Birthday

So, what's up with me? Well, recently I celebrated my 36th birthday. Yikes! I AM THIRTY FREAKING SIX! Where has the time gone? But then again, I'm not one to obsess about my age. So my birthday was pretty much a quiet event that came and went without much fanfare. I received an email from my good friend Tash and we were commiserating about how our birthdays this year (his is one day ahead of mine) were much quieter than previous birthdays. I had written to him saying that as we age, we probably become more subdued. His rationale is that maybe it is more of us being "just us" and that as we grow older, we tend to grow more into who we are rather than what everyone expects of us. SIGH. So true ... I definitely miss these kinds of talks with Tash =(

Anyway, my birthday consisted of dinner with Jojo's family the night before my birthday. I planned a Mexican themed dinner at home. I ordered Charo Fire Roasted Chicken, Mexican Rice, Soft Tortillas, their super delish homestyle salsa and a Mexican salad. On my end, I prepared Fiesta corn (which is basically shucked grilled corn with ham, onions, and red and green peppers. I had a pot of simmering black beans with Mexican seasoning. And I also had a make-it-yourself taco bar (soft and hard taco shells, ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, salsa, and grated cheese. For dessert, I had ice cream and cake. It was a hit =)

On my actual birthday, co-workers took me to lunch at the Elephant Bar. Then for dinner, we met up with Atsi and Mark for dinner at Belaccan Grill (one of my favorite places!). It was a quiet weekend after that. Jojo kept asking me what I wanted for my birthday and there was honestly nothing I could think of! I guess I am lucky that way, huh? Seriously I could not think of a single thing I wanted to get. So my loving husband settled on getting me flowers and balloons ... but the bestest gift was him doting on me all weekend ... doing the dishes, doing the laundry, massaging my aching back and helping me decorate Beanie's room! Best birthday gifts ever! =)

Speaking of Beanie ... I'm almost 8 months preggers now. And my belly is HUGE. I don't know why I ever complained that it was small. These days, I have to be careful I don't tip over cause my belly is just so out there! It's not easy cause I have all sorts of aches and pains. Not to mention I am deathly afraid of stretch marks. But in many ways, it's still all good. I'm so excited cause I feel more movement now and I think Beanie is reacting more to external sounds. The other day, I swear she was dancing to music. I felt a thump-thump-thump every time I turned the car radio up. This happened at least 3 times! Who knew my baby girl would be a fan of Katy Perry's "California Girls"?

Anyway, these days we are excitedly planning the baby shower. I am excited! Here's a preview of the invitations that were sent out last week:

Hopefully all goes well. More on the shower in my next post.