My Sister, the Birthday Whore

Yesterday was my sister, Sar’s, birthday and she was CRAZY. Why, you ask? Well let’s start the list:

1. She thinks everyone has to stop everything because it is HER day….ummm hello? Some people have to work.

2. She thinks she doesn’t get a day, but a whole month…..yea right. Everyone knows that only Christmas babies (AKA me) get a whole month to celebrate their birthdays!

3. She refuses to share birthday celebrations with her Hubby. We ALREADY had birthday bash this weekend…but it was for her Hubby, which means we have to have another birthday bash exclusively for her. CRAZY.

4. Lastly because I get these kinds of emails from her, while at work:

(Clearly, she is delusional and clearly she left off the list the BEST part: ALCOHOL)

So I wanted a healthy dinner tonight. – Chopped salad
Spinach salad
boiled eggs
peppers
cucumbers
cilantro
turkey bacon (i think we have some)
grapes
walnuts
Gorgonzola cheese – or the smoked Gouda chopped up in it.
olives
artichokes
rotisserie chicken – we should just buy and cut some of the flavorful chicken in the salad – yum
good salad dressing – I really want the cilantro dressing from trader joe’s – maybe i’ll run by and pick some up on my way home.
And anything else good you can think of to add
french bread with olive oil (we have the olive oil)

It’s Beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

I twisted Hubby’s arm tonight and made him take me out to find my special, tall, huge, pine-smelling, as big as possible, most perfect birthday/Christmas tree. Let me tell you, he wasn’t terribly excited because as fate would have it the first place we stopped at was probably the most expensive place for trees we have ever been to. I mean you would think these trees must have come with a little snow on the branches for the prices they were asking….we saw trees that were well over 191 dollars. Yes, dollars, folks. And then….. I saw it! The. Most. Perfect. Tree. Undeniable, it was love at first sight, but again as fate would have it, DEFINATELY not in our price range. I even tried to haggle…it is my birthday tree…but to no avail. The price tag on this tree: $102. Again, NOT in our price range for something that would eventually end up in the trash, and Hubby told me I was being ridiculous as I pouted by my LOVER tree (secretly I knew he was right….but a girl can’t help which tree she falls in love with).  Here is me with my sad face and my first tree love:

Love at first sight, but WAY outta the price range...

But, I am glad I listened to Hubby (sometimes that boy is smart) and I am way to emotional when it comes to my special, most perfect-birthday tree. Luckily, we passed a tree lot admist our hunt, with the PERFECT (and affordable) tree! We found it in less than 5 minutes AND guess how much it was for a 9 foot tree? $100? $75? $50? Keep guessing…

Our perfect Tree!

Cost of our perfect tree $39.95! HELLO! How amazing…see that Hubby is smart, who knew! We snatched it up and now it is resting in warm sugar water in our living room. I quickly called Sar, who also ran out to purchase one…what a deal! I am so happy with my special, beautiful, pine smelling, large birthday tree! I am ready to go grab my pillows and sleep under it all night. Me and my birthday tree will have sweet dreams tonight! (Background note: I have this weird thing with NEEDING to sleep under or very near my birthday tree…for as long as I can remember, my mom has found me sleeping near the tree)

What a good hubby for getting me my tree! I am officially in the Holiday spirit now!
Tree, you complete me! 🙂

O, Christmas Tree…O, Christmas Tree….

First off, you should know that Christmas is my most favorite time of the year! Not only was it the birth of yours truly, but it was also my time to pick out the biggest, most beautiful Christmas tree ever….ok, well I grew up being able to pick out my own tree. The birthday tree! (BTW—for the longest time I really did believe that everyone got to pick out a tree on their birthday.) Later on, I realized this not to be so. A little disappointing really….kinda like finding out there is no Santa. So, I LOVE picking out Christmas Trees!

Last year we had the MOST.FUN.EVER cutting down our very own Christmas tree! We brewed up some amazing makers mark cider, layered on lots of clothes, and headed out with friends to chop down our very own tree. It was so much fun. We picked the PHATest tree ever…it was awesome! I loved it.

Now that we live in AZ—I was hoping we would be able to do this again. You know, head up North, find the perfect tree…etc. Well, first I was laughed at and then I was told you have to have a permit in AZ. Not to have my dreams dissolve rapidly by Scrooge, I went online to verify….tis true, and you had to have a permit filed way back in May or so.

Hence, my dreams of sugar plum fairies dancing, Maker Mark Cider and Dr. Seuss Trees were catapulted out of my head and in came: Charlie Brown Christmas Tree…..is this what it has come to? Say it ain’t so….