Belated Birthday Bashes

So having a summer birthday (specifically one in August) always meant that I was an “in-betweener” as far as birthday celebrations went. It was usually too late to be commemorated at summer camp, and I definitely never had the chance to bring in cupcakes for the whole class in elementary school.

Doesn’t that cow just make you giggle a little bit? He has a cake on his hindquarters!

I think when we “in-betweeners” grow up and become teachers, we become super concerned that all of the kids have their birthdays celebrated, especially those who sadly have birthdays on holidays or over the summer. Following this theme, my co-workers/teammates decided we needed to have a small birthday party in my honor during lunch and our weekly Friday meeting yesterday.

Since I always bring my lunch, they forced me to decide where we would order from instead. I chose Jason’s Deli, because I figured I could get something healthy-ish, and they would be able to find something to satisfy their Wendy’s tendencies.

I went with a 1/2 sandwich deal, and made sure to get the baked chips. (Although I saved them in my snack drawer rather than eat them at the moment…had to save room for dessert! The pickle lasted about 5 seconds though. He clearly was begging to be eaten.)
This Southwestern Chicken Chili was amazing!!! So what I wanted and didn’t even know it. (Perhaps because my room is literally a freezer, I needed to warm up?) I didn’t put any of the raw onions or cheese on it, because it really didn’t need it. So flavorful.
I chose half of The Garden sandwich on ciabatta. I’d had this sandwich before during one of our school orientation days, and I remembered liking it then…I liked it again this time, too! It had cukes, roasted tomatoes, bell peppers, spring mix greens, guacamole and pico, along with a balsamic dressing.
Because my teammates know I am a healthy eater (and constantly poke fun at me about my blog), I laughed hysterically when one of them said, “We need to figure out what type of dessert you will actually eat” in the days leading up to the lunch. I kind of laughed a little at this. Just because I eat healthy doesn’t mean I don’t like my sweets! I told her that red velvet cake was my favorite, but I did really like the sound of their angel food cake and strawberries thought. A red velvet cake is what appeared! (from HEB I believe)
Look how pretty! I only had a few, delicately savored bites. My stomach was feeling a little funny, and also, I knew that I could definitely inhale all of the icing if I got going on it, but it would not do me any favors for my happiness the rest of the day!
Where did the rest of the cake end up? Not in my belly (sad, but perhaps happy in the long run). Instead, I passed it along to my friends Jen and Chris when I met them for happy hour/dinner at Chuy’s.
It was crazy inside! (I think the $3.50 margs probably had something to do with that.)
This was all of our first experience at Chuy’s, although I know many of you have told me I needed to get there quickly. Perhaps because of the Nacho Car?
That’s right. A car, filled with nacho fixins’. And yes, it’s free. Jen was so excited she turned into The Flash!
Chris was also quite eager. No “nach-o mama” jokes were exchanged however.

Thankfully, Jen and I quickly had happy-hour-priced drinks in hand…
…and I could try to focus on ordering. Our waiter, Lindsay (boy, not girl), was quite charming and answered all of my foodie questions with aplomb. “How do they make this?” “What’s in that sauce?” “Can you get that recipe for me?” “What are your thoughts on the enchiladas?” God bless the waiter who comes across my path.
In honor of Chuy’s Green Chile Festival, I chose from one of the special “featured” entrees: Green Chile Stew!
It was delicious! I kept saying, “Oh, I’m not really that hungry,” but I was hungry for that. It had huge whole chunks of tomato, potatoes, and carrots, along with (incredibly spicy) green chiles and chicken. Oh my goll, y’all, it was great. Also served with a nice garden salad, and the best flour tortillas I have had (aside from the ones I witness made from scratch in Mexico), as they were really light. I rationalized since I hadn’t really eaten any chips, preferring to eat my salsa with a fork as you know, I could plow through the delicious tortilla goodness.

Since I had a cake with me, the waitstaff naturally inquired about my birthday status. “Is it your birthday?” they asked, to which I responded, “Well, sort of?”

This led to singing by the staff and a free Blue Bell Ice Cream cup, with whipped cream, chocolate, caramel, and a cherry!
…all of which I proudly consumed and loved. Oh, dear Ice Cream, why can’t I resist you?

(Yes, I am wearing an elementary school t-shirt out to dinner on a Friday night. You know you like it.)
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Month-of-Me Celebration #4

Today we will commemorate the Month-of-Me (Hooray for Sep-PEMBER!) with random factoid #24578:

Perhaps as a holdover from the fact that I never was able to bring in birthday cupcakes to school as a small child, I instituted Snack Day in my senior year AP Physics class in high school when we had double lab periods. This was the first time my famous Peanut Butter Brownies made an appearance, among other interesting snacks. [Perhaps we can call this a celebration of my need to feed?]

Additional nerdy fact: I loved physics. A lot. I still get excited when people talk about it.