My Birthday - I'm still leveraging it

So last night--3 days after my birthday--my mom, my Love and I went to the only remotely fancy pants restaurant around here for dinner.

Eating at good restaurants used to be one of my greatest pleasures in life.  It is also one of the main reasons I used to have over $10,000 in credit card debt.  Well, that and no self-control.  But it is also how I learned about good food.  So it was sort of like a student loan, maybe.

Anyway, my Love was very disappointed that the restaurant didn't have the duck and he was slipping into grumpy so I had to say, "Whose birthday is it?" reminding him that the only person who needed to be pleased that night was ME, and grumpiness would make Us most upset.  And then he kept not ordering extra things like salad and dessert because he was paying for everything, even though I was going to make my mom pay for her part, but he got all noble and wouldn't let her.  He is always showing me up like that.  

This is the first time we've eaten out at a place with $20+ entrees in about 3 years.  We hardly ever eat out, especially at places like this because ever since we spent two years paying down our monstrous debt, spending decisions are weighed much more carefully.  And really, most of the time its not a hardship.  We like my cooking way better than any of the cheap restaurants (see? that "education" wasn't a total bust) and now, dropping over $100 for one meal?  Well, there are just so many things that are more important to me than that.  I mean it was good and all, and I wouldn't be able to replicate it at home.  But was it that good?  Not so sure.

On the other hand, sometimes I think we're way too practical and that I'm missing something by not being frivolous on occasion.  Sometimes we/I need to splurge a little so as not to feel deprived.  Left to his own devises the Cuban can be very spartan.  Like: "I don't need desserts, ever" says the man who can suck up a whole flan in a three days if one happens to just, you know, magically appear.

My first flan!  The Cuban declared it perfect.  High praise indeed.

It's just that the list of things I truly madly deeply want is much shorter these days.  And if its something small, I go ahead and buy it.  And the other things that I really want just can't be wrapped up in bows and (recycled) pretty paper. 

Because they mostly involve inner peace. 

Or livestock.

MY TRUE BIRTHDAY WISHES

Riding in Florida 2007

I want a pony.  There are horses here at the landlords' farm that are rarely visited by their owners.  Pretty horses.  They should be mine.

Colorado from Juniper Moon Farm - this is one of my most favorite sheep pics ever

I want sheep.  It used to be goats, but after seeing tons of sheep photos on the various farm blogs I follow I'm now in love with the sheep-ehz.  But if I had goats I could learn how to make chèvre......mmmmmmmm, chèvre.  I guess I could have asked for chèvre itself but that is a fleeting pleasure.  Give a girl chèvre and she eats for 15 minutes, tops.  I can inhale that stuff a day, teach her how to make chèvre (and give her a goat) and she eats for a lifetime. 

Habana Vieja, Cuba, 2008

I want to travel to other countries.  I don't think mom's $50 birthday contribution will make much of a dent in the budget.

I have no illustration for this next one because I cannot fathom its existence right now.

A job that pays decent and doesn't suck.  Oh boy, I'd really love one of those.

And more chickens.  One can never have enough.

Comments

[McCaffery]

I agree wholeheartedly about your (or my) own cooking being better than spending great sums of money out at a restaurant. For a dinner that costs $100.00, you or I could cook a weeks worth of great home cooked meals.
And Happy Belated Birthday to you!

[Stacia]

I know! That $100 is way more than I spend on just groceries in even two weeks.

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

[Kate]

I can't find a way to reply to you except by leaving a message here so here it is! thanks for the comment on my Tiles post and thanks for giving me some laughs too from your blog. You write very well and have a great sense of humour. Yes it's hard learning another language and most of my anxiety comes from knowing there are big holes waiting for me to fall in. Like my partners brother is called Pere. If I make a mistake and roll the rrrrrr then I say Perra which means BITCH! So I avoid saying his name. Best wishes Kate

[Stacia]

Thanks Kate! I have words I avoid too cause its just too dicey. You are lucky that you can actually roll those r's - I haven't got the hang of that yet. Well, I sort of can, but I sort of feel like a drag queen diva because I have to exaggerate it to get any kind of rolling sound. Sigh. One day!

[Stacia]

PS. I fixed that little email contact problem. Thanks for pointing that out!

[V]

Glad he spoiled you with a good dinner. Isn't odd what we can live without when times change?

V

PS Goats win every time!

[Stacia]

A fellow goat girl! Um, well, you know what I mean. How did you develop a love of livestock?

[V]

I just harbour fantasies of a rural lifetyle....

[Lindsey]

Today I bought a huge "roll" of chevre at Trader Joe's for $5! Also, whole wheat dough for $1! A bottle of delicious wine for $3.29! We had pizza tonight and wine. I've been trying a ton of new recipes recently and the hubby has been so good about trying new foods and eating whatever I make and you KNOW how incredibly picky he is. Dude, he even eats fish occasionally if I cook it. If that's not love, then I don't know what love is. :-)

I know what you mean about eating out. I enjoy eating out occasionally, but when I start to think about the cumulative monetary worth...is it really worth it? Not sure...

You know I love me some goats. And sheep. Bah!

That is all.

[Stacia]

It would seem that married life agrees with him then, eh?  Linds, I would so pay any amount to eat out with you guys at the Brasilian Whole Roasted Animal On a Stick restaurant again just so I could eat my fill of the yummy pineapple. 

 

BAH!!!!!!!!

[Lindsey]

That meal truly was priceless. LOL