30 Is Like 21, but better!

Hey Everybody!

Well, life as a 30 year old couldn’t be more fun! Why exactly is hard to say, as age is just a number. Thank you to all who sent their well-wishes. My birthday weekend was fabulous! Given that, I thought I’d share the stories, as well as one retrospective funny moment.

*Thursday Night (Yes, I’m going back as far as Thursday in my “It’s my birthday weekend” count) I went to dinner with an old co-worker from Lanier to catch up. We went to an Early Bird Special. My first one as an “old person”. ?

*Friday was a goofy kind of day. Here’s the retrospectively funny moment – I passed out at the doctor’s office. Before I go any further, let’s just say now…there’s no possible way I’m pregnant, so just stop thinking it! ? The whole story is a bit longwinded and not really funny. I went to the Dr. to get my allergy meds straightened out, as I’ve been permanently affixed to my inhaler this summer. It seems most people in this area with asthma/allergies have been. Now, remember when I said (at least I think I shared this sentiment) the next time I visited the doctor I was going to be taken there on an ambulance? I apparently lied. (Well, does it count since I really meant it when I said it?) Anyway, I caved and ran through the list of chronic ailments with the Physician’s Assistant AGAIN. Imagine my surprise when she said, “Let’s do some blood work.” Well, that’s what I’VE been thinking! So, the nurse (whom I now refer to as the Three Stooges Nurse) was having some trouble with the needle. When the blood stopped filling the vial, I was pretty sure they had completely drained me! No such luck, turns out, the vein or needle had moved, so she moved it until she found some more blood willing to flow. This happened 3 or 4 times and every time she switched the 2 ½ vials they took! By the last one, I was feeling like Charlie on that fizzy soda in Willy Wonka. After she finished, the rest is kinda fuzzy. I can’t remember the order, but it involved me dropping my magazine, vaguely hearing my voice say I was going to be sick, the nurse raising my feet (but not lowering my head…Silly Nurse!), then lowering my head as I began convulsing dry heaves! Happy Last Day of being 29! I WAS feeling better until the Dr. walked in to get something from the room and saw a pale, clammy, completely soaked through, unsteady version of me beginning to stand up. Before I could even think of being embarrassed the nurse jumped in and said “Sorry, she passed out.” Like I had just decided to do this with no (pun intended) extra prodding from her! I felt MUCH better after the Wheat bagel and Coolatta I had from Dunkin’ Donuts! Then off to the grocery before going to get Jill for Trish’s Birthday Bonanza.

We went to Chickie and Pete’s for Trish’s Birthday celebration. I don’t know what exactly made it fun, but it was a blast. I made party favor bags for the guests, since Trish was a bit upset about the no-one having a big party for her. (It all worked out and I think maybe better from her perspective than a big party would have.) They were a hit! Brenna brought a cake for Trish and I, so we sang and blew out candles…at the bar. Some people from Budweiser were handing out free beer to anyone drinking beer of another brand, and really what’s better than free beer on a “relive your youth” night out?!?!? Trish’s step-dad bought me a drink, then I got a free Budweiser one. I think I maybe had one more. My sister kept watching me the whole time, afraid I would try for Act 2 of the great passing out scene. She was very pleased when, in my Charlie with the soda voice, said “I think I need to eat something, Jilly!” Had some Old Bay fried with cheese dipping sauce and no more alcohol! ? Great catching up with good friends, then home again, home again.

*Saturday we invited my mom’s family over for a pre-Neil barbeque (or, to you Southerners, a cookout). I went out shopping in the morning for the food I ran out of time to get on Friday. I then came home and cooked. Apparently too much to my heart’s content. I mean really, 3 pounds of macaroni and cheese (from scratch, I might add) for 15 people? 10 pounds of chicken (we only BBQ’d half of it)? 15 ears of corn, Cream puffs, 2 9’inch Lush cakes, Fresh fruit and fresh veggie trays. Too much food! Whoever let me have a BJ’s AND Costco membership was whacked! ? It was great though. I felt like I got to talk and visit with family more than I usually do at our get-togethers. Just as everyone had about left, Trish showed up and I hightailed it upstairs for my big date/birthday present. I got a fun glittery top (which I have one picture of…it’s kind of greek-ish) with white jeans and off to hang out with Neil. Trish lent me her tiara from her birthday and off we went. Neil was awesome. I’m such a geek and danced and sang to all the songs I knew. It was even more fun than Jill, Reenie, Steph and Trish were being geeks with me. (Some were a little more subdued I think because of the free beer Friday night! ? ) I was upset that he didn’t sing September Morn, If You Know What I Mean, Love On The Rocks, Yesterday’s Songs and, just because it’s Reenie’s favorite, Heartlight. I now know why comic book people and Star Trek people go to conventions. It’s SO much fun to be surrounded by fellow geeks! ?

*Sunday we lounged around. Jill and I went to the pool for just under 2 hours, then we showered and got dressed. Mom, Dad, Jill and I went to The Quarter at Tropicana Atlantic City for my birthday dinner (a night late because of my rendezvous with Neil). We ate at an Irish Pub called Ri Ra. I branched out (as I’ve promised myself I will do now that I’m 30) and ordered the Bangers and Mash. Not bad, but not what I had my palate set for I decided. Then we hit the slots for a bit. As we were waiting for Jill to emerge from the restroom, I dropped in a few more quarters and ended up winning $45. Much more than we spent as a group! Yea Me! I cashed in, then we headed for the 7:45 reservation we had at a Desserts Only place called Brulee. It was a 3-course dessert. A bit expensive, but how often do you get to do a 3-course dessert? (It’s why we went to the cheaper dinner place…my choice.) Our first course was an apricot torte. Pretty much just an apricot with some pastry crusty stuff on one side and a carmel-flamed crust on the other, “set atop a bed of” real whipped cream. (Can you tell I’m not a frou-frou food lover?) Second was your choice from the menu. I chose the Cherries Brulee. It was o.k. The cherries were brandied and dumped in a pan, where 151 was poured on top and they were briefly lit on fire. I was drunk after one and couldn’t really get many of the others down, as there was no real cherry flavor and way too much alcohol flavor. Jill got some flaky pastry thingy with strawberries and lavender ice cream that was pretty good. Mom got an assortment of little chocolate things. They were all good. (We had agreed to shared everything, but everyone only got one or two cherries into mine before they couldn’t taste anything! ? ) Dad I think got the best one. He got something called No Holes Barred donut. It was two fried donuts in a butterscotch sauce with ice cream on top. Yum!!! The last course was a plate of little cookies (they call them petit-fours, but not the chocolate covered cakes I think of when they say petit-fours)…four of each kind. They were good too. It was a bit expensive for each dessert and maybe if my cherries had been better it might’ve been worth it. All in all, good for the experience. ? 3-Course desserts rock.

Yesterday, all the fun came to an end when football started. For the next two weeks, I’m up every day by 5:30am. It was a fun Summer while it lasted. 30 has been fun so far. For some reason, I’m glowy and giddy. I feel like the belle of the ball. Maybe it’s just two days of screwed up sleep! ? Well, here’s to hoping the next 362 days leave me feeling like the last two have.