The Hubby's Birthday: 41 is Fun

Clint's birthday was Friday, and even though he (unlike his lovely wife) doesn't milk it for an entire month, we did manage to spend a full weekend celebrating. He kicked off his special day by getting up at the crack of early and heading to CrossFit, a maneuver I can neither fully comprehend nor condone, but he said something about being healthy, blah, blah, blah. I encouraged him to stop and eat a birthday biscuit on his way home and, as merciful proof that we are compatible for each other, he did just that.

We bought a gargantuan leather couch several weeks ago that was slated to be delivered on Clint's big day. When we purchased the Titanic couch, he was so excited about all the lounging, resting, and relaxing opportunities it presented that he eagerly agreed it could count as part of his birthday gifts. However, no matter how old one gets, no one is a responsible enough adult to be happy with a couch as their birthday present. I picked the birthday boy up a few other gifts to go along with the leather lounger and let him open them Friday afternoon. I didn't make him pose for pictures with everything, but he was happy to open a new pair of shoes for the aforementioned CrossFit workouts, a Georgia Tech button-down shirt with the Buzz mascot proudly embroidered, and a few other little tchotkes, including this mug:

The man has a fondness for monkeys--they make him laugh every time.

Our dog is so spoiled, he just assumes all gifts are for him. He's usually right.

Once the gifts were opened, we were off to dinner. In honor of the special occasion, we splurged and went to The Palm. When we were young and newly married, our apartment was in the same immediate neighborhood as The Palm. Although our budget didn't really let us become regulars, we were lucky enough to dine there two or three times and the fond memories have stuck with us forever. We hadn't been in quite a while and it was a fun trip down memory lane to go back. Plus, you know, the food--amazing.

We worked our way through approximately half the menu (birthday calories don't count), starting with a shrimp cocktail that was the biggest I have ever seen. It seriously reminded me of the scene in the movie Beetlejuice  when they turn into hands and grab all the dinner guests' faces.

Luckily, we came away unscathed and just had a really delicious meal, including but not limited to: crab cakes (for me), surf and turf (for the gentleman), and lobster macaroni and cheese for the table. We threw in some Brussels sprouts for good measure, you know, back to that whole "health" thing.

The beginning of birthday dinner.

I can honestly say that we didn't fully exhaust their menu, only because we had birthday cake waiting at home. Lest you think we are all hoity toity with our fancy steakhouse dinner, Clint chose a Dairy Queen Blizzard cake for this year's festivities (and changed into an Evel Knievel t-shirt to eat it).

Making his wish.

I did put him to work a bit Saturday, getting ready for friends to come over that evening. The Clemson/Louisville football game was at 8:00 p.m., and even though he is a Yellow Jacket at heart, I made it clear from our first meeting that to love me is to love the Clemson Tigers, and so he does (or pretends to--either way, it makes me happy). The weather here in Charlotte is just starting to feel like fall, so we had dinner and watched the game outside around the fire pit.

Much like me, Clint loves a good fiesta, and this make-your-own-taco bar did not disappoint. Turkey carnitas, barbecue corn, homemade guacamole, chips and salsa and plenty of other options got our game watching off to a nice start.

Just to sweeten the deal (pun intended), I thought a candy buffet was festive for the occasion. Plus, gummy candy is low fat, so it barely even counts. Right?

A little football viewing al fresco.

The margaritas were just salty enough, the Tigers crushed their competition, and a good time was had by all, including our birthday boy.

We slept in Sunday morning and happily spent the rest of the birthday weekend enjoying Netflix and the brand new couch, winding down with some taco bar leftovers for dinner and all the Heath Bar Blizzard cake we could manage. It was a low key weekend by design after our summer vacation adventures, and I think we welcomed Clint's 41st year in style. 

Cheers to 41 years!