September 29, 2008

• Birthday Weekend (Lots of Pics!)

  I hope you're in a comfortable chair, with a snack and beverage in front of you, because this is going to be long!

  I had an awesome birthday celebration weekend, thanks to my wonderful family. I turn 28 this coming Tuesday, but it made sense to have all the fun this weekend. Plus, this way, I'll still Tuesday to look forward to.

  Saturday morning, Johnny, Jack and I had a very leisurely early morning, just hanging around the apartment. While Jack took his morning nap, I went for a run. Jack's nap was extra-long, so I had time to get in a shower and some reading before we headed to In-N-Out for lunch.

  Jack munched on veggies while Johnny and I waited for our burgers and fries. We got Jack a beef patty with melted cheese on top.

  

  In the late afternoon, our babysitter, Susy, came, so that Johnny and I could meet up with my mom, June and Charles for dinner and then ... the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE live tour at the Honda Center! We were sad to leave, Jack, of course -- especially since he wailed when we left. However, two minutes later, Susy called me, and I could hear my oh-so-loyal son laughing and playing happily in the background. I wasn't ever too worried; Susy used to be a preschool teacher, and she's sat for Jack before. Actually, Johnny likes to joke that Jack is safer with Susy than he is with us. She requires all clients to put together an emergency kit for their kids, complete with three days worth of clothing, water, diapers, food, and copies of medical insurance cards. It's a great thing to have on hand, but I have to admit that before we hired Susy, we didn't have an emergency earthquake kits for Jack! 

  Anyway, the original plan was to meet up at the Boiling Crab in Garden Grove, because I've been craving it ever since June talked about it. They boil crab, shrimp, crawfish and whatever other seafood you want from the menu in a pot of Cajun seasonings, along with corn on the cob, and then they dump it all on your table (covered with papers), and you grab and eat. I love places where I get to pig out! However, apparently all of SoCal decided to show up at the Boiling Crab, and at 5:45 p.m., there was going to be an hour-long wait. We didn't have the time, because SYTYCD started at 7:30 p.m. Luckily, June knew of a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant across the street, so we went there and chowed down on pho, spring rolls and many, many other dishes. Afterward, we got frozen yogurt, then drove our significantly heavier cars to the Honda Center.

  Ok, guys, so Johnny and I are big fans of SYTYCD (isn't Johnny a great husband for getting into it with me?), and so are June, Charles and my mom. But, I didn't think that many people would show up for the tour. But no, it was packed, you guys!

  Some pics of us and of the packed stadium. In the last one, you can kind of see the dancers as they came on stage

  

  

  

  So for those of you who watch the show, the top 10 dancers, plus Jessica, were there, along with "special guests" Chelsea T and Thayne. Everyone looked like they did on the show, although Katee had gotten a lot slimmer (she looked better in her "No Air" pants this time around! Not that she looked bad before, though), and Jessica had gotten chunky! She was always curvy, but when she had on a belly-baring top, it was honestly hard to concentrate on anything other than the fact that there was belly flab hanging out there. We could hear other people around us go, "Oh my gosh, what IS that???" It's not like she should look like a stick, but this just looked like she spent the past few months eating Pringles on the couch. (OK, I will stop being catty now.) Anyway, the show was great. They performed all the greatest hits, including (but not limited to):

  No Air
  Bleeding Love
  The Garden
  Courtney and Gev's cha-cha
  Twitchington's prison break hip-hop routine
  Twitchington's Viennese waltz
  Katee and Joshua's Bollywood routine, and the group version
  Katee and Twitch's Door Dance
  Comfort and Mark's detention hip-hop routine
  Courtney and Will's ghost hip-hop routine (they even had "wedding pictures" taken to show in the background!)

  It was great to see them live. We were up too high to get good pictures, but we did have a good view of the stage. I am just amazed at how they consistently perform so well, time after time, in front of such a large crowd. Afterward, June wanted to wait outside the back door so she could propose to Mark, but somehow we talked her out of it. However, Johnny did get a pic of the rest of us doing the "4 Real" thing. I love how my mom is floating the "4" above her shoulder. 

  OK, so we're huge dorks

   

  Today, we met up with Aunt Kathy, Uncle Bill, my mom, June and Charles at the Huntington Library for tea and then a stroll through the Chinese garden. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bill wanted to treat all of us for my birthday. The tea was yummy, as always. Jack enjoyed all the sandwiches and fruit!

  

  I was so surprised and touched by the entire day. Turns out that my mom, June and Charles had secretly ordered me a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake, with strawberry ice cream and chocolate cake (my fave flavor combo!), and coordinated with my aunt to get it to the tea room. So after we had tea, our waitress brought out the cake!

  

    

  They had also brought presents for me to open, although I wasn't expecting anything. I just thought we were spending the day together! June got me a really pretty knit sweater dress in a berry color, which is perfect for fall, and goes perfectly with the suede black boots that Charles bought me. I had just been saying that I wanted a pair of flat-soled boots, too! I'm waiting until Tuesday for my mom's present, since we're going to have lunch on my actual birthday. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bill gave me a very generous amount of birthday money, which was so unnecessary because they had already footed the bill for today. From Johnny, I had a pink gift bag, inside of which were two cards, one from Johnny and one from Jack. There was also a Jodi Picoult novel in there (The Tenth Circle), which I had been wanting to read. Then, I noticed something else from Johnny in the bag, and it turned out to be the biggest surprise of all ...

  I'm surprised, but Jack looks rather blase about it all

  

  A pair of diamond stud earrings!!!!

  I was so shocked and speechless. They are gorgeous -- they're somewhere between 0.65 and 0.7 carat each (a little more than 1.30 total carats), and the quality is stunning -- they match the quality of the stones on my engagement ring. The pictures don't do them justice, but here they are.

  

  I was just thinking, "How?? When did he get them??" I love jewelry, especially diamonds. When Johnny and I got engaged, my wonderful mother-in-law reset a pair of her beautiful diamond studs, which my father-in-law had given her when Johnny was an infant, in platinum to match my engagement ring. I pretty much wear those every day -- I love them and they are very sentimental to me. However, those had gotten me hooked on diamond earrings.  I had mentioned to Johnny that when I get older, I wanted some blingy studs -- somewhere around 3/4 carat on each side. But, I also told him that I wanted to wait until we had a house, and that they would make sense for a milestone birthday, like 30. In fact, when Johnny asked me what I wanted this year, I told him (honestly) that the only thing I wanted was for him to be home at a reasonable hour from work on Tuesday -- usually he is gone from 8 a.m. to about 8 p.m. I knew he'd get me something, but I was thinking a book or a clothing item ... not diamond studs! I didn't even think he was listening when I was babbling about the diamond studs.

  Well, a few weeks ago, Johnny got in touch with my mom, and asked for her help in shopping for the studs. He wanted to go back to the jeweler where he bought my engagement ring, whom my mom has known for a long time. So this past Friday, Johnny took off from work early and met my mom and June downtown, where he looked at many diamond earrings and finally picked this pair. My mom played it so cool -- I had called her while she was at the jeweler, and I didn't suspect a thing! It was really just so unexpected. Of course, I fretted about our down payment, but he had been saving for this for a while, so it's all good. Really, though, it's not as much about the studs as the fact that he was listening to me and had taken the time to come up with an elaborate plan despite his busy work schedule (and continued involvement at home). Johnny said that it occurred to him that the last time he got me major jewelry was for our engagement, and that that was "too long ago." I told Johnny that if there is a perfect husband, he's it.

  But, OK, who am I kidding? Of course it's also about the diamond studs, ha. I put those puppies in my ears, and after the tea, we went on to stroll the Chinese gardens. Aside from the searing heat, it was fun! Jack really enjoyed walking around with the adults. He spent about 90% of his time walking instead of in his stroller. We also got some great pictures. I think my favorites are Charles pushing June into the lagoon, and the candid one where I'm wearing my sunglasses, because if you click to enlarge that picture, you can see my new earrings.

  

  

  

  

  I also really love this photo of me and Johnny.

  

  So, it was an amazing weekend, and I owe it all to my family for making it so fun! I'll post again on Tuesday.

  • 12:21 pm
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