Today is Andrew's twenty-eighth birthday. I don't have any surprises planned. We don't like surprises. Andrew has already received all of his gifts in advance (most of them on or around July 12) and he was the one who picked them out. I did have some suggestions to start him off with, though. He decided he mainly wanted things for the kitchen, such as the seven-piece set of J.A. Henckels knives with storage block. It didn't include steak knives or kitchen shears so we had to purchase those items separately. He also found a neat little cutter that has two parallel half-moon blades that is good for mincing. The name of it is Mezzaluna and it's made by Fiskars. It takes a while to get used to. To accessorize the new non-stick wok we also bought some bamboo cooking tools that won't scratch the protective surface. Beyond those things, the only other thing Andrew got specifically for his birthday was while we were visiting my mom down in Orlando at the beginning of June, which was a Nostalgic Stereo System (with CD player and AM/FM radio) by Memorex. It is deliciously retro looking and he had a difficult time passing it by. He let me have his old stereo, which appropriately enough, he had gotten for his last birthday :). It's nice to again have tunes in my room.
I have been wanting to also get Andrew a bowling ball and shoes (ever since I discovered that he, in fact, likes to bowl), but there just isn't enough time left to do anything much with them, now that school will be starting so shortly. I'm afraid they'll just sit on a shelf for six months, by which time we'd need to have the holes re-drilled for his fingers because he is quickly losing weight. Time is also rapidly diminishing and it feels like we have still so much to compress into it. I'll just have to save that thought for Christmastime. Perhaps when my mom comes to visit us then, we can get Andrew properly outfitted and all go out bowling together. Sounds like fun. We had such a blast driving down to St. Pete (where I grew up and my brother still resides) from Orlando to meet up with my brother, his girlfriend, and her son. We bowled several games that night. I hope mom can make it here, we miss her so much.
Anyway, happy birthday, Andrew. I didn't get for you a card or a cake, but you specifically asked me not to. We'll bake up some key lime (his absolute favorite foods always begin with these two words) bars together later on this evening after you get back from your orientation at GMU. I look forward to it. I love you!!
-- CrystalShiloh @ 02:41 PM