This was probably the best birthday I’ve had in years, if not ever, and I think it had to do, in large part, with the fact that I did what I wanted, for *me*.
Friday night I hung out with Eddy. Ended up hanging out at my place, having cheddarwurst mac & cheese and croissants, and watching tv while I (finally) hung a bunch of stuff on the walls in preparation for Saturday. I’ve been in the apt for over a month, and hadn’t gotten around to hanging *anything* yet. It’s amazing how much of a difference it makes. But that was a nice quiet night. Once the wall stuff was done, I actually sat down and we watched the season closer for House. Can I just say…woh. Ended up staying up way later than I meant to straightening up and hiding boxes away in closets and stuff, but it was a productive night overall, so it’s okay.
On Saturday, I woke up around 10-10:30 and did a quick shower and shave before I headed out to get my first ever professional massage. Went to a place called Elements Therapeutic Massage. I ended up deciding to sign up for a membership, so I get one discounted, full-body massage a month ($49, as opposed to $65), whenever I want it. My friends/family can get my discount too, so, yanno, if anyone wants to tag along at some point… :) But ohmygoshHEAVEN. I already can’t wait for next month!
Went and picked up Paul afterward and went shopping for stuff for dinner. Originally I’d thought it would be fun to do Indian-style foods, curry chicken, hummus and flat bread, that kinda thing. But, as Paul put it TL;DP (too lazy; didn’t prepare), and I decided I wanted something low-stress for my birthday anyway, since I was gonna do the cooking. Ended up deciding on my mom’s college-style chicken parmesan — Chicken fingers from Publix deli (in this case, 2lbs, since I was feeding 5 people), Prego sauce (Roasted Garlic & Parmesan this time ’round), and a ton of mozzarella. Poured the entire jar in an even layer in a glass caserole dish, spread cheese on top of that, then pressed the chicken fingers on top and covered them with most of the rest of the cheese. I wanted to try throwing the noodles in there underneath it all, but the dish wouldn’t have been nearly big enough :p But I baked that at 350° for 15 minutes, checked it, then threw it back in for another 8. It came out perfectly, all melty cheese, with a little crisp around the edges. I ended up making way too many noodles, and some of them stuck, but overall they were okay, and we had toasty garlic bread to go with it. *om nom nom nom* Very tasty! I still have a ton of dessert-y leftovers, since I had the key lime cheesecake work got me, and we picked up a small red velvet cake, and carrot cake, and Mang (Ben) brought an apple tray and strawberries O.o
But yeah, so Ryan and Malorie, and Mang, and me and Paul all hung out at my place. I think that’s probably only the second time I’ve ever had more than three people total at anywhere that I considered “my place.” It was pretty awesome. We watched tv and Fido, which is still awesome, even if you’ve already seen it :D There may or may not have been underwear at some point during the night >.>
Sunday, I slept in some, and went to Paul’s niece’s birthday party with him for grilled burgers, and hot dogs, and cake. Another Taurus to add to the pool (albeit a mini-Taurus for the time being :) ). Then pretty much just hung out at my place for the rest of the evening.
This has been a great weekend, and a great birthday. Thanks to everyone who helped make it that way :D