This year for my dear hubby's birthday I was super incredibly lame. He had no surprises - he helped make his cake, he picked out his own presents, and he planned his own weekend getaway. Year after year as birthdays and Christmases come and go I find it increasingly harder to find Brad gifts. He has it pretty easy in that I'm constantly saying things that I'd like to have. He simply takes note and surprises me with it later down the road. Each time I'm shocked that he not only was paying attention and listening to my rambling but actually remembered what I said. How lucky am I?
We booked a Southern Caribbean cruise for the first week of April, and ever since that booking Brad has been looking at underwater cameras. We, to our dismay, learned that an underwater case isn't available for our digital camera, which meant we had to buy a new camera with a case.The last cruise we went on we just took one of those dinky disposable underwater cameras that doesn't have a display screen, so you have to look through the tiny window at your subject while you're floating up and down in the current. Well, after reading lots and lots of reviews, looking at pictures, and watching videos he finally found a camera he liked. He bought it using a couple Amazon gift cards we had accumulated. It came in the mail, he excitedly opened it and played with it for a few hours. That was a month ago, but I still put it in a bag (no, I didn't even wrap it) and gave it to him for his birthday.
He did a great job acting like he had never see it before.
We went to REI the Saturday before his birthday, and he picked out this jacket for himself. I gave it to him still in the REI bag (no, this present wasn't wrapped either).
I also bought Roller Derby tickets for a match in March. We've never been to anything like this before, but we've wanted to for a while. So why not give something to my husband for his birthday that we were already planning on getting? I did give a disclaimer that this was a lame birthday on my part.
Still no wrapping paper.
This strawberry cake was delicious. I put some of my own touches on the recipe and made it even better.
I had a test Thursday night, so I couldn't skip class like I was planning on. So Brad drove me to class and went to REI to buy another present for himself while I took my test. After I finished we went out to dinner at Lime, a yummy restaurant just a mile or two away from our house. We had never been before, but we definitely plan on going again soon, like on Tuesday dollar taco nights.
Friday afternoon we drove to Sand Rock, AL for a night of camping under the stars. During the previously mentioned REI trip, Brad bought us Bivy Bags. They're pretty much little cocoons designed to keep you dry without a tent. Luckily it didn't rain, but that doesn't mean we didn't get wet. The kind of Bivys we bought were the best of designs. There was mesh over the face of the bags, which let water from the wet Southern air inside. Our sleeping bags, consequently, got soaked. Also, Killer hated it and couldn't sleep at all. But despite it all we woke up to an amazingly beautiful sunrise, which made everything worth it.
And that was Brad's birthday.
On a completely different note, thank you Neil and Valeri for the moccasins. I seriously needed them.
If you're looking at this and thinking to yourself, "that right shoe looks a little bigger than the left", you're right. Along with new shoes came the right size. Finally I don't have to squeeze my toes into a shoe that's half a size too small!
Old.
New.
