My Birthday Week

Why settle for just one day of celebrating when you can have a whole week of fun? Exactly.

I kicked off my birthday week with dinner at Slider Bar in Palo Alto. It's SO good. We ordered 3 baskets of fries--garlic, sweet potato, and these greasy fries piled high with pulled pork and ranch sauce. It was heavenly.

Inger gave me a most appropriate gift

After dinner, we came back to my house and watched Pitch Perfect. It was just as good the second time around.

I also hit up Cat Club, and rocked out to the best of the 80's in the back room with Susan and Jojo.

On Thursday night, I went to Bon Jovi with friends. I stole Sharla's hat to prove my theory that I look super hot in sunglasses and fedoras. It's not conceited if it's a fact. (Hi Carly!)

We got super cheap seat online--like $15 cheap! We were technically behind the stage, but Jon Bon had a round stage, and spent a good deal of time facing us. I was quite pleased with the seats.

I pretended to take a picture of Sharla, but I'm really taking a pic of these horrible drunk dancers behind us. Their moves were shameful.

These people in front of us were killing me. They were well into their 70's, and whenever their jam came on, they pumped their fists. This is totally us in 40 years.

The show was well over 2.5 hours. Jon Bon looks sounds, and moves like he's 20. He put on a great show. He really has seen a million faces, and he's totally rocked them all.

On my actual birthday, I headed over to playgroup to hang with my friends and kids. My birthday hair was on a roll.

My so-called friends bestowed these upon me--gag.

But they made up for it with this delicious GF almond cake--thanks Meghan! Love ya--despite the fact that you also gave me those pukey kale chips. Turns out chocolate doesn't actually make everything better.

After playgroup, I met up with Team Gray, and we drove over to my favorite gluten free joint

I had a GF quiche, followed quickly by a light and fluffy eclair. SO delicious.

B dutifully helped out and chomped on a cupcake to join in the festivities

After lunch, we came back, and I hit up our school raffle. I was hoping to win some discount swim lessons--which I did. Score! Then I went out for sushi with friends, and then came home to watch trashy TV all by myself. It was a wonderful and fabulous birthday, though we did miss Lance, who was in Utah for a wedding.

Here's to 37! I'm looking forward to many more adventures!

My Birthday Tour of Food

Maybe one day I will do an updated birthday list--but for my most recent readers, you can feast on THIS. Apparently, it was only read by two people, one being Ashley, and it was so long ago, I was prepping to teach her seminary class. You know that post is old, because I would never, ever, ever, ever be a sub for her. Ever. But I keep her around because she gives me kitchen counter spray.

I started out my birthday festivities with a trip to Benihana. Do you know they give you a FREE $30 gift card just for having a birthday? It's true. Sign up now to get in on this deal. I only spent $27 on my entree, so they actually paid me $3 to come and eat.

The food may be free, but the hat is priceless!

Our fun new friends were also celebrating a birthday, and also eating on the house. The kids had to sit on separate ends of the table to prevent tomfoolery. Their little boy sat next to a cute girl with a Jersey Shore-ish boyfriend. He kept making 'jokes' about how he was getting jealous of his girlfriend paying attention to their little boy. I think its safe to say Guido wasn't really kidding at all.

I like Benihana. It's the Cocktail of fake American Japanese food.

I would gladly be paid $3 to eat this again.

My Dad and his wife came to visit for the week. You may remember him as the man who convinced a Toys R Us employee that he was a serial killer. You may also remember him as the man who had nothing to steal (unless you love fossils and dried beans).

He rocked two looks on this trip: Unabomber and Bill Cosby.

You think I'm joking, but I'm not. I don't have photographic evidence of the Unabomber look, but let's just say he should be glad it's not the early 90's when the identity of the Unabomber was still unknown.

Here he is doing his best impression of Mr. Cosby. I feel like he should be extolling the virtues of pudding while dispensing valuable fatherly advice.

We spent one day at the aquarium, with B happily running from tank to tank. She loves the fishies.




I took Mr. Cosby and his wife Robyn to Sam's Chowder House. I recommended they each get a cup of chowder, and split the famous lobster roll. They did, and were very happy with my suggestion. We also got baby artichokes with a zesty garlic aioli dip. Delish!



One the way home from HMB, I badgered my friend into buying a high end, nearly brand new water dispenser from a store that was closing for a mere $30. It had hot, warm, and cold water features--plus a bonus mini fridge in the base! I hauled it out to my car, where it promptly started streaming water down my leg. I realized there was still water in the base, so I grabbed my gas funnel from the trunk, hit the spigot, and started emptying the base.

I realized, a bit too late, that it looked like I was peeing a steady stream into the parking lot. The owner of the shop I was parked in front of came out with a bewildered look on his face. He quickly realized I wasn't a pervert, and then kindly helped me load the water dispenser into my trunk. Hayley, you better love that thing. I publicly urinated in a parking lot for you!


I also took them to the tasty dive knows as The Falafel Drive-In on Stevens Creek in San Jose. It was features in DDD, so you know it's a certifiably delicious dive. This nutty bird demanded that I take her there for a gyro. I'm happy to oblige, though I stand by my assertion that the Pakistani place I chose in the past was both was tasty and delicious!

I chose Arka for my birthday dinner, and Ashley (of kitchen counter cleaning spray fame) watched B so we could all eat in peace. It was nice not leaving the restaurant with lentils in my hair.

We went home, and I opened all of the cards and packages I had received. I also ate a pint of Rocky Road because it was my birthday, and calories don't count.

OOF! Bad angle alert!! Turns out calories really do count, 365 days a year. Not that such a realization would stop my Tour of Birthday Food.

I also had dinner with my favorite girls at Xahn. That place is SO GOOD, and always delivers.

The next morning, I got up bright and early to do this. It was easily in the top 5 funniest things I've ever done, and I've done some funny stuff in my day. More on this later.

Later that night, we went back up to the city for dinner and a show. We went to Zadin with Team Gray. Kristine and I got our own plate of fried egg rolls and onion rings. The photos of us consuming them would likely not have been very ladylike. We never get fried food, so we dug in.



After dinner, we headed over to the Orpheum to see Jim Gaffigan. As always, he was hilarious. Hot PO-CKET! Watch it HERE if you're not familiar.

I snapped this picture for a few select people. If you saw it and laughed, it was for you. If not, congratulations on keeping up on popular culture.

The night ended up with a chocolate shake at Mel's, because calories also don't count on your birthday weekend, in addition to your actual birthday.

And that concludes my birthday weekend. Thanks to everyone who sent notes, cards, and gifts. I'm off to eat a Chicken Pot Pie Hot Pocket, which, as you know, is a Hot Pocket within a Hot Pocket. It's the only way to deal with turning 36.

Kidding! The only way to deal with turning 36 is with a bunch of presents--namely cute quilted flats from Michael Kors (I foresee a lot of walking in my near future), a massage, and a few other delights that will magically appear this weekend.

Beezie Turns One!

Our little nutter turned one year old today. I can't believe it. I know everyone says that, but seriously folks. How did my adorable little peanut.....

.......turn into this loud, curly-locked little lass?

I planned a fun little shindig for our besties, and had a wonderful day. Just like last year, the end of September brought a heatwave. Unlike last year, I wasn't enjoying the air conditioning generously provided by Kaiser. The day before the party it was 92. That's hot for us Bay Area babies. I was running around cooking and baking in our little oven/house. Thankfully,the day of the party brought warm weather and a cool breeze. It was perfect for our little outdoor shindig. Here are the deets.

The Decorations

I got all of my goodies at The TomKat Studio. No, not this Tomkat. This Tomkat. I absolutely love her stuff, and will be using them down the line. My party featured her lollipop line.

The Food

I served up a hearty lunch and a sweet treats bar. For the lunch I did BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, smoky baked beans, coleslaw, and Ashley's famous 7 layer dip.

Bonnie made Beezie's cake. She always makes a bear cake for the first birthday. I got to choose the colors, and it turned out adorable!

I also did a batch of GF chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. So delish.

We also had an assortment of kid-friendly goodies available in all of my cute jars.

The People

Check this out--Inger totally adopted my famous arm pose. Nice work, Ingie!

The Cake

I purposely kept Blakely away from cake until her first birthday. I afforded her a few nibbles here and there, and would give her a little lick of frosting now and then...but saved the big stuff for her big day.

She was a big fan. She especially loves frosting. Ha! She may be Little Lady Lance, but she's all mine in the frosting department. I see Mommy-Daughter nights in our future where we eat frosting out of a can together while dancing to NKOTB. I love having a girl.

Somebody else liked the cake, too.

Huh?? Me? Nope, wasn't me!

Just kidding! It was. And it was absolutely finger-licking delish. No regrets.

Thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated with us! You made our day fun and special. We look forward to spending many more birthdays with you!

For her real birthday tonight, we hit Pizza Party with a few friends. Then we headed home to celebrate little lady.

We had the Andersens over to eat some cupcakes and help us open presents. Kai happily obliged in this department. As soon as B opened a bag, he shouted out what it was, and then ran off with it. It's good for B to have a little competition.

B got a book of real dogs from my dad and his wife that move, shake, and even pee. She is beyond delighted. She says "ruff-ruff" and pants when she reads it. It's her first animal sound! We are still working on cows and kittens.

She totally caught on that bag=something fun for her. Smart cookie.

Lancer got her a little piano/xylophone combination that she loves. She also got a set of bells and a shaker, which will be put to good use when she shakes her little booty. Which is all the time.


I also got her a set of the wooden fridge food from Melissa and Doug to go with her soon to be completed little wood kitchen. It's about 75% done now, and cuter than I had even imagined!

Your latest gems:

You now know 'yes' and 'no.' I ask you if you want more food, and you shake your head either way to let me know your preference. Once I told you to yes, and you shook your head no. I repeated yes, and you repeated no. And then you yanked my hair. It's safe to say you understand the meaning of both words.

You dance like a fiend anytime music is on, including the grocery store. I love it!

You are starting to show an interest in dolls and stuffed animals. You hug and squeeze them.

You are the most social kid I have ever met. You LOVE people, and assume everyone you meet is a friend to be had. I hope you stay this way throughout your life.

You are also starting to have some separation anxiety. You're like a famous song. Every step I take...every move I make...you want to be on my pant leg. I get a ton done these days. Not really.

You are so funny, and already have a little sense of humor. When I fake sleep on the floor, you crawl over and do the same thing. Then you try and surprise me.

You try and feed me food, and get mad when it's something I can't eat.

You love slides and climbing up, over, under, and on things. You have no fear.

You love rolling balls, and have great hand eye coordination. You catch them on occasion when we roll them to you.

You automatically clap when we say yay.

You try and put everything on your head. We have always placed silly things on our heads to see if you notice. You always did, and now crawl over asap to get the item off our heads. Then you try and place it on your own head.

You do a very funny hula dance where you put your hands behind your head and bounce on your knees up and down. I only wish I had taught you this. It's all you, baby!

You love your preschool, gym, and music class.

You love dogs! You stalk Logan all over the house, and squeal with delight when his tail whacks you. People expect you to be scared of dogs, but you never are.

You can blow kisses, and gladly ruff on command when I tell you to bark like a dog.

You are definitely developing your taste buds in different directions. Current favorite foods are: string cheese, cheddar cheese, little crackers with cheese, pouch food, toast with cream cheese, party meatballs, chicken nuggets, strawberries, freeze dried mango, veggie straws, and graham crackers.

Thanks for taking the baby chute down from heaven. You're our little delight! Happy Birthday! We love you so much!