Happy Birthday to me!

I woke up at 5:30 AM on my birthday. I started a pot of coffee and then started watching the news (mostly for the weather). It really ticked me off when they mentioned it was Christmas Eve. No! No, its not! In my house, as a child, the rule was it wasn't "Christmas Eve" until after 6:00 PM. Until then, it was "John's Birthday"! I am thinking about calling the local station and complaining...

But, bitching aside, I showered (I refuse to shave today) and got dressed to go to therapy. Jake and Carla called, BTW, to wish me a happy birthday. So they win the first telephone birthday call.

Once there, I noticed a huge invasion of people. Then it dawned on me: these were all the Friday morning folks, rescheduled. My therapist, Maureen, was slammed! Fortunately, I know all the moves, so I just did them without her. She did, however, confide in me that she was in trouble. Her 15 or 16 year-old dog had a restless night and she had gotten very little sleep. But, she forgot to bring in some tea, so she only had one tea bag of caffeinated tea left. Therefore, her being awake for the next eight hours was in doubt.

Anyway, once I finished my work out, I went over and worked on my shoulder exercises (they are gracious enough to let me use their equipment when nobody else is using it). I left there about 9:15 AM.

Then I made a terrible mistake. I thought, since I was out, I might as well go to Kroger's to get a few items I needed. The parking lot should have been my first clue as I had to drive around and around until an empty spot cleared. Once inside, it was a mob scene! I got what I needed and then stood in a long line to check out. People were bagging their own groceries, etc., but I refuse to do that. I figure I am paying for somebody to put the damn stuff in a bag and in the cart. So, I stood there and waited for the checkout guy to bag it up. He looked a bit frazzled, but I wished him "Happy Holidays!" He grunted...

I swung back over to the therapy joint on the way home and dropped off a small box of regular Lipton tea for Maureen. Then I went home, treated the cats and unpacked the groceries.

I noticed there was a package in between my front door and the storm door so I retrieved that as well. It was a Christmas present (judging from the wrapping) from my daughter Melissa and her husband Dave. So, now I have something to open Christmas morning!

My friend B___ called to wish me a happy birthday and we solidified our holiday plans.

My granddaughter Riese called (about 2:00 PM) and sang me "Happy Birthday" accompanied by Joe on guitar (i'm guessing here. Of course, Eric Clapton might have stopped over, but I think it was probably Joe.

I got a beautiful birthday e-card from my old friend Canada Cathy as well. Thanks! Ditto!!

Then my daughter Melissa called to wish me a happy birthday and she asked me to open the package (it apparently was a combination birthday and Christmas present). So, I did. There were actually two presents inside. One was a glass ornament with a picture of Waconda on one side and a picture of my mother on the other. I had to laugh when she told me she "Photoshopped" her Uncle Carl out of her grandma's picture (sorry, Bro, you gotta go!) She said it was a bitch to do, and she'd never do it again. But she did, and I got it!

The other was a DVD from the Orion Neighborhood Television (a very local cable company) that has a segment about our cottage and an interview with Mom. I decide to save that and watch it Christmas morning. Thanks Babe!

Luanne called (around 5:30 PM) to wish me a Happy Birthday. She said Sadie had called earlier and left a voicemail (it still wasn't there when I checked after we hung up - I get crappy voicemail service, BTW). She's had the flu, so that has curtailed their holiday activities.

After we hung up, I began my birthday dinner. Now, we had a tradition in my family that, on your birthday, you got to choose the dinner you wanted. A co-worker recently told me of his tradition that each of his family gets to choose the restaurant of their choice for their birthday, so I suppose this is now a modern twist on that idea.

As I recall, I usually asked for roast beef (I loved my mother's roast beef: the beef, the potatoes, onions, carrots and the gravy... God I loved that gravy! I wish I could make gravy that tasted like hers). But, I digress...

So, tonight, I decided I really wanted chili dogs with French fries. So, I got out my griddle pan and grilled the Dearborn natural casing hot dogs while some frozen crinkle-cut French fries were toasting in the oven. I fine diced a yellow onion after putting the Hormell No-Bean chili in a sauce pan to heat up. A small call of Bush's original baked beans went in another pan.

I plated two of the chili dogs (topped with the chili, onions and yellow mustard) with a generous amount of fries and some beans. I went in to see what was on TV. Now, I admit, I only made it through one hot dog (I just can't eat that much anymore) but it was damn tasty! Happy Birthday to me!

An odd Catholic sidebar: I dozed off watching the news at 11:00 PM on Channel 4. When I woke up, they were showing the Christmas Eve mass from the Vatican. Now being a lapsed, or ex or just a crummy Catholic, I have been through a number of masses, but I was entranced. I watched the whole damn thing until it ended about 1:30 AM!

Another sidebar: I woke up for a bathroom break at 3:00 AM and decided to write this all up, so I did. I also checked the phone and, sure enough, there was a voicemail from Sadie, singing Happy Birthday from like noon...