December ended up being such a whirlwind month (which I’ll fill you in on later), I never ended up being able to get in a follow up to my Birthday Madness Part 1.

Here’s how Part Two went down:

About a month before my birthday, my boyfriend Eric told me to mark December 18th off on my calendar. He knew I was having a small, informal gathering of friends to toast to my birthday the night before, but December 18th was his night to take me out.

Fine by me!

Day of, we both had some things to do during the day so the only instruction he left me was to be ready to go by 7:30. And wear something dressy.

We got in the car on time and he still would not tell me where we were going. Jerk. (Just kidding. Obviously.)

We did a loop around the city as he mislead me half a dozen times before he pulled up to … the Prudential Building.

We headed up to the 52nd floor (Top of the Hub) where we ordered up a couple of classic cocktails – a martini for me and a sazerac for him.

He ushered me over to an empty spot by the window where we enjoyed AMAZING views of Boston at night, and just as we got settled, the jazz band began playing.

He timed it perfectly. Completely on purpose. Timing was no accident here.

After we finished our cocktail, he said we had to leave for our dinner reservation down the street – and again would not tell me where we were going.

But what I did not realize was that he had been BAITING me during the conversation we had just had. Which he also managed to play off perfectly. Without me knowing WHAT I was talking about – I had been PRAISING the restaurant he knew he was taking me to all along.

So we walked down the street, and just before we passed Abe & Louie’s (the aforementioned BAIT restaurant) he casually said “Let’s check out the menu.”

We weren’t even through the door when the host said “(Eric’s last name) Party of 2?”

WHAT?

He escorted us to “our” table and as we were lead to a private area in the back of the restaurant, I saw ….

My sister? What is she doing here? My other “sister” and her husband? My Dad ….

What the?

Turns out Eric, my dad, my mom, my sister, my adopted family/close family friends – Dan, Nancy, their daughter Meaghan and her husband were all in on it. My fake “brother” Dan even flew in to Boston and rushed right over to the restaurant.

I was floored. As soon as I realized what was going on, I burst into tears and then immediately started laughing. AT THE SAME TIME. I looked like a clown. In a dress. A dressy clown.

Our dinner was phenomenal. The food was incredible. The wine even better. Our server was a delight (next time you go, ask for Arthur. AMAZING!). My sister made an amazing toast. We laughed, I cried – it was the best birthday, surrounded by my entire family and nothing I could have ever planned for myself ever.

Thanks Fam. You made my 30th absolutely perfect. You’re the best. But you already know that.

A bit blurry, but still perfect in my opinion.

So this year is the year I turn 30. Tomorrow, in fact. Twenty nine has been such an unbelievable year in so many ways. Half way through the year I made a list. I am happy to report that like I said, my birthday is tomorrow, and I have completed 21 of the 30 things on my list. A few of those things can’t or just won’t happen (for reasons I’ll go into detail about later), and some I just couldn’t manage to tackle in my 6 month deadline. Overall, I am very pleased with the goals I hit. I managed to knock off some really important ones (like paying off my car, paying off half of my remaining student loan balance, cut down my cost of living, get more involved in my career – which actually took a completely different turn …)

If the last 6 months of 29 proved anything to me, it’s that 30 – and my 30s in general – are going to be a very exciting time indeed. Over the next week, I will create a whole new list of tasks. I hope you’ll stick around to see what I check off next.

Now a little bit of birthday madness.

Last Friday, I hosted a small cocktail party in my apartment. December is an insane month to attempt to get people together for, so I kept it a super low-key gathering of some city friends and family to have a drink with me and help me complete #27 on my list.

Argos was invited. And was enjoying some water at the time under my tissue paper pom poms.

Stencils I created to “help” with the creative process. Best idea ever – and watching them be incorporated was amazing.

And finally … my finished product:

This picture does this painting no justice. You can’t see the texture incorporated — people painted, and layered more paint, and sharpies, and used stencils to trace, and also to layer and give dimension and texture.

The colors are far more vibrant in person. And I can literally pick out what each person contributed. It’s pretty incredible to see how it went from a blank canvas to something wild and a perfect representation of all my friends and family.

Thank you Mom, Kate, Eric, Meaghan, Bob, Dink, Andy, Matt, Jon, Pia, Jean, Julie, Donny, Lisa, Adam, Andrew, Mike, Matt, Tracy & Greg. <3

Part 2 coming next. It’s a good one.

Eric’s birthday was back in October. As one of his gifts, I gave him a mini-trip up north. We sat down and chose the weekend of December 11-13th to go. Can you believe from October THAT was our first available weekend? Well rockstar Eric went on tour with his band in November and I had a couple of obligations in between and …. that weekend was our anniversary ANYWAY, so it all worked out.

We had the most gorgeous drive up, with Argos totally passed out in the backseat (did I mention the resort was pet friendly? Seriously. They had water and milk bone treats waiting for him!).

We checked into our room – which got upgraded to one overlooking the grounds and had a fireplace. SUCH a good addition. Highly recommend it.

I had booked a cooking class for us to take on Saturday night. OH. HOLY. JESUS. The food we made was AMAZING. From the site:

“The Spanish know how to celebrate! This menu will surely kick off any holiday party! Winter Sangria with Apples, Pears, and Orange Zest. Then you will celebrate with some fabulous Tapas. Goat cheese baked in Tomato Sauce with fresh basil. Bacon wrapped Dates with pomegranate molasses. Grilled chicken with Romesco sauce. Learn how to prepare the best Seafood paella with chorizo sausage, scallops, shrimp, and mussels.”

It was a lovely class taught by the most adorable instructor, along side of 3 other lovely couples and then we sat down for dinner and had a lovely meal.

Sunday the Pats were playing at 4:15. Which meant Eric wanted to get to the bar for good seats by 3:00. Which meant we had our first drink in our hand by 3:01.

We made quick friends with our bartender, T, who I now ADORE. Throughout the game we kept receiving snacks from the kitchen (it is a culinary resort and school – so these weren’t your average barfood snacks!). We ordered some dinner later in the evening and T. suggested pairing with a bottle of wine and handed me the wine list.

Over the past few years, I have developed a (deeper) love of wine. I decided that on our anniversary weekend we were going to enjoy a nice bottle of red. I showed T. our first pick … and they were out. WAH! But they DID have my second pick. Which he told me he was giving us for an amazing deal.

WEEEE!! (If you’re looking for a really great bottle of cabernet, I highly recommend the pictured the Groth. Depending on the year and liquor store, you can typically find it in the $45 – $65 range now. I stocked up on this because it is delicious now, but definitely one to hold on to with experts raving that “the patience during bottle aging will reward the ‘steward’ with an outstanding bottle over the next 10 to 15 years.” Yum.)

T. ended up allowing me to pick several bottles from the wine list and purchasing them to take home for cost (what the bar pays – which is, lucky for me, significantly less than what they go for in a liquor store). I ended up with a case of wine to add to my collection that I will cherish for YEARS.

I am opening one particular bottle in a few days on my 30th birthday. A bottle that I normally would have no business buying, ever, but thanks to T. I now have to share with my family.

Semper Fi!

Today is my mom’s birthday. And in honor I pulled a whole buncha pics of her.

Baby Mum (with Nonni):

High School Mum (senior pic):

Post-high school Mum (in front of her Mustang with bestie Sue – my godmother!):

Late 20s Mum (engagement photo):

Mumma Mum (The ‘boy’? That’s me. The sack of potatoes? That’s my sister. My Mom was probably ready to toss her body off a bridge in this pic. I was a terrible child and that paired with an infant? Terrible.)

Ridiculous Mum (my mum, me and my sister last year on my birthday):

Happy birthday, you old broad :P See you tonight :)

Today marks the 17th anniversary of the day my dad became Chief of Police.

Hey Daddio? Go put on your dress blues and celebrate or something. Oh yeah, and congrats!

2008 was not a terribly good year. 2009 started more or less the same. Without getting into too many details, eventually I realized enough is enough. By the summer, I was turning things around.

I turned 29 this past week.

I was presented with adorable cupcakes by coworkers. I was taken out for a lovely birthday dinner, rang in my birthday with my best friend, had a birthday lunch with my grandparents, parents, uncle and sister. I drank good beer. I drank good wine. I was in good company.

I celebrated Christmas with the neighbors I call family. Every muscle in my body hurt the next day from laughing so hard.

My mother, father, sister and I celebrated Christmas. We took our time and passed around the most thoughtful gifts. We cooked more food than is even necessary for four people. We ate an Italian feast. We sipped on really good red wine. We watched movies and played around with our gifts. We had a small, lovely Christmas for a family of four.

I spent the evening curled up in front of the fire with friends. The next morning I had brunch, got a manicure (deep purple nailpolish) with one of my best friends. We danced around the city.

I spent the remainder of my time off curled up with hot drinks, a blanket, and a dog. I watched more movies in a weekend than I have in the past year. I let my guard down. I shut my phone off. I drank good coffee, I snacked on imported chocolates, I sipped on champagne. I stayed up until 5 a.m. and told a million stories and listened to a million more. I slept easily for the first time in months.

I hate to brag, but – life is good. In that super annoying, omg-please-shut-up-you-big-ball-of-cheese kind of way. Yeah. It feels nice to just … this. This is good. Life is good.

Alternatively titled: “Why My Dad is Awesome”.

A few years ago I made a not so secret confession to a family friend: I am absolutely terrified of clowns. Not like “Haha. Clowns are creepy. Everyone thinks so.” Like I would CRY when I saw them as a child. Maybe I still do now. Shut up. They’re scary.

So this family friend thought it would be hilarious to purchase me a clown ornament for Christmas a few years back and wrap it up so I would never suspect the horror I was about to open.

Let’s just say I threw the box down and ran out of the room.

It soon became a tradition in the family grab to secretly re-gift this damn clown. THE HORROR. You never knew who was going to get it. It was like damn CLOWN ROULETTE.

*shudder*

Well cut to Saturday night. I got to my Dad’s for our weekly dinner. He was starting on cooking, and had set up our Christmas tree. He told me and my sister to decorate it while he cooked.

I walked over to the tree and screamed. The only ornament he had put up so far? THAT DAMN CLOWN.

Thanks Dad. My therapist will thank you for that extra appointment I had to make because of you.

Anyway, I of course took a picture to photo-text attack other family members with this horrific clown. (Aren’t we a delightful family?)

My Dad emailed the picture back to me yesterday with the following email:

“Jen, I hate to say this, but is this clown holding himself???? wtf?”

AMAZING right?

No what was amazing was that he put that same picture on his Facebook page with the following caption:

“There’s a sex offender on my Christmas Tree…”

And now, my friends, you can clearly see where my sense of humor comes from.

Wednesday
Go out of work early! Yay! Went home and had some dinner with my roommate and then headed to Boston’s left bank (Cambridge) to see my friend Jay’s band – the Bodega Girls. I can’t even tell you how fun and amazing this band is. If they’re in your area, go see them. They have some songs on MySpace but to be honest, their recordings don’t even do them justice. You have to see them live. Absolutely worth it.

Thursday
Awesome day with these awesome people:

There was pie, and food, and pie, and more food, and coffee, and Baileys and more pie. SO MUCH PIE.

During the evening my sister put on an episode of Hoarders. Have you seen this show? Oh my god. I threw up in my mouth. Twice. And then proceeded to go home and stay up until 1:30 in the morning cleaning and disinfecting my apartment from top to bottom.

Friday
Headed back over to Cambridge for brunch at the Friendly Toast. Great food. Terrible service.

Later in the evening, a group of us headed over to Harvard Square to see the Donkey Show. This was by far the highlight of the weekend. The show is so fun – you dance, you sing, you’re part of the show … but you’re not. It’s rather impossible to explain. Go see it for yourself. Tickets are $25 for standing room, and trust me, you want standing.

Post Donkey Show a group of us headed to our gayborhood bar for some alcohol-fueled group antics. PS. Thanks SE boys. Hearts, hugs and laughs.

Saturday
This was a very productive day actually. I got a lot of work done (who works on a holiday weekend? THIS ONE RIGHT HERE.) Due to the ridiculous ASSUMPTION that baby showers are held on Sundays and the fact that I didn’t think to check the invitation sitting on top of the gift, I worked through the afternoon only to discover I missed by friend Sarah’s baby shower. Because I’m a terrible friend. Getting sucked into work is a vicious cycle of disaster.

The evening was spent at Danny’s with the Usual Suspects and Danny’s adorable parents. Where Danny’s adorable dad schooled us in Apple to Apples.

Sunday
Sunday was a Tour de el South End. My friends and I started with brunch at Metropolis (great food, again terrible service. UGH), followed by a quick shopping stop at Flock, my new favorite boutique, followed by cocktails first at Ginger Park (formally Banq), then, per usual, at Stella. Eventually we all made our way over to Joe V’s for pizza, wine and trip making plans.

Yeah that’s right. Trip making plans. Vieques? Yeah I’ll be seeing you for a week in March. Bioluminescent plankton? Get ready to get swam with. I’m coming to get you. Oh yeah – and Jean? You better start getting ready NOW. This birthday is going to be the best one yet…

After all … you made it this far :P

This weekend was all family, all weekend. And it was great.

I spent most of Saturday afternoon hanging at my Dad’s with my Dad (obviously), my Mom, two of my Dad’s sisters and my grandparents. It was supposed to be a quick visit so I could drop off my car( long story) that turned in to an all afternoon “Hey we’ve been here for hours, let’s order some pizza” affair.

Saturday night I spent with a whole bunch of friends to see off our good friend Rena. She’s moving to New York and is going to be wildly successful in everything she does – I just know it. I spent the night with her, Danielle/Dink and an assortment of other fabulous people. I finished the night off with the cheesy cab ride home:

Cab Driver: Can I ask you a serious question?

Me: Sure.

Cab Driver: Are you going to be around for Christmas?

Me: Uhhhh …. no? What?

Cab Driver: You’re not? That’s too bad. ‘Cause I need an angel for my tree.

Me: *groan* Let me out here please.

Sunday was a lovely day all around. I spent it with the people I call my “Urban Family”. They are some of the people I love most, and luckily for me, all live right in my neighborhood. We get together once or twice a week, but we decided with everyone splitting up for the holiday to go visit their biological family, we needed to celebrate Thanksgiving amongst our family.

We split up the menu, all brought wine, turned on some music, lit up a fire and had one of the most amazing afternoons into evenings I’ve had in a long time. My friend Pia gave a toast before dinner that was so beautiful, it literally made the whole room cry. I have it on video, but with the crying and all, I’ll keep that for us.

You can however look at some pics. Here, ladies and gents, is the Urban Family I refer to so frequently here, on Twitter & on Facebook. I hope all of you are as lucky as I am to have people like these in your life.

Jon & Pia

Matt, Lisa, Julie & Mary

Adam & Jon

Me & Jean!

Ad & our food!

Me & Adam

Julie

Jean

Danny, me & Matt

Matt, Lisa, me & Danny

Matt, Adam, Jean & Pixel

Back Row: Steve, Julie, Pia, Mary
Front Row: Danny (with Pixel), Jean, Matt, Me, Lisa, Adam & Jon (with Heidi)

The whole set is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alleyesonjenny/sets/72157622861349000/