Wednesday, June 01, 2011

In Which I Turn 39 and a Bubble is Cruelly Burst

We're just back from an extra-long weekend in Arizona, visiting my family- which is why I've been so quiet. It would have been silly to subject us all to a six hour drive and then spend all my time hanging out on the computer blogging. You only got the last weekend reading post because I needed to do something on the computer for work and then couldn't, so I had to email my boss and wait for an answer.

Anyway, it was a good trip. The kids enjoyed the extra attention that comes from being with their grandparents, and the parents enjoyed the corresponding extra little bit of time not chasing kids.

The kids got some time with my grandparents, too. I remember all four of my great-grandparents on my Dad's side, and have always been grateful for that. I may not have realized it at the time, but knowing them added some perspective to my life that I would otherwise have missed. I'm hoping that my kids will get some of that, too. Pumpkin is getting to be old enough that she might remember some of this when she's grown, and my grandparents are still going strong, so there is a chance that my late start on child-rearing won't deprive my kids of the chance to brag about knowing their great-grandparents.


We were in Arizona over my birthday. As the years tick over, I'm less inclined to make a big fuss about my birthday. But with a four year old in the family, ignoring it is not an option. So we packed up the kids and met my cousin and her kids at a local park. Pumpkin enjoyed singing Happy Birthday to me and eating cupcakes. But she really liked the chance to play with her cousin at the cool park with a carousel, some rides, and a train:


(This is at Freestone Park, for anyone visiting the eastern end of the Phoenix area and looking for ways to entertain a four year old.)

After lunch, Hubby and I grabbed our overnight bag and escaped for a night to Scottsdale while my parents watched the kids. We took care of some errands at the local mall and then had a leisurely beer at a bar that looked surprisingly like a transplanted midwestern dive bar:



(This is at a bar called The Lodge, for anyone visiting Scottsdale and looking for ways to entertain two decidedly unhip adults. Yes, those are antler chandeliers.)

The highlight was dinner, though. I picked a place called The Herb Box, based largely on the fact that the menu had a butternut squash enchilada with tomatillo sauce, and those are three of my favorite things. I knew I'd chosen well when we were presented with a choose your own adventure cheese menu upon sitting down:



The inclusion of a cranberry margarita on the drink menu was a bonus- again two of my favorite things in happy harmony:



There was a live jazz trio playing, and they weren't bad. I am not a big jazz fan, so I was surprised to discover that I recognized one of their songs. I was feeling like a slightly more hip adult until my husband pointed out that the reason I knew the song was that it had been done on Sesame Street, and is included in the videos we show to Petunia when she requests "mel-mo":



Oh well. At least the margarita took the sting off of the bursting of my bubble.

13 comments:

  1. Next time I'm in Phoenix, I may have to hit up that restaurant. Because mmmmm, cheese.

    Happy Birthday, belatedly. Even if it included a little bubble bursting action.

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  2. Anonymous5:08 AM

    Hahaha

    I think it's actually a sign of how cosmopolitan San Diego is. All the nice restaurants in our small town play that Norah Jones cd nonstop, and have done so for years. Sometimes I wonder if its the only cd they have.

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  3. Anonymous5:09 AM

    Oh, and happy birthday!

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  4. Happy belated birthday! Sounds like you had a perfect time :)

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  5. Are you saying you had "hipness" goggles on? :)

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  6. Happy birthday! I've never been hip so I dont even try! My friends in 6th form called me their granny, so I just roll with it and I'm slowly getting to the stage where I'm actually nearly as old as they perceive me to be!

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  7. Happy Birthday!!!

    A butternut squash enchilada with tomatillo sauce sounds delicious. If you like that kind of fare, I highly recommend anything from Bobby Flay's Mesa restaurant.

    Antlers in decor aren't a hip trend anymore? Or did it seem like in that bar they were going for "old west" theme and were too literal with them?

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  8. Happy Birthday! I don't like Norah Jones (with the exception of her tracks on Rome - those I like a lot) or jazz music. I am that unhip. I think it's good you celebrated your birthday even if it was only because four year olds love a birthday party. :)

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  9. Happy Birthday! I am jealous of your date and overnight... even if there were antler chandeliers involved! Awesome!

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  10. the milliner5:17 PM

    Happy Belated Birthday!

    Butternut squash, enchiladas and tomatillos are on my list of favorite foods too. Well, that and margaritas! Dinner sounds like it was great. And you can never go wrong with cheese and charcuterie.

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  11. Ha ha! (re the Nora Jones song)

    And happy 39th! Sounds like a great time.

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  12. (A very belated) Happy Birthday!!! I hope that 39 is a wonderful year!

    I love jazz and Norah Jones. In fact, I Don't Know Why is one of the songs I sing to the Pookie at bedtime. :-)

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