Did someone say cake?

The boss' birthday was today. But he wasn't in town this week. To celebrate, he bought us a cake, and we got to enjoy it -- even if he wasn't there. We texted him pictures though...

and the cake was really yummy, there was hardly anything left in just a short period of time...

Birthday presents

Hubby paid for my car repairs last week, so this week, he told me that instead of paying him back, I could just go and spend the money on whatever I wanted. So, I took a trip to Starbucks, Chapters/Indigo, and Grandview Corners. This resulted in the following presents... 2 tops, 1 puzzle, 4 books, and 1 journal...

Most of it was on sale, and 2 of the books were in the discount bin, so it was just slightly over budget. Overall, I think I made out pretty good!

My Birthday Horoscope

As per www.georgianichols.com

If your Birthday is Today:
Actor Henry Winkler (1945) shares your birthday today.

Yes he does! The Fonz!! I knew that!

You have an expressive communications style!

OK, hmmm, never really thought about how I communicate. I've been accused of not communicating, and being too quiet. So expressive is not something I would peg myself as.

You are determined, independent, assertive and you have will power.

Determined, yes! Independent, yes! Assertive, when I need to be. Will Power, not!

Service to others is your theme this year.

Really? Oh, darn. It's usually all about me, me, me!

Focus on your personal responsibilities to family as well as yourself.

Focus on Family - ok, got it!

Take care of yourself so you are a strong resource.

Take care of me -- ok, I will!

Nurture relationships you value.

My husband!

Explore the arts, enroll in a class.

Arts? Really? Me? Not likely.

Personalize your home with treasures that have meaning.

OMG - don't give me a new excuse to obtain more junk! We have enough STUFF around this house. I really need to pare down this year, not acquire more!

 

Birthday present

I couldn't decide what to get Hubby for his birthday. He mentioned that he wanted to get an electric guitar, so we decided that his birthday was the perfect opportunity to splurge and get him one. He bought himself a really nice Fender Stratocaster...

But, the best part of this whole idea? The music store is close to the Chapters/Indigo book store. So, I took him out for breakfast, he dropped me at the book store (with permission to buy as many books as I wanted), and he went and got himself the guitar. He picked me up about an hour later, and we both had smiles on our faces!

My horoscope today

If Your Birthday Is Today
Yes, it is!

Energy innovator Danielle Fong (1987 ) shares your birthday today.
Who?

You are decisive, determined and you have lots of willpower.
Yes, I would agree with that.

You also have strong communication skills.
Sometimes. Other times, I forget my words!

This is a year full of excitement and change!
Yeah!

Opportunities will present themselves, and when they do, you must act fast.
Ok, I'll try and remember that!

Your personal freedom will be a top priority.
Personal freedom? Not sure what that means. I guess I better figure it out if it's supposed to be a top priority for me!

You will also travel this year and do things to expand your horizons.
Um, travel... unless it's for work, it's not likely. Expand my horizons... more likely.

Enjoy this busy, fast-paced year!
Ok, thanks, I will!!

Birthday

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Husband!
Although we both had to work today, I'm happy we got to spend the evening together! Have a wonderful year! Love you!

Early birthday celebrations

Hubby's birthday is on Tuesday. But we both have to work. So today, I took him out for breakfast to our favourite breakfast spot (White Spot), and then I bought him a new golf bag for his birthday...

Birthday Dinner

For my birthday dinner this year, we finally got a chance to go to a new restaurant in the neighbourhood. It opened under a year ago, and we've been watching the reviews and waiting for the perfect excuse to go. Pat Quinn's Restaurant

Our appetizers were huge. Almost too much...

We both ordered the special that night (Prime Rib). It was really good.
Then for dessert. We split the cheesecake, which was a little different looking but still really good.

All in all, we had a great experience. The food (although a little too much food) was really good. The service was great early on in the dinner. But, later on, as the restaurant became busier, the service wasn't as great. We had to wait a long time for our coffees with the dessert. But, I think we'll be back again.

Happy Birthday Hubby

It's my Hubby's birthday today, and this is his horoscope...

If Your Birthday Is Today
You have great social skills. You are in the know and current with whatever is happening. Something you've been involved with for about nine years will end or diminish this year will to make room for something new. Although this will be a year of service to others, it is also a great year to travel. Get ready for a fresh, new cycle waiting in your future!

My 50th Birthday recap Part 2

Once we were all together, we wandered over to the restaurant. We were only a few blocks away, and it was not raining (thank you Mother Nature!)

Hubby and I shared two appetizers. We had raw oysters, and crab cakes...

 Brother-in-law had the salad, which was HUGE...

Our main courses came. We all had fish... except Bro-in-Law had steak and crab (not shown)

And when we didn't think we could eat anymore, we ordered two deserts for the table to share. Cheesecake, and chocolate cake (that they called Sin cake)

Overall, the food and service was great. Expensive, but really good. We stopped for another drink at the bar in the hotel on the way up to the room. I had a glass of ice wine, which on second thought wasn't such a great idea. It was good, but I had too much to drink by then, and while I was feeling better, I still had that flu bug hanging on.

My 50th Birthday recap Part 1

For my 50th birthday, hubby decided to book us into the Hotel Vancouver for the night, and then meet up with friends for dinner. Here are just a few pics of the festivities...
We checked into the hotel, and then quickly went downstairs for lunch. Neither of us had eaten breakfast, and we still had 6 or 7 hours to go before dinner. We both had the shrimp cocktail...

I ordered the chicken noodle soup, and he ordered the club sandwich... both were really good!

Then, we hung out in the room. I had a cup of tea and a bath, and he had a nap, and watched TV.

Then we went for a walk. We wandered over to a cigar shop close by the hotel, and bought him a few cigars to enjoy some other time. The view from our room wasn't so great. But if you look really close, you can see a peek-a-boo view to the water just under the gargoyle's head...

We got dressed to go out for dinner, but went downstairs to the bar to have a few drinks first. Hubby's brother, and his new girlfriend were going to meet us for drinks before dinner...

Birthday Horoscope

According to georgianicols.com (one of my favourite horoscope pages) here is my horoscope for my birthday day...

If Your Birthday Is Today
Chef/restaurateur Stephanie Izard (1978 ) shares your birthday today.

Who?

 

You are confident and organized, which is half the battle in life.

Confident? Maybe. Organized. Yes!

What is the other half?

 

Fortunately, you are also a multitalented, risk taker.

Multitalented? I can multi-task. Is that the same thing?

Risk Taker? It depends on if spiders are involved or not. 

 

This year you will face a major decision.

Ugh. Wonder what that would be?

 

Save your money in the first half of the year and cut down on overhead expenses because this will help you later in the year.

Does this have anything to do with that major decision you mentioned?

Because really, so far this year, I just want to spend money!

 

Your integrity and patience will be tested.

OMG, I am not the most patient person on earth!

 

I think this will be an interesting year!

The purse that just won't be

Hubby decided he wanted to buy me a Michael Kors handbag for my birthday. I picked one out of the catalogue...

but when we went to the store, we found out that they were sold out. Across Canada. My only option is to order it in the US, and pay the same price, but in USD. Which is like 25% more. And I would need to have it shipped somewhere in the US, and then have it shipped here. Unfortunately, I don't think it's worth it. So, I'm going to look around, and pick something else out.

Happy Birthday

Remember the brisket story? You can read it HERE.
Well today, we cooked the brisket. Why? Because we had people over today.
And we had people over today to celebrate my husband's 50th birthday!!

Happy Birthday Hubby! I hope you had a wonderful day. Love you!
PS -- I bought him a PS4 for his birthday.

It's my birthday!

My horoscope for today from georgianicols.com. For my day horoscope...

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
You are charming and diplomatic with both the Sun and Venus in your sign now, which is a good thing because Mars and the Moon will create feisty discussions at home. In fact, discussions with a female relative are important today. Things will go well.

I did talk to my sister and my Mom today. And the discussions went well. But, I really don't think the discussions were that important.

For my yearly horoscope...

If Your Birthday Is Today
Why, yes it is

Businesswoman Ivanka Trump (1981) shares your birthday today.
I did not know that.

You are multitalented and competent. In particular, you know how to organize a situation and direct the efforts of others.
Multi-talented is nice. Competent... yeah, ok, I guess so. Yes, I do know how to organize!

You can initiate bright ideas but you will also follow suggestions as well.
Geez, that statement just covers all the bases doesn't it?

This year your success lies with others. People will benefit you. Therefore, make friends and join clubs. Help others because you will also be helping yourself.
Interesting. I'm not a big people person, so this might be an interesting year. Join a club? What if I don't want to? Help others... yeah, I can do that. Not sure how that will help me, but I'll go with it.

Now, despite my lacklustre horoscope above, I actually had a really good day today. I always take my birthday week off as vacation, so any day I don't have to drive to work is a good day. But, I went shopping and spent money on myself, so even better! It was a pretty quiet birthday overall (hubby had to work), but we had celebrated last weekend in Victoria. I'm happy, and I think it's going to be a good year!

birthdays

One of the niece's had a birthday recently. Her birthday wish? To have the whole family over for a BBQ. Here are just a few pics of the festivities today...

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Husband!
We usually don't buy each other lots of gifts during the year -- we wait until Christmas time to spoil each other. But a recent payout of my overtime at work, found me with a few dollars burning a hole in my pocket. So, I bought my husband and iPad Air for his birthday today...

He wasn't all that surprised - I had been asking him for weeks about what kind he wanted (mini or regular), and what colour, etc. But, he is happy. We both had the day off work, so we then spent the rest of the day doing a bit of running around, shopping (I bought him a bunch of new shirts), having lunch together (White Spot chicken pickens.... mmmmm!) and then lazing around the pool and back yard enjoying the super sunny weather. I'm so glad we got to spend the day together.
Happy Birthday hubby! I love you!

I spoiled myself -- but it's ok -- it was my Birthday

The story of the tires...
Yesterday was my birthday, and I decided to drop my car off at the dealership to get some work done, and in turn, have my sister pick me up and spend the day with her. It worked out great. We got lots of running around done, and went for Dim Sum for lunch.
Meanwhile, my car cost me a lot more than I thought it would. But, there was a problem. I had them put the snow tires on my car. My snow tires are mounted on some of the ugliest black rims you've ever seen. So, I had gone to Canadian Tire and put some cheap hub caps on the tires. That made it look somewhat better...

But the shop couldn't find the spring for one of the rims. Which means I only had 3 tires that looked OK, and one that was really ugly. THEN... when I was driving home, I noticed a really bad squeaking noise from the front tires. I kind of freaked out. So, I called hubby, and told him I was going to head to our local tire shop to have them check out the tires. I was worried that the dealership might have messed something up.

It turned out to be the stupid cheap hubcaps. Once those were taken off, the noise went away. But, the tires looked so ugly. So the tire shop gave me a quote on some new rims. And so, being my birthday an all, I decided to go ahead and buy new rims...

I am so happy with the results! I don't have to worry about cheap hubcaps falling off anymore, or worry about them making weird loud squeaky noises. But, it was an expensive birthday!!

My Birthday Horoscope

According to my favourite horoscope website... Georgia Nicols

If Your Birthday Is Today October 30th... 
Actor/director Henry Winkler (1945) shares your birthday today.
Yes he does. Does that make me as cool as the Fonz?

You are practical, committed and organized.
Yes... sometimes to a fault

You're a doer.
I can get things done.

You listen to those around you and then act with confidence.
I do?

Many of you are multi-talented and versatile and can excel in more than one field.
Yes, I guess this is true too. In my career I worked as both an accountant, and as a IT support analyst.

You sure know how to rally the troops when you need support.
I like to organize things, so I guess "rallying the troops" falls into this category

This year you enter an exciting new cycle. Open any door!
Oooo! Really? Hi Monty, I'll take what's behind door number 2 please! :-)

Presents

For my birthday presents this year, my husband took me to Chapters and told me to pick out what I wanted. So, I got a new cup, and a new book to read...

I've already used the mug for tea, and can't wait to start the book.