Turning 37--The Gory Truth

As my birthday approaches each year I am usually filled with gooey anticipation followed by logical tempering. I try not to psych myself up so that I won't be disappointed, but I love knowing that my special day is approaching.


This year I didn't have that anticipation and was a actually relieved. I was hoping that maybe I am getting old enough to be over my birthday. It seemed a little sad to be over it, but kind of a relief at the same time.


I picked up Michelle around 12:15 so we could catch an early showing of "Baby Mama" at the dollar theater. Jessie kindly watched Michelle's kids, and my mom and Robyn had my kids overnight so that we could be kid-free for my birthday. Michelle and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, the popcorn, the m&ms and the air conditioning. I even snuck in a cup of ice!


After the movie, we went to a restaurant Marc had recommended called Little Italy. The food was great. I had 4 cheese penne pasta and Michelle had red sauce penne. We both got gelato for dessert as well, it was oh so good.


Michelle ended up making me a birthday card with the super nice list of things she had written about me on her blog for my birthday, along with a coupon for her dessert of the month club (weeha!) and a $30 gift certificate to Royal Nails for a much needed pedicure.


It is such a gift to have a standing date with Michelle for my birthday. I know I'll always be doing something fun with someone who cares about me and understands my neurotic-birthday ways.


As I was leaving Michelle's house she brought out the vanilla custard pie she makes each year for my birthday. I LOVE this tradition and this pie! This was the first installment of the dessert of the month gift. I wonder what next month will bring...


I went straight from Michelle's house to the nail salon to get a pedicure. I had only ever had one pedicure before in my life and it was 9 years ago! My heels were beyond nasty (as shown in my birthday 100 list) so I couldn't wait any longer. It was a glorious experience! So relaxing and so satisfying. It has been a week and I still can't stop looking at my cute toes! That was the fastest I've ever spent a gift certificate in my life.

When I came home I was greeted by this happy display on my porch. The two boxes were from Kristi, and the envelopes were from Melinda and Patsy. There was also a package in the mailbox from Amie. Oh happy day! It means a lot to me when things arrive ON my birthday, so thank you so much for thinking of me you guys!!


There was also a note on the door that an Edible Arrangement had been delivered and placed in the shade on the side of the house. How exciting. When I went to get it this is what I found. It was in this handy-dandy insulated bag to protect it.


I could not have been more surprised to find that it was from my sweet blogging friend Heather! She is so generous with me, but this was beyond generous! After opening it I ran to the computer to email her right away. I was just blown away by her thoughtfulness. Thanks Heather!



Randy and the kids soon returned home and we met up with Lori at Los Hermanos for dinner. They give you a free dessert on your birthday, but they also sing a loud and embarrassing birthday song to you so I opted to keep it on the down-low. No dessert for us. I ended my day by watching So You Think You Can Dance, woohoo, what a great way to end the day.

Now for the gifts...


One of the boxes Kristi sent contained these darling red bookends. They are the perfect red for my house. Thanks Kristi! The other box she sent contained all these cute wrapped gifts.

Inside the cute, wrapped gifts were various paper products. Should I be offended that two of them involve rating my moods? I think not, apparently she knows me well. Thanks Kristi!


Amie's box (which she claims is just good mail, not my birthday present) had dryer balls (which she has blogged about and knew I wanted to try), a fantastic eyelash curler, hot pink nail polish and a bag of M&Ms. I love it all and have been feeling quite sassy with my eyelashes lately thanks to her. Thanks Amie!!


Natasha sent me a box of nice stationery along with this darling Fisher Price Mailman. I absolutely love it, it's so cute. I've never seen this little mailman before. Thanks Natasha!!


Melinda sent me a quote about going to the temple, some Carnation Instant Breakfast packets (I eat this daily), a ranch packet with money for several sour creams, movie passes with $10 for treats and a cute card that looks like a birthday cake. Wow. Thanks Melinda!!!

Laurie M. sent me a this birthday card with a really nice message written inside. I also enjoy her writing around the good mail label on the envelope. Thanks Laurie!!


Patsy sent me a funny birthday card along with a bunch of homemade cards for all different occasions. If only I liked to send cards right? Thanks Patsy!!

Kacey sent me this darling pouch filled with mommy business cards inside. What a clever and cute idea. Thanks Kacey!!

Cecilia sent me a nice card and $5 to Bajio. Thank you so much Cecilia!!


Esther sent me a this nice birthday card, and has been commenting more regularly on my blog. Thanks Esther!!


Jessie gave me this darling birthday card (she's a creative genius) and a Sonic gift card. Thanks Jessie!!

Now for the family party...


On Saturday afternoon we went to Adam and Amy's house for a family party. The highlight for me, other than the food, was the little girls greeting me at the front door with hugs and saying, "Welcome to your birthday party."


Adam usually makes fantastic birthday cards that are heartfelt and cool looking, but has skipped me the past couple of years so I have been bugging him about making me one this year. This is what he came up with! It's a psycho-looking clown and says "the best way to get you in the mood for getting old is obviously an evil clown." Apparently this is his way of getting me to stop bugging him to make me cards.


I hate being the center of attention, so opening gifts in front of everyone is painful for me. Adam gave me this beautiful planter of flowers to go along with the evil clown card.


Whitney (aka Randy) gave me this James Bond dvd and a box of Nutty Bars. I asked her if she knew what she gave me and she said, "Yeah, dad told me."


Landon actually came up with the idea of giving me a Cafe Rio gift card all on his own. He's a genius I tell you.


Randy knew the only thing I wanted for my birthday is an armoire for the family room, so this is what he came up with. He wrapped Season 3 of The Office in a black armoire. I thought he was mocking me at first, but then the note inside says he just needs a few weeks more until he can get it. We'll see...


Instead of giving separate gifts, my parents, Lori, Adam & Amy, and Robyn & Jared went in on a gift card to the fat girl store so I can buy a frumpy summer collection. I was totally embarrassed by this gift so I didn't respond very well. They were trying to help me out, but instead I felt like running and hiding. I'm difficult.


So pretty much any progress I thought I'd made this year regarding not being psycho about my birthday was a complete bust. I did well on my actual day, but not so much the rest of the week or at my family party. I think I'm going to opt out of a family party next year (for the benefit of everyone) and maybe should think about taking a vacation by myself during my birthday week.


My problem is that I take the birthday things that come (or don't come) my way very personally. It's as if this day is an indicator of how people feel about me, so when not much happens I don't feel good about myself. It's twisted logic and I really don't know how I got to be that way, except that that's the way I try to show people on their birthdays. It's awful, I've really got to sort it out and let it go. So there you have it, the honest truth about being grateful and mental at the same time.

**Do you get crazy on your birthday?
Do you mind opening gifts in front of everyone?
Do you have a standing date on your birthday?**