Memorial Stadium – Lori Romano

So, it’s official. I am now 31. It wasn’t so long ago that I considered 31 old, or at least middle aged, and I always wondered why my parents took offense to that. Now that I’m here myself, I understand. 31 is just a drop in the bucket. I mean, I don’t feel like a kid anymore. The fact that I actually like to take naps is proof of that. But, I am far from considering myself geriatric, so I guess 31 isn’t all that bad after all.

And I have no complaints about my day today. Cadence and Electra actually let me sleep in a bit this morning. We finally got up and around just before 9:00 a.m. We had a little breakfast, then just hung out and relaxed a bit. Steven brought home some Jimmy Johns sandwiches for lunch (partially because they sounded good and partially because we need to go grocery shopping).

Cadence went down for a nap after lunch and I killed some time on Facebook and worked on some photos. Then, I thought I might lie down a catch a few zzz’s myself before we headed out for dinner.

There is an Indian restaurant here in Lincoln called The Oven that I have been wanting to try, but I just wasn’t feeling Indian today, so we ended up heading to an Italian restaurant in the Haymarket called Vincenzo’s. The food was really good. Cadence, who never ceases to amaze me with her willingness to try new foods, loved the calamari appetizer. She then proceeded to eat half my house salad, which was tossed with a homemade vinaigrette, an entire dinner roll, and several helpings of my Linguine Tutto Mare. Seriously, this girl loves to eat, and she has a very short list of foods she doesn’t like…not bad for an 18 month old.

After dinner, we strolled back toward Memorial stadium, just in time to hear the Cornhusker Band marching down the streets through the campus. We followed the parade of fans through the entrance and chose our seats in the front row near the 40-yard-line.

Essentially the exhibition show tonight is a little preview for the fans, and a chance for the band members who have been attending camp and practicing all week to show off what they have learned. Let me tell you, it was damn impressive for only a week of practicing together. These kids have been putting in 10-hour days and their dedication shows. I can see already that it’s going to be another exciting year at the University of Nebraska.

We were blessed with the perfect evening. The clouds were rolling in and there was a nice cool breeze, but luckily the rain held off through the entire show. The minute the drumline started playing the opening cadence calling the rest of the band onto the field, our little Cadence was hooked. She loved the music, and was totally mesmerized by the way the kids were marching in formations. She did a little dancing, a little yelling, a little laughing and a whole lot of clapping. And, when it was all over, she waved goodbye as the band marched its way off the field. It was so much fun, and we’ve already decided we are definitely coming back again for next year’s show.

After leaving the stadium, we had just one last stop to make before we retired home for the evening, and that was to swing by the Dairy Store to pick up a little ice cream. Tonight’s choice = Chocolate Cookies & Cream. Mmmmmm! What a great way to end the perfect day! Happy Birthday to me!

Tonight’s 365 Project entry is dedicated to all my wonderful friends and family for all of the birthday wishes! Thank you all so much for making my day so special!

Remember when you were a kid, and you spent days, weeks, even months counting down to your birthday? Back then, it was such a big deal. There were parties to plan, friends to invite over, cake and ice cream to eat until you were so jacked up on sugar your parents threatened to sell you to gypsies or lock you in the garage. Back then, you spent those last agonizing hours leading up to your birthday watching the seconds tick by so slowly that you swore someone had rubber cemented the hands of the clock in place.

My go-to party plans usually involved some of my best girlfriends, a bunch of rented movies (usually horror flicks with a couple of comedies thrown in for good measure), pizza, soda, cake, ice cream and a whole lot of laughing. Once or twice while living in Bird City, Kansas, Mom let me invite my entire class (all of 12 or 13 students, depending on the year) to go to the bowling alley in St. Francis for pizza, bowling, and all the arcade games we could play with the quarters begged from our parents’ pockets. It was grand.

These days, birthdays are not nearly as exciting…well, at least not in the pizza-party-bowling-movie-watching-extravaganza way of my youth. These days, my birthdays tend to be much simpler, laidback affairs, and that is perfectly fine by me. I don’t need fanfare or binge drinking or surprise parties (for the love of all that is holy, please no surprise parties. I hate surprise parties). I am perfectly content to lounge around in my pajamas until well after noon, drink an extra cup of coffee, watch one of my favorite movies, and maybe head out for a bite to eat.

All I really ask for my birthday is to be able to hang out with the people I love the most. So, in honor of me turning the big three-one tomorrow, I am going to spend my day hanging out with Cadence and do absolutely nothing that resembles work. Then, when Steven gets off work, the three of us are going to head to the Haymarket to have a little dinner. Afterward, we are going to mosey on over to Memorial Stadium to check out the Cornhusker Marching Band Exhibition Show. Everyone knows that Steven and I are big band geeks, and as much as Cadence likes music, we think she is going to really dig it, so it should shape up to be a really fun evening.

So, maybe I am feeling a bit of that giddy excitement about my birthday tomorrow. After all, you only turn 31 once, right?

Tonight’s 365 Project entry is dedicated to…well…me, and to everyone who shares my August 19th birthday! Let’s make it a great one!

And for your viewing pleasure, here are some photos from birthdays past. I apologize in advance for the fact that my scanner is apparently inebriated. I don’t know how else to explain the cockeyed photos. But, I thought I’d leave them that way to make the birthday post a bit more fun! Enjoy!