Gosh, it was a wonderful birthday celebration last night, as usual! How my family does spoil me! Plus, we have our family vacation to the Finger Lakes at the end of the month to look forward to as well.
After work, we went to Charlie Brown's Steakhouse for dinner, which is an odd choice for a family that is half-vegetarian. But I told Tara I wanted to go somewhere new that I'd never been before, since our combined dietary restrictions means we typically eat at the same half-dozen restaurants and fast-food places when we all go out together. So just trying a new place was a treat for me, since I'm used to having lots of restaurant choices, being from Houston. Luckily Bee remembered that this was one restaurant we'd talked about in the past as a potential addition to our small stable of regular eateries.
Speaking of Bee, her string of bad luck continues to plague her. She tripped on her shoelaces and fell headfirst on a paved drive, cutting her head deeply above her eyebrow and bruising her hands. An ambulance was called, but luckily she didn't need stitches or have a concussion, just a whole lot of blood spilled all over the place. So now she has multiple reasons for taking all her pain medications, poor thing!
After dinner, we went home to digest and watch the pre-game show of the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, and then started opening presents. The big highlight was the entire box set of Harry Potter novels in the Hogwarts cardboard trunk. Since my beloved Twilight Saga will be finished next month, I'll have plenty to fill the young adult reading void until Midnight Sun comes out, whenever that is.
I also got several Vertigo books, like the Vol. 10 of Fables, Vol. 3 of Jack of Fables, and Vol. 1 of Y: The Last Man, to help fill the void left by the completion of the Lucifer series. Plus, I got two more Buffy the Vampire Slayer digests, as well as the last four digests of Strangers in Paradise, which I'm currently plowing through. I also got some other bound comics, like Green Lantern Corps, Avengers and a cool interactive Batman novel.
On the DVD side, I got some cult favorite comedies like Tapeheads and Midnight Run, one of Robert DeNiro's first attempts at comedy (and probably one of his best). I also got the first box set of the Ranma 1/2 TV series, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Extended Edition), National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets and Blade Runner: The Final Cut.
This isn't even a full list of all the things my family got me. As we always try to do, birthdays we spoil each other rotten, and really try to make each other feel special. I feel so blessed to have such a family.
After all the presents were unwrapped, they surprised me yet again with a tiramisu cake, knowing that it's one of my favorite desserts. And of course, it was adorned with a big wax number 4 in the middle, surrounded by candles that looked like stars on lollipop sticks. After cake, we started watching the All-Star Game on the DVR, but since first pitch was already after midnight, I couldn't stay longer than the first half-inning. Tara and Bee watched the whole 15-inning affair and went to bed sometime around 4 a.m. this morning. Luckily, they didn't have to work today like me. Maybe next year I'll plan ahead and take off on my birthday and the day after.
Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to fit all this new stuff on my already overcrowded bookshelves...
