BDBC updates and a confession.

Check it: when it comes to blogging or snuggling with my girl, guess who always wins? Anyway, that's why we're lacking BDBC updates around here. I would say I'm sorry but I'm totally not. Harper's recently started smiling and it's all I can do to look away from her sweet face.

Days 2 and 3 updates: I got treats! and cards! and pizza!

...and tonight, I'm running away for a pedicure and (wait for it) ... crazy hair experiments.

That's right, I've lost my damn mind and I'm going to force my stylist do something like this tonight:

source

Yes, I'm (almost) 31 and I'm getting purple highlights. 1) Because I can. 2) Because I've always wanted to. and 3) Because if I hate them or they are terribly embarrassing I can hide in my house with Harper until I return to work in February. It's fine.

If I manage to shower and put on a speck of makeup tomorrow, you might get pictures. 

In unrelated news, since puppy chow is basically just cereal and peanut butter, it's TOTALLY acceptable to eat for breakfast, right? Mmmmmkk then.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

It's birthday bootcamp, bitches!

For day 1, I got a massage that never happened, the current issue of People magazine, and this card:

Joey thinks he's reeeaaaaaaaaaallly funny.

Oh, and regarding the massage...it will happen later this week; do not fret my pets. They are in the process of moving locations so all the appointment times got jacked up.

In unrelated news, this weekend Joey and I discovered something wonderful in the world of parenting that I can only assume all of you have known about all along and have simply been hiding it from me: INDOOR BOUNCE HOUSES. Um, hi. These places are remarkable. On Saturday when it was cold as balls and we were desperate to get Alex out of the house, I started searching online for something indoors that didn't include a pool, a McDonalds playplace or a Mall playland. Because swimsuits, SARS and righteous parents are not my jam.

It was the best $8 we've ever spent. We discovered a Bounce U location just a mere 5 miles from our house (but there are tons of different ones out there) and Alex adored it and was sweaty as a fat guy in a sauna after a mere 60 minutes of play. And better? Every other Friday night they have a "Parents' Night Out" where you can drop your kid off (and leave!) from 6-9 pm for $20. TWENTY DOLL HAIRS. That's nearly free and now I'm obsessed with owning an indoor bounce house place. Standby while I start Googling "how to own something" and also ask Joey how to purchase business-related injury insurance.

I'm 30. Now what?

I took the week of my birthday off, which legitimately might be a new tradition. I spent the week with friends, shopping, sleeping in, eating at fun places and most importantly, spending lots of time with Joey. He pampered me all week and quite frankly, it was bliss.

So, were did we leave off with BDBC? I believe it was Day 5.

Day 5
I got a sheet of mustache stickers because Joey is "stuck on me."

Day 6
A one hour massage. Bliss.

The actual day. Day 7.
Joey and I spent the day adventuring around town and I took this with me everywhere we went and filled it with deliciousness.

I'm pretty sure there's no real way to ease into or introduce the awesomeness that was my actual present. Therefore, I give you:

Yeap. That's what a girl gets for asking for "nothing big...let's keep it low key this year." I literally squealed like Justin Beiber when I opened them. Joey was very clever in his wrapping...it was a box in a box in a box and he weighted it down so I would be totally clueless. So tricksy, that Joey.

29 was not the greatest year for me if I'm honest. We had a lot to celebrate and were blessed in many, many wonderful ways that I will not overlook. But we also experienced our fair share of heartache and loss...so it's rather easy to click my heels and jump into 30 with a heart full of joy and excitement.

Thank you to everyone who made my day week so special. And especially to my very best, Joey, who always makes me feel special and loved...but especially in the last week of my 20s.

Here's to 30!

BDBC update.

This is going to be, like, the fastest post ever - and not because I don't care (which I do) but because dinner (that I did not cook) is coming out of the oven and my son (who I did, technically, cook) wants to play some monster trucks. So, you know, priorities.

Anyway, this has been theeee best BDBC yet. Joe and I have the week off, so I've been decorating, shopping, sleeping and eating like it's my job. And, coincidentally, if it were, I'd be awesome at it.

So the recap of the last few days of BDBC:

Day 1
The flowers, duh.

Day 2
A giant bag of baked Cheetos, aka my most favoritest snack on all the earth.

Day 3
Slime (and if you watch The Mindy Project, you will get it) because I'm "slime cool".

Also, I took an unexpected trip to Grand Rapids to see my favorite Sarah and Jason who brought me chocolate covered strawberries and a mimosa in bed. Yeah, I have the best friends, ever.

Day 4
The style issue of People magazine. He gets me. He so gets me.

So like I said, it's been the best. There is so much tinsel in my house it should be illegal, and also I should hit the last 5 food trucks in my 30 b4 30 quest tomorrow night.

And with that, I'm off to spread more holiday cheer. Smooches!

Two-fer!

Today is your lucky day! You get a two-fer post...because Birthday Bootcamp came a day early this year! (I told you 30 is going to be the bomb!)

I came into work this morning to find this:

Red Velvet cupcakes, a pink sparkly dancing moustache card (!!!), and two empty vases.

All day, and one-by-one, the vases have been filled with friends from work visiting, wishing me a happy birthday and each delivering one of 30 gerber daisies (my fave!). My Mom and Dad even showed up!!

And if you look closely, you can see I also had sushi for lunch. Like I said, best day (and best hubby) ever. Here's to the last week of my 20s!

Meh.

It seems that all over the blogosphere (at least the circles I run in), people are having a severe and spreading case of the writer's block blues. Someone must have sneezed in my general direction, 'cause I'm feeling it too. And not that there's a lack of things to write about--Alex is 3. He's practically a running monologue of hilariousness. I just log into blogger and I'm all "eh..." and proceed to do more reading than writing.

But here's the good news: Birthday bootcamp starts in TWO days. Well, one if you don't count today since it's technically half over. So I will soon have riveting and celebratory posts for you on the regular. (And secretly? Between you and me? Joey is "working from home" today, which I think is loosely translated into "shopping like a mad man for BDBC 2012.") Because, people? THIS IS A BIG ONE. Momma's turnin' the dirty thirty and I am wicked pumped about it.

I know some girls get all down in the dumps and mopey-dopey depressed about turning 30. Me? I say, "Bring it on!" because I'm pretty sure I'm pink puffy heart glitter sprinkle going to rock the shizz out of 30. Thirty and I are going to be good, good friends.

Meanwhile, while I work on getting my writing mojo back, I give you two of the cutest boys in the world:

Oh wait. I mean this. Yes, this:

Just another Thursday.

Birthday bootcamp is officially over...but what a week it was!

Let's recap Day 7, shall we? In a backwards twist, Joey actually took yesterday off work. He did all sorts of things that needed doing (groceries, car washes, etc.) and surprised me by putting up the Christmas lights at our house.

And sometime around 3 pm, he texted me this:

EEEEEE! I literally could not get my work done fast enough. I hightailed it home (but first went to the dentist because apparently I am a masochist and go to the dentist on my brithday) to tear that paper off!

And before I can tell you what was in the box, you need a little backstory.

About 3 months ago, I found a chair at HomeGoods that I absolutely ADORED. And we all know that when you find something at HomeGoods you MUST buy it right then and there for fear it might not be there upon return. I took a picture and texted it to Joey, who was hesitant because we don't have a ton of room to store things (I was in a buying mood for the new house - more on that later). However, I used my ninja skillz on him and he eventually gave in and I bought it.

I just adore it. (And also? Please note that it totally matches my Lill bag I made last time I was in Chicago. Who buys a chair to match a purse? --> thisgirl <--)

Fast forward to about a month ago, when I was in Connecticut. Imagine my delight, shock and awe when I waltzed into Pier 1 (of all places) and laid my eyes on this puppy:

GASP! A matching chair! But different enough style-wise to look totally awesome with my OTHER one! Obviously, I couldn't get it home from CT, but I could surely buy it once I got to Michigan, right? Wrong. The thought of buying and storing another chair for a house we won't move into until June (again, more on that later) sent my dear, sweet Joey into a tailspin. Men just don't get it.

Joey, on the other hand....did get it...eventually. And I'm guessing you can totally guess what was in the box, right? THE CHAIR FROM PIER 1! And the even better news is that he scoured the earth to find one still in the box so we can store it easily until June. Woooooooo!!!

In another twist, you should all know that when I texted my Mom last night in excitement re: the chair (since she was with me when I saw it in CT), her reply was, "Oh, how awesome! Do you have room for 2 of them?" Apparently, she got me one for Christmas. I love that my family gets me. A girl and her chairs...

Obviously.

29 is the new 21. Embrace it.

Birthday Boocamp update.

I suppose we left off at Day 2. So here's what we've been up to for 3-6.

Day 3: We were at my Mom's house for the weekend, so Alex delivered my spreesprises to me after breakfast. I got 2 fun size Pay Days and a cute pack of snowflake tealight holders. They go perfectly with my PartyLite Nativity scene!

Day 4: My favorite gift so far--he got me a pack of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail stickers. The coolest part is that he totally found them on his own! These things are SO cool--I didn't even know they existed. They are thin little "stickers" of REAL nailpolish in fun, cool designs like zebra, plaid, houndstooth and sparkles. He got me the pink ones, natch. They might be my new favorite thing - super durable and WAY easy to apply. And no waiting for real polish to dry...comes in handy with a toddler. They have fun holiday ones like snowflakes and candy cane stripes that I'm going to pick up tonight to use when this one wears off. And I guess you can just remove it like normal nailpolish - we shall see!

Day 5: Another delivery from Alex (he even drew/colored in all my cards!) - three yummy new chapsticks and 2 more Pay Days.

Day 6: This morning, my sweet boys delivered me 2 more Pay Days, a card, tons of smooches (my fave!) and a yummy candle.

I think everyone should celebrate Birthday Bootcamp. Maybe I could trademark it and make trillions? In the meantime, I will keep it all to myself.

Tomorrow I will be TWENTY NINE. OMG.

Day two.

This morning's spreesprises were strategically located near my keys, since I had to leave super early for lame meetings and other corporate shenanigans that help put Cheez-its in my cupboard and Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi in my fridge. Priorities, people. Anyway, I was the proud recipient of a new sunglasses clip for my car (since *cough*Joey*cough* broke my old one), 2 more Pay Days (note: they are fun size...makes me feel less guilty about the quantity consumed) and Yankee candle air fresheners. All very sweet and thoughtful things from my boys!

In related news, we're headed to my parents' house this weekend--spanning the bootcamp celebrations far and wide! #occupybirthdaybootcamp needs to start trending. Make it happen.

SUIT UP!

People, people, people! It's that time of year...

BIRTHDAY BOOTCAMP!

For my new readers or those with selective amnesia, birthday bootcamp is one, whole week of ME. Specifically, the week leading up to my birthday, one of the top 10 holidays in North America.

This morning, my card and spreesprises were waiting for me by the coffee pot (yes, I'm still going strong with the at-home morning brewing...). I got a new magnetic notecard for the fridge, a little "K" journal and 2 Pay Days from my boys. Then, at work, I got these:

Seven gerber daises. One for each of the days of BDBC. And pink!

A Day That Will Live In Infamy.

A poor historical reference, no?

Anyway, Happy Birthday to myself. Joey hit the grand slam today with a Vera makeup bag in the new Baroque pattern. J'Adore. My "signature" pattern is Peacock, but it has sadly been retired.

No epic plans for tonight...a quiet night at home my boys, pizza and a movie is all I need. However, on my list is the burning desire to try Rojo, a new Mexican restaurant in Rochester. Chips and salsa, I will meet you soon. And margaritas, natch.

With a hint of sadness, I bid BDBC 2010 and year 27 adieu. Onto 28 and 2011!!

Six.

This morning's spreesprise was placed on top of my makeup bag. Joe Van Resourceful got me new Studio Fix from MAC. It should be noted that his list this year consisted of...well, nothing. I didn't even give him one idea. Snaps for Joe! Oh, and my card is redeemable for a night of stress-relieving margaritas...aka, a designated driver.

And, it should also be noted that my parents pulled through and got me the Glee CD. IT IS SO AWESOMESAUCE I CAN'T EVEN STAND IT.

Tomorrow's the big day, kids. The big two eight. Eeeep!

Four, Five & The Fat Man.

The bar is now nearly unreachable. That's how high Joey has set it with his BDBC activities this year.

On day four my spreesprises were wrapped and hanging on the tree. They were little jingle bell ornaments with the names of each of my siblings on it--so they can be "with me" each year on Christmas. There was one for Alex, too. J'ADORE. (<---I'm learning that this is the new interwebs trend for the often overused "LOVE" sentiments. See? I'm cool!) My card is redeemable for a back massage....mmmm.

And this morning, Alex helped me open a garlic press! I know it sounds uncharacteristically domestic for me, but I've really wanted one for awhile. When I do cook, I like to use fresh garlic and I loathe chopping it. I get that weird, sticky feeling on my hands and they smell of garlic for at least a full day afterward. It's a unitasker, which Alton Brown strongly advises against, but I do not care. My card is redeemable for one late night food run. Fan-freakin-tastic. This man truly knows my heart.

In unrelated news, we took Alex to see the Fat Man yesterday. You might remember the tradition started last year of FREE pics at Bass Pro Shops? Well, we carried the torch proudly into 2010 and I must once again give mad props to the outdoorsy people @ BPS. The free activities for kids, snack bar, giveaways (Silly Bandz and candy canes) as well as the totally authentic Santa are just fantastic.

Without further adieu, here's the trepidatious AJ with the jolly ol' St. Nick. No tears, just a bit of apprehension and confusion.

Day Three.

'Ello, loves. Day three is turning out to be a fab little Friday.

It started with my card (redeemable for a trip to get ice cream) and spreesprise (this brush from MAC) from Joey. So far, his BDBC treats are exceeding all expectations. Yay for me.

The only thing that has potential to ruin this day is The New Guy nail clipper, who is currently misinterpreting the "trimmings" of the Christmas season AS HIS NAILS. You may recall that I previously outed him as a Friday afternoon clipper. Sometimes it's scary just how accurate I can be.

It Has Arrived.

Birthday Bootcamp is here! It technically started yesterday, but since I was travelling for work I didn't have time to update.

I was out the door by 5 a.m., but Joey left me a lovely present and card for Day 1. I got this Hallmark handprint ornament kit and can't wait to have a fun craft day with Alex and his wittle hands. I can also redeem a coupon in my card for one 10 minute foot massage!

Today's spreesprise was another lovely card (which I can redeem for one night of not picking, thinking about or cooking dinner!) and Starbucks Via of the Christmas Blend varie-tay. The best coffee, evah. I'm excited to see if the Via meets my standards.

I also still owe you pictures from Kelli and David's baby shower and a few pics of our of Christmas tree. My house has been infested by the Christmas garland monster. (and I love it!)

Respect The Turkey.

There are a few things that Joey has a very strong opinion on. No white socks with dark dress pants. The kitchen sink must always be clean. Phones clipped to belts look stupid. Saturn drivers are, in general, horrible. And Respect the Turkey.

And so, from today until Saturday, we will be respecting. I will respect until my pants are too tight and my eyes are heavy from tryptophan and Sam Adams. I will respect until I can respect no more. And then on Sunday, we're putting up the Christmas tree!

...and then do you know what happens like two days after that? Birthday Bootcamp!!!

Baby Jesus Birthday Bootcamp.

So my Mom texted me on Friday and said "Happy Baby Jesus Birthday Bootcamp!"

It took me a minute to get it...

So fun, right? So I decided that next year (and every year after) Joe, Alex and I will celebrate BJBDBC, too. I think it will be a fun tradition that helps to get back some of the Reason for the Season.

Birthday Bootcamp Savings.

You'll notice that the BDBC freebies list is gone. I've cashed in on all the ones I'm willing to do, but I wanted to document the list so that I can have a head start on my hunt for free crap in 2010. I'm so proactive it hurts.

- Burger @ Red Robin
- Blizzard @ Dairy Queen
- Earrings from Helzberg Diamonds
- $10 from Victoria's Secret
- $5 from DSW
- $10 from Old Navy
- Car Wash from JAX
- HERSHEY'S® Chocolate Dunkers™ from Pizza Hut
- Drink of Choice @ Caribou Coffee
- 'Make Your Own Creation' from Coldstone Creamery
- Ice Cream Cone @ Baskin Robbins
- Dinner @ BD's Mongolian Grill
- Burrito @ QDoba
- Custom Perfume & Hand Lotion from Aveda
- 1 Topping Pizza from Buddy's Pizza
- Shake & 2 Tacos from Del Taco
- $15 from The Limited
- $20 from Vera Bradley
- $3 from CVS Pharmacy
- Large soda from AMC Theaters
- Lip gloss trio from Sephora

For the math nerds of the group, the above represents over $180 in retail value. Basically, that is awesome. I cashed in on about $170 of it...schwing!

Consider the documentation of this list a birthday present to all my readers. Cheers, peeps.

...and speaking of my fabulous proactiveness, have I mentioned that all my Christmas shopping is done? And wrapped? Yes, you may hate me now.

27 Is SO Much Closer To 30.

Let's open today's post by exposing the Fatty McFatterson Elephant in the room: I'm now officially on the other half of the half between 25 and 30. Ugh.

Ahhh, well. I'll live it up while I can. In the meantime, let's recap last night, shall we?

As much as it pains me to do so, I will admit right out loud that I was incredibly wrong in my prediction of last night's plans. I thought we were going to the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Detroit. 1) Because it's where Joe proposed 2 years and 364 days ago (well, technically it was in front of the waterfall in the Compuware building...but details, details); 2) Because we make it a point to go back every year and have dinner there on the anniversary of our engagement; and 3) Because the tree downtown is lit and the skating rink is open for bizz-nass so it's like a magical winter wonderland of JOY! Have I mentioned my intense love of Christmas lately?

Anyway, as I was saying...I was wr--. I was wro--. I was wron--. I WAS WRONG, DAMNIT! That doesn't happen often, just so we're all on the same page.

We went to Kruse and Muer in downtown Rochester (sweet baby Jesus their food is amazing) and took a little stroll up and down Main Street to check out the amazing lights. For those that aren't familiar with what Rochester does at Christmas time, you must see the below photo I snapped with my cell:

I knoooooooow, right? It's so, so, so, so awesome. Now imagine every single building for about 5 blocks (and up and down the side streets) with lights like that - literally from the sidewalk to the top of each store. It's breaktaking.

Today is a sad day...it's the first day of no BDBC. But...Christmas is right around the corner. Chin up, little bear.