Okay, now that I've found 100 things...

Today, a week and a day after my 31st birthday, I'm finally getting my cake and ice cream.  I've requested my favorite, strawberry cake with fun-fetti icing and vanilla ice cream. (Very grown up, Momma says.)  For my 13th birthday, my Momma made me a strawberry cake and decorated it to look like a pink boom box.  My friend James made me a strawberry cake and decorated it with tiaras and princess castles last year.  Strawberry cake really is my favorite.

Momma asked me if I had any input on what I'd like for dinner.  The only thing I could come up with was grilled asparagus.

31 feels like a turning point, a crossroads.  Like I'm going through some sort of awkward phase, a growth spurt. Maybe I am.  Maybe I'll come out on the other side, 32 and a full-fledged adult.  One who does a load of laundry every night instead of letting it pile up for two and a half weeks and then only breaking down and sorting and washing because clean panties are nowhere to be found.  One who immediately does the dinner dishes when the meal is finished.  One who vacuums and dusts every Sunday.

I'm not saying it's likely, just that it COULD happen.  You know, miracles happen every day.

31 does feel weird, though.  Not old, I'd never dare use that word in relation to that number.  Wiser?  More aware?  More appreciative?  Something.

So far, though, aside from feeling a little odd, 31 is pretty cool.  I'm happy, healthy, loved.  I've got a job and a home and a car that just rolled over 70K miles Friday night.

That's pretty cool, actually.  My little Honda Civic, the one I bought all by myself with my very own credit in September of 2004, the one I didn't need my (ex)husband's income to qualify for, the one I drove from Nebraska to El Paso and then back home to good ol' Kentucky, has just rolled over 70,000 miles.  I can probably get 70,000 miles out of this car three more times before it shits the bed and has to be replaced.  Of all the decisions I've made in my life, buying that car was probably the most sound financial one.  (Well, as long as you don't take into consideration the fact that my OLD Civic was paid off and in good shape and had only 145,000 miles on it and probably could've been driven (for free) for another 150,000 without much more than basic preventative maintenance.  But whatever.)

I'm so glad the sun is out today - the weekend's been kind of a bust and the sun makes everything seem happier, doesn't it?  Yesterday was Thunder Over Louisville - a huge air show and fireworks display that kicks off the official Kentucky Derby Festival festivities.  Every year, my boss gets us tickets to the Bats (local AAA baseball team) game, and we hang out together all day and watch the game, watch the air show, watch the rednecks, watch the fireworks.  And drink beer and booze we smuggled in and eat fried foods and complain about the heat or the cold or the sun or the clouds.  Yesterday, though, the weather sucked.  It was cold and windy and drizzling and gray.  Everyone backed out, and then I did too.  I think the only tickets that were used belonged to C and her family - so 5 out of 20?  That sucks.  I'm going to have to offer to reimburse the company for the four I requested and didn't use.  Suck.

Did you know Haagen Dazs makes Sweet Chai Latte ice cream?  Holy shit, it's to die for.  Go get some now.  I'll wait.  Delicious, right?  I told you.  Haagen Dazs just has it like that, though.  They make everything delicious.  I'll never forget the night Kat and I got that banana split from their store in the Crystal City Mall in D.C. - cherry vanilla ice cream, a banana, strawberry sauce, whipped cream, nuts.  God, my mouth is watering just remembering it.  We drove around the Ft. Belvoir area for much longer than we should've, running in and out of Targets and Food Lions, darting to their frozen foods sections in search of that never-before-heard-of-but-now-must-have-it flavor - Cherry Vanilla.  No one carried it.  No one had it.  We gave up and hung our heads and stopped at the gas station to fill up her car and get some snacks.  Guess who had Haagen Dazs Cherry Vanilla ice cream?  That's right, the gas station did.  Grocery stores didn't, but the gas station did.  For years after that, I felt as if I had to buy 2 pints every time I found the flavor in stores - it was like a rare gem!  I'm kinda over it now, though.  Maybe it's guilt by association.  But this sweet chai latte is delish.

Jimi's going to take me to "breakfast" (it's noon already), and then we'll go find some fun until it's time to head to Momma & Daddy's for my birthday dinner.  It's kinda like "Natalie's 31st Birthday, take 2".  That's what I'm doing today.  What are your plans?  May I make some suggestions?  First, go enter my giveaway.  I'll mail you some shit from my house.  Fun, right?  Then, go join in on the Comment Love Day over at FTLOB.  Everyone loves comments.







Happy Sunday, Friends!