My Birthday Weekend (a.k.a. I'm in every picture)

Turning 31 was waaaaay less scary than turning 30. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm in my early thirties. No big deal. Early thirties. It's not like last year when I was entering a completely new decade.

My birthday weekend (which I renamed "ME-kend") started with dinner at Miyo's with Nathan'sparents,grandmother, sisters, and brothers-in-law (my parents kept our kids in Spartanburg all weekend for us). I had my absolute favorite: ginger salad, cashew chicken, and a side of warm noodles with "you-know-that-special-um-peanutty-ginger-y-soy sauce stuff" and the waiter nodded his head kindly. Nathan's parents gave me money for a shopping spree. Awesome. Then Nathan and I went to a real movie theater and saw an actual movie that was not in 3-D and did not have imaginary characters. It contained human beings as actors. And it was quiet because it was a night-time movie and there were grown-ups in the theater.

Saturday morning I woke up, met Jen for coffee, laughed my head off, went to a lovely wedding shower, then I shopped. And shopped. And shopped. By myself. In clothing stores for grown ups. Then I went home, put on a bathingsuit, went to our neighborhood pool, and read a book. By myself. By the pool. Every now and then I got up and got in the swimming pool to cool down but then, when I was good and ready, I went back to my lounge chair and read more of my book.

I walked home around 4:00 and got ready for my date with my man. He took me to the Melting Pot. We talked for more than 2 uninterrupted hours while dipping food in yummy stuff like melted cheese and chocolate. It was perfection. When we came home, Nathan watched "New Moon" with me. I know. He's the man. I think he hated every second of that movie but he did it for me. I love him.

On Sunday morning, I woke up to Nathan giving me a brand new grill pan! Don't be mad at him. I asked for it. It made me extremely happy. It's what I've been admiring from a distance for several months.

Sunday night, we drove to Clinton (it's the half-way point between Columbia and Spartanburg) and had my birthday dinner with our kiddos, my parents, grandparents, brother, and his girlfriend. I got lots of goodies including jewelry, a Barnes and Noble gift card, food chopper, coffee maker, and more "shopping in clothing stores for grown-ups" money. Yay!

It was so good to see the kids and bring them home with us. ME-kend was wonderful.

I leave you with my 5 proudest accomplishments of my 31st year of my life:

1. I made it through another year of not giving into the peer pressure of purchasing a mini-van.

2. I gave birth to my husband's mini-me.

3. I finally found the cause of my stomach pains and now the pain is completely gone!

4. I got a slug out of my house all by myself.

5. I kept my hair long all year instead of doing that thing where I think my hair looks better short and so I get it cut and then my mom says, "Christy, your hair really looks better long" and so then I grow it out again.