Whirlwind November: Part 1

Novembers are a busy time of year for me; not only are there Christmas gifts to start shopping for and Thanksgiving preparations to make, but I also have several important birthdays to celebrate - my dear friend Deb's, Benjamin's dear friend Nolan's, and - let's not forget - my own! For as long as I can remember, my birthday often got lost in the hub-bub of Thanksgiving, but it seems to have diminished even more since Benjamin came on the scene. Not that I'm complaining - I'm often so exhausted that the very idea of staying out past nine PM to celebrate what amounts to an arbitrary personal holiday makes me yawn. But still, I figure that once Baby #2 arrives, my birthday might just up and disappear altogether, so this year, I did it up!
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The night before my actual birthday, four of my closest girlfriends - Sheila, Yvonne, Julie, and Deb - took me out for a surprise night on the town. We started out with dinner at a nice Italian restaurant in downtown Culver City where they unveiled their first surprise - an itty-bitty, adorable baby-sized dress form! It was a group gift from the four ladies, plus my friends Grace and Holly who couldn't be there. With it, I could easily craft clothes for my new baby girl or even for my Lileeloo Designs line. Thank you so much, ladies!

After dinner came the big surprise - tickets to see the hottest new movie on its opening night:

Whoa, whoa, wait... Where did that poster come from? I meant to show this poster:

There, that's better. That first poster looks like it should be for a very different sort of movie called "Nude Moon." And judging from the delirious screaming teenyboppers in the packed theater, that might have been preferable! I'll cop to doing a bit of shrieking myself, but only because of the fantastic special effects and plotline. Taylor Lautner is cute, but let's be honest... he's no Vince Chan!

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Speaking of my beloved, I nearly forgot to mention that he swept me away for a romantic birthday dinner a deux a few nights before! He had returned from work that evening to find me in my usual harried state - waddling around in sweats trying to pick up toys and straighten up the place while muddling over what to cook for dinner. Imagine how surprised I was when he told me that our friends Deb and George would be coming over to watch Benjamin so he could take me out to dinner!

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Imagine how much more surprised I was when he told me they would be there in three minutes. Luckily, my mommy autopilot setting switched on, and I was able to prepare Benjamin's dinner, lay out his PJs, tidy up the place a bit, change into a dress, put my hair up, and slap on some makeup by the time they arrived. Dinner was wonderful, and it was great to get away.

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On my actual birthday, we had a dinner with Vince's family and his Auntie Viola. Auntie Vi was going to be celebrating her 80th birthday at the end of December, and to commemorate the occasion, she was traveling about visiting family. We enjoyed steak at restaurant in Long Beach, and then headed back to Vince's sister's Adele's house afterwards to open gifts and eat cake.

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We wrapped up my weekend of birthday revelry with a casual get-together at our place. We ordered take-out from our favorite local Hawaiian restaurant and shared a mellow dinner with friends. And the grown-ups weren't the only ones doing the sharing - Benjamin and Nolan got into the sharing spirit as well! They shared everything from toys to fire engine rides to potty time:

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And thus ended my perfect birthday weekend. I really couldn't have asked for anything more. I got time with friends and family, good food and wine, a night out with the girls, and a great movie - not to mention a dark-haired, hunky guy to moon over!