Yesterday was my thirtieth birthday.  It came and went without any inkling of a nervous breakdown.  Despite this fact I’m still throwing myself a “Mid-Mid Life Crisis” party this weekend.  Last year I wrote about my absolute and utter fear of turning 30, and I’d like to have a quick recap about my “before 30 resolutions.”

Things I said I’d do the year I turned 30

• Participate in Script Frenzy
• Participate in my 4th year of NaNoWriMo
• Go to Egypt

Script Frenzy is the month of April… and I thought I was going to have this awesome screen play / stage production to write about.  And I actually did come up with a great idea.  Too bad when April 1 came around I decided that I was just too busy.  I know, lame excuse.  So I’m 0 for 3 so far.

I will likely participate in NaNoWriMo when November rolls around.  I see no reason why not… I’ve done it for the last three years running and I really can’t imagine fall without it.  So we’ll count that one as one I’ll complete.

Egypt… sadly, I will not be seeing the pyramids while my thirtieth year dawns.  There just simply weren’t enough funds in the kitty for that trip.  Maybe I’ll shoot for 40??  I’d still like to see them one day.

Things I’m actually doing in my 30th year

• I’m finishing up the C25K training program, and for the first time in my life I think I can actually say I’m on my way to being a RUNNER!
• I completed my first 5K and have signed up for a second one already!
• I’m going to Italy… on a bike trip… a bicycle trip… for 9 days! (How cool is that?)
• I’m in better shape than I’ve ever been in my entire life (except for maybe when I was doing archaeology full time)

All in all, I’d say that I’m doing pretty OK for 30.  It might not be what I had planned, but there’s some pretty exciting stuff going on and I’m OK with the new directions that my life is going in.  I realized that the main reason that I was bothered by turning 30 was because there were “things” that I thought I should have completed by this time in my life.  But really, there’s no timeline.  And if you’re trying to force your life to go in a particular way at a particular time you’re bound for only one thing… disappointment.  It’s so much more fun to just wait around and see what’s going to happen!

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And with that thought… my actual birthday didn’t turn out the way that I thought it would.  In fact, almost everything went completely awry, but that was OK.

1. I got up and did my first real day of training for our bike trip.
2. DH took me to Leesburg so I could go do my “Birthday Blood Donation.”
3. Mom & I got ready to leave to go spend the afternoon having lunch and shopping when her car wouldn’t start.
4. While waiting for Dad to arrive to rescue us, I realized that my driver’s license expired that day and I was going to have to go brave the DMV.
5. After being rescued we did get lunch… but had to head straight to the DMV, the post office and the grocery store to do all the errands that I had forgotten about in the excitement of having my birthday.
6. The DMV was surprisingly not bad. (Thank you good birthday Karma)
7. While at the grocery store, Dad calls saying he can’t get in touch with The Wine Kitchen to make reservations… that’s when I realize they’re closed on Mondays….
8. After receiving an email from one of my dearest friends, @CeceSpitznas, I booked reservations to Clyde’s at Willow Creek Farm on her suggestion and we went  on to have a lovely dinner followed by home-made Chocolate Birthday Cake with Fudge Icing.

Not at all the way I thought the day should go… but not a bad birthday either!  I was showered all day long with happy birthday wishes from people on Facebook and Twitter, and a few people even called to wish me a happy day.  Not bad… not bad at all!

Related Posts

• May 8, 2009 -- And it all began with “I don’t like birthdays…”
• May 6, 2010 -- The Trip of a Lifetime
• December 18, 2009 -- Blood Donation Drag Racing
• April 21, 2009 -- The Year Before My Not-So-Mid-Life Crisis
• May 1, 2008 -- Happy Birthday Jinx

I mentioned in one of my previous posts that it was sort of an “unofficial” New Year’s Resolution for me to donate blood as many times as possible this year. I’m O-Negative… part of the 7% of the population (of the word, I guess) that has this blood type. We are the universal donors. It has become rather important to me to take my blood donation seriously this year. By showing up at the blood donor center once very two months and letting them take a pint of my blood I’m helping someone. I don’t know who, but I can be assured that they’re really sick and they need it. The Red Cross says that the most common recipients of O-Negative donor blood are car accident victims and babies. And the sad thing is that no matter how often I donate every time I check the Inova Blood Donor Services site, they always are showing that they are in critical need of O-Negative blood; they usually have less than 1 day’s supply.

So, I feel like it’s my civic duty to help out in whatever little way I can…

Gas to get to the blood donor center: $2.58/Gallon
“Winner’s” T-shirt to psyche out opponent: $20.00
Kleen Kanteen to keep hydrated: $17.95

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Saving a life at Christmas-time: Priceless.

Blood Donor Drag Racing

You probably think that I’m utterly crazy to undertake such a thing. But really it’s not what you think… OK, maybe it is. It all started back last May when I asked everyone in my family to come with me and donate blood. My father and my DH, Steve, were able to participate (my mom doesn’t weight enough; don’t we all wish we had that problem?). When we got there it somehow became a competition to see who could finish first. We didn’t all go at the same time, so it was more like bragging rights. Every time after that there’s been this little “race” to the finish line.

Well, this time Dad insisted that we actually race. And by race, I mean he insisted that the needles go in at the same time and we’d see who finished their pint first. Loser had to forfeit their $10 gift card that we got for completing the O-Negative Donor screening and buy dinner at Red Lobster afterwards.

It looked like two NASCAR drivers suiting up with their pit crew surrounding them while we were all getting hooked up!! All the nurses were cheering us on and Mom and Steve came over into the donor area to witness who was going to cross the finish line first. I’d like to say that it was a close race, and that it came down to just one or two pumps of the stress ball, but that wasn’t the case. I left Dad behind in the dust. There was no way he’d catch up to how fast my blood was pouring out of my body! I finished in four minutes, and he went on to finish in something more like 8 or 9 minutes. He’d like to blame it on the fact that his nurse, Lovie (who he requests every time he goes in there), left the tourniquet on, but we know the real reason… the 10 cups of coffee that he drank that day!

Winner’s Celebration

I won, arm outstretched above my head (really more of a cautionary measure than a “I’m number 1″ gesture) and I of course had to sing We Are The Champions since that’s my winner’s song. I told Dad that I only won because I was sporting my NaNoWriMo Winner’s Tshirt from this year which gave me strength to pump my blood out fastest.

They told me that we’d have a little celebration before I left. I thought it was kind of funny that everyone totally got into our little drag racing. But before we all left all the people from the blood donor center came around and congratulated me…

Not for winning the drag race, but for crossing the 1 GALLON threshold! I was so surprised! I thought I was one whole pint behind so I wasn’t thinking anything of it. I actually got a little choked up when they presented me with my 1 gallon pin. I was thinking that I would miss the mark by one pint this year, and that 7 pints would have been a valiant effort for trying so hard. But I’m hoping that this last pint towards my gallon of blood donation will go to someone who really needs it this Christmas Season… and that maybe my blood will help someone get to see another New Year and another Christmas. All kidding aside, I think that we’ve done a good thing and that the blood that Dad and I donated last night might be the best gift that we could have ever given.

Related Posts

• May 4, 2010 -- The Big Three-Oh
• May 8, 2009 -- And it all began with “I don’t like birthdays…”

Happy belated birthday to me!  For those who didn’t know, it was on the 3rd.  And for those who know me well, you’re not surprised that I’m late posting about my birthday.  Actually, it was more like a birthday marathon; it was, after all, the last year of my 20s to celebrate!

Birthday Blood Donation

I decided to kick off my birthday with a pact to donate blood, and to make everyone else I know donate blood.  It was one of my New Year’s resolutions to be more diligent about donating every 56 days.  I’ve missed the marker a little bit, but, I think I’m back on track now.  So I’d successfully roped my father and my hubby into agreeing to donate with me.  I have to admit, I gave my dad a little guilt trip because we’re both O-neg and Inova Blood Donor Services currently has less than a day’s supply of O-neg blood.  We had all agreed that we’d go on Wednesday (April 29) and do our donation together.

I was sure that the birthday jinx was starting again when Dad called me up and said that he wasn’t going to make it back from his golf tournament in Front Royal in time to be at Inova in Dulles for our 5:30 appointment!  I was imagining birthday fatalities all over the place.  Luckily though, Dad went over on Tuesday afternoon and kept up his end of the bargain.  Steve and I kept our Wednesday night appointment.

Blood Donation?  Check.  Successful birthday kick-off?  Check.

Family Birthday Dinner

The original plan was to do my family birthday dinner on Wednesday night after the blood donation; mainly because:

1. It would be convenient (Sweetwater Tavern is really close to Dulles Inova)
2. Dad, Steve & I would all need sustenance after being depleted a pint of blood.  We can’t blame Mom for not donating, she doesn’t weigh enough!

But, because of the golf tournament that wasn’t going to work out.

No fear!  We went on Thursday and had my birthday dinner at Sweetwater.  My father, who feels strongly about tradition, insists that we have birthday dinners at Sweetwater.  There is no getting around it, no choosing a different restaurant, just go with it.  Trust me, it’s easier!

The dinner I expected, but the cake?  Total surprise!  Dad made the “Chocolate Birthday Cake” and it turned out perfect (which if you know this cake, doesn’t happen every time).  So everyone sang Happy Birthday and I blew out (attempted to blow out) candles and the whole shebang.  The cake was phenomenal!

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Apple Blossom Festival

By Friday, the Birthday Marathon was in full swing.  Steve and I headed out to Mitch & Ann’s “City” House in Winchester, Virginia for the Fireman’s Parade.  I guess it’s not fair that I say we went for the parade.  We actually went for Mitch’s home-brew, which was pretty darn good!  A good time was had by all (maybe too much of a good time by some) and everyone sang Happy Birthday again.  It was nice, no, better than nice… it was really great!

I was kind of surprised simply because I had gone to Apple Blossom years ago (rather been dragged by sorority sisters).  We didn’t stay long, everyone else went out partying while I went home, it was a birthday disaster.  Since then, I’ve boycotted Apple Blossom every year.  And every year when Ann and Mitch can’t come to any birthday thing that is arranged because of Apple Blossom I get annoyed.  Well, I’m glad I went.  I had a fabulous time and now I know that if you hang out with the right people, Apple Blossom can be a blast!

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Saturday — Official Non-official Birthday Celebrations

Because my birthday fell on a Sunday this year, and Sunday is flyball practice day, we decided to make my “Official” birthday celebration on Saturday.

Ketoctin Chapter, NSDAR Membership Marathon

Kicking off the morning (with a mild hangover) I headed over to Wendy’s house for our DAR Membership Marathon.  Wendy is our chapter’s Membership Chair and I make up her committee of one.  We’ve had a huge influx of interest in membership this year due to all Wendy’s fantastic efforts and we thought the best way to get a bunch of papers approved would be to have a sort of marathon to verify source proofs, print papers, and get signatures.  All of our prospective new members worked hard on their papers and on Saturday we completely verified five whole applications that will be sent to the National Headquarters for official verification in June and a handfull of others who just have a tiny bit more researching to do!!

It was a wildly productive day.  But at 5:15 p.m. my eyes were crossing from looking at so many genealogies and I was beginning to get a raging head ache.  I made a quick exit and headed over to…

Fireworks Pizza, best birthday dinner!

The flyball group, Steve, my parents, and Marty (close family friend) all met me at Fireworks for dinner preceeding the rest of my birthday celebration.  I felt terrible being the guest of honor who arrived late!  But everyone was forgiving (though hungry), and we went to town ordering pizza.  And this is where the night gets interesting.

Remember that headache I had from all the genealogies?  Well, I asked my mom if she had any Excedrine (seriously the only thing that works for my headaches).  She hadn’t brought her purse, but luckily my dad had a bottle which he tossed to my end of the table.  I opened it up… Advil.  While I was insisting that I would just take three and it would probably be fine he practically snatched the bottle from my hand saying that he had real Exedrine in the car and he’d go get it.  I shrugged and let him do his thing.  He came back, handed me another little bottle that said Excedrine and I took two.

The pizza came.  I had ordered my favorite pie, the Segundo.  But really it’s a modified Segundo because I hate onions, and I love their Balsamic glaze.  I ordered a whole one just for myself.  Nearly a third through the pizza I started to realize how drunk I was feeling.  My internal monologue went something like this:

Me: Weird… I feel drunk… But I’m not drinking alcohol.

Myself: Maybe the waitress swapped your soda for something else?

Me: No, it’s definitely Sprite… it’s gotta be something else… why do I feel so drunk??

Myself: It’s the PIZZA!!!!  That balsamic glaze has got to have alcohol in it!!!!  The pizza is making you drunk!!

Me: OMG!  We’d better not tell anyone about this, they’ll think we’re crazy!

About that time, my dad got this funny look on his face and demanded I give him back his Excedrine.  He opened the bottle and poured out a couple of pills and then the look on his face got even funnier.  He looked at my mother in complete horror.

“Jeanie!  These aren’t Excedrine that she took!!!  These are Vicodin!!!!”

Great… I took two Vicodin!  No wonder I was feeling drunk and having conversations with myself about how the pizza was making me drunk!  In my father’s defense, he’s got three different bottles all marked Excedrine.  One has Excedrine in it, one has Advil in it, and one has his hard stuff from when he slipped a disk in his back (which he still keeps in his golf bag for absolute emergencies).  Guess which one he accidentally picked up and gave to me.

There was some brief discussion about whether or not I needed to go to the hospital to have my stomach pumped; which I was going to adamently refuse to do until I actually passed out cold on the floor.  Luckily Cece said I’d be fine after looking up the meds on her handy iPhone!  Everyone agreed that I needed to eat a lot to soak up some of the drugs.  I finished off the Segundo and ordered one of their fantastic chocolate chip cookie deserts.  Mmmmm!

Who’s going to lay the golden egg?

The original plan for the evening did not at all involve Fireworks, that was just a bonus.  Our flyball team has “Game Night” every once a month-ish and we decided to roll my birthday into Game Night and go bowling!

At a previous flyball tournament, Jim, Steve, April, and I all got the insane idea that we’d go bowling after a full day of tournament flyball.  We had a fantastic time!  None of us are particularly good, but we thoroughly enjoyed making fun of each other.  Steve, unfortunately, received the nick name “The Golden Goose” after his fingers slipped from the ball leaving his bright yellow bowling ball behind him, as if he’d laid a golden egg.

We all competely expected that I would be the one to lay the golden egg being completley stoned on Vicodin, but it actually wasn’t that bad!  Team Vicodin won one game and Team “The Others” won the other.  We were matched pretty closely despite my disability.  It was a miracle that I remained standing for the entire duration!!  I do remember I had a good time, but the events of the evening are a bit fuzzy.

Later, I nearly passed out in my cake when we were back at my parent’s house.  Needless to say, I slept like a baby that night!

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Moral of the story…

I hesitate to say it, but I think the birthday jinx is gone. *Rushes out and knocks on all the wood I can find*  And just in time too!  I’d hate to have the birthday jinx reappear next year when I’m already freaking out!!

What I think it all amounts to is that you can’t expect too much.  You just have to go out, enjoy the day, be thankful for the people you have to spend it with, and not expect fireworks and fanfare all the time!  Because you might just get Vicodin instead! 

Related Posts

• May 4, 2010 -- The Big Three-Oh
• May 1, 2008 -- Happy Birthday Jinx
• December 18, 2009 -- Blood Donation Drag Racing
• April 21, 2009 -- The Year Before My Not-So-Mid-Life Crisis
• May 4, 2007 -- Unexpected birthday wishes!