I'm 29 now. Bring it on 30...I don't care.
Let me just say that I have the best husband ever. If you also have a husband and think he's pretty good, that's fine. But mine is better. No offense. He really outdid himself for my birthday this past Saturday. Here's all the stuff he did for me:
First, on Friday he brought home two big containers of real maple syrup that one of the guys he has worked with taps from the trees and bottles himself. I would like to buy real maple syrup regularly, but it's pricey. So I was thrilled. That same night he had a bunch of our friends over for a campfire in the backyard, and he whipped me up a carrot cake on top of that. We discovered while it was in the oven that he had used the homemade pancake mix I had put into the flour container, but it was still delish. What a man. (After that night I highly recommend cherry wine - SO good. It's red wine with a sweet, tart little kick.)
On Saturday morning my one request was that we go out for breakfast. It's one of my favorite things to do on a Saturday. So we headed to Red Ball Jet Cafe, tossed back some coffee, and stuffed our faces with breakfast panini. So great.
After breakfast came the last mammoth thing Jono did for my birthday. It went as follows. I knew he had been working on some sort of surprise for weeks. I had caught him sneakily e-mailing people and making private phone calls. He said the surprise was next, so we piled in the car and drove west. I had no idea where we were going.
Soon we were in the suburbs and I joked, "Did you buy me a suburan home?" He said no. We pulled into someone's driveway and I said, "This place reminds me of your Aunt Mary's house." Jono said, "It isn't." But then his Aunt Mary answered the door and I thought, "Yes it is, you rascal."
At this point I didn't get what the surprise was yet, so I stood there like a dork. Then Jono said, "Mary has been a huge help to me with this." Then it dawned on me. Mary is an expert on stringed instruments. I turned around and saw two cellos sitting by her fireplace and I couldn't breathe. I kept saying "Are you serious??"
Jono got me a cello for my birthday.
Here's some background. I played the cello in junior high and high school, but stopped in college. I picked up my old cello a few times to play in church since then, but was frustrated because it would make buzzing and squealing noises on certain notes. I took it in to be assessed, and the cello people laughed when they saw it. They said in the 70s people had tried to figure out how cheaply they could make and sell a cello and out came mine. It suited me fine in high school -- I got it for free from my great aunt -- but now it had degraded to the point that it wasn't worth my time to play it.
I was a little dejected because cellos are very expensive, even used, so I didn't think I would be able to replace it. I ended up selling it on Craigslist for $50, which is probably more than it was worth. I felt bad because Jono had sold his electric guitar to pay for repairs on it when we were dating, and his grandma had later given me some money to fix a few more problems with it as well. It seemed like a waste.
Now there sat two cellos in Aunt Mary's living room, and Jono told me I could pick one of them, or he had a stack of Craigslist ads and we could drive around and try those out too. I couldn't believe it. I played the first two and both were such a huge step up from my last one that I would've been fine with either one, but Jono suggested we look around a bit. We're still debating how much we want to invest, but either way, I have a cello again - and it's going to sound good, and not like a dying cat! My parents, Jono's Dad and Jan, Jono's mom, and Grandma Klooster all chipped in for it -- it was the best present I could've thought of, and way better than I would've guessed.
In between cello test-drives, we went for a walk by Reeds Lake in GR. The sun was out and I loved it. So that was my birthday. It was very happy :) Here are some pics.
Let me just say that I have the best husband ever. If you also have a husband and think he's pretty good, that's fine. But mine is better. No offense. He really outdid himself for my birthday this past Saturday. Here's all the stuff he did for me:
First, on Friday he brought home two big containers of real maple syrup that one of the guys he has worked with taps from the trees and bottles himself. I would like to buy real maple syrup regularly, but it's pricey. So I was thrilled. That same night he had a bunch of our friends over for a campfire in the backyard, and he whipped me up a carrot cake on top of that. We discovered while it was in the oven that he had used the homemade pancake mix I had put into the flour container, but it was still delish. What a man. (After that night I highly recommend cherry wine - SO good. It's red wine with a sweet, tart little kick.)
On Saturday morning my one request was that we go out for breakfast. It's one of my favorite things to do on a Saturday. So we headed to Red Ball Jet Cafe, tossed back some coffee, and stuffed our faces with breakfast panini. So great.
After breakfast came the last mammoth thing Jono did for my birthday. It went as follows. I knew he had been working on some sort of surprise for weeks. I had caught him sneakily e-mailing people and making private phone calls. He said the surprise was next, so we piled in the car and drove west. I had no idea where we were going.
Soon we were in the suburbs and I joked, "Did you buy me a suburan home?" He said no. We pulled into someone's driveway and I said, "This place reminds me of your Aunt Mary's house." Jono said, "It isn't." But then his Aunt Mary answered the door and I thought, "Yes it is, you rascal."
At this point I didn't get what the surprise was yet, so I stood there like a dork. Then Jono said, "Mary has been a huge help to me with this." Then it dawned on me. Mary is an expert on stringed instruments. I turned around and saw two cellos sitting by her fireplace and I couldn't breathe. I kept saying "Are you serious??"
Jono got me a cello for my birthday.
Here's some background. I played the cello in junior high and high school, but stopped in college. I picked up my old cello a few times to play in church since then, but was frustrated because it would make buzzing and squealing noises on certain notes. I took it in to be assessed, and the cello people laughed when they saw it. They said in the 70s people had tried to figure out how cheaply they could make and sell a cello and out came mine. It suited me fine in high school -- I got it for free from my great aunt -- but now it had degraded to the point that it wasn't worth my time to play it.
I was a little dejected because cellos are very expensive, even used, so I didn't think I would be able to replace it. I ended up selling it on Craigslist for $50, which is probably more than it was worth. I felt bad because Jono had sold his electric guitar to pay for repairs on it when we were dating, and his grandma had later given me some money to fix a few more problems with it as well. It seemed like a waste.
Now there sat two cellos in Aunt Mary's living room, and Jono told me I could pick one of them, or he had a stack of Craigslist ads and we could drive around and try those out too. I couldn't believe it. I played the first two and both were such a huge step up from my last one that I would've been fine with either one, but Jono suggested we look around a bit. We're still debating how much we want to invest, but either way, I have a cello again - and it's going to sound good, and not like a dying cat! My parents, Jono's Dad and Jan, Jono's mom, and Grandma Klooster all chipped in for it -- it was the best present I could've thought of, and way better than I would've guessed.
In between cello test-drives, we went for a walk by Reeds Lake in GR. The sun was out and I loved it. So that was my birthday. It was very happy :) Here are some pics.
Red Ball Jet(he's looking over at Jude with a proud daddy face)
This is what Jude was looking like.
Reeds Lake
Spring is coming, like molasses in January
Good thing we got a stroller that can handle off-roadin' it
Jude with a bit of green 
In the sunshine with Daddy 
3 comments:
Sounds like the perfect day with the perfect people who love you the most!
Is life great or what!?
get out of town! is there a way for us to see the 2nd pic better? thats the best i've seen... i need it for my screen saver ; )
I knew you'd love that one. I'll send it to you!
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