Three Zero: a house log

Today I turned 30. Woot.

My mom did not make me stand in front of an “I AM 30” banner (or fashion a crown for me) like she has in past years, but she and my dad did have us over for brunch on Sunday morning. It was in fact a surprise that Sherry planned with them. I had known about the brunch (since my cousins, aunt, uncle, and little sister had traveled in from DC for the day), but was somehow oblivious to the fact that they might use the gathering to celebrate my thirtieth until a candle-filled plate of muffins was placed in front of me. Oh, but my mom did make me this:

Never one to simply slip money or gift cards into an envelope, my mom constructed this “flower” with a glad face spatula and paper leaf pockets that housed some gift cards to my go-to places. Oh, and the can “planter” was stuffed with new running socks (likely my dad’s contribution).

My sisters went in on this for me:

It is the Christine Berrie bicycle print that I have consistently enjoyed over on 20×200. It is the ideal addition to my bicycled-themed art obsession. Speaking of which, I did in fact manage to secure a set of the Gap bicycle prints that I yearned for thanks to a helpful Gap manager (remember when I pined for them here)? We were truly shocked when they arrived at our PO Box. Lesson learned? If you ask sufficient times, a manager might take pity on you and in fact send a sign your way (instead of tossing it into the dumpster). So be the squeaky wheel, folks. And hooray for recycling! (Get it? Bicycle? Cycling? See what I did there?).

We have not figured out where to hang my new bike collection yet, so pictures “in situation” will have to wait for another post when we pin down proper locations.

But I do have “in situation” pictures of what Sherry gifted me. Any guesses?

Yup, it is a white rhino. Specifically the large Robbie trophy that she picked up me from Cardboad Safari. I know it is likely one of the weirder sentences I have ever typed, but rhinos are kind of our thing. We even worked one into our journal header.

Sherry knows that I have consistently enjoyed the larger Cardboard Safari creations (not that I do not also enjoy our little full-bodied Robbie, who makes frequent appearances in various places like our console table and our laundry room). Big Robbie is an especially fitting gift since I surprised Sherry with a ceramic rhino for V-day a while back (more on how that turned into a highly involved rhino scavenger hunt here). So apparently we like giving each other horned mammals. And they keep getting larger. Perhaps we will end up with a life sized rhino in our kitchen someday a la the giant dog on Friends.

Oh but one word of warning for anyone else who is eying a large trophy: be sure to consider how far they stick out from the wall when it comes to where you want to hang them (this guy comes out about 18 inches). We fortunately found this spot where no one’s gonna knock into him when they walk by or sit down (since you stand up in front of the chair and not on the chair). So while nobody puts Baby in a corner, we totally put Robbie in a corner. And we enjoy him there.

Overall, the birthday celebrations were fairly low-key (simply the way I like ’em). My family took me out to dinner last night and my mom is babysitting tonight so Sherry can have a date with her old man (aka me, in case that was too cryptic for you). Lately she has been calling me her silver fox because I am sporting some gray hair in the front. But she swears up and down that it is a compliment. Her rebuttal is typically “Hello? Anderson Cooper – I rest my case.”

Oh, and since I never got around to making a “to do before I am 30” journal list (like Nicole), I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had in fact made one on paper back in high school (as part of a prompt in my senior English class). Who knew keeping those old notebooks stored away would ever come in handy?

Looks like I had gone back and updated it with “Completed” marks sometime around 2005. And sadly I have not checked off many more since then. No new countries (#4), bungee jumping (#6) nor movie roles (#7) for me. Though Sherry and I did visit Hollywood (#8) on our first vacation together in October 2005.

And I sorta accomplished #9, if you count my run in with Kelly Clarkson at a client event in May of 2005.

Neither Sherry nor I can remember if we still had our fish when we got Burger, so #10 is an unknown. I certainly have not learned how to play the bass guitar (#11)… or even the regular guitar (though I owned one for a short time in 2002). But I did work for the National Geographic Channel (#12) in the summer of 2001. It was far from glamorous, but certainly more satisfying than seeing #13 come true. Oh the lofty dreams of an 18 year old…

And although I had completed #15 by visiting Hawaii with a friend before Sherry and I even began dating, it was pleasant to earn some bonus points by going to Alaska on our honeymoon.

Speaking of which, I am gonna earn a third check mark on #15 when Sherry and I continue the turning-30 celebration next year (Sherry hits the big 3-0 in March) by following through on our plans to vacation in Hawaii (which will also multitask as a vacation to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary). But more on that another time. A long post like this has made these old bones weary. Simply kidding. To anyone wondering, 30 feels simply like 29. But Clara’s even more lively this year because she’s walking and talking (and singing hilarious songs). This morning, for example she sang this:

“Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you said.”

Anyways, thanks to my family for a lively 30th. And to everyone who made my 20’s an exciting and eventful decade. Here is hoping the 30’s are simply as lively!