10+10+10+3.5+3.5=

I am officially 37. As of last Thursday (3/13).
It was an uneventful day, really.
A day like any other, as is typical for grown-up birthdays.

I did manage to get myself a coffee and pedicure, though, which was lovely.

Friday I got my hair cut and had my new driver's license picture taken. Two hours of boredom at the DOL. That night we went to dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory and then we all went bowling. It was fun to just hang out with our kids because that isn't something we get to do very much anymore. I miss them, even though they are always here. It's different now that they (Paige and Brittani) are older. They don't need us or want us as much.

I got some pretty groovy stuff though:

• a new iPod--80gb classic
• gift certificate to Borders
• a nifty pink wallet case for my iPod (it will probably always be in my purse)
• and best of all--and a major surprise (I knew about the iPod): front row tickets to see Cake on May 11th at the Paramount!!!

We celebrated my bday at my parentals house today, and it was, as always, a swell time. My mom made me TWO chocolate cakes (due to an error on her part, but her error is my treat!) and we had TUNA BOATS for dinner (my request). Tuna boats are a a food that was a pretty regular item on our menu when I was growing up. I think we usually had them in the summer. It's an interesting food, and I think only my brother appreciated them as much as I did tonight.

To make tuna boats, which I hadn't eaten in about 10 years, you take a hard french roll and cut out the top to make it like a little bowl. You mix Cheez Whiz, tuna, chopped onion and chopped celery together and fill in the bread bowls. Broil til browned on top (and molten lava-like) and serve with cottage cheese and chips on the side. Healthy stuff.

The best part of having tuna boats for dinner is eating the bread you cut out with the left-over cheez mixture. Yum.

On our way to my mom and dad's, I was telling Wayne how every time we had tuna boats, my dad would say how expensive Cheez Whiz is, so I had to laugh when we got there and dad said, "I couldn't believe how much Cheez Whiz costs!!!" or something along those lines. Some things never change. I feel like I could write funny memoirs about my family like David Sedaris does or like Jean Shepard. Anyway, according to my dad, we all could have eaten New York steaks for the same cost as the tuna boat ingredients. Next year, I guess.

Nifty Giftys from la familia:

• Labyrinth by Kate Mosse from my brother, Aaron. It looks really good, and now I can add it to my Shelfari :-)
• The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs from my grandparents. One would probably wonder why I would want a book like that, but it looks ridiculously funny; I heard the author on the radio one day, and his interview was great.
  
• Grandparents also gave my some sweet bath stuff, which I always love, and I inherited a sexy piece of red lingerie that my aunt and mom gave my grandma awhile back. Lingerie passed through the women in my family--another odd story about my quirky family. I still have the gargantuan black lace bra that has been passed around; I need to get on the ball and start doing my part passing this stuff along!
• My parents bought me an awesome shower head that I specifically asked for as well as:
  
• Postsecret book (Yea!!!)
• Gift cert to a nail salon

All in all, it was a great birthday. The only bad thing is that I turned another year older. That pretty much blows. the good thing is that no one ever believes I'm 37 (well, that I was 36). They all tell me they think I'm younger, and I really hope they aren't lying to me.
I thought 36 was tough, but 37 makes me want to crawl under a rock and eat ho-hos. Except that ho-hos are gross. Brownies. Yes, 37 makes me want to crawl under a rock (or my cozy covers) with brownies and nice tall glass of Smith Brothers Farms 2% milk.

Speaking of brownies...I see Weight Watchers on the horizon, but Wayne is so not wanting me to join. I feel like I need to join, but he's really pissy about me spending money to lose weight. It was the beginning of an argument today that we quickly defused, so I'm sure it will come up again.

We never fight over money, nor do we fight about how we will spend our money, so this is new territory for us. It's so great that after almost 12 years together, we can still find new territory to explore.