Birthday Report

I had a lovely birthday, thanks for asking!
I swam in the morning, did some shopping with MB, had a delicious (delicious!) vegetarian lunch (a cashew coconut curry with portabellos and other grilled veggies and brown rice. so! good!), and then went to see "Happy-Go-Lucky" with friends.
First, I love Mike Leigh. I've loved everything he's done except "Naked," which I hated. I loved "HGL" because of its spirit, or what one reviewer called its "invitation to find joy and grace in everyday moments." One reviewer called its pace "leisurely" and I have to agree. But I quite enjoyed the way the movie meandered through Poppy's life and I really, really loved the scene with the Flamenco teacher, which was sad and hilarious at the same time. I heard Leigh on NPR ("On Point") a few weeks ago, and one of the callers made the point that the movie was about teachers (Poppy teaches grade school, she has the Flamenco teacher and a driving instructor), and it is, but it is also about world views. My companions wondered aloud whether they loved Poppy or wanted to kick her in the teeth, but I definitely loved her. I think it's because, as the movie progresses, I came to see the ways in which she is open to the joy around her, but it's not because she ignores the pain, but rather that she tries to understand it, or temper it. I highly recommend this film. It was a great birthday film!
We had a pretty regular dinner, and the wine I've been wanting to try, Sofia (Coppola), which is a sparkling white wine. On the label it says "coming of age, bestowing of presence, petulant, revolutionary, reactionary, poetic, sparkling, ebullient, effervescent, fragrant, cold, cool" which I think describes the wine and/or the woman it takes its name from but which I hope also describes me. I didn't notice the words when I bought it, but it seemed appropriate when I finally read them. In any case, we loved the wine, more than champagne, and will be drinking it again soon!
A friend came over and brought cupcakes, which I think are the best thing ever. They are small, we each had one, and then no leftovers to consume. We chatted with her, then put Son to bed, and then we watched "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" because it's what we had. MB and I loved it, with no reservations. It had some cringe worthy moments, and we laughed out loud, a lot. As far as I could tell, there was nothing, nothing wrong with that movie. I loved that it featured male nudity but very little female nudity.
So all in all, a great birthday. I go to Vegas tonight, which I am really looking forward to.

Canticles and Omens

Perhaps I invest the days leading up to and the day of my birthday with too much importance. I believe, superstitiously, that what I do in these days sets the tone for the coming year and in some ways determines how the year will go. Last year on my birthday I went to IKEA and then drank too much. I won't be letting that happen again, rest assured.
This year I plan on starting the day early with a swim workout, taking Son to school, and doing some shopping at an event that benefits his school. Then I will go out to lunch and see a movie. In the evening, I plan on having some wine, a nice dinner with the family, perhaps a slice of cake, and then going downtown to see the lights and drink fancy hot drinks. A jam packed day, it sounds like!
But, I'm left with this question, on this, the most auspicious of birthdays, what are my wishes?

• I want to finish the novel (please, god of unwritten novels, please just let me finish! it can even suck!)
• I want to get some poems together and write some more
• I want to finish some stories
• I want to spend more quality time with Son
  
• I want to read some really excellent books
• I want to eat a lot of really good food, but in a moderate way
• I want to exercise a lot, and run another race this year
• I want to spend time with my friends
• I want to learn more about myself
• I want to take my yoga practice to the HNL
• I want to just sit with husband, drinking a bottle of wine and watching the sunset, anywhere
• I want to go to London and Paris (let's keep our fingers crossed)
• I want to go to the coast
• I want to take more photographs (with my SRL)
• I want to speak more Spanish
• I want to be better at tennis
• I want to mountain bike
• I want to ski
• I want to keep swimming
• I want to figure out our housing situation (either move or stop thinking about it. It's driving me crazy!)
• I want to live simply to simply live

Happy December!

Now that we have entered the month of my 40th birthday, I think it's important that I treat every day like a celebration. To wit, I am celebrating Monday the First, the first day of the last week of class, with some TV (Samantha Who?) and a delicious drink (Jack & Ginger).
Today is World AIDS day. So today I want to remember all those lost to this disease, and also to be thankful for my health and the health of those I love.
I love you all! Stay healthy!