Never before have I had so many people ask me about my upcoming birthday. I guess 30 is one of those milestone birthdays, new decade and all. I have already written about why I am perfectly comfortable with becoming 30. However, I will admit that the other night- I was made to feel, for lack of a better word, older. Not OLD, but OLDER... Here's how it went down:
My girlfriends wanted to take me out to celebrate my birthday, but with conflicting schedules we had to do it a week early. They planned a night out, complete with dinner, cocktails, and dancing. We started out at Ryan's house with some pomegranate margaritas (really good by the way). There, they surprised me with a birthday tiara that read "Birthday Queen" across it and with a lei full of sparkly flowers. I really didn't want to wear this out all night, but I'm not one to spoil such a gesture. Plus, it's my 30th birthday and I should be ready to announce this proudly! So, of course, the rest of the night I had people saying "Happy Birthday!" "How old are you?" "Is it your 21st birthday?" At one point, a guy came up to me and said, "Oh, it's my birthday tomorrow! How old are you going to be?" I told him and he said, "Oh, wow, I'm going to be 23!" Awesome. But, here is the best part- when we hit the dance club, a guy came up to me and wanted to dance. He starts asking me questions about how old I am etc. He then says, "Well, if you're 30, I should ask if you're married?" Yes, I am. "Oh, does it get worse?" What do you mean? "How many kids do you have?" I have 1, a little boy. "Ok, Peace out!" HAHA! That was the conversation verbatim! Classic!
The moral of this story is two-fold. First, don't wear a tiara out when you feel the urge to let loose and just go dancing with your girlfriends. Second, and most important, the club scene really is meant for early 20 somethings. I find nothing wrong with indulging occasionally but honestly, it's just not my thing. Obviously, part of that is being in a different part of my life entirely- married with a kid. I'm perfectly comfortable with forgoing the $3 shots for a $12 martini. I seek the comfort of a nice booth over being shoved against strangers in a crowded club. I can do without my shoes being sticky and my clothes smelling of cigarettes. That whole scene actually will make you feel OLD. But, indulging a few times a year will sure give you some good laughs! Awe... to be 21 again! That's the beauty of aging- each age gives you a little more perspective and lots of good stories for years to come! After all, we should never take ourselves too seriously! Cheers!
The patio is complete- I cannot even convey how much work that was...
Adam's beautiful design...
Lettuce, Basil, Cilantro, Cucumbers and Tomatoes
Green beans are really taking off and starting to climb up the teepee.
Sort of blurry- but you can see the peppers are fruiting.
Spinach, Carrots, and Lettuces
Sugar snap peas
Summer Squash and Nasturtiums
Albany: Summer 2008
Albany: Fall 2008
Albany: Winter 2008
Albany: Spring 2009
Lobster is the silver-lining of the seafood selection in Albany. It's been hard not having access to wild salmon, halibut, and even Oregon bay shrimp meat. BUT- we can buy whole live lobsters at a very reasonable price and that is just what we did when Jenny and Emily came up to visit. I had not bought them live before- I previously had the seafood guy steam them for me. We decided to be adventurous and that provided quite a few laughs. It was actually a little disturbing watching them try to crawl out of the pot and squeal. 
We made a nice little meal of bow-tie pasta with asparagus and snap peas (Emily's creation), sourdough bread, a fresh garden salad (with my home-grown lettuce), and of course lobster with lots of melted butter. It was fun to provide Em and Jen with a quintessential New England dining experience. Hopefully, it was so tasty- they'll find themselves flying back for more!
I had the most amazing 30th birthday celebration! Last Friday, Adam told me that we were going for a day trip to celebrate my birthday. I had no idea what he was up to but I went along with it and the three of us piled into the car and headed out. Once we got on I-87 South I realized that we were heading to NYC. I asked him what we were going to do there and he told me that we could do anything I wanted until our dinner reservation at 6:45pm. Because it was pouring out, I decided that we should finally go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The MET had been on my to-do list for years but I never feel like spending my NYC time at a museum. Unfortunately, we had a somewhat frustrating time because Gavin was an absolute pill! He had missed his nap so he proceeded to scream bloody murder in the middle of the Modern Painting Exhibit... my apologies to Picasso. I was a little confused as to why Adam didn't take our friend Toyin up on her offer to babysit Gavin. Don't get me wrong, love him dearly, but I was just thinking our day could have been a little more relaxing without him! We did manage to see most of the museum in between temper tantrums but eventually we had to spare the other patrons.
Here are all the amazing gals that were in on the surprise! We had a great dinner at Bobby Flay's complete with a sampling of desserts.
The gals had maneuvered a deal with a limo driver - could it get any better? We then proceeded to have a fun night out and those details I will not share! HaHa! It was all clean fun, don't worry!
The next day we split up to go see the city. There is so much to do that some decided to shop, others wanted to sight-see. We all met up for dinner and then hit a Broadway show, Rock of Ages, a new musical featuring 80s music. It was awesome! I am so grateful to have so many good friends and an amazing husband that put this all together. It was a fabulous way to ring in my next decade!