Birthday Shenanigans

So, I had a pretty fabulous birthday this year. Things had been a bit stressful, but everything is settling down.

Friday: Faith flew in Friday afternoon. I'd spent the morning cleaning and preparing for her arrival. I miss her a ton. It was hard to live with her at times, as I'm positive it was hard to live with me as well. But when it comes down to it, she's my best girlfriend, we've been through a lot over the past 4 years, and I miss the hell out of her. As soon as we got home from the airport, we got ready for drinks/dinner at Eastside Showroom, which is where Leah works. It was really great for Faith to meet some of my friends. We had a great time and were there for a few hours. People still wanted to hang out after, so I invited them over to watch Up. I've been working on scheduling a time for a Pixar party, and this seem as good of a time as any. People got to meet Professor Snugglebottoms. He did fine until Steve arrived. Then he went nuts with the growling and barking. I had Steve feed him a treat, which calmed him down for about 30 seconds. It wasn't until Steve laid down on the floor to watch the movie that The Professor calmed down. When the movie was over and Steve stood up, he started up with the barking and growling. I'm convinced it's the hair and the height.

Saturday: We had to be up early to head down to Embellish for some pampering. Lisa and Brammer had appointments as well. There were going to be a couple more, but due to work schedules and a festival, they had to drop out. (side note: my toes still look hot) Before we left, I punched "Embellish Austin" into Google to get their address. We arrived at the address on South Lamar at 10am. It was much farther south than I though. We couldn't find the place, so I called them. Oh, they're on NORTH Lamar. Google has the address wrong. I should've gone straight to the website. I get there about 20 minutes late, but they offered a mimosa, which I gladly accepted. This place is awesome, and I will be getting my pedicures there from now on.

After toes, Faith and I were heading up to The Steeping Room for lunch. Lisa came along. It is no secret that I adore Lisa Jackson. Faith is now in that fan club as well. We had an incredibly nice long leisurely lunch at an outside table. The past two years in LA, it poured rain on my birthday. I especially enjoyed the warm, sunny weather! My tea was excellent, and my Mediterranean Plate was amazing! I definitely want to go back there. It's a bit hard, as that place is expensive and none of my friends have any money. Anyway, we had such a great time just hanging out and talking. One of the things I discovered was that my voice mail wasn't working. I haven't had one single problem with Verizon since I moved to Austin, and the day of my birthday, the phones are jacked. I guess that was the trade off for having a sunny day.

I was already pooped from having to be up early and running around all morning, so Faith took The Professor on a jog while I laid down. I didn't really nap, but I did enjoy some quiet relaxation for about 45 minutes. We then got ready for my Stool Pigeon show that night and headed out to the theater. Matt called to wish me a happy birthday. The tone of his voice made it clear that he'd just gotten laid then smoked. I asked if he was coming to the show, and he said he didn't think so. But it was super nice that he'd called to say hi. Then, just before the show starts, Matt and his girlfriend show up. Seriously, that guy is top notch. I joke with him about the fact that I'm gonna clone a 10 year older version of him. I was a little disappointed at the turn out of friends at the SP show. We didn't have plans after, and I'd just thought that whoever was there, we would figure out something to do. Cortnie left right after her show. We probably missed her by 5 minutes. It sucked that she couldn't have stuck around to meet Faith. Whatever. I can't change anything. Also absent was Brian. I hadn't heard from him in more than a week. Considering we hung out about every other day at the beginning of the month, I was a surprised that I didn't even get a quick email. After the SP show, Liz and Steve took Faith and I out to Rio Rita for a slice of pizza and a drink. Faith's favorite people that weekend were Liz, Steve, and Lisa. We had a fun time hanging out, and I was glad they included us in their plans.

Sunday: Faith and I were up early yet again to hit Round Rock Donuts before heading up to the outlet mall. I missed the exit and we ended up driving an extra 10 minutes just to get turned around. There aren't a lot of exits that far north. The mall was supposed to open at 10am. We make it there at 10:02, and none of the stores are open. We needed to leave by 1pm to make it back to the Alamo to see Sherlock Holmes, so I was a bit stressed when we found out the mall changed it's hours in January to 11am on Sundays. We scouted the stores for a bit, then sat in Starbucks waiting for it to open.

I'd put on 15 lbs between Thanksgiving of 2008 and NYE. I managed to keep that weight on for all of 2009. My plan was to get a personal trainer at the beginning of January so I could be down a bit by my birthday and could enjoy shopping a little more. Unfortunately, due to my genius knee injury, I've been out of commission since December. Anyway, Faith was in the same boat--had gained weight and didn't really want to clothes show. This worked out well since our shopping time was cut down by an hour. She bought a Swarovski ring--the same one I have. Then we both got those Sketchers shoes that are supposed to tone your legs. Even if they only work a fraction better than regular tennis shoes, that's great as I'm now walking an hour a day with the dog. Also, they happen to be really comfortable and I needed new gym shoes anyhow. We split up at one point. Faith needed luggage and I needed a new bra. Bra shopping is hard for me b/c my boobs are so damn big. A couple of years ago, Faith went with me and finally understood the hell I go through. Stores rarely have my size, and when they do, it's nothing cute. I can never get matching sets. Well, since I'd put on some weight, I knew I'd be a bigger size. I figured I'd be a bigger band width, so I grabbed about 6 bras to try on. 3 in 36 and 3 in 38. Then the woman offered a free bra fitting. Sure thing. She told me I was between a 34 and 36, which I thought was impossible since a 36 has been feeling tight. Then she told me my cup size. I literally almost started to cry right in the middle of the fitting room. Instead of going up a band size like a *normal* human, my boobs decided to go up a cup size. An entire, freaking. Cup. SIZE. I text Tosha. I call Faith. She looks on the bright side and says, well, if you ever have kids, you now have maternity bras. Ohdeargod. I can't even imagine how giant my boobs would be if I got pregnant. I would probably be bedridden and unable to sit up. My poor spine. As I'm trying on the new, correct-sized bras (which are now feeling much more comfortable, dammit), I recommit to losing 30lbs. Over Christmas I'd mentioned to a friend that amount, and she was like, you don't have 30 pounds to lose. I jokingly said it was mostly boob. Turns out it wasn't so much of a joke. So, I suck it up and buy three bras at the outlet for less than I would spend on 1 bra at a normal department store. That's at least good. And I've been wearing them and they fit much better.

So, after we finish up our purchases, we head down to the Drafthouse. The movie was really good, the food was really good, and Faith liked the concept of being able to eat and view at the same time. We head back home to take The Professor on his walk. I think it's around 5pm. I haven't stopped since Friday, and I'm completely exhausted. On top of that, my knee is killing me from all of the walking. So, I decide to pull out of the Escape Hatch show that evening. We ended up watching Seabiscuit, which I really enjoyed. I got ready for bed, seeing as how Monday was *also* a big day. We needed to leave my place at 6:45am so I could get her to the airport and be back for my follow-up knee appointment. It sucked saying goodbye. She wasn't here long enough. We didn't really get to explore Austin. But it was so great to see her. Best birthday gift I could have asked for. Next visit, I won't try to cram 80 million things into 1 day.