Happy Birthday, Kacy (you think I forgot but I didn't. Yesterday's call during which I said nothing about birthdays was merely a decoy to fool you).

In honor of my sister, without whose influence I would be nothing more than a Paula Abdul-loving shell, I have written a top ten list. So, sit back and read the "Top Ten Reasons Why Kacy is Awesomer Than You"

10. Her bed is probably much more comfortable than yours. This is because her life's work is to create the perfect combination of down, memory foam, cotton batting, and 500 thread count sheets.

9. Her furniture is arranged in a much cooler way than yours. This is because she is constantly reassessing the most effective and streamlined set up for her chairs, rugs, couches, and lamps.

8. She writes for Parents magazine. Do you?

7. She makes bacon whenever she wants, but I bet you think you have to wait till breakfast or something.

6. She is really good at talking people into buying things and saying no to things they don't really want to do in the first place. Kacy creates a guilt-free zone for friends and family.

5. Her advice is usually much better than yours.

4. She's into cool music, but not embarrassed to admit that she still loves Barry Manilow. Most of us pretend not to like him even though we do.

3. She is inexplicably obsessed with Spiderman. The rest of us may pretend to be into Spiderman, but she's the real deal.

2. Her love of animals is so pure that she was willing to wash cat-urine-soaked towels for free. When was the last time you drove thirty minutes to pick up nasty towels, wash them, and drop them back off again?

1. After five years of blogging, she has never resorted to obnoxious top ten lists, cheesy "I love my husband" entries, alienating "my house is cuter than your house" photo-essays, condescending "my kids are smarter than your kids" delcarations, or self-indulgent "look at how thin and pretty I am" confessions. But she COULD have done those things. Because they are true.

Happy birthday, sis.