Happy bday to my hubby

TSC turns 25 today, and even though he never reads this blog, I am going to use the chance to gush about him while I have a good reason to be soppy.

Feel free to gag.

TSC and I met six years ago and couldn't stand the sight of each other. Since then, we have both changed a lot and I have come to appreciate the good bits about him. And there are a lot. Here are 25 of my favourite things about my husband on his 25th birthday:

1. He stuck with me through some of the darkest times in my life, even when I was horrible to be with and totally ungrateful for his support.
2. When he holds me, I feel totally safe and at peace.
3. Because I am a social being, he has learnt to be one too. Despite not being big on groups, he has moved from sitting in the corner sulking (he did this at the first bday party of mine he attended) to being a fantastic host and someone who's easy to chat to.
4. He has the sexiest backside in the world, IMO.
5. He gets on with my parents and tolerates my brother.
6. He takes care of me when I'm sick / stressed / upset. If he knows I'm unhappy for any reason, he'll run me a hot bubblebath and pour me a glass of wine. Who wouldn't love someone like that?
7. Although his family has never been big on birthdays / Christmas / present-giving in general, he knows that mine has and makes a concerted effort to be good at a) giving me bday presents I will treasure, b) getting excited about presents I give him.
8. Over the years, he has learnt to say 'sorry' after a fight, sometimes even if it wasn't his fault.
9. He's ready to fight for me if necessary.
10. After a long day of dealing with difficult clients, I need to vent and he lets me. He even tries (although not very successfully, I have to admit) to remember which client is which and get upset about repeat offences with me.
11. He thinks I'm gorgeous. And even when I feel hideous, he tells me that.
12. He smells good, even when he's not wearing his aftershave.
13. He makes me laugh.
14. We can have fun doing anything together, from painting the spare bedroom to reading the paper on our veranda like old folks, chatting as we drive, watching DVDs on our couch, grocery shopping or even working out a budget on the back of a serviette.
15. He has learnt to have an argument with me, rather than bottling things up and never sorting them out.
16. I think his family still blames me for the fact that he lives far away (even though as far as I'm concerned, that was his own choice in the beginning). While in the past he has not stood up to them for me, he has now made it clear that although he will always be their child, he has a family of his own now.
17. He feels the same way I do about having kids - not ready to think about it yet.
18. He hates gardening, but because he knows I love my garden, he diligently mows and waters the lawn for me.
19. He can cook. And when I can't make supper (like last week, when I was working on that insane deadline), he steps in and cooks for us.
20. He has the cutest laugh.
21. He's ticklish, which (seeing he's double my size) gives me an effective weapon against him when he picks me up and slings me over his shoulder ;-)
22. He never knows the lyrics to songs, so he makes up his own.
23. We generally agree on movies - what's good and what's not - with a few exceptions. On the other hand, we DO NOT have the same taste in music. At all. But he'll usually agree not to play music that he knows I hate if I'm in the car with him.
24. He does a lot of the icky chores in the house - taking out the dustbin and sorting out the catbox, for instance.
25. He's so different to me. We complement each other and balance each other out.

OK, gagfest done.

Schmodels...

So yesterday was my dad's bday. And one of my bestest friend's too.

We went out for supper to Blueberry Grill in Kyalami. Since hearing the name I've had that song Blueberry Hill (is it by Chuck Berry?!) in my head. My folks arrived late, after being given faulty directions by someone who works there, so they were a little peeved to start with. Then we sat down at our table in the non-smoking section. The room was empty and freezing cold. They had those patio gas heaters, but none of the were on, so we asked them to turn them on. No gas, apprently.

They said they'd move us to a warmer area, which turned out to be the passageway between the non-smoking and smoking scetions, directly outside of the toilets. My dad promptly threw his toys out the cot and called the manager (and he says I get my attitude from my mother?!).

Suddenly, they managed to produce a full gas bottle out of nowhere, so we moved back to our original table. Once we were warmer, things were far more pleasant. The food was actually really good. I had sushi (yum!) and hubby had oxtail (double yum). And we got dessert on the house (although my creme brulee was not particularly fabulous. They do mych better creme brulee at The Brasserie* in Irene Village Mall. But then again, all of the Willoworld restaurants are cool).

And our waitor, Eugene, really did try hard. He joked with us and made sure everyone was happy. So, despite bad beginnings, it ended up being a good evening.

Here, then, is a funny for today: