The Best Birthday Ever, and Then Some!

Ok, before we get to the birthday business, first a proud moment or two for me. Remember when we first moved in, I posted pictures of the 3rd floor and how nasty we said it was. Ugly, two inch high shag carpeting that had been there for 20 plus years...
And it didn't smell all that nice either...
And all the hard work it took to take up the carpet. As I type this, carpet staples are still my mortal enemy. There was paint spilled all over the floor and glue from a couple different carpets, never mind the 1,000,000 staples that were there and the 200 lbs radiator that needed to be moved off the carpet and into the hall.
Then instead of paying someone to finish the floors, we did them ourselves. Well here you go, the final product. I've gotta say, I'm really thrilled by the way everything came out. The floors are by no means perfect, but they never would have been. They've been really beat up over the past 100 years or so...

Can you believe that? Look how amazing that looks. I'm sorry, I've gotta brag about this one. Its a complete 180 from before. We're either going to make this into another spare bedroom, or make it the wife's office, we'll see (it has its own thermostat, so it would be easier to heat as its just one room). It still needs a new ceiling light, but we're going to wait for Lowe's to open in the next couple of weeks before buying one. Home Depot just doesn't have a very good selection.

I have another project I worked on too, but I'll wait until tomorrow to show you those pictures (see kids, that's what they call a tease in the business)

Today, what a day, my birthday!

So today was the 31st anniversary of my birth, why its not a national holiday, I'll never know. Anyway, the day started off great with presents! And who doesn't love presents. The wife got me two books (one on brewing and the other on the guys that founded DogFish Head beer(you have no idea how excited I am for this book as these guys are my idols), can't wait to read them) and two dvd seasons (season 2 of LOST and season 1 of Jericho). Really the perfect gifts for me as I love to read, I love to brew my beer and I love those two tv shows. She also got me a years renewal to xbox live, which I really needed as mine ran out so I couldn't play online until I reuppped.
Next, I opened the gift from my brother's-in-law and sister-in-law (they all chipped in on one fantastic gift), Guitar Hero III. I've played this game exactly once in a my life, and loved it. Great stuff. Oh, and Friday I got a gift from my parents. They sent me four of those new Sam Adams glasses. They're really cool, and you could taste the difference in the beer. It almost makes a bottled beer taste like it came from the tap. (beer on tap is almost always better than out of the bottle/can)

After working around the house most of the day, I got the call to go snowmobiling...Perfect day, about 25-30 degrees, all the trails perfectly groomed

That's me on my uncle's sled. Its a little bigger as its designed for two people. I hit about 55 today, and that's fast enough for me. It literally feels like you're flying when you're going that fast.
After a couple hours sledding, (btw sledding in Mainerese means snowmobiling) we went with all the family for Chinese food. There is nothing better than a Chinese food buffet on your birthday. I only made 4 trips up, but I think I got my $10 worth :)
Dinner was followed by cake and ice cream at our place. Normally I would show you a picture of the wonderfully decorated cake (courtesy of my lovely wife), but we forgot to take a picture before diving in, and by we I mean me. More gifts now! Uncles B&M got me a scorpion bowl! How cool is that! And if you look really close, there are naked ladies on the side. Bonus! Although I do have to provide my own alcohol. Uncle D, Aunt S and co. got me a crock pot. I've been talking about getting one for forever, and now its here. So many yummy things to cook, I can't wait to try it out. It might sound lame, but trust me I've been itching to get one for the past couple of months now. (how old am I, for xmas I got a wine fridge and a deep fryer, and now I get a crock pot. hey, what can I say, it makes me happy)
The evening was concluded with the wife and I testing our skills at Guitar Hero.

She tried, but... well... lets just say its not her best game. How about we say that her hands are too small to play effectively as her fingers don't reach all the keys. Yeah, we'll go with that.. (nota bene: the wife says this picture makes her look fat, but c'mon, we all know she isn't. In fact, we've both managed to lose weight since we moved. Her to the point were half her closes don't fit anymore. go figure. and yes, she'll probably kill me for saying any of this)
I, on the other hand, am a rock god! Well, at least on the "easy" level.. Its a lot of fun, and I can see myself playing a lot over the winter.

So overall, just a perfect perfect day. I really couldn't have asked for anything better. But the best part it, its a long weekend, so there's still two more days to go!