I'm 25 today!

HisBelovedOne

Wow. Feels so weird to recognize that I am officially one quarter century old.

Anyway! Today I've been busy, and I've only been up for 2 1/2 hours. I'm making chicken tikka masala tonight (and tofu tikka masala for me and FI's mom, because we don't eat chicken). My youngest sister can't handle spicy food, so I told her I would put some chicken in a not-spicy marinade for her. Well, I forgot and accidentally put all of the chicken in the spicy marinade last night, so I had to run to the store to buy more chicken to get it in the steakhouse marinade as soon as possible. It's not going to soak as long as the rest of the chicken, but it will still get the benefit of 8 hours.

While I was out I stopped at Starbucks (free drink on your birthday if you're on their mailing list - they mail you a postcard), and the bank to deposit a check, and Lowes to get mulch for the back yard. Still have more to do - a little yardwork (Little Sister's helping me with the mulch, and I have to clean the grill), some housework (dishes, laundry), a shower, and then leaving for Tampa with my fiance who's trying to spoil me rotten. Then home to get dinner cooking, and a movie after dinner.

I'd better get going. FI is going to be here soon and I want to get stuff at least started before we leave!

raangoli

Happy Birthday!

How you have quite a busy weekend ahead of you! I hope the birthday dinner goes well! Can't wait to hear about it afterwards.

Enjoy!

Jeff and Deepthi

Wow!!! That's a lot for your birthday. I normally am horribly lazy on my birthday! Good for you have a blessed day!

Hinaj

Happy Birthday!!!!  Wow, you are like Wonder Woman, such a busy schedule!!!

HisBelovedOne

Thanks, ladies:)

I don't know how to be still anymore, lol. I stopped being able to be lazy once my son was born, so I just got used to being on the go all the time. It bores me to be lazy for longer than a few hours at a time, so I'm happy for the busy-ness:)

jnsaini

Oh wow lots on your list, fun packed bday!! Happy Birthday!ah to be young!

kavita85

Happy birthday! Mmm...I love chicken tikka masala.

trueleo818

haaapppyyyy birthday!

HisBelovedOne

Thanks, all:) It was a great day. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow - I've been running practicaly full steam since 8ish this morning and I am going to collapse into bed just as soon as I can make myself get up off this couch, lol.

Bhanu&Anuj

Happy Birthday dear!!!!!

HisBelovedOne

So here's my report, lol. Yesterday was fun. Had my busy morning. FI and J (a friend of ours) got there at 11:40, a little earlier than I had anticipated, and we left (with Kidlet) for Tampa around noonish. We had lunch at a little Indian place we like (at which Kidlet managed to eat quite a bit more food than usual and didn't seem to have a problem with any of the spicier stuff), and then went to the sari shop a few doors down. FI bought me a set of bangles, and the both of them split the cost of this gorgeous green-and-copper sari with me.

While we were there, I also tried on a lengha. According to the shop owner, this is the most common bridal attire for families of my intended's class (Sindhi). She told me that saris are less common for bridal ceremony attire, but I can't remember why. FI planning to find out from his mom and sister if a sari is acceptable, because there was one I absolutely adored, but if a lengha is required, then there's no harm looking for one. The one I tried was just a bit small in the bust. Also, I've already bought my jewelry in silver and red with the intention of buying a silver and red sari. if I can find a silver and red lengha, then I have no problem changing it.

After the sari shop, we dropped J off at home and went back to my house to get started on dinner. Which kinda turned into a bit of a disaster for a while - there was still some work I needed to finish before we started the grill, and then the coals took forEVER to light. The bag said 10 minutes, but they were easily half an hour before they even lit, let alone got hot enough to cook! I was rolling out naan and cooking the sauce for the tikka masala while my sisters and fiance were arguing with the grill. Mom came home with the cake and the grilling commenced. It was definitely a team effort - Mom grilled, FI and Little Sister took chicken off skewers, and I was minding four pots on the stove plus the George Foreman grill in the kitchen while my other sister kept Kidlet entertained.  I think I used every cooking pot and serving spoon we own...

FI's parents and J got there right as I was turning off the burners and getting ready to get food out. They came with a dish of paneer (and his mom makes really good paneer). It was a bit of a zoo, and the dogs went a bit nuts. We had plenty of food - chicken and tofu, rice, peas, paneer, naan, tea, lemonade. My chicken got rave reviews, so I'm glad for that.  I accidentally overcooked the naan, so it was tough instead of crispy outside/soft inside, but the flavor was right.

The dogs spent dinnertime nosing around begging for food. Not one of the three succeeded in puppy-facing their way into being fed. However, my sneaky golden retriever who happens to be nose-height to the table managed to steal two pieces of naan off the tray before anyone could stop her.

It got too muggy and the mosquitoes were brave enough to ignore the OFF fans we had placed around the tables. Sister had gone inside before any of the rest of us did because she got overheated. So we went inside for cake - Publix white cake with strawberries and whipped topping. I would have made the cake myself, but I didn't want or have time to do it, and Publix makes good cake anyway. Then there was some talking and some presents to open (I tried to tell them not to get me anything. They didn't listen). His parents bought me a stick blender. J gave me money to buy a pressure cooker - apparently the one she'd planned to buy wasn't in stock, or something, so she gave me the money for it with instructions to go buy it when it was back in stock.

Everyone was out the door by 10. FI and I made it to a 10:15 show of Splice. It was a good movie, but it was really WEIRD. I won't give away details in case anyone else plans to see it, but there are just so many strange things that trying to figure them all out gives me a bit of a headache. From logistics to ethics to "ok, that's just WRONG,"  it was just a bizarre kind of film.

Got home late - a little before 1 am. Checked emails and messages and went to sleep. Went back to the sari ship today with his family (it was supposed to be just me and his mom, but it turned into me, both parents, and his brother, not really sure how) to get the blouse measurements done. I go back in another week to pick it up - so I'll have pictures to share when I get it back.