Birthday 2020
Posted on November 5, 2020 by Ching under Events, Food and Drink.
No major birthday plans this year because we’re not really traveling but I did take the day off work on Friday for my birthday. Started the day with a pickleball lesson from my sensei Chris Heck who I haven’t seen in forever.
It was the perfect opportunity to wear our matching shirts that I got made for us.
Chris is such a good sport.
After my lesson, Brian and I had a nice leisurely lunch at Genova in Newton. We were originally going to the Belmont but they aren’t open for lunch. Well, before that we were going to have lunch at the art museum but my friend Teresa wasn’t going to be there so we decided to go elsewhere so Genova was actually third on the list. Another idea we ended up scrapping was our trip to Botanica which I wasn’t really too bummed about because we’re going next month for Illuminations. We just had too much to do and not enough time to do everything and lunch took longer than expected, specially since it was a bit of a trek to Newton.
We would have had more time but I didn’t want to give up my Friday night pickleball. On Fridays I try to hit the 5 PM open play at Nahola before our normal 7 PM mixed doubles games. I always look forward to Friday nights because it’s the one night a week these days that I can get four hours of uninterrupted play.
I brought cupcakes and caramel apples for everyone. I would have brought cake because I love cake but I didn’t want to have to mess with bringing plates and plastic forks. Anyway, Donnie and Tiffany brought birthday shots — 99 Bananas — in tampon flasks. I thought the flask was clever but the shot was disgusting. It tasted like a shot of rubbing alcohol which should be no surprise given that the liquor is 99 proof.
Tiffany and Donnie made me a really cool “Pickleball Addict” wood sign. Brian and I put it on the fireplace mantle under the TV in the hearth area.
Debbie gave me a very eco-friendly stainless steel straw set and a fun slap watch. She is so thoughtful.
On Saturday Karen and I had the Halloween Smash tournament at Chicken N Pickle. Brian dropped me off at her house so the two of us could get ready and ride to CNP together but before that she made Dutch baby pancakes for the three of us because (a) they are delicious and (b) Brian had never had it before.
Karen surprised me with matching birthday shirts.
She also made us these awesome Dorothy costumes. She even painted our shoes red! Our costumes turned out fabulous. Karen is so crafty!
Here’s the finished product with Molly as Toto.
Sammi came dressed as Patrick Smith.
The cake was another surprise.
Beside the cake, there were other treats there too.
Here are a few more pictures from Saturday.
The Jens gave me birthday flowers. How sweet is that?
The tournament had a great turnout and some really awesome costumes.
Here are the finalists.
Karen and I didn’t win the costume contest or the pickleball tournament but we got pretty close. And, we had a ton of fun.
After the tournament, Brian, Karen, and I had a late lunch at Carrabba’s — my favorite place to celebrate.
And then all that sugar put Brian into a coma.
Here’s a better pic.
But before his nap he helped me hang my other present from Karen.
The next day Karen and I wore our birthday shirts to Brunch & Bingo open play at CNP. I could really take or leave the open play part but I am absolutely hooked on Bingo. It is currently my favorite thing to do on Sundays.
Here’s what I had for breakfast on Sunday.
I couldn’t decide between the chicken and waffles and the biscuits and gravy and so as a compromise I got the biscuits and gravy and added chicken. Add a bunch of mimosas (only $5 during Brunch & Bingo) and I was in a coma.
I didn’t nap with Brian on Saturday afternoon but I did join him for a nap on Sunday. He insisted that the two of us would fit together in the couch. I had my doubts but he proved me wrong.
Anyway, I may not have gotten to travel but it was a wonderful weekend overall.
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