the birthday staycation.

this year my birthday was on a thursday which means i got to stretch out over a few days! i turned 27 for those interested in knowing (hehe) and couldnt believe it was actually here. sometimes it feels like forever for birthdays to come around. i am a big fan of birthdays and think they should always be celebrated in the way the birthday person wants!

the day started off at work when i arrived and had some delicious treats on my desk:) i havent had things like this in quite awhile and couldnt help but have one! dang, they were good. i also got another huge cupcake during the day and lots of birthday presents via email haha. plus the song, i cant lie that i do like it a little:)

homemade whoppie pies!

told you it was huge:)

that night i had plans to meet my parents and cousin at the cheesecake factory! it seems thats a standard now since it was the same place we went last year lol. but really, who says no to the cheesecake factory?? this year was a little different since i am seeing my nutritionist and that meant ordering quite differently. did you know they have a skinny menu?! omg, seriously so good and tons of options! mom and both ordered off that one and i totally stole a bite off my cousins plate of alfredo hehe. it was delicious and i couldnt help but miss it just a little. i got another birthday song and 2 pieces of cheesecake! ha, just kidding. i had promised joanie no cheesecake that night so i didnt order a piece of my own but did have a few bites of the other 2 pieces. man they were good. i kept it all to a minimum since i had an appointment to see her in the morning and we were trying to be down a pound. (ps who tries to lose a pound in 2 days with 1 of them being their birthday, sheesh its hard)

saturday though was my big day to celebrate! i have wanted to stay in a room on the strip forever. i never have and decided since it was my birthday thats exactly what i was going to do. so i found a smokin deal at mandalay bay and wanted to keep it low key. it wasnt a huge year so a big party wasnt necessary, but you gotta do something:) so saturday morning i got up, knocked out my 10 miles, took a short nap, treated myself to a sparkly pink pedicure, then richard and i headed to mandalay bay to check in at about noon! our plan was to be at the pool by 1p and it actually worked pretty well. kristle came to join us and we were ready for some fun in the sun! we found 3 chairs and a waitress was by fairly soon to take our drink order. oh heck yes i was drinking haha. dont worry, i had permission lol.

our view for the day!

the afternoon drifted by as lounged, had lunch, took a few spins around the lazy river and the wave pool, and did a hefty amount of people watching. it was totally the way i wanted to spend my birthday! we also had a special treat we had concocted earlier in the week, drunken gummy bears:) since monday these little guys had been swimming around in a pool of vodka soaking up the goodness and they were a delicious treat on a hot day!

yum, gummy bears!

later on tiffany came down to hang out with us and go to dinner at the cantina inside the shops. like i said, very low-key:) we listened to the hilarious marichi band that sang me happy birthday and a johnny cash song along with every other party that had a birthday in the house! i had these lobster tacos that were a-mazing we spent the night chatting away. afterwards we headed up to the foundation room at the top of the hotel. well after the 3rd degree by the guy working the desk about how long we would be there and how much money we were planning to spend. it was the weirdest thing, but we made it past! the view was amazing and the drinks were some of the strongest ones i might have ever had haha. it wasnt as great as i thought it was going to be, but the view made up for it:)

sorry its little a dark:/

we were all pretty tired from the day so as tiffany headed home richard and i went back to our room and spent the night curled up watching friends:) it was totally what i was looking for! getting up the next morning was rough from such a comfortable bed and knowing we had to go home:/ we ate breakfast at the hotel just to stretch it a little longer before heading to the mall for my birthday shopping spree! i have been dying for new clothes for what seems like forever, so that was my present from richard:)

this birthday was great, i did exactly what i wanted and finally got to cross staying on the strip off my list! seriously if you havent you should very soon:)

the birthday extravaganza

my dad tells me every year that i stretch out my birthday more than anyone he has ever met:) this is probably true, but it always just happens that way. after my amazing birthday last year, i mean it was at disneyland people, i knew this year would be definitely different. i wanted it to be small and not a big hoopla. when you dont have all your nearest and dearest its tough to want to go all out for your birthday.

cool part about having your birthday near a holiday, you usually get to have an extra day off! mine falls right around labor day and this year was no exception. i found out a few months ago that the beach boys were going to be coming back to vegas and would be at mandalay beach. i have always wanted to see them and tiffany was gracious enough to say yes. i was hoping richard would take me and come with us, but he was going to another concert that night.

it was saturday night of labor day weekend and the weather was amazing! concerts at the beach are literally in the water and are soo much fun. i have seen a few there and always have a blast! we got there about an hour early and sat around to people watch. there was a huge range of ages! we were definitely in the younger group of the crowd at the event. there was literally every age all there to see the same band it was very cool.

about 10 minutes before the start of the concert tiffany informs the last time she saw the beach boys uncle jesse from full house came out to play for a few songs. i was praying this would happen again! he was of course my favorite from the show and i had a huge crush on him, surprise i know :) then just as the boys came on stage they were joined by a much younger addition on drums..UNCLE JESSE!! i, along with just about every other person there, was literally jumping up and down. he played the whole time and was awesome.

i was surprised that so many people in the crowd knew all the words, just like we did. and i have to say, those beach boys are gettin old. at one point mike love was talking about his first car...a 1943 something. i mean they rocked and were amazing, but dang they are startin to look old. we had so much fun and i am so glad we went together:)

sunday morning i got up to do my long run so i could do whatever i wanted for the rest of the weekend. catch the recap here if you missed it. after an amazing post long run nap with no alarm i hung out with richard during the day doing nothing, just what i wanted. i had planned a dinner that night with some close friends at maggianos and was super excited! i love that place and have gone there for years on special occasions. we had a reservation for 11, but by the time we got there it was down to 5. seemed like everyone had something else come up. some where totally unavoidable-hello sickness and the er, others it seemed just didnt see this as quite as important. but at maggianos, how can you have a bad time?! i mean the food alone is enough to put a huge smile on your face.

super cute ang and jamey.

i LOVE their chocolate cake.

 we had a great time together and amazing food. i was so grateful for the ones there, they made it a amazing night:)

monday we decided to lay low and enjoy the last day of our 3-day weekend. we cleaned the apartment (thats right, together) and went to see crazy, stupid love in the afternoon. omg! such a good movie! and a really great date movie, not too girly or manly. a great balance for both. after having dinner out the night before and i was meeting my parents the following night, i gladly made fajitas at home that night. it was a perfect low-key day for us.

finally tuesday arrived, my actual birthday. i told you my dad was kinda right. after a 3-day weekend i couldnt rationalize taking another day so i went to work. i got in an extra long run that morning, amazing what happens when you get real sleep for 3 days. and headed out to a super busy day filled with students. about 11am after getting a few reschedule calls i got a beautiful surprise at work...

they were perfect and a great accompanying gift to the pearl earrings he gave me the day before. the balloon sings a hilarious song and put a smile on my face every time someone stopped by to play it. added bonus to the day was we got to wear jeans! heck yes. plus the love that poured in on facebook and texts and phone calls and at work was almost overwhelming. it was amazing on a day that i am always a little nervous about.

afterwords i got to meet my family across the street at the cheesecake factory, another one of my favorite restaurants i dont go to often! my cousin bethany, mom, dad,  my brother from another mother erik, and i meet for dinner and had so much fun! we talked and laughed and joked around, all the great things you do with your family. it was a great end to my birthday extravaganza.

i did exactly what i wanted this year! i kept it low-key and got to spend time with groups of people as well as people individually. i didnt let some lame drama affect me when it reared its ugly head. im not sure next year will be able to measure up:)

the birthday bash.

birthdays are one of my favorite times of the year.  mostly because you get to focus on one person and make sure that their day is the most special of all.  i had plans this year of doing nothing less than the best for richards birthday.  this would be my 2nd year planning his birthday festivities and i was ready for the challenge. 

boys are often not much help in birthday party planning for themselves.  they seem to have no opinion other than to have fun and be the ones to just show up.  i learned this the previous year, thank goodness i had great help.  this year seemed to be a little tougher though.  richard was definitely starting to struggle with the idea of turning 29 and i was completely unsure of how to party plan around that.  do we go big because this is the last of the 20's?  do we go small and save all the really big stuff for next year when he hits the new age group?  quite the dilemma.

earlier in the year he had told me that he would love to do something revolving around an outing for his birthday.  a concert, vacation, or a sporting event for example.  soon after we found out that flogging molly would be coming to las vegas the day after his birthday and it was a friday night.  we knew that we wanted to do something interactive during the day with the guys on saturday and then go out that night.  he had already decided to take that friday off for whatever was planned, so it was working out perfect.  after much debate and research, theres really not much to do in las vegas for locals, richard decided on paintball saturday, dinner at buca di beppo, and then heading to fremont street.  we made a reservation for dinner and were excited because with a larger group we could do family style.  and found a paintball place that was decently priced for rental, paint, and play deals. 
 
i had decided what i was going to buy richard for his birthday months ago when i was looking for valentines presents.  it was too big for the day of love and honestly not mushy enough, there i said it.  when we moved into our apartment one of the 1st things richard started lusting after was an old fashioned popcorn machine.  he wanted the red one that looked like the ones you find in a movie theater.  so i started doing my research, found a great one on amazon that i ordered 3 weeks before his birthday arrived, and had it delivered to my office so i could store it there till his birthday was here.  he had been begging me for weeks to tell him what it was, but i am an excellent secret keeper. 

richards birthday actually falls on st patricks day...its a built in party for your birthday every year!  he didnt want to go out that night, wanted to save his strength for the next night of drinking and debauchery.  i came home from body pump and gave him a small present to open in the morning.  a transformer bag full of a new workout outfit.  he had been saying for months that he wanted new workout clothes and i found the coolest pair of reversible shorts i just couldnt resist.  i told him his big present was going to be there when he gets home that night, he was just going to have to wait.  later when i got home from work i went straight into set up mode.  i had found some really cool popcorn bowls and had read the directions multiple times for set up so there would be hot popcorn when he got home.  i have to say, i was pretty proud of myself...

i also found butch.  he is a running joke after we saw an 8 year-old running around the orange county swap meet with a balloon dog.  richard thought it was the greatest thing on the planet and still brings him up at least once a week.  about 2 weeks before his birthday we found a very similar one at albertsons and richard had not stopped talking about him since. 

when he got home that night i realized i could have just bought the dog and that would have been the best present ever.  he was literally more excited about the dog than the popcorn machine. 

while all of this was going on the weekend event plans were falling apart.  some friends were weary about money, some didnt understand why were doing a whole separate day on saturday to celebrate, some thought they would be too hung over to participate, some were going out of town (for a very good reason though), and some were attending other dinners planned after this invite was sent.  it even got to a point that richard considered canceling the whole day because it seemed like more of an inconvenience to everyone rather than a fun day that was planned.

once friday arrived concert plans were coming together.  vanessa had rented a hotel room at hooters so we would have somewhere to convene, crash, and use as a home base.  a few came over to our apartment in the afternoon so we could all drive down to the strip together.  we hung out at the hotel for a few hours and the guys chomped down on wings, we were at hooters after all.  somehow, as usual, there was also beer pong involved.

finally it was time to go to mandalay bay for the concert and meet up with the rest of the concert goers.  now wrangling everyone together was quite the task and it seemed to take forever.  we made it inside where we needed wristbands for the floor and most of the group already needed more alcohol. 

ready to make our way to the floor you could feel the excitement building.  we made it for the 2nd opening band and the floor was surprisingly still a bit empty.  i was really glad!  richard had decided earlier in the week he was going to do the mosh pit.  this was his 1st big venue concert and he was really excited.  

well he made it through the 1st round and came back so exhilarated that he was instantly ready for round 2.  that one didnt go quite as well.  he came back so out of breath and just kept laying on me while trying to collect himself.  after awhile he still couldnt catch his breath and was trying to sit on the ground.  at this point we went up to the top where the snack bars were and took a break for awhile.  he still couldnt catch his breath and seemed to somehow be falling asleep at the same time.  we decided we would go back to the hotel, take a nap, catch him up, and then meet everyone back out when the concert was over.  after finally walking toward the exit he started to feel better and we ended up hanging out around the event center and had a really good talk instead.  we made it back right at the end of the concert for the last song and the encore. 

after the concert the group was all pretty drunk and it was a lot later then we had thought it was going to be so we decided to just head back to the hotel.  plus we were starving and there was a late night restaurant at the the hotel!  we started on the worlds LONGEST walk back to hooters stopping every 5 feet it seemed like and most of the group just getting really frustrated with each other.  finally making it we headed to the restaurant only to be greeted with a 30 minute wait at 1230am.  once getting a table the group was really quiet and honestly everyone just seemed mad at each other.  i dont know what happened in that last 1/2 hour, but it was a super awkward dinner.  about that time it was 2 am and it was definitely time to go home.

waking up the next day without a hangover was fantastic (thats what happens when your in training and cant drink).  it was actually a little cold and windy that day so it was nice to not be outside.  we went over to matts to hang out in the afternoon and watch a movie.  it was literally the weirdest movie i have ever seen.  it was called the game with michael douglas,  im still not even sure if i liked it.  and the whole afternoon was a little weird honestly, we kinda felt left out and there were only a few people there.

dinner that night was much smaller than expected, but the table was surrounded by great people.  we even got the waitress to sing happy birthday, against richards very strong wishes otherwise.  the best part, definitely the monster size sundae...

with the evening being rather windy fremont street was a little too much.  there was a ufc fight going on that night so that took prescient anyway.  we headed back to matts and the guys had decided to get a poker game going while the early fights were on.  richard tried to win money, but no such luck.  this was more of an early night, especially with all the craziness from the night before.

sunday evening was my turn!  i had planned a super special dinner that i was hoping he would love.  i found out over last summer that his favorite all time meal is the chicken cutlets his aunt makes.  i messaged her a few weeks back for the recipe and she was totally on board.  we woke up late that afternoon and hadnt really done much other than grocery shop, it was a great lazy kind of sunday.  i had kept the secret pretty well and was really nervous about making this dinner.  for some reason richard had decided to take a really late nap and slept through most of my cooking.  when he woke up though, he was not very impressed.  i knew that mine would never taste as good as aunt mar's, but i thought he would have been a little more excited.  i thought they were delicious, and they made fantastic leftovers.

i made a few realizations this weekend.  one, with family so far away and not able to see him every day the way i do, i am going to be the biggest cheerleader/celebrator in his life right now (which is definitely ok with me).  two, keep his best interest at heart no matter what others say/do.  three, i am an excellent secret keeper.  four, i will always be more excited about things and thats ok.  i think for a 29th birthday weekend and the ups and down this turned out to be a good one.  for sure one to remember!