GRIMAAAAACE!

Every year for my birthday, we go to the winter carnival with one mission: stalk the shit out of Grimace and get our photo taken with him. It's become a tradition, starting from the first year K took me and surprised me with the news that we were going to see Grimace. I was like whaaa? Okay...

There he IS! Grimace, my favorite purple dude

But when I actually SAW Grimace for the first time that year, I out-excited the small children taking their photos with Mickey and Eeyore, elbowed my way through the crowd and stood wide-eyed next to the purple guy until he turned to take a photo with K and I.

This year, I spotted him early, and urgently demanded the K get the camera out. No way was I risking missing a photo op with my favorite purple dude. He took his sweet ass time getting it out and I got impatient, so I snapped this photo with my camera.

When we got up to him, I tried to play it cool. Oh, hay Grimace, what's up? Do you mind if we take a pic with you? Sweeeet. Then I turned and grinned at the camera with the fervor of a child who just met Santa Claus, and my entire year was made.

The rest of the carnival was awesome as usual, but Grimace was definitely the highlight:
 

The awesome ice castle. The theme this year was "Alien Invasion."

Mulder?? Are you in there?!

Theeere's Elvis! Right up top like he should be.

Downtown, where the parade comes through.

Me in my giraffe hat, trying to high five the wildcat. He stiffed me.

Last Day of Being 27

The Carebears are ready to party!

This is it, kiddies! My last day of being 27. Tomorrow, I turn 28 and the world changes. It makes me think about how I've spent the last year of my life, and the things I'm grateful for.

In the last year, there were tough times. For the first time in my life, I let go of people who were toxic in my life. I lost my uncle to cancer and had to put a kitty down. I faced death head-on, had to play God and choose it, and it made me realize that while it's a sad and devastating part of life, I'm not so afraid of it anymore. I'm stronger than I thought I was.

But there were more beautiful moments than there were sad ones, and out of tragedy there was inspiration, too. My sister got engaged, my brother got engaged, friends have have welcomed children into the world, and I got to see my family be put back together. I'm so incredibly blessed to have the life I do, to be surrounded with good friends, family and people who love me unconditionally.

In this last year, I think I've started to become more aware of my strengths and weaknesses, how I want to live my life and who I want to be surrounded by. I had to be incredibly honest with myself and recognize that I've been a pushover. I've let people walk all over me and I pointed fingers and played the victim. I didn't speak up when I should have, didn't tell people how I was truly feeling. And really, that makes me a liar. I've held this sarcastic outer shell as a defense to hide what I was really feeling, and I became damn good at it, too. My sarcasm makes me who I am, but I need to be open, sincere and honest, too. It only took me 27 years to realize that.

I have so many AMAZING things to look forward to this year of my life: my brother's wedding, being a part of my sister's wedding, welcoming a brother and a sister into my family, and seeing friends bring their own children into the world. And I get to do it all with the most incredible man by my side. And now that I'm finally starting to realize the way I want to live my life, I can't wait to see what the next year has in store :)

We did it! Surprise party for the big guy!

Well kittens, we did it. We surprised K! I honestly thought he knew all about the party, or at least most of it, since he came home from work and immediately mowed the lawn, found the pans of cheesy potatoes I hid in the fridge, and helped me keep the house clean. Turns out, he didn't know.

Great SUCCESS!

A carebear birthday all around.

The weekend was initially supposed to be gorgeous, and three days before the party the weather report called for rain. My whole plan to get him out of the house was to take him on a cruise at a nearby lake, and when we woke up to rain, I panicked.

My sister and his best friend were on their way to our house at noon, and low and behold my worst nightmare--at 12:30, half an hour after we were supposed to have left, K sat in front of the TV, unshowered, playing mortal kombat.

The kitchen, complete with baby pictures of K.

I gave his brother the death stare, and he and his gf helped me get him moving. We left the house under the guise of going to a car show in a neighboring town, and I breathed a sigh of relief when we finally left the house. I sent my sister a text:

"The eagle has left the nest."

While we puttered around at the car show and shopping, my sister and his best friend came to the house and decorated EVERYTHING. We spent a few hours out and about, then we convinced K to get us back to the house.

We pulled into the driveway, the garage door opened, and all you could see were our friends and family all standing there with birthday hats on. I was honestly moved to tears, it was so incredibly cool. The look on K's face was priceless, and I am so glad we were able to surprise him.

The slip n slide... and yes, he actually went down it.

We all had a great time at the party, it was a late night filled with a slip n slide, birthday cake, presents, and a little (okay, a LOT) of alcohol. We had friends and family travel several hours just to be there, and I feel so incredibly lucky to have them in my life. Thank you to everyone for making the day great! :)

The sweatiest birthday cake EVER.

It's 88 degrees in the house. We forgot to put the air conditioners in before K left for work again, and so I've been sweating my ass off. Not to mention the fact that I've been baking like a maniac, trying to make K a cake for his bday.

I was in the middle of mixing the cake ingredients, (box, not from scratch--you kids put too much faith in my domestication) one meal already in the oven with 16 min to go, when I realized that there is one thing you can't make a cake without.

Fucking eggs.

I'm sweating, I've got a meal already in the oven, but I HAVE to get this cake baked before K gets home. Not to mention I'm doing this all on my lunch break (thank GOD for working from home on days like today.)

Pop quiz, hot shot. What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?

I had two options: wait until the potatoes were out of the oven, turn OFF the oven, run to the store after my lunch break (which I NEVER do, I get anxious just thinking about it.) Or grab my purse and run to the store with 16 minutes left on the timer, leaving my oven on and cooking. Most of you know that I am borderline OCD when it comes to the oven, and I check it about three times every time I leave the house. At least. So choosing option B was a tough choice, but I REALLY wanted that cake done before K gets home.

So I squealed into the parking lot, dashing around dodging seniors and small children like they were cars in Frogger. I pictured myself as the pixelated amphibian, hopping from aisle to aisle with precision. I even knew which aisles I needed to hit before I went into the store.

I made it back to the house with 4 minutes to spare. I have truly never been prouder of myself. I sure hope K likes his cake. I tried not to sweat in it too much.

T-minus two days until the surprise, people-- wish me luck!

The Big Surprise

You thought I was kidding, didn't you?

So tomorrow is K's 30th birthday. I don't think he ever reads this (much to my chagrin), so I'm pretty sure I'm safe in divulging details to you guys. And if you are K, then you better stop reading right now or I'll give you a noogie.

For the last several weeks, I've been planning a surprise party/BBQ for him scheduled this coming Saturday. I FORGOT how stressful it is to plan a party like this! I mean, it's hard enough to have a party at your house (with the cleaning, getting food together, keg, etc.) without having to worry that some of these things are going to give away your secret (where the eff do you hide 30 burgers, enough cheese and crackers for 8 people, a keg and a helium tank??)

I'm still trying to figure out a way to get him out of the house on Saturday. People are coming over at 3, so I figure if I can get him out of the house around noon and go do something for a few hours, we can be back here at 3:30 for the surprise.

I'm SURE that he knows something is up. It's really hard to keep a straight face when he suggests we go on VACATION this weekend and I have to stumble on my words and make up a reason why we CAN'T go this weekend. Like that I have an imaginary doctor's appointment that I absolutely cannot miss. People stop asking questions when they hear 'pap smear.'

But even if he does know something is up, there are still little details that he won't know about. Like the present that my sister, brother in law JB and I all pitched in and got him. Or his surprise guest. Or the fact that I have five giant carebears sitting at my kitchen table with birthday hats on right now. This is not a joke people. We are serious about birthdays in this house.

So while I vomit from the pressure of trying to keep this party a secret, stay tuned for the details of how this shin dig works out. And wish me luck! :)

RAWR! I'm a BEAR!

RAWR I'M A BEAR.

K got me the best birthday present EVER this year. They are called Bear Hands, and they are like grown up mittens that instantly transform you into a bear.

The instant you put them on, you start growling and pawing people. Lucky for us, we went to a parade the day that he gave them to me, and we high fived EVERYONE. For serious. I'm already obsessed with high fives, and fleece mittens that look like bear paws just make you want to slap everyone you see.


I like to play a fun game called "What can I do with my Bear Hands?" And so far the list is thus:
1.) Drink pop.

High FIVE.

2.) Make my kitties want to bite me when I chase them around the house with them on.
3.) Wtyire as blpg (write a blog.)
4.) Navigate my way through an ice castle.
5.) Pretend I'm a zombie bear, groan and wander around the house in a zombie-like state.
6.) Build a snowman.
7.) Be awesome.

I plan on adding to the list, but that's all I've attempted for now.  The level of excitement I feel when I put on these mittens is further evidence that contrary to outer appearances, I am a 5-year-old in a 27-year-old's body.

 

 

Look, Ma-- BEAR HANDS.

The Big Day is HERE! It's Muh Birfday.

Carebear Birthday Party!

The big day is here, kiddies! It's muh birfday. The big 2-7. One year closer to 30, and another time to reflect on all the awesome things about my life.

Awesome thing #1: Some people get nostalgic about their teen years, but now that I'm 27, I don't have to deal with curfews, awkward dates, being grounded for spending the night over at Sarah's house, getting arrested for underaged drinking, PE class, or having to get permission to do pretty much anything. It's pretty phenomenal.

Awesome thing #2: I think with age, I'm starting to care a little less about what people think of me. Just a little. And I'm starting to find the middle ground of being honest with people and retaining my dignity. Maybe everyone goes through this, but it's taken me 26 27 years. It feels pretty damn good!

Awesome thing #3: I have the best bf ever. I know, it probably makes you want to barf, but trust me, there were a lot of not awesome dates before I met this guy. He makes me laugh, he loves the me that I love, and he sews me new pink gingham pillows when mine bust open in the washing machine. I am so incredibly thankful to have finally found him. It was worth the quarter-century wait.

Awesome thing #4: My sister and my future brother in law live in New York now. I can't tell you how awesome it was to be able to go out and spend my birthday with them last weekend; it has been almost 5 years since we have been able to do that, unless we flew back and forth. She is like a more mature, fabulous version of me (even though I am older) and she has always and will always be there for me, no matter what. I love her SO much.

Awesome thing #5: I'm lucky enough to have four parents who love me a LOT. They have been there for me through everything, and I love them all so much. I miss them now that we live in different states, but I'm looking forward to talking to them today :)


Awesome thing #6: I have some of the best friends you could ever EVER ask for. I love each and every one of you, and I'm so thankful to have you in my life. You make me smile, you pick me up when I'm down, and you listen when I need to talk. Love you all SO MUCH.

So kiddies, I think I will spend my day talking with all the people I love and reminiscing about the days when we weren't 3 years from 30. (yikes!) Thanks for reading my blog, this thing has been even more awesome than I ever thought it would be... and I appreciate that so many people care about what I have to say. Stay tuned for the post-weekend wrap up on Monday about the birthday weekend adventure we have planned!

A little butt crack on my birthday

Well kiddies... 3 days until I turn the big 2-7. And since next weekend is Valentine's weekend, we decided to head out for a night on the town and celebrate the weekend before. And let me just say that the night started with a blizzard, and ended up with a little more butt crack than I would have expected.

Every year, mother nature seems determined to rain on my parade--both literally and figuratively. This year was no exception. Saturday before we were supposed to head out, it started to blizzard. Many of my friends weren't able to make it because of the weather, but a few did, and they are AWESOME. I seriously can't tell you how much I appreciate my friends for coming out and making my birthday special. I feel like such a lucky girl to have so many amazing people in my life.

So K started snowblowing the driveway while I got ready, and when I came downstairs it was absolutely horrific outside. Mother nature was projectile vomiting all up on my bday. I told K that this was just crazy, we shouldn't risk it in this weather (my sister's apartment is about an hour south of us, and we had to get down there first.) He shut the snowblower off, looked me right in the eye and told me we had four wheel drive, and we weren't going to miss it. What an amazing man I have in my life, to go to such lengths to make me happy.

So we slowly make the trek in the awful weather, four wheeling in the jeep all the way down to my sister's apartment. The weather was atrocious the entire time, but I sang to the radio as loud as I could to make up for it. (I'm sure K and his brother A really appreciated that.)

We had a great time at dinner, and went out for a few delicious drinks at a local watering hole (actually the place where K and I met, which is part of the reason I love it so much.) We all got in, got ourselves some drinks, and sat at a table. Suddenly we realized we were missing M&M, two of our friends who had come out to celebrate with us. We waited a few minutes, and I texted M to see where they were. Turns out she had forgotten her ID at home, and they wouldn't let her in. So (get this), in this blizzardy weather, M&M go ALL the way back home to get her ID, and come BACK to meet up with us again. I absolutely couldn't believe it. What amazing friends I have that would not only come out ONCE, but TWICE... in the middle of a blizzard. M&M, you guys seriously rock. Love you both.

So we all continued the night, got some delicious drinks in our bellies, and went over to another bar to meet up with a few of K's brother's friends. And as we are getting our coats off and starting to warm up, we spot a man across the bar who has his pants clear down his B-crack. That's right-- a full moon, folks. I stared at him for a minute, wondering how he couldn't feel that his crack was all hanging out. I mean, don't you feel a bit of a breeze? I really don't understand it. But his presence was a hell of a conversation piece, and we all got a good laugh. And I'll tell you what, no future birthday will be complete without a blizzard and some butt crack.

A little birthday buttcrack... thanks, roofer dude.