Well yesterday was my birthday and I guess it turned out to be pretty good after all. Usually it just goes by with a dinner later in the evening where I end up getting sick or something. I don't think we bothered with dinner last year.
I started celebrating at 4:55 a.m. this morning, when I was born, by going to Ebay and making a bid on some jewelry. I wasn't going to bid on anything. I was just going to go and see what certain types of collector items sold for. But somehow I found my way to the jewelry (my computer just did it on it's own it knows me so well) and saw a couple of pieces that I really, really wanted. I have an addictive personality and Ebay can be sooo addictive. Before I knew it I had bid on two different items. They really were a good deal. I swear. Do I need more jewelry? No I don't. Will I stop buying it for the remainder of my life? Probably not. Jewelry that sparkles is what catches my eye. Stand me in front of anything that sparkles in the jewelry aisle and I'll still be there 30 minutes later. Do I really have anywhere to wear jewelry that looks like it's for a prom or wedding? No, but that doesn't stop me from buying it. So before I knew it, I had bid.
I worked on a school paper for awhile and then went to bed. And when I got up it was sunny; so I took Maggie & Toby for a ride in the car. I reminded myself of my dad who used to say, "Donna, let's get in the car and go for a spin. See what's going on in the community." At which point, I'd drive and he'd direct me. We drove all over looking at the 'progress' the community was making. So I decided to drive out to where the new womens prison is being built. It's a big project that isn't scheduled to be done until sometime in 2008. They just recently started it, a few months ago I think. Of course, out and about with nothing to do calls for a stop at Sonic. 'Your ultimate drink stop!', as their slogan goes. Maggie loves to hang out the window while I order and wait for the car hop to bring whatever I've decided to get. She's always happy to see them, but they aren't always happy to see her. It's usually the younger kids who don't pay attention to her even though she's wagging her tail and trying everything to get their attention. The older ladies ooh and ahh over her, which is the highlight of her day. She also looks forward to going to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions too. We have a drive-thru window at our local pharmacy and she likes it because they give her and Toby treats. Her favorite are 'chicken grillers' from Wal-Mart.
Tonight Dwight and I went out for dinner. I decided to branch out from my everyday routine, or I should say yearly routine of going to the same restaurant for a birthday dinner. We have a new barbeque restaurant in town. We ordered an appetizer of something they called Onion Strings, which were onion rings that weren't rings but strings. Duh. Anyway our jaws went slack when the plate came. It was more like a turkey platter heaped high with these stringy things. It was stacked so high and so large that I looked at those greasy things and said, "Oh my God. That's a heart attack on a plate!" I love onion rings..or strings, whatever, but I blotted one of those on a napkin, practically filling the paper with grease and then ate it. I imagined the cholesterol surging through my body jamming up my main arteries as I ate. Somehow it took all the pleasure out of eating one. I told my husband if he ate all of those we'd be burying him next month or sooner. We asked for a large styrofoam box and crammed only half the platters contents in, there were so many. We'll never open that box again, it will become a science project in our fridge but you feel like since you paid $6 for it you really SHOULD take it home.
Next on the list were ribs for both of us. The meat was very tender and fell right from the bone but they were drenched in sauce that was so spicy to me it burned my lips and I couldn't eat them. I didn't think to order it on the side. So once again something went wrong at my birthday dinner. Each time we've gone for the last several years, something has happened, either with the food or with me. I guess I should stop going out to eat to celebrate. Maybe a nice trip to the movie theater next time.
All of my kids actually remembered my birthday this year. Even my youngest son who doesn't really keep up on that stuff. Except that his birthday is exactly two weeks to the day from mine. Anyhow, he calls me on his break from work to wish me a happy birthday. I told him I was 51 this year. There was this deafening silence on the end of the line and he said, 'Wow, fifty one?" with this tone of complete amazement mixed with an 'you're that old' type of response. "Wow, if you're that old, how old is dad?" I was caught off guard by this response and then I had to remember that when I was his age I thought I'd be dead by the time I was 30 because that was old!
Kids.....you gotta love 'em or you'd kill them on the spot.
I started celebrating at 4:55 a.m. this morning, when I was born, by going to Ebay and making a bid on some jewelry. I wasn't going to bid on anything. I was just going to go and see what certain types of collector items sold for. But somehow I found my way to the jewelry (my computer just did it on it's own it knows me so well) and saw a couple of pieces that I really, really wanted. I have an addictive personality and Ebay can be sooo addictive. Before I knew it I had bid on two different items. They really were a good deal. I swear. Do I need more jewelry? No I don't. Will I stop buying it for the remainder of my life? Probably not. Jewelry that sparkles is what catches my eye. Stand me in front of anything that sparkles in the jewelry aisle and I'll still be there 30 minutes later. Do I really have anywhere to wear jewelry that looks like it's for a prom or wedding? No, but that doesn't stop me from buying it. So before I knew it, I had bid.
I worked on a school paper for awhile and then went to bed. And when I got up it was sunny; so I took Maggie & Toby for a ride in the car. I reminded myself of my dad who used to say, "Donna, let's get in the car and go for a spin. See what's going on in the community." At which point, I'd drive and he'd direct me. We drove all over looking at the 'progress' the community was making. So I decided to drive out to where the new womens prison is being built. It's a big project that isn't scheduled to be done until sometime in 2008. They just recently started it, a few months ago I think. Of course, out and about with nothing to do calls for a stop at Sonic. 'Your ultimate drink stop!', as their slogan goes. Maggie loves to hang out the window while I order and wait for the car hop to bring whatever I've decided to get. She's always happy to see them, but they aren't always happy to see her. It's usually the younger kids who don't pay attention to her even though she's wagging her tail and trying everything to get their attention. The older ladies ooh and ahh over her, which is the highlight of her day. She also looks forward to going to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions too. We have a drive-thru window at our local pharmacy and she likes it because they give her and Toby treats. Her favorite are 'chicken grillers' from Wal-Mart.
Tonight Dwight and I went out for dinner. I decided to branch out from my everyday routine, or I should say yearly routine of going to the same restaurant for a birthday dinner. We have a new barbeque restaurant in town. We ordered an appetizer of something they called Onion Strings, which were onion rings that weren't rings but strings. Duh. Anyway our jaws went slack when the plate came. It was more like a turkey platter heaped high with these stringy things. It was stacked so high and so large that I looked at those greasy things and said, "Oh my God. That's a heart attack on a plate!" I love onion rings..or strings, whatever, but I blotted one of those on a napkin, practically filling the paper with grease and then ate it. I imagined the cholesterol surging through my body jamming up my main arteries as I ate. Somehow it took all the pleasure out of eating one. I told my husband if he ate all of those we'd be burying him next month or sooner. We asked for a large styrofoam box and crammed only half the platters contents in, there were so many. We'll never open that box again, it will become a science project in our fridge but you feel like since you paid $6 for it you really SHOULD take it home.
Next on the list were ribs for both of us. The meat was very tender and fell right from the bone but they were drenched in sauce that was so spicy to me it burned my lips and I couldn't eat them. I didn't think to order it on the side. So once again something went wrong at my birthday dinner. Each time we've gone for the last several years, something has happened, either with the food or with me. I guess I should stop going out to eat to celebrate. Maybe a nice trip to the movie theater next time.
All of my kids actually remembered my birthday this year. Even my youngest son who doesn't really keep up on that stuff. Except that his birthday is exactly two weeks to the day from mine. Anyhow, he calls me on his break from work to wish me a happy birthday. I told him I was 51 this year. There was this deafening silence on the end of the line and he said, 'Wow, fifty one?" with this tone of complete amazement mixed with an 'you're that old' type of response. "Wow, if you're that old, how old is dad?" I was caught off guard by this response and then I had to remember that when I was his age I thought I'd be dead by the time I was 30 because that was old!
Kids.....you gotta love 'em or you'd kill them on the spot.
