Happy 40th Birthday, Asa!

It's been three weeks since the big 4-0 for Asa, and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. Thats in part because the celebration extended weeks- we of course had Birthday Weekend Extravaganza per the usual, but a week after his birthday was Spring Break for my sister in law, neice and nephew, so most of the family was able to go on a 40th Birthday Cruise! While that was all a lot of fun, by the time we got back from that I needed a recharge, and then we took a just the two of us-vacation from our vacation. So, I've been busy, I've been not busy. There's your excuse. 

But lets rewind back to Asa's 40th birthday weekend. First of all, Asa is not a birthday guy. I am a birthday girl. I love my birthday, and it's taken me a long time to get Asa's birthday aversion. It's not about getting older, or anything. It's just as a kid, he didn't really have the best experiences with birthdays. His therapist was helping him work on that, though, so this year he finally let me celebrate him! Because lets face it, if any one person deserves to be celebrated it's Asa Waterstraut. 

So, while it's not us to publicly gush about each other, it is worth noting, that Asa is my favorite person on the planet. When you think about how miraculous it is that we ended up here, together, it's hard not to believe a bit in fate. But this guy, I mean his charism is infectious. Everyone loves him. But he's also incredibly thoughtful and kind. He still makes my coffee in the morning, and tucks me in at night- and everything else in between. He does everything under the sun for the kids, despite the fact they're now totally capable of doing it all on their own. I was never the one to handle doctors appointments or school paperwork- that's been him from start to finish. Also, thanks to my anxiety, he's the one the kids come to first, so they don't "worry me". Well, maybe because of that- maybe because everyone knows Asa is just more fun and more chill about everything. He's my best friend, who makes me laugh every single day, who gives the best snuggles, and who I could not live without. We're co-dependent. And we're both totally ok with that. (Happy marriage pro tip: find someone on the same independence/co-dependence scale as you.) I've spent nearly 20 years knowing this guy, and I still just can not get enough of him. Anyway, for a guy this unique how could you possibly not want to celebrate his birthday? Plus, 40. That's a big one, so they say, right? 

So, the weekend around here usually starts on Thursday afternoons, since Asa's Thursdays and Fridays are short days so Birthday weekend extravaganza started early. On Thursday I finished up most of my gardening projects (if you missed it, page back a blog- I spent 40 days renovating the backyard for Asa's 40th birthday), and we went and collected free birthday coffee at Aroma Joes. 

We considered finally hitting up the Nebraska Mini Mart for dinner on Thursday, but as we were leaving the subdivision I was like 'You know we could avoid all that traffic and just go to Culvers' and Asa was sold. 

Friday for lunch Asa found a new coffee place. Bee Coffee is apparently a food truck that's always parked just about two miles north of us on 41. But, we hardly ever head that way, so we weren't even aware of its presence until Asa googled coffee places near us. And it's not just Bee Coffee there, there's also a taco truck and a woodfired pizza one. These trucks don't come and go- there's a whole set up for them with patios, picnic tables, couches and games. It's actually pretty cool. The only thing it's lacking is shade, though the tables do have umbrellas.  

And the food there is pretty delicious. We got some nachos from the nacho truck to share. They were good. Not amazing. The variety of toppings just wasn't there (though the quantity was great). But the chips were those good homemade ones, and who doesn't love melty cheese on homemade chips? Asa got his coffee and a cuban from Bee Coffee and declared the cuban in his top three, which is impressive- because we live in Tampa so we've had Cubans from A LOT of different places. I can't even remember if I had a cuban before moving here, but I can tell you I've had many in the last 17 years. For my part, I got a pop waffle. These are maybe a little pricey for what you get- but they are delicious. You know that giant nutella waffle you can get at Disney? This is an even better version of that. And, it comes on a stick for easy eating. 

I've also discovered this new drink I love, especially on hot days. It's called the Strawberry Rose- and you can get it a couple of different ways- mixed with water or lemonade (and new- with or without boba balls!). I always get water and it's light and refreshing and super tasty. 

When we got back from Bee Coffee, we headed down to Fire Theresa's house (we've got a lot of Teresa/Theresa's on this street, so you have to differentiate.) Anyway, she was going to have a Saint Paddy's party, but it didn't work out. She had all the food for it though, so she donated it to us for our cookout for the neighborhood. We went down to collect that, and when we got back Sam was out there leaf blowing our porch and driveway to help get ready to host the neighborhood in our driveway for another one of our cookouts. Neighbors, they're nice. 

So, it turns out Asa's birthday week is shared with Vince and OG Teresa. At one point I was talking to Vince and we decided we could have a neighborhood get together for everyone's birthdays. Asa, trying to get on board with celebrating his, felt better about this because it wasn't just his birthday. So, he allowed me to plan the party. I made sure to write on the driveway in sidewalk chalk (which was there forever- boy do we need rain!!), and I put together a little station for people to contribute to our backyard garden. There's been these leftover tiles in the garage since we've moved in. I've slowly been using them, but I thought I could have people use a paint pen to decorate them and then I'd incorperate them into the garden. So, I set up a little station for them in the driveway. 

Obviously there were drinks to be had. While the grown up drinks stay in the fridge usually, the others go in the cooler. And since there are so many Ohioans on our street, I figured I'd have to label it correctly. Asa also brought out some of his hard cider he made. I could totally make him a better label, but he did this one on his own and was so proud of himself. 

We wheeled the grill out to the driveway and got to cooking some hot dogs and hamburgers for the neighborhood. And then everyone slowly started to trickle in with more chairs, more drinks, more food, and some even came bearing gifts for Asa. 

Dom brought down a green bean casserole, which Asa was amped about. It was so funny, earlier that week (or day? whatever) I was cleaning out the garage and Dom drove by (a benefit of living on the dead end road, everyone passes your house a lot), and told me he was thinking of making a green bean casserole and I was like 'Oh my gosh, Asa LOVES it', and then Dom was all excited about it. I thought I took a picture of him with it, but all I can find now is Asa dishing it up with Dom watching approvingly in the background. Oh, and of course, there were lots of cards, which was nice. Sam even got us a Lowe's gift card to contribute to the garden fund. 

John came down and brought some homemade beef jerky (another solid Asa gift!), and Marcus brought over a plant- some longevity spinch for Asa's new garden. 

All in all, we had a good crowd. We were missing Rick and his fam- but the rest of the usual people came down/over. Plus, we had a couple newbies we had met/started talking to recently. You see, the further down the street you start to meet people, then they introduce to you to more people- and next thing you know, you actually know the names of everyone on your street. Crazy how that works. Anyway, they're all fun to hang out with- and we get a big variation of generations, but everyone can chat and eat and listen to music and have a good time, and it's pretty nice to be the house where everyone does that. Some people call us Switzerland for our ability to get along with everyone. And I'll take that! 

OG Teresa brought a cake down (though I told her she shouldn't have to get her own cake, but she insisted) and Fire Theresa led a rendition of Happy Birthday to the three birthday muskateers. 

And everyone loved my tile idea. I think we got at least one (and sometimes multiple) from each family, so that was really nice. I haven't put them in the garden yet, but I have sealed them. 

People trickle out when it starts to get dark, and eventually it's just us and the Harvison's at most parties. But the last few Dom and Nando have remained, too. They're this super fun couple that live about 6 houses down from us. We met them a long time ago when they first moved here and their dog slipped the fence and got loose and we helped look (Oh Pilot, always causing trouble!). But, recently we'd been talking more- and they're so fun to hang out with. Anyway, Nando brought down some Johnny Walker and just before midnight- in his last moments in his 30s- Asa was out in the driveway doing a shot with Dom, Nando, Kyle, Marcus, Calib and Olivia (while OG Teresa and I watched on- we're such moms). It was a wonderful way to end his 30s. And then of course at midnight we all shouted Happy Birthday, before cleaning up the driveway and all heading home/inside. If only T'Ola still lived next door- that's the only way it could have been better (We miss her SO much!) 

Saturday morning Asa made us good coffee in honor of his birthday (yes, he still made the coffee, even on his birthday!) Nate and Allison had sent us coffee from Indonesia for Asa's birthday (Nate goes overseas for work a lot and always gets us good coffee). I will say, I cannot wait until Nate, Allison and Layla are back on the East Coast. I am making a beeline for Rhode Island the second they get there. I miss them so much, and I generally don't miss people (Nate, Allison, Layla, and T'Ola- my list is growing!) Anyway, Allison also sent me some hand drawn photos that I am using to replicate on my cricut so they too can be part of the garden tiles. (I need to get those done!) 

Saturday morning there was a plant sale over at a church right next to the library. We were headed out for the day and happened to be passing when I suggested we stop by. We did find some good native plants in the garden (I am always looking for flowers to attract bees and butterflies especially now with the new garden), and we just so happened to run into Marcus who informed us his plant sale spending was out of control: a phrase I'm confident I've never heard before. 

After getting some plants, we headed over to Lakeland. Asa generally does not like to do anything ON his birthday- but like I said, he's trying new things this year. I thought maybe we could do some low-key things. When I discovered this bakery (that is the absolutly THE best bakery in the country/world) was celebrating its 8th birthday the same day at Asa, I suggested we go- and Asa was in! Born and Bread was turning 8 the same day he was turning 40. They had a live band, and photos- 

Plus free Mimosas! All to celebrate their birthday, which worked out perfect since it was Asa's too! 

Ok, real talk- Born and Bread is always packed. And we always order ahead online, but it still takes awhile to get your food. I think it took at least half an hour for ours, maybe longer. But I promise you, it is worth every minute spent waiting for it, every single time. When we finally got our bags, Asa was like "how much did you order?" And while I always order way too many pastries (hey, we end up eating them all!) I also had a surprise in store. I had ordered him a Born and Bread locally handmade coffee mug. He was very excited about it when he discovered it, and it made for a good little birthday gift. 

The cruffins (a croissant/muffin hybrid) are always among my favorite. But the nutella banana croissant was also delicious. I highly recommend those, though it's worth noting, the menu always changes up, especially seasonally. 

For this particual Saturday, they had a Swan cruffin, in honor of their home, Lakeland. It was pretty and very instgramable- but also my least favorite of the cruffins. That's not to say it wasn't delicious- it was, but it has some steep competition in the other cruffins. 

Asa of course got his peantubutter oat milk cold brew, which is one of his favorite drinks on the planet. And we both got breakfast sandwiches. The couple of times we've been to Born and Bread, we've eaten our breakfast sandwiches there and brought the pastries home. These breakfast sandwiches are among the best I've ever had. I can't even tell you why. There's no real crazy ingredients or anything. Though I will say, the bread is perfect. It's just the right amount of savory and it basically melts in your mouth. Delicious. And, while I'm not a huge bagel fan, I always have a bite of Asa's bagel sandwich, and let me tell you, it's pretty killer. It's just not as dense as most bagels (in fact, I think they call it a cragel not a bagel), which is what I love. 

And of course, since it was their birthday and Asa's, we finished it off with cake. The funfetti cake was in honor of Born and Bread's birthday, and it just so happens that funfeti cake is also Asa's favorite, so obviously it was a no brainer to order it (I got strawberry cheesecake cake for myself). I will say, when we first moved here, and we'd been here like two weeks, I made Asa this box funfetti cake in the one and only 8 by 10 pan we had, topped it with a cheap $1 can of frosting from Walmart, and stuck a few candles in it, while it was still in the pan, and he thought it was the best thing ever. This guy, he's always appreciated my effort. But we've certainly come a long way from that pan funfetti cake. 

Since we were over in Lakeland, we decided to swing by Plant City for some more plant shopping- after all, I had plenty of places to put plants. Our first stop was at Parksdale. We grabbed some flowers but we also got a fig tree, and a blueberry bush. Both good gifts for your 40th birthday. We also nabbed ourselves one last flat of strawberries before strawberry season was over. 

There's another little market on the corner a couple miles down from Parksdale, when you're headed back to I-4. They also have great deals on plants and produce. Here we picked up a bunch of greens. While green growing season is coming to an end here, we were able to get some for $1.50 each, so we figured we'd get our money's worth before they start flowering (and once they start flowering, Delano can eat them). 

And then when you're there, you're basically like two miles from Keel Farms, so we decided to swing by to load up on their hard ciders. They are the best hard ciders, and basically the only ones I really enjoy. While all the flavors are delicious, I had to stock up on the Strawberry Shortcake before the limited time drink is gone until next Winter/Spring. 

And then we headed back home with all our goodies- plenty of plants, plenty of strawberries, plenty of pastries, and plenty of day left for Asa to just chill- which is what he likes doing on his birthday the most. 

Though we did dish out some treats to our neighbors as a thank you for coming to the party the night before. We went around handing out cider and strawberries, which everyone appreciated. 

Speaking of strawberries- we had one of our very own. Asa and I picked it, and each took a bite, though it was very tart, we grew it ourselves in my little pvc pipe planters, so that's fun. 

Asa spent a little time out in his garden on his birthday. He's so excited to have so much more growing space, and I know he was impressed with all the work I put into it. Also, we got to plant a fig tree under the 'Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree' sign. And that's cool. 

After all that, it was movie watching time. So, everyone hung out and watched The Mexican. An oldie but a goodie. Plus, it was quality couch time with the kids and the dogs, which Asa always appreciates.

Calib was nice enough to buy us all dinner for Asa's birthday. He ordered a ton of Hungry Harrys Bbq with his 40% off Uber Eats coupon. He got grandma amounts of food, I'm talking two orders of corn casserole!- and we all ate it- and the leftovers- for days. 

That evening everyone here worked on their tiles for the garden. We wanted to make sure Asa had some from us as well as the whole neighborhood. Olivia was still here, but she wasn't making the cruise with the rest of us, so her tile was appropriate. 

I also dug out the Sattler family bottle of Geritol to pass it on- This was first given to my dad on his 40th birthday, and has been passed around to Sattler's ever since on their milestone (decade) birthdays. I had it last, so now it's Asa's turn. Sidenote: nobody gives this to Clint for fear that he'll dispose of it. 

I think it's fair to say Asa had a great birthday, but we kept the party going Sunday with a trip to the Bay Area Renaissance Festival. Asa loves going, but we dont' always make it (it is kind of pricey). But we picked up some tickets at Costco for a good deal and Hayden, Asa and I headed out early-ish Sunday. Asa was stoked when the first thing he saw upon arrival was a bar selling Meade. 

He loves his Meade! 

And then he stumbled upon giant pickles for sale- which he was equally as excited about. It's the little things. 

There was axe throwing... 

..and knife throwing.. which Asa and Hayden really enjoyed. And they were decent at it, too. 

There were lots of people in costume, including this crazy horse/bird thing.. 

...and then there was real birds too. 

We saw the tight rope walker, and watched some singers and shows... 

caught the wheel of death (which was the highlight for sure, that guy was crazy)...

..and stopped for the jousting. 

And Asa picked up his second handmade mug of the weekend at the festival. All in all, a couple hours in what isn't necessarily my cup of tea, but Hayden and Asa loved it, and that's what matters. For the record, I didn't hate it. It's just not my thing, is all. Still, it's Asa's birthday weekend, and even if it wasn't, I'd follow him most anywhere. 

And besides, when I got home there was still plenty of leftovers to have. 

And that's it for Asa's 40th Birthday Weekend Extravaganza. A good time was had by all, and he felt sufficently loved and cared for- which is what we were all going for. The celebration wasn't over yet though. In just one short week we were headed back to the Bahamas with my whole family- and even some surprise guests, so stay tuned for that! 

Next up: A random week of stuff before the cruise!