Best birthday E~V~E~R.
I knew Janice was planning something for me. She had told me that much. I had no idea, however, that she was going to give me my best birthday ever. Hands down. And that is no small statement; I have had some pretty kick butt parties in the past. As a matter of fact, I told Janice that not only was it my best birthday ever... but quite possibly, my best day ever. Yes, it was THAT good.
Think I'm kidding? Read more here!The day started off with me sleeping my lazy butt in until 9am. Janice got up with the kids and let me snooze for some much needed beauty sleep. I had been out until 2am the night before on a bachelor party with a friend (and then I blogged for about thirty minutes when I got home!). So I was whooped.
Anyhow, I woke up to find that Janice was looking gorgeous. She was wearing a nice pair of jeans, and a new blouse and scarf that looked great together. I knew we were in for a special day! After I got dressed, I came out to the living room to find my mother-in-law was there ready to take care of our little ones. I was surprised when my wife called for our little boy to jump in the car with us. "Huh? Are we going to take him to Disneyland or something?" I thought to myself. For months I had been talking about how I wanted to take him to Disneyland.
The three of us took off, leaving my mother-in-law and little girl behind. We hopped in the car and my wife told me to get out of the driver's seat. SHE was taking me somewhere. Nice.
So we head down the freeway to the critical junction. If she goes left, we are heading to SF. If she went straight, maybe the airport. But... she didn't do EITHER. She got off the freeway! I really was genuinely surprised. Janice has tried to surprise me in the past, but has never really been able to pull it off. This time, she had me guessing. I knew there was a casino downtown, but that didn't make sense b/c my little three year old was with us. I thought, "Maybe we are meeting some people down here and then..." ??? I had no idea. I'll just be honest.
As she parked the car and started walking toward the Restaurant, I read the sign: "The Hukilau" I opened the door to the Hawaiian eatery and saw a good sized group of some of my favorite folks. Approximately twelve friends and family of mine joined us for a wonderful Surprise Party Breakfast. It was great. Everybody was wearing pirate stuff (my son's favorite). He thought he had died and gone to heaven. Eye patches, hats, and pirate flags for everybody. Arrrrrgh Matey!
"Drive us to San Fran," she said.
"Ok. Where should I exit?" I asked.
"Just shutup and get us there. Wake me up when we are close and I'll tell you where to go. Don't try to get me to tell you anything 'cause it ain't gonna' happen."
Nice job babe!
On we drove until we got to the wonderful city of San Francisco. It was a classic winter day on the bay. Foggy. A bit of a chill. People EVERYWHERE. Tons and Tons of people. Umbrellas. Police men directing traffic. Steam coming up from the manhole. I was so overwhelmed with everything that I stuck my phone out of my car and snapped this photo. Ain't that just a cool scene?!
I was settling in to the room just about to get under the covers to grab a quick nap since it had really started pouring outside. Janice pulled out a card for me. I assumed it was just a little birthday card, but upon opening it up I found a wonderful poem written by my beloved! How thoughtful and loving! With her permission... here it is:
Sundays. I had never heard of this show and I was still excited. I figured we would see a great stand up comedy act by one of comedy's best ever. Turns out 700 Sundays is nothing like a stand up comedy act. It was a moving, dramatic, one-man cast production. Of course it was funny. But it was so much more than that. Great review here if you are interested. The show was a matinee; the second to last performance of the San Francisco tour stop. The show was perfect. It had both of us sniffling and holding back the tears and at other times laughing until it hurt. It was maaahhhvelous. Simply mahvelous. (Thats how theatre going people give compliments about a show.)
After the show we strolled back to the hotel and just hung out in the room drifting off to sleep until about 8:30pm when it was time to head downstairs to a night of feasting. Janice had set up reservations at Asia De Cuba, the famous restaurant housed within the hotel. It was AMAZING. We started our meal with some amazing Potstickers cooked two ways. Three of them were steamed and served in a bowl of a wonderful ginger soy sauce. And three of them were fried with another version of the same sauce drizzled over the top. Yum. Next came a second appetizer: grilled chicken skewered on to lemongrass chutes. It was served with some great bbq grilled pineapple (normally I HATE the stuff, but this was so fresh and perfectly ripe it was awesome). ... Along with the appetizers we grubbed on some bamboo wrapped sticky rice. Our entree came a little while later; a marinated cut of skirtsteak. Oh man, this food was to die for, I'm telling you. All the while I was just marveling at my wife. How thoughtful she was in planning all of this. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Janice and I asked for the dessert menu after our main course. But not long after, our waiter surprised us with two glasses of dessert wine. My mom had called in and gave both of us a treat! Thanks Mom! I downed the wine... only to find our waiter return with a HUGE plate of dessert. This thing would have been too much for six people, let alone two. We did our best to eat it and made some good headway. (of course, I probably gained six pounds in doing so... ) Thanks again Momma!
As we ate our dinner, we started chatting with the couple next to us. They were in their late 50's. A cute Iranian couple. We talked about everything from business (he was a property manager), to kids (she kept telling Janice not to leave our kids with babysitters EVER), and politics (I just HAD to ask their opinion on the Iranian president, who they hate by the way). It was pretty enjoyable. Ultimately, we asked the husband to take a photo of us. We just about bust a gut when we watched him point the camera and click the button only to have the flash go off in his face! He had it backwards! Hilarious. All four of us just about died of laughter. Oh yeah... this picture is definately a KEEPER.
Afterwards we hit the streets for about an hour or so walking through Union Square. We stopped and listened to some activists who where using a megaphone and flyers to spread the word that immigrants have rights too. I felt bad for them... it was raining and hardly anybody was sticking around to listen to them. I figured that was the least I could do. Plus, I have some pretty strong opinions regarding the importance of upholding our borders. So Janice humored me and we stopped and listened. The more they talked though, the more fired up I got. They were all for legalizing the thousands of illegal immigrants here in the US because they had rights damn it. "We pay taxes... are those illegal too?" they shouted. I soooo wanted to start talking with them about it all. I mean sure, its a great idea to legalize those who are already here. But what then? How about five years later? Legalzie the next wave? And then what does that say to the people who are trying to work through the system to get in? Janice said, "Heck no I'm not translating for you. I don't want them to think that I agree with your crazy beliefs about the border!" ... gotta love a woman like that, ya know? I assured her she could tell whoever we talked to that she disagreed with everything I had to say. But the opportunity never presented itself. Poor activists could hardly keep their signs from blowing over, let alone try to have a discussion about thing, 'cause the wind and rain was coming down so hard. "Maybe there is a God afterall" I thought to myself. hehe... kidding. We grabbed a flyer waived goodbye, and called immigration. hehe... LOL. Ok, man I must be getting tired. I'm seriously laughing at my own blogging. Thats sad.
Anyhow. What next...
Janice and I shared some great conversation that morning as we drove back home. It was another one of those heart to heart moments that are both gut wrenching and relationship building. We laughed and cried together the whole way home. I popped in a CD that I had made a while back that has some love songs on it. I told her I was dedicating a song to her. I started crying like a little baby about half way through as I held hands with my wife. What a woman. What a friend.
Think I'm kidding? Read more here!The day started off with me sleeping my lazy butt in until 9am. Janice got up with the kids and let me snooze for some much needed beauty sleep. I had been out until 2am the night before on a bachelor party with a friend (and then I blogged for about thirty minutes when I got home!). So I was whooped.
Anyhow, I woke up to find that Janice was looking gorgeous. She was wearing a nice pair of jeans, and a new blouse and scarf that looked great together. I knew we were in for a special day! After I got dressed, I came out to the living room to find my mother-in-law was there ready to take care of our little ones. I was surprised when my wife called for our little boy to jump in the car with us. "Huh? Are we going to take him to Disneyland or something?" I thought to myself. For months I had been talking about how I wanted to take him to Disneyland.
The three of us took off, leaving my mother-in-law and little girl behind. We hopped in the car and my wife told me to get out of the driver's seat. SHE was taking me somewhere. Nice.
So we head down the freeway to the critical junction. If she goes left, we are heading to SF. If she went straight, maybe the airport. But... she didn't do EITHER. She got off the freeway! I really was genuinely surprised. Janice has tried to surprise me in the past, but has never really been able to pull it off. This time, she had me guessing. I knew there was a casino downtown, but that didn't make sense b/c my little three year old was with us. I thought, "Maybe we are meeting some people down here and then..." ??? I had no idea. I'll just be honest.
As she parked the car and started walking toward the Restaurant, I read the sign: "The Hukilau" I opened the door to the Hawaiian eatery and saw a good sized group of some of my favorite folks. Approximately twelve friends and family of mine joined us for a wonderful Surprise Party Breakfast. It was great. Everybody was wearing pirate stuff (my son's favorite). He thought he had died and gone to heaven. Eye patches, hats, and pirate flags for everybody. Arrrrrgh Matey!
I received some nice, thoughtful cards from several people and even some cool gifts! (I thought when I hit about twenty years old I stopped getting gifts. But not this year.) One card I received made me laugh out loud the minute I saw it. Made me think of MyFaith. hehe...
"Drive us to San Fran," she said.
"Ok. Where should I exit?" I asked.
"Just shutup and get us there. Wake me up when we are close and I'll tell you where to go. Don't try to get me to tell you anything 'cause it ain't gonna' happen."
Nice job babe!
On we drove until we got to the wonderful city of San Francisco. It was a classic winter day on the bay. Foggy. A bit of a chill. People EVERYWHERE. Tons and Tons of people. Umbrellas. Police men directing traffic. Steam coming up from the manhole. I was so overwhelmed with everything that I stuck my phone out of my car and snapped this photo. Ain't that just a cool scene?!
I was settling in to the room just about to get under the covers to grab a quick nap since it had really started pouring outside. Janice pulled out a card for me. I assumed it was just a little birthday card, but upon opening it up I found a wonderful poem written by my beloved! How thoughtful and loving! With her permission... here it is:
Life without you
Life without you would be dark and gloomy like Sacramento in
December.
Life without you would be hollow and dank like a tree infested
with termites.
Life without you would be cold and we like some nights of
Survivor in Guatemala.
Life without you would be lonely and sad like an alcoholic
without his family on Christmas Day.
Life without you would be empty and void like the universe
before it was given its stars and planets.
Life without you would be colorless and blank like our son's
coloring books before the Crayons.
Life without you would be mindless and moronic like the slap
stick comedies that we love.
Life without you would hardly be worth living.
Thank you for being my best friend in this life.
Happy Birthday!
Sundays. I had never heard of this show and I was still excited. I figured we would see a great stand up comedy act by one of comedy's best ever. Turns out 700 Sundays is nothing like a stand up comedy act. It was a moving, dramatic, one-man cast production. Of course it was funny. But it was so much more than that. Great review here if you are interested. The show was a matinee; the second to last performance of the San Francisco tour stop. The show was perfect. It had both of us sniffling and holding back the tears and at other times laughing until it hurt. It was maaahhhvelous. Simply mahvelous. (Thats how theatre going people give compliments about a show.) After the show we strolled back to the hotel and just hung out in the room drifting off to sleep until about 8:30pm when it was time to head downstairs to a night of feasting. Janice had set up reservations at Asia De Cuba, the famous restaurant housed within the hotel. It was AMAZING. We started our meal with some amazing Potstickers cooked two ways. Three of them were steamed and served in a bowl of a wonderful ginger soy sauce. And three of them were fried with another version of the same sauce drizzled over the top. Yum. Next came a second appetizer: grilled chicken skewered on to lemongrass chutes. It was served with some great bbq grilled pineapple (normally I HATE the stuff, but this was so fresh and perfectly ripe it was awesome). ... Along with the appetizers we grubbed on some bamboo wrapped sticky rice. Our entree came a little while later; a marinated cut of skirtsteak. Oh man, this food was to die for, I'm telling you. All the while I was just marveling at my wife. How thoughtful she was in planning all of this. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Janice and I asked for the dessert menu after our main course. But not long after, our waiter surprised us with two glasses of dessert wine. My mom had called in and gave both of us a treat! Thanks Mom! I downed the wine... only to find our waiter return with a HUGE plate of dessert. This thing would have been too much for six people, let alone two. We did our best to eat it and made some good headway. (of course, I probably gained six pounds in doing so... ) Thanks again Momma!
As we ate our dinner, we started chatting with the couple next to us. They were in their late 50's. A cute Iranian couple. We talked about everything from business (he was a property manager), to kids (she kept telling Janice not to leave our kids with babysitters EVER), and politics (I just HAD to ask their opinion on the Iranian president, who they hate by the way). It was pretty enjoyable. Ultimately, we asked the husband to take a photo of us. We just about bust a gut when we watched him point the camera and click the button only to have the flash go off in his face! He had it backwards! Hilarious. All four of us just about died of laughter. Oh yeah... this picture is definately a KEEPER.
Afterwards we hit the streets for about an hour or so walking through Union Square. We stopped and listened to some activists who where using a megaphone and flyers to spread the word that immigrants have rights too. I felt bad for them... it was raining and hardly anybody was sticking around to listen to them. I figured that was the least I could do. Plus, I have some pretty strong opinions regarding the importance of upholding our borders. So Janice humored me and we stopped and listened. The more they talked though, the more fired up I got. They were all for legalizing the thousands of illegal immigrants here in the US because they had rights damn it. "We pay taxes... are those illegal too?" they shouted. I soooo wanted to start talking with them about it all. I mean sure, its a great idea to legalize those who are already here. But what then? How about five years later? Legalzie the next wave? And then what does that say to the people who are trying to work through the system to get in? Janice said, "Heck no I'm not translating for you. I don't want them to think that I agree with your crazy beliefs about the border!" ... gotta love a woman like that, ya know? I assured her she could tell whoever we talked to that she disagreed with everything I had to say. But the opportunity never presented itself. Poor activists could hardly keep their signs from blowing over, let alone try to have a discussion about thing, 'cause the wind and rain was coming down so hard. "Maybe there is a God afterall" I thought to myself. hehe... kidding. We grabbed a flyer waived goodbye, and called immigration. hehe... LOL. Ok, man I must be getting tired. I'm seriously laughing at my own blogging. Thats sad.
Anyhow. What next...
Janice and I shared some great conversation that morning as we drove back home. It was another one of those heart to heart moments that are both gut wrenching and relationship building. We laughed and cried together the whole way home. I popped in a CD that I had made a while back that has some love songs on it. I told her I was dedicating a song to her. I started crying like a little baby about half way through as I held hands with my wife. What a woman. What a friend.
Right Down the Line - Gerry RaffertyThanks for everything babe. You gave me the best birthday present I've ever received. And you loved me in a new and wonderful way that I've never been loved before. You are an amazing person and I'm happy to share this thing called life with you!
You know I need your love,
You got that hold over me
Long as I got your love, You know that I'll never leave
When I wanted you to share my life, I had no doubt in my mind
And it's been you, woman,
right down the line
I know how much I lean on you,
Only you can see
Changes that I've been true, Have left there mark on me
You've been as constant as the northern star, The brightest light that shines
It's been you, woman, right down the line
I just wanna say this is my way
Of telling you everything, I could never say before
Yeah this is my way of telling you that everyday, I'm loving you so much more
Cause you believed in me through my darkest night
Put something better inside of me,
You brought me into the light
Threw away all those crazy dreams, I put them all behind
And it was you, woman, right down the line
I just wanna say this is my way
Of telling you everything, I could never say before
Yeah this is my way of telling you that everyday, I'm loving you so much more
If I should doubt myself, If I'm losing ground
I wont turn to someone else, They'd only let me down
When I wanted you to share my life, I had no doubt in my mind
And it's been you, woman, right down the line
posted by Miroslav at 12:49 PM
5 Comments:
Woo-hoo, Girl, you're my kind of good-time planning woman! Gold in heaven for this one, for sure!
That's my sister-in-law :) She knows her man. Good job, girl. May the Lord bless you for blessing your husband...!
yes yes... what a woman indeed. Auntie Lamb, what the heck are you doing up at 4am?!!?!?!
Eireann, Thanks for the compliments! ... one clarification: I'm NOT a xenophobe when it comes to little green martians. Just want to be clear on that.
Rhonda,
yeah we are working to keep progressing in our TrueLuv thing. Its a wonderful blessing to enjoy life with my wonderful woman... but she would be the first to agree with me when I say its also a lot of work! :)
By the way, I am such a dork, I failed to mention in my original post that my wife got us FRONT ROW TICKETS! We were collecting germs straight from the saliva right out of Billy Crystal's mouth! How cool is that?!
You noticed...I think it was the pear white tea at dinner and then the overheating waterbed heater (waterbeds are miserable when either too cold or too hot). When all ya do is lie in bed and wonder if you should get up, maybe you should get up after at least an hr of that kind of activity. Besides, wanted to be the first to see the latest on the blog.
Post a Comment
<< Home