Vivian's Birthday

On Monday, Vivian had another birthday, and we had a lot of fun things happening leading up to her big day.

On Friday night, we dropped by the Eagle's Lodge so Vivian could have her birthday jam at Jitterbugs' Night Out. She got the lead the shim dance immediately following. After the dance, we decided to break from tradition and dropped by the cozy little Donut Stop in south of downtown instead of our usual haunt, Village Inn. It proved to be a great idea — the place was packed with teenagers drinking milk and playing games, and the warm, sugary goodness of a couple fresh donuts was a welcome change. Jenny and Lisa joined Vivian and me as we stuffed our faces with a few Bavarian cream donuts, and then we scraped together loose change and begged from friends (namely Ben & Ben) to get a couple more.

The weather's been absolutely gorgeous for the last week or two, so Vivian and I were sure to attend the final Lindy in the Park down at 11th and Farnam with our friends. Then on Monday — Vivian's birthday — I decided to surprise her with a picnic lunch at Keystone Park. I brought some Sushi for Two from Sakura Bana, which we washed down with Green Tea in the best picnic weather possible.

On Monday night, I took Vivian out to dinner with a bunch of our friends. We went to Malara's Italian Restaurant, which is best known for its selection of homemade pasta. Vivian had spaghetti with white sauce and a laughably large sausage in the middle (just begging for a "that's what she said" joke). There was enough left over to fill a to-go box that I and everyone at the table decorated with our happy birthday wishes.

The lot of us returned to our house down in Bellevue, where I mixed up some martinis for the very first time for everyone. I made some vodka martinis, chocolate martinis, apple martinis, and a virgin apple martini with blended ice that seemed to go over best. I did learn the hard way not to mix "virgin" cocktails in the cocktail shaker — the carbonated ingredients exploded all over me and the kitchen, so I wound up wearing a Shirley Temple for the rest of the night.

Donna brought cake for everyone, and we ate it with some Bailey's Ice Cream I special-ordered from our favorite ice cream parlor, Ted & Wally's. After that, Vivian opened presents, which included a sock monkey hat, a new slow-cooker, and a water bottle filled with Lindor Truffles, among other things.

We had enough martini ingredients left over that I'll have to schedule a cocktail party to use them up. It'd be nice to have an excuse to practice my mixing skills once again. In the meantime, Happy Birthday, Vivian! I love you and hope we have another wonderful year together.