And It Went Like This

 I celebrated my 30th birthday this weekend.

I kicked off the weekend , well the week really, by catching a nasty cold that has left me drained and without  a voice.  I thought I was feeling better on Thursday...... and then Thursday night came along and that was the end of the feeling better.

But the show must go on as they say. 

On Friday afternoon a big brown truck pulled up to my house and left me a large box.  Inside this large box which was address to me but was really for my sister Jenn and I, were 8 fabulously decorated cupcakes of various flavors from a company in Chicago.  Jenn came to town Friday night  for a Chinese dinner at our house.

After we gorged ourselves on Peter's fantastic cooking, we sat down at the coffee table in the living room forks in hand and had a sample of each cupcake. There were some good ones, the lemon blueberry was by far my favorite,  and some bad ones, the dark chocolate sea salt.... yuck!  Peter didn't even like it and that is saying something because he likes almost everything..... except cooked carrots, which I tell him is why his eye sight is so bad.  Anyway most of them were delicious.


Saturday morning we got up and I cooked us a nice breakfast, while Peter installed my birthday present in my car. He and Carter got me a phone holder that attaches to the dash or windshield.  I think it has something to do with my driving skills...... or lack there of.  Apparently I am a terrible driver.

I really like it.  I can use my phone like a GPS now.   It is very hands free and handy.

After breakfast I headed to the pharmacy to get some medicine and cards.  I  ended up having to go to two different stores to get the right medicine, prompting Jenn to text me to see if I had gotten lost and to post a comment on my FB page about me being old and needing to hurry up.  She can be a little ornery sometimes.

Jenn and I headed out to do a little shopping and pick up a cake she ordered from Cold Stone Creamery, the cake was fantastic.   We did a little window shopping..... well I window shopped she did buy something.  I found a couple really cute sweaters and fun shoes that I might have to look into purchasing.

About the time we made it home my Dad and Theresa pulled into town. So Jenn, Carter and I headed to lunch with them.  Peter  had already eaten and had a couple things to do to get ready for the party.
 
We had a party at a local bar with family and friends.  We had a lot of fun getting together with everyone. 

Peyton and Cheryl

Carter and Mason

My Dad and Co-worker Amy.

Don't hide behind your beer Scott!

The Birthday Crew

My Sister Hates Frogs

My sister Steph hates frogs, she has since she was very little.   She dislikes their sliminess, jumpiness, and general greenness.  We lived in the country growing up and she would get piggy-back rides from her friends into the house during the summer to avoid the crazy jumping frogs the thought our back porch was the most luxurious domicile in existence.  She lives in Florida now, I am not sure about the frog population in Floriday.  I know they have an abundance of alligators and I think she shares the same dislike of them as frogs, but more for their hot tempers and sharp teeth.

Over the years her dislike grew into not just the animal itself, but to figurines, pictures, and stuffed animals. So naturally the family has taken it upon themselves to take full advantage of any opportunity that arises to taunt her with anything froggy.  Her responses usually include a couple expletives and proclamations of how mean we are.

So this weekend, on my birthday I was out shopping with my other sister Jenn, the sister I share the same birthday with.  We were at Barnes and Noble getting a warm beverage and they had the cutest Frog shaped frosted cookies.  So naturally Jenn and I took a picture of it and sent it to Steph. She responded in her typical way and we countered that she could not say those kind of things to us on our birthday.  She said she could when we do things like send pictures of frogs to her. 

This was a fun reminder of a few other "frog" events.   One Christmas she was unwrapping a  gift from our brother Ian, that happened to be a frog figurine.  She had managed in the process of unwrapping it to turn it upside down so that she could not see what it was. On discovering the objects true form, she promptly threw it in the air and screamed.  It is unclear to me if the beating that insued after this event left any scars.

There was also the greeting card of a frog wearing a graduation cap that was flung across the table without reading it, while choice words were uttered.   (I made her take a picture with that one.)

We do these things because we love her........ and she loves it.

It sneaks up on you.

I am turning 30.

Photo Take by GM Photoz

 
30


3......0......


Thirty.


Anyway you look at it seems odd.


Birthdays have a way of sneaking up on you sometimes.


Before you know it another year has  gone and boom, you're looking at the calendar scratching your head wondering where the time went, while a small sob escapes your lips, not because it is your birthday again and you are turning 30,  but because you honestly cannot remember what was said in a conversation from 5 minutes ago and it makes you wonder if the reason you cannot remember is because you are turning another year older, while that calendar with your birthday stares right back at you, taunting you with a number.




Sorry.

Got a little carried away.  


It amazes me to think about all the history that I have been around for.   All the technological changes, advances in medicine, and world events that have happened during my 30 years of life.
When I think about what I have done,  I think I can say that I am proud of what I have accomplished so far.   Some of the results may not have been what I had originally intended to achieve, things turning out different than you thought is most often the way that life works.  Everything seems to have turned out good so far,  so I must be getting something right.


I have the added luxury of sharing my birth date with 2 close relatives.   My Sister Jenn and my Uncle Doug. For the last several years Uncle Doug and I have met up with a few other family members for our birthday at a local restaurant that gives us free desert.  Some years the party was large and others just a few of us, but we always enjoyed great food, wonderful company, sent our free dessert around the table for everyone to sample.  Jenn always has a German Chocolate cake for her birthday. I like cake in general.  I am usually good with whatever......I'm very partial to chocolate, but who isn't right!


This year we are having a party.  I told Peter that I wanted to do something.  It did not have to be a surprise like his birthday but I wanted something.  So we are planning a get together at a local bar, B.Y.O. food and beverages and we will bring a cake for anyone who shows up.  It will be fun because the people I love will be there and that is all that matters.


30.

Photo taken by GM Photoz

It's just a number.