32 Is The New Black

I turned 32 on Tuesday. Did you know that 32 is where it's at now? Well, it is.

29's got nuthin' on it.

Zack has decided to make it my birthday week so he started the birthday festivities on Monday. I think he was just trying to find an excuse to give me my present early. He has a hard time keeping secrets from me, even if those secrets are birthday presents...or Christmas presents, or Valentine's Day presents, or Flag Day or, you get the idea.

So Monday night he gave me my gift: The last three years of my blog all nice and bound up in book form! It makes me feel like an author, kind of. It's really fun to see all my writing in a nice, polished book.

He also gave me my birthday cake. He knows Dick's chocolate sheet cake is, by far, my favorite dessert.

A cake wreck it is not.

When you don't have kids old enough to eat, let alone know what a cake is, you don't need to go through the pretense of cutting it into pieces and using plates. You start at one end and stop when you feel like it.

So that was Monday night. Tuesday morning Zack let me sleep in while he got the boy up, fed him and then made me breakfast: French toast with bananas, strawberries and Nutella. On a side note, has anyone seen how Nutella is marketing their product? They're touting it's ability to make your kids eat healthier foods. Yeah. By putting CHOCOLATE on them. And they're not even using foods that kids don't usually like to eat, like veggies. They're using bread as their "tough to get kids to eat" food. What kid won't eat bread?

So our breakfast conversation was full of snarky statements like "I sure love Nutella. It helps my kids eat healthy foods like pasta, peanut butter and candy. Normally they wouldn't touch the stuff, but after I slather chocolate all over it they just eat it up!"

It was a nice birthday breakfast.

For lunch Caleb and I and the puppies all went up to Zack's work for the first picnic lunch of the year. There's a nice lawn area with picnic tables set up outside his building.

Zack and the crew getting ready to walk up the hill to the picnic table.

Sitting at the picnic table.

After lunch Zack went back to work and I took the crew home, put Caleb down for his nap, and read a book for two hours. *sigh*

When Caleb's nap was over we went for our daily walk around the neighborhood.

Zack came home early to watch Caleb so my mom could take me to get a pedicure with her. Ah, nothing says birthday quite like an Asian lady rubbing your feet and speaking unintelligible English. All kidding aside, it was a fun way to be pampered and my fingernails and toenails have never looked better. Thanks, Mom!

Now I can wear my strappy shoes in style!

Mom even watched Caleb for us so we could go out to dinner. We went to the Cheesecake Factory. I've only been there a few times, but everything I've tried there has been pretty tasty and they did not disappoint that night.

When we first got there and were seated Zack asked me if I was okay with our table. He felt a little too close to the people on either side of us. I said I was fine, but we could move if he wanted to. He decided not to bother. A few minutes later one of the managers came and asked us if we wouldn't mind moving to another table as they had mistakenly seated us at that table and they would be needing it for a bigger party that was coming. And, for our trouble, would we accept free desserts? Well, okay. If we have to. And only since you're throwing in free dessert. That's what we said.

Okay, we might not have said those specific words to them, but we might have said it to each other in very sarcastic tones.

We weren't planning on getting dessert at all, for a few reasons. First, we had birthday cake at home. And second, who would pay $7.50 for one piece of cake?! Well, after getting the red velvet cheesecake, I might now be one of those people.

After we picked up our baby boy from his doting grandparents we went home and put him to bed. And then we watched two episodes of "Modern Family" on Hulu. Awe.Some.

We would have watched more but it was past 11:00 and, did I mention that we're both 32 now?

Train of Thought

So, on my drive home from work today I heard a Peter Cetera song. "Glory of Love" to be exact.

And here's the train of thought that followed:

This reminds me of when Hannah and I made Erin and Corinne's wedding video. Erin told us not to put any music from the group "Chicago" on it. So what did we do? We set the video to the song "You're the Inspiration" by, of course, Chicago. Hannah's rationale was that Erin and his friends always said "Chicago" music was the best romantic music (or something like that). So we HAD to use it. Looking back, we probably should have listened to Erin and NOT used it.

What other questionable choices have I made because of cousin influence?

Well, there was that time we showed up at my ex-"somewhat boyfriend's" house dressed as old ladies, lured him to the side of his house and then beat him with handbags.

Then there was that time we made an entire batch of methylene blue brownies and took it to a party some of my high school friends were having. One friend and his brother ate pretty much the entire plate. I felt bad, but not really.

I won't even go into the rice crispy wigs because I still haven't decided if that was good or bad.

I wonder if people still judge me based on bad (or good) decisions I made when I was younger?

Do you ever grow out of the image people have of you from one point in time?
Think about it, I'm sure all of us can name at least one person from high school who we think is crazy because of something they did. Or we think someone is a jerk because of one thing they did. Maybe they're not crazy. Maybe they're not jerks. Maybe they're regular people who just made a bad decision.
Next time I see someone I knew from way back when I'll keep an open mind and not cram them into the box I've been keeping them in all these years. (For the record, I'm talking about a figurative box, not a literal box. I did crazy things with my cousins, but nothing that crazy.)

And that, my friends, was my train of thought as I drove home from school.

I'm a princess

We all know, deep down, that we're a princess. But now you can figure out which Disney princess you are. My first results said I was Pocahontas. Her profile isn't bad, but since I hate that movie I decided to change one answer (the obvious one that pointed me toward Pocahontas -sitting by a waterfall in the wilderness? Come on...) and now I'm Mulan. I can live with that.


You Are Mulan!

Strong and spirited. You're no one's girly girl; actually you are very determined person with a strong sense of self. Never let go of that! The only thing that equals your sense of self is your family, but the traditions of society can always be bent to protect something or someone you love.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Unsent Letter

Dear driver of the four-door, black Acura with the California license plates,

Thank you.

Thank you so much for not hitting me today when I changed into your lane. I thought I checked all my blind spots when I moved into your lane, but I must not have. You were back there somewhere and when I changed lanes you had to stop short to avoid hitting me. Thank you for being so alert and attentive! We both avoided a lot of lost time, painful paperwork, phone calls, and money thanks to your driving. I don't think I can thank you enough.

Thank you also for teaching me a great lesson. Not only did I learn to watch my blind spots more carefully, but I learned a little bit about myself and how I should treat others who make mistakes.
You were obviously very upset that I didn't see you. I understand completely. I'd be upset, too. And I can understand that you'd want me to know how close I came to being hit and how careless I was when I moved into your lane.

However.

It wasn't necessary for you to go out of your way to follow me so closely on my right side as I made that left turn onto another street. It also wasn't necessary for you to drive along side, roll down your window and yell at me. Honestly, I have no idea what you were saying because my window was rolled up. And I wasn't about to roll it down because I already knew what you were trying to say. Your driving said it all. Rather than listening to your screaming, my main objective at that point was to make sure I didn't get in another close-call because of your erratic driving. I was willing to drive slowly until you got your point across. You taught me a lot in that moment about being aware of the cars around me. I was now very aware of your car and was anticipating any move that it would make. That's why I was able to slow down and avoid rear-ending you when you shot in front of me and then slammed on your brakes. I know I am in no position to give advice at this moment, but, really, is that how you teach other people a lesson? I didn't really learn much from your lesson. All I learned was that you were a jerk. And I'm sure that you're not really a jerk. You were just acting like one to me.

Aside from learning that you have a temper, I did learn a few more important things. I learned to think about what I do when people around me do dumb things on the road.

When I'm the one who has to stop short because some careless driver didn't see me, is it my job to let that driver know what an idiot move they just made? Having just been the idiot driver, I can honestly say no. Believe me, I learned that lesson as soon as I saw you in my rear-view mirror and heard you honking. It's a good lesson to learn. I'm so glad it was just a lesson and not a consequence involving higher insurance rates.

So, for all the lessons learned, thank you.

Sincerely,
The driver in the four-door, silver honda, with the Utah license plates.

Memory Tag

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

I've Been Sorted

The sorting hat says that I belong in Hufflepuff!

Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot, and treat them just the same."

Hufflepuff students are friendly, fair-minded, modest, and hard-working. A well-known member was Cedric Diggory, who represented Hogwarts in the most recent Triwizard Tournament.

 

Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

Regardless of who I relate to, my true colors show up in Hufflepuff. But, it was almost a three-way tie.
I'm 81% Hufflepuff, 78% Ravenclaw, 76% Gryffindor, and 45% Slytherin. (Take THAT Voldy!)
We can't all be brave Gryffindors. And frankly, I like it that way. :)

Elf Yourself

'Tis the season to be jolly and/or elfy.
I recommend you all go to this site and check out my elf family and then create your own. You know, cuz it's Christmas time ...and stuff.

Aaaand Now He's Scared of Me.

So, I took the Harry Potter Personality Quiz. When I got my result, I had Zack guess who I was. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Guess who I am!
Zack: Hermione!
M: Nope.
Z: Dumbledore.
M: You are WAY off.
Z: Snape?
M: Think more... evil.
Z: Lucious?
M: No.
Z: Draco?
M: Nooo. You're not thinking evil enough.
Z: (Pause.) But there's no more evil people.
M: (No response, just the knowing smile and wide eyes.)
Z: (eyes grow big and I think I see signs of fear) REALLY?
M: Does that scare you?
Z: A little...

So yeah, I'm THAT evil.


Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.
Now I'm wondering how our marriage has worked all these years considering he just took the quiz and he's Molly Weasley?

Tagged

I have, up to this point, failed to respond to any tags I've been given. Hopefully this makes up for all of those. A tag a year keeps the... tag ...monster ....away....or something.

What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was in my freshman year at college. But exactly 10 years ago I was with Jeff at the Shelley's just hanging out. (Thank you Journal.)

What was I doing 5 years ago?
Zack and I went up with the fam and we cut down our first Christmas tree.

What was I doing 1 year ago?
Zack, Danny, Rachel and I were at the hospital playing games with Jeff. That will probably be one of my most fond memories of Jeff in the hospital (if you can have a fond memory of your brother going through Chemo treatments). We played "Malarky", "Masterpiece", and "Family Feud" where Danny tried to cheat by using the made-up word "stupendous." Silly Danny. Everybody knows that "stupendous" isn't a real word.
We laughed so hard that we cried. It was nice to see the old Jeff again.

What was I doing yesterday?
Driving home from the cabin with Zack and the puppies and stopping by my parents for dinner. Mmmm Sunday roaast.

5 Snacks I enjoy
Craisins, sunflower seeds, Cache Valley string cheese (everything else is just CRAP), bananas, cookies. Cookies count as snacks!

5 things I would do if I had a million dollars
I'll let you know when it happens. But rest assured, I'm already thinking about that terrifying possibility.

5 Places I would run away to
The Cabin. Mom and Dad's house. Mike and Jodie's house. Kim's house. Danny and Rachel's house...I mean piece of land... They would all take care of me if I decided to run away. And then they'd call Zack to tell him where I was so he could come get me. What a sweetheart. :) (Don't worry, Zack. I'll never run away from you. Ever. I'm just a little too dependent on you.)

5 T.V. Shows I Like
The Office, Scrubs, King of Queens, Today's Special and The Polka-Dot Door.

5 Things I Hate Doing
Folding socks, staying up so late that my stomach hurts, washing walls, making people feel bad, going back to work after a long vacation.

5 biggest joys of the moment
Zack, My family, My friends, Zack, My family.

I'll tag (you knew it was coming didn't you?) Allie, D'Nell, Shannon, Sharlene, and Angie (if she feels like writing about herself instead of books. I'm okay either way. :) )