I'm 33!

I just turned 33 almost a week ago. I just haven't had time to post about it because my birthday actually fell on the Eve of the Lunar New Year. So my family came into town and they've been keeping us busy (more on those events later).

I had a great 33rd birthday weekend.

We were lucky enough to have J spend the weekend with us, so she could watch the kids while we went out and partied like rock stars. When I say "partied," I mean we went to dinner and a movie. Well, actually there was more to it than that since I had the whole weekend.

First, we got to watch 2 movies--which is unheard of when you have young kids. On Friday night, B and I went to see "Slumdog Millionaire" at the Alamo Drafthouse. This place is similar to the McMenamins theaters in Portland. You can eat dinner while you watch a movie. Nothing fancy, but it's nice to knock out both at the same time when you're short on time. Then we saw "Gran Torino" on Saturday. Both movies were great. They're both simple stories with no real "wow factors," like special effects, but they were so good. I loved the way "Slumdog" was told and I loved the Indian music. And "Gran Torino" was dark, but surprisingly funny. Clint Eastwood is seriously the man.

Then B and I got semt-dressed up and went out to Silo for dinner. This is a fancy (aka expensive) New American restaurant that is kind of a local staple. The food was DELICIOUS. And even though it was fancy, the portions were humongous. We were greedy and indecisive, so we actually ordered 2 appetizers--seared ahi tuna and pan toasted mussels. For those of you who don't know, B doesn't really like seafood unless it's deep fried (but I must admit that he has gotten a lot more adventurous in the past few years). So it was really nice of B to agree to 2 seafood appetizers. He even tried the mussels and thought they were ok. Not too bad, right? For entrees, B got the lamb tenderloin and I got the "surf and turf" with a petite beef tenderloin and chicken fried oysters. You know me, I LOVE fried oysters (Acenar anyone?)! The food was yummy. Sadly, because of the two appetizers, I couldn't finish my steak so B helped me out. Of course we still ordered dessert (because everyone knows that dessert fits into a different stomach) and got the vanilla bean creme brulee (as recommended by the waiter). It was delicious because it didn't taste heavy at all. This place was pricey, but we may come back because the food and portions were great.

The other thing I got to do for my birthday was spend a morning all by myself. First, I went shopping for almost 2 hours without kids. Everyone knows that I'm not a big shopper. I'm very business-like when it comes to shopping. I have a list, I go into a store, grab what I need, and leave. Many of you might think it's just because I have kids. Part of it is because of the kids, but honestly, I've always been like that. I just can't go shopping for hours on end. My mom is a professional shopper. She can wander around in a store for 2 hours and buy absolutely nothing. It drives me nuts! I guess I just need to see some sort of accomplishment. But when it comes to kids stuff, I can definitely spend a lot of money. So, of course, that morning I bought some things for the kids, but then I actually bought 3 tops (all on sale) for myself! I was so proud. I know that sounds weird, but I was seriously worried I wouldn't be able to come home with anything but kid clothes and baby toys. Just to give you a hint as to what kind of shopper I am, during my 2 hours of shopping, I managed to hit 5 different stores. Pretty impressive, right?

The other 2 nice things I got to do was get a deep tissue massage (nice!) and go to brunch with the kids, B, and J. We tried a new place and it was pretty tasty!

So do I feel differently now that I'm 33? Well, I definitely feel more tired and less skinny. My life is simple: wake up, take care of the kids, put them to bed, have a few hours with B (watching TV or doing projects), then head to bed. It's pretty routine, but I always wish for more sleep, more hours in a day, and more organization in my life. Even though I wish for these things, I still wouldn't wish for a different life. How could I trade more sleep for the times when Eli rests his head on my shoulder and pats my back? How could I trade an organized Elfa bedroom closet for the times when Elina runs up to me and kisses my cheek for no particular reason? For now, this is what I do. This is the stage I'm at in my life right now--taking care of my young kids. One day it will end and I'm sure I'll be sad then, but for now I'll enjoy all the hugs and kisses I can get.

I think it's pretty great to be 33 and me.