Birthday Fun 2013

"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate." - Oprah Winfrey

She's full of great quotes.  I just imagine her saying it like "the more there is in life to CEEEELLLEEEEBRAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!" and then she brings out all of her favorite things.  As gifts.  For my birthday.  The big 33.

Not so much! This year I had a rough July, but made it through.  Not ones to dwell on the bad times for too long, we decided to throw a fun party on the Friday night before with friends from Den Haag and friends from work (and some friends from work who are from Den Haag).  Because it was my birthday yesterday we had a decent excuse to go a little overboard and not just have a "get-together".  This is my third birthday while living in The Netherlands, but the first time we invited a group of people to celebrate.

My very good friend Job (like from the Bible, but pronounced like "Yop" because sometimes J's sound like Y's and at the end of a word a b sounds like a p.  Got it?) ...back to the story.... Job owns an establishment right near our house (click here to visit Vino's Website).  I wish this shameless plug would do something for business, but as most of the blog readers are in the US, I doubt there will be a major increase in new customers related to this being posted.  I keep side tracking today.  He agreed to let us bring wing sauce from Buffalo Wild Wings into his fine establishment and he cooked up 22 lbs of chicken wings.

Job and I.  I'm allowed behind the bar here because when I want a margarita, I bring my own blender and cut the strawberries myself.  Thanks Job for letting us have this party! It was one of the best birthdays I've had.

And we're all lucky to have such good looking wings.  In case you're curious about the sauce options we had (left to right and mildest to spiciest) Parmesan Garlic, Medium, Spicy Garlic, Asian Zing, Caribbean Jerk, Jammin Jalapeno, Wild and Mango Habanero).  Ranch dressing is really hard to come by in The Netherlands, so we also whipped some up from Ranch packets we bought in the US.  Also on the menu, celery sticks (going with the BWW theme!) and bread.

 I was humbled and even shamed a bit when so many friends showed up to celebrate.  I've said more often than I ought to that I don't really have friends here.  But, I certainly had a lot of people show up to celebrate with me and put me in my place.  Now that I think about it... maybe they just came for the wings?  Before I post too many pics I should get permission... but here are a few to get started.

My friend Roxanne, the beautiful fiance of Job.  She and I have become quick friends over the last year and I think I've got her hooked on margaritas.

Adam was surprised about how the Dutch congratulate on a birthday.  I am more accustomed to it from work and some other social situations.  It isn't just the birthday person who gets the congratulations.  It is everybody! So people not only congratulated me with "Gefeliciteerd" and 3 kisses on the cheeks, but also congratulated Adam and shook hands with everybody else! To us it is funny, but I like it.  It isn't just you who celebrates, it is also your friends and family.  One colleague came in and said "Happy Birthday.  So how do you want to do this, the Dutch way or the American way?"  He lived in the US for many years but is Dutch.  I extended my hand for a shake.  "Aaaah the American way!"

Something else we learned was that some Dutch friends were surprised at the number of colleagues who showed up.  It isn't a typical crowd you'd invite to your party if you were Dutch.  Outside of work, though, it really is true that I don't know a lot of people.  I've never been one to have a huge number of friends, I focus on quality over quantity for sure!

At work we have a great international community that gets together for holidays and celebrations because your family is usually far away.  So, we celebrated with colleagues, neighborhood friends and friends from Adam's lacrosse. Here are pics of some of the group:

After enough wings (we cleaned up all 22 lbs without trouble!) and a few more than enough beverages, some people started heading home and others stuck it out pretty late for dancing, shots and a lot of laughing.

I can't tell you what was funny (I plead the 5th), but I can tell you this smile and laugh on my face is 100% genuine.   There's no faking it with these two.  It is a fuzzy photo, but worth sharing.

Obviously, I found it a little overwhelming.  To me, time spent together means a lot more than any gift I could get.  Although I was given some really thoughtful presents, the most important thing was to have a great time together.  I was feeling the love!  Special thanks to Vino for letting us do this- I think we should make it a monthly tradition.

On my actual birthday (good thing I had 2 days to recover from the party...) I had a regular day at work and when I came home I got to have a skype birthday party with Addie and Ruby.  The cake was chocolate and had a "3" candle and 3 single candles.  Addie sang "Happy Birthday" a few times, but also "Boys 'Round Here", "Pontoon" and the chorus of "Jingle Bells".  Ruby was dancing along and it was really nice to see the girls for awhile.

After we were done on skype but before leaving for our dinner date, I asked Adam if we could take a family photo.  He was annoyed, but tried it anyhow.  We have a dog visiting, Milo's best buddy Twister who also came from Iowa (just like Milo) and we were trying to get a pic with all four of us.  We had some trouble getting everybody to sit still...myself included... and ended up with some entertaining photos.  I am laughing in most of them, but here are a few of the better ones.

This could be in those "awkward family photos".  Twister was looking at Milo, who took off from the rug just before the camera took the picture.

This time they both made a run for it.  We gave up after this one.

My favorite restaurant in The Hague is Naga Thai.  It isn't quite within walking distance and no tram runs to that street.  So how does a girl in a short dress get to the restaurant? She steers with 1 hand and holds her dress in place with the other! This was not an easy task.

It always helps to burn some calories on the way to dinner and again on the way home!  Taking a break at the stop light.

I know what you're thinking... "What kind of shoes would she wear to bike there?"

Black high heels of course! Along with a new purse (birthday present).

Last but not least- Valet Parking at the restaurant.  I just pulled up, handed this guy the key and he parked the vehicles- at no cost!

Thankfully they were still there when we left the restaurant.

We had a tasty dinner- Adam always gets pad thai and I always get a spicy duck dish with rice.  We also had a little appetizer sampler.  Service was good, food was excellent.

For dessert, we went back home and dug into a cheesecake we made for the occasion.

He even remembered to use the dessert plates!

Besides all of this, I was happy to receive so many calls, emails, texts and facebook notes to wish me a nice day.  If we could think more often to be so kind to others on regular days too, a lot of people would have their spirits lifted on a regular basis.

All-in-all, my 32nd year was a nice one.  Some days and weeks were hard, but some were really amazing too.  I went a lot of places I would never have imagined to go to, had several trips back to the US and home, started up a new hobby - hot yoga, lost some weight, took on some cool projects at work, and made some new friends.

Thanks again for all the love- I hope you've enjoyed seeing how an old American lady celebrates her birthday in Nederland!

Dank je wel en Tot Ziens!