Monday, January 28, 2008

Birthday Week

So, I turned thirty this week. And I didn't really think I would care, but, man, there is something about not being "in my 20's" anymore that just feels so life redefining. Not necessarily in a bad way, I don't think. But I've definitely been introspective this week.

That didn't stop me from having fun, though. It started last Sunday with a big, family, combo birthday party for me and Jer (whose birthday was in December). We managed to convince Jeremy's extended family that, since it was a birthday party for us, they should all travel outside of their normal five-mile-radius stomping ground to have the party at our house. It was fun to have everyone down here, and it was a great motivator to get the house thoroughly cleaned. I wore myself almost completely out, but it certainly felt good to get it all done.

Wednesday was my actual birthday, as well as our regular Wednesday night gaming group. Erin made hot roast beef sandwiches (one of my all-time favorites), and Rachel made an amazingly rich chocolate-raspberry cake. Rachel also gave my character a lovely surprise birthday gift in the form of her first kiss with the non-player character she has fallen in love with. I know it's only imaginary, but it left me on cloud nine.

So, to finish off a nice, long birthday week, I decided to throw together a last-minute birthday party with my non-family and non-gamer friends for Sunday night. I shot off a quick email to a bunch of friends, and invited a few more people that I didn't have email addresses for in church on Sunday morning. The lovely thing with last-minute parties is that there isn't nearly as much pressure for everything to be perfect, and I'm not nearly as disappointed if no one ends up coming. The house was still relatively clean from last weekend, so getting ready consisted mostly of taking a nap. And thawing out frozen pizza dough. At least a dozen people ended up coming, which was really awesome considering the short notice. We had lots of fun, even if we did only end up playing a couple of games (I won at Settlers, while those with less patience for tiles firmly established that they were, indeed, smarter than the DVD-game version of a fifth grader). And everyone left fairly early, which might have disappointed a younger me, but the old lady who had to get up for work at 4:00 the next morning appreciated it.

Unfortunately, between the three parties, there were at least three cakes, and at least half of each remains. I might just need to throw another party, and call it the "Please Eat My Cake Before I Eat it All and Get Fat; My Aging Metabolism Can't Handle All This Sugar" party. You'd come to that, right?

6 comments:

timollie said...

hellz yeah, i'll come back for more cake - just say the word :)

Unknown said...

I'd totally eat your cake, alas your fridge is a bit too long of a haul for me right now...

Susie said...

I totally understand what you mean about turning 30. This year marks the big 30 for me and as much as I look forward to entering my thirties, I will miss my twenties.

Anonymous said...

And what will I think when I'm TWICE YOUR AGE?? I'll just quote my boss, "It's only a number". And that's how to approach getting older....you're really only as old as you feel....sometimes that's young, and other times, well, that's just life!!!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday, Jule Ann! I'm glad you had a good week of it. I have fond memories of your fifteenth birthday (or was it 16?) when we went toboganning by the Museum of Science and Tech and then off to McDonald's. And we thought we were so incongruously and delightfully childish and playful then...
lots of love,
Katie.

Anonymous said...

I well remember that birthday, too, Katie! All you "big kids" squeezing into the caboose!! You were all in Grade 9.
Jule Ann had lots of neat birthday parties....
One of my favourites was when she asked her friends and families to join us at Mooney's Bay on July 23rd for a 6 month party, the only way she could celebrate in the summer!! Then there was the homemade pinata....and so on!!