I have been celebrating my birthday for a week for more than half my life. (Wow! Does that make me feel old.) Each year it is fun to try to figure out ways to make it different or memorable. This year was no different. Thanks to my wonderful husband, Bobby, who is so kind and generous, I might have gotten really spoiled … again.
Here are the things that I have done to celebrate this year.
- C.W. Burgerstein Wings — I don’t really need an excuse to go to C.W.’s for wings, but my birthday gives me a good reason. Since my actual birthday is on a Wednesday, we started my week on the Wednesday before by enjoying their Wednesday Wing special. (I like W’s!) They were great, as always! (Check out a previous post about their wings, here.)
- 31 Flavors at Baskin Robbins — O.K. I didn’t have 31 flavors, but because of their special on the 31st of the month, I had two scoops in a waffle bowl. I tried their new Twix flavor. Not bad, but I probably go back to my favorites — chocolate or mint chocolate chip.
- Shopping at Kohl’s — I had a coupon for $10 off of $10 or more. I was able to get me a blouse and my niece a pair of pants for a total of $8. Both items were on clearance. I love the blouse and have already worn it more than once.
- Filet Mignon on the Grill — Bobby is a wonderful cook and he definitely knows his way around a grill! When he offered to cook hamburgers on the grill on Thursday, I was thrilled. However, it turned out not to be hamburgers, but steaks! Yummy! Add to it our hobo packs (potatoes grilled in aluminum foil) and you’ve got a great meal.
- Frank Sinatra Tribute Band — I cannot say enough good things about Michael Sonata’s portrayal of Frank Sinatra. He was terrific! You can read about it (and see some videos) here. The night was even more special because we were able to share it with my parents, Bud and Dolores.
- Wally Waffle — Due to our late night at the Music Box Cafe (that’s where Michael Sonata performed), we got a late start on our day. That didn’t keep us from eating breakfast, though! How could it at a place called Wally Waffle?!? I totally enjoyed the Frenchie Sandwich, which was a bacon and cheese omelet between two slices of french toast with Wally Fries. Although I did end up sort of deconstructing it so I could enjoy the omelet and french toast as separate and distinct flavors.
- 100th Bomb Group Brunch — Bobby told me he had wanted to take me to a place in Delaware on Sunday afternoon for lunch, but because of a golf tournament, he figured it would be too busy. So he did a search on the best brunches in Northeast Ohio. While there were several options, he selected the 100th Bomb Group by the Cleveland International Airport because they serve prime rib on their brunch buffet. It was awesome! Their buffet was loaded with both breakfast and lunch items. They had shrimp cocktail, too! Definitely a great place to go to celebrate something special like a graduation, anniversary and even a birthday.
- Milkshake from Smoke — I always know I’m going to get something special when Bobby calls me at work and says to meet him “out front.” That means out the front door of my office building. On Monday that meant to receive a shake made for me at Smoke the Burger Joint. Bobby had them make a chocolate, peanut butter and bacon shake. I know it sounds a little on the wild side with bacon in a shake. But it was really quite tasty. It was sweet and salty! The best of both worlds.
- Dinner with Dee — One of the things I wanted to do on my birthday week was to spend time with our great nephews, DeAveon and Noah, but individually. We started with Dee, because he is the oldest. I found out that Dee really likes steak and that he had enjoyed a good one at the TA Country Pride truck stop near the interchanges of Interstate 71 and 76 near Seville. So we went there. We teased Dee that instead of the 10 oz steak he had gotten with his grandparents at his previous visit, he would have to settle for an 8 oz steak. Turned out, though, that they had steak on their buffet the night we went. That meant Dee could have all the steak he wanted! Which meant four pretty good size pieces. I think probably he ate between 12 – 16 ounces of steak! That in addition to three brownies. (I’ll hate to see the food bill when that boy gets to be a teenager!)
- Bowling with Dee — Afterwards we went and bowled one game of 10 frames at Strike and Spare Lanes bowling alley in Lodi. Let’s just say, next time we’ll use the bumper guards. It was embarrassing how many times I threw a gutter ball — I even played in a league when I was a kid!
- Troyer’s Cinnamon Rolls — A good friend of mine, Sherry Jo, brought in maple frosted cinnamon rolls from Troyer’s Bakery for my birthday. She brought in several packages of them (they come six to a container). All day long I was having people in my office building thanking me for my birthday. I didn’t have anything to do with the day, but thanks to Sherry Jo, I was one of the most popular people at work!
- Red Lobster for the Seafood Lover in me — I told the people in my department last week that on my birthday, I would be going to Red Lobster for lunch. I told them that if they wanted to join me, they could, but either way, I was going there. (I like Red Lobster; Bobby doesn’t. You might see the dilemma.) Red Lobster has a four-course meal that includes soup, salad, entree and dessert, but you can only get it Monday through Thursday. At the time I made my pronouncement, I thought you could only get it at lunch time. Turns out it’s anytime on those days. Bobby texted me around lunch time and asked who was going to be joining me. I think he was a little concerned that I would be eating alone. Turned out that five co-workers were able to join me in my birthday celebration. Bobby was both pleased and relieved.
- Five Guys with Friends — Bobby had posted on Facebook earlier in the day a list of all we had done for my birthday week. He said he was tired. Truth be told, so was I. So, when I agreed with him, he said we could have the night napping and eating Graeter’s Ice Cream. Sounded good to me, but I needed to go to the pet store. He convinced me to come home first and then surprised me with dinner out at Five Guys and Fries with our good friends, Ron and Jan. This has become a tradition on my birthday week to have dinner with Ron and Jan at some point during the week. While I was half expecting it, the execution of the night was still done stealthily. We had a great time out with friends and I still got Graeter’s afterwards!
- More to come — My birthday celebration isn’t over yet! I still have dinner planned with Noah. Lunch with Jackie. Breakfast with Nancy and then hopefully a visit with Judy.
Every year is a little different, but every year is always great. Thanks for joining me on my little celebration tour.
