How to Celebrate a Birthday

*We're playing a game today - read to the end of the post for details. Basically - it's Guess How Old Aunt LoLo is Day!)

First off, I probably ought to just admit...it's my birthday today! I was born on a chilly Thanksgiving Day...a while ago, at 4 in the afternoon. Yes, the doctor was just thrilled that he got to miss his Turkey AND his football. Perhaps that is why he then placed my mother in a recovery room...shared with a chainsmoker?

Anyhow, seeing as today is my birthday, I now consider myself an expert in all matters celebratory. Carry on.

(Opening a gift from GuGu, Lo Gung's sister)

We began our festivities last night. BBJ took it upon herself to skip her afternoon nap, replacing it with an hour and a half of screaming/crying/cajoling/scratching at the door/asking for the Tinkerbell, in turns. I relented, removed her from her room to the car, and took off on an afternoon of errands.

We visited the bank, filled the car up with gas, and then got ourselves over to Costco. (There was absolutely no chicken in the house when Lo Gung offered to cook dinner on Tuesday night - he very nearly recanted his offer, as he is unskilled in the use of any other protein. This was a dire situation, you must understand - it was the first time an offer of this nature has been extended in quite a while. I will never let the freezer run out of chicken again!)
(See how helpful she is?)
Just as we pulled into the Costco parking lot, I looked back and saw BBJ's eyes cross...droop...and finally, close. I let her sleep for half an hour, until I could no longer feel my toes (it gets chilly here, y'all!), and decided we'd best be getting inside the store, where the heat was on!
(Woohoo! GuGu got us Enchanted!)

Of course, my reasons weren't entirely temperature related - I received my birthday card from Ma and Da (that would be Lo Gung's parents) earlier in the week, and with it...my "laih si" (lucky red envelope...with cash inside!) I had been eyeing some beautiful fur lined boots the week before and was determined to get my feet into a pair by Thanksgiving. (I was right, y'all - they are divine!)
(Are those, or are those NOT the largest glue sticks you have EVER seen?! That's 5 lbs of 12" long glue sticks! You ought to see the gun that uses them - I swear I could rebuild Brooklyn Bridge with it!)



We finished our shopping and came home...only to be regaled by an encore of BBJ's previous performance. "I want teenybell! I want tanny! I want teenybell! I want tanny!" (For those of you lacking the gift of tongues, I will translate: I want Tinkerbell! I want Candy!)
(The stork in the back is my newest addition - this is my first time being pregnant on my birthday, and I've been eyeing that little stork since I got pregnant with BBJ.)


I turned on "teenybell" and heated up dinner for Lo Gung and myself. This is where I get naughty, y'all - I didn't call BBJ for dinner. I mean, I called her...when I was almost done eating...but she didn't respond, and I didn't press the matter. (Yes, I'm well aware that I'm rotting my daughter's brain...but, seriously? She would never agree to sit and watch a movie until after her second birthday! I'm RELISHING the silence!!!! Besides, half of her movies are in Cantonese, so I consider it educational. Maybe it will fix the awful accent she's learned from me!) Thus passed my Birthday Date with my husband - reheated leftovers, and a baby glued to a Disney movie. Sounds good to me!
(When Daddy gets craft supplies for his baby, he doesn't scrimp on SIZE! Any doubt as to who purchased the glue gun for me, now? ;-) He's a self-professed Amazon Menace! I received no fewer than THREE packages from the man.)


(Never fear - the kid ate nearly an entire pouch of Top Ramen and then passed out for the night. I'd never put her to bed hungry - I'm not that stupid! She'd only wake me up four hours later demanding who-knows-what!)

This morning, Lo Gung treated me to a quiet outing by myself. He's genius - seriously. He made me an appointment with the dentist. A brutal, scrape-it-out, stick-this-thing-up-your-gums-and-measure dentist...and there you have it! A morning all to myself!

Afterwards, we all went out to a Chinese-Japanese restaurant for lunch. (No, they do not have any purely-one-type-of-Asian restaurants here. I have no idea why! This one served decent Chinese and Japanese food...all cooked by men and women fluent in Mandarin.) I had a bento box with rice, miso soup, salad, california rolls, shu mai, and some little broiled rolls of chicken, scallions and carrots. BBJ tried everything in my box - that's why I got it. ;-) Lo Gung had Moo Goo Gai Pan. (That'd be carrots, mushrooms and slices of chicken.)

Afterwards, we thought BBJ would enjoy helping me open my presents. (Woohoo! My favorite part!) She helped as much as we could...and dissolved into a teary, screaming mass, at which point, we assumed it was time for her nap, and acted accordingly.

Some presents that you didn't see in the pictures - Joy of Cooking (my father's all-time favorite go-to cookbook), Baking by Dorie Greenspan (TWDers...I may not join you every Tuesday, but at least NOW I can bake up some TWD goodness for myself!), a new pillow, embroidered dish towels and a new cookbook from my sister, in the Semi-Homemade style - PERFECT for a soon-to-be mother of two!)

(She didn't come in the box...but I did threaten to ship her OUT in it! Grandma, look for a large box on your doorstep. Don't worry - I'll send it express. If you have chocolate, top ramen, cheese, orange juice and plenty of movies on hand...you should be fine until you bring her back when her brother is born next month.)

The afternoon is an open page...but BBJ is asleep, I've almost finished this blog post for today...and I have some Thanksgiving baking to do!

Ooh - let's play a game: Leave a comment and guess how old I am. This is kind of like that show, Ten Years Younger...only I don't get a makeover at the end, and I won't cry if you tell me I look 52. So, leave your comment...and guess away! (Wonder Woman, you are INELIGIBLE, as everyone already knows you're my twin...and it's your "hot dooday" too!)