The Big Two Six

I am now closer in age to 30 than I am to 20. I've had a couple friends turn 26 before me, and they both said in terms of ages, 26 pretty much sucks. All the upcoming big birthdays will be celebrations of decades. Decades. That sounds crazy to me. Just this weekend, Michelle and I were driving home from the Cape, and "The Sign" by Ace of Base came on 90s on 9 on XM radio.

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but satellite radio has changed my car-radio-listening life. It's one of those things I thought I could do without, since, hey, why would I pay for radio when I can get it for free? Well, we got a three month trial when Michelle got her new car, and we have never looked back. DVR is a must-have on the couch. Sirius XM is a must-have in the driver's seat.

Back to Ace of Base. I remember sitting at the lunch table in fourth grade singing this song with my friends when it first came out. I remember owning the cassette tape of the album.

I can't remember all the words to the song, but Michelle can. It drives me crazy when she knows the words to a song and I don't. If she has a hidden talent, it has to do with song lyrics. She knows every song from 1960-1969 (from her mom's taste), and every song from 1992 - present. Absolutely drives me crazy.

So I glance at the screen, which shows the current song, and it says it came out in 1994. That makes sense, I finished fourth grade in 1994. That was...(quick head math)...16 years ago.

Sixteen.

I exaggerate a lot. I'll say, I haven't seen that movie in 10 years, even though it came out 3 years ago. But I could honestly say I remember singing that song with my friends SIX-TEEN years ago. I know 26 isn't old, but it's the oldest I've ever been.

So back to my birthday. Michelle asked me what I wanted for a birthday dinner, and I was stumped. I thought for days about what I wanted. I finally decided on eggplant parm. Simple, comfortable, and just what I was craving on a snowy weekend. Michelle goes, "What? Really?"

Yeah, really. Is that ok? She said she's never made it before, but she'd give it a try. She ended up making it for me a day early, and we had it last night. It was fantastic. I stuffed myself to the point where I couldn't finish the last bite. Leaving food on a plate is a hard thing for me to do. So today is my actual birthday. A few weeks ago, we had bought a pair of filet mignons. Michelle found a recipe to cook the steaks with a red wine and balsamic vinegar sauce. So I luckily had two amazing birthday dinners. I said it in real life, but I'm thanking you again via the internet.

I also have a latte update. Michelle was home for a few days last week, and didn't have her barista with her when she rolled out of bed at the crack of noon. So she made her own latte. And then she took a picture of it. And then she emailed it to me. And it looked amazing.

One more update. Murray's Land's End coat. He now fits in with the other yuppie dogs in the city. I think he looks like a crossing guard. Or maybe a cop doing detail work.

Officer Murray.