life, and wouldn’t change a single thing about it!

If I could go back and talk to myself as a woman in her early 20’s, I don’t think I would give myself any clues as to where I would be when I hit forty.  I think that all the happiness that I feel today is because of the journey that brought me here.  If I gave my younger self hints or pointers to make my life easier, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.  The struggles that we go through make us stronger and build our character.

I never would have predicted that I would be living in Ottawa with a great job and a fabulous husband (in fact, my twenty-year old self never thought she would get married!).  I could never have guessed that I would have a fabulous nephew, let alone that I would love him so much (my younger self and even younger sister never thought we would have children!).  I wouldn’t have been able to predict that I would have such a wonderful network of friends (who I consider to be family) and that they would come to mean the world to me!

As I look at myself, I think about how my Mom must have felt when she turned 40.  She had two daughters who were 22 and 19.  I have no children, let alone grown-adult children.  I hope that Cherie and I have made her proud with the choices that we have made and the paths that we have chosen.  My Mom is a wonderful woman and it is because of her strength and courage that I have been able to grow into the independent woman that I am today.

I welcome this next decade.  I don’t know what is in store for me, however, I know that when I turn fifty, I will look back on my forties with a smile and be thankful for the journey. 🙂

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Inspired by:
Peppermint Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 boxed lemon cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease baking sheet.
2. Combine cake mix, eggs and oil in large bowl.  Beat until well blended. Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls.  Place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
3. Bake at 350°F for 10-11 minutes (cookies will look moist).  Cool 2 minutes on baking sheets.  Remove to cooling racks.
4. While cookies are cooling, mix together the icing sugar and lemon juice to make a glaze.
5. Ice cookies with lemon glaze and enjoy!