Happy Birthday To Me Part Two

The Ken Carr birthday fun continued after work today.

But, before I left work, tragedy struck.  The wonderful pair of dark blue khakis that Anthony got me for Christmas have developed a hole.  I didn't notice until middle of the day.  Fortunately, they're near a belt loop and not in the crotch so I was able to deal with wearing them the whole day at work.  One of the only not wonderful things about my birthday.

Once I got home from work, I took a little nap, and then got ready and Anthony and I had dinner at El Taco Tote.  I like that restaurant... they make delicious top sirloin tacos.

After dinner, we took a drive out to Desert Diamond Casino.  I figured since it was a lucky month during a lucky year (according to numerologist Patricia Kirkman), I have a dog named Lucky, its almost a full moon, and my birthday, it was about as much luck stacked on as could be imagined.  I hit a hundred dollars on a quarter machine five minutes after getting there which at least funded the remaining fun of playing other slots with Anthony and I.  Unfortunately, I didn't win a jackpot.  But, there's almost a full month of luck ahead according to Patricia so I have that to look forward to.

Once we got home, it was time to cut the brownies frosted with cream cheese frosting, blow out a few candles, and end the birthday on a delicious note.

Overall, a good 46th birthday.  Except for the hole in the pants part.

Anthony gets a refreshing drink from the amazing Coca-Cola Freestyle Machine at El Taco Tote

Birthday tacos!  Om nom nom.

Anthony still eats his nacho chips with a fork.
This habit may or may not be turning him into a zombie.

I hoped I had enough breath left in me at the age of 46 to blow out four candles

20 minutes later I had two down...

Fudge brownies with cream cheese frosting baked by Anthony.
Amazing!

I would have gotten away with eating this whole thing myself if it wasn't for those meddling kids.

Anthony neatly cuts the brownies.

Anthony gets ready to neatly dish out the brownies.

Anthony breaks the first brownie in half.

Anthony dishes out the next one.
Neatness isn't counting anymore.

He arranged the now destroyed brownie on a plate.
I didn't care... it was delicious!

Happy Birthday To Me Part One

I decided on my way to work to stop and buy a few lottery scratcher tickets.  My thought process was... if there was any day I'd win something it would be today since its my birthday.

I WAS RIGHT!

I won't be able to retire but I spent $20 on three Arizona Lottery scratcher tickets and all three were winners for a total of $70.

Birthday luck rules!

The winning lottery scratcher tickets on my birthday.
Since I'm old I can't get too excited or I'll have a heart attack.

Birthday Eve

Tomorrow is my 46th birthday.

I've already received a gift:  Anthony got me a bottle of Bavx cologne from L'Occitane.  I like it cause I think it smells like cookies.  Thanks Anthony!

I was thinking today about some of the 45 birthdays I've had previously.

As a kid, birthdays are always a big deal.  I got an AM radio for my 5th birthday.  I got a yellow bike with a red flag on it for my 7th birthday.  My 16th was a big deal because I got a used car... a 1974 Mercury Monterey (it looked just like this except it was brown).  I had to pay for the gas and upkeep out of the money from my job at Boogaart's grocery store.  I scored that job shortly after my 16th.  I got my driver's license minutes after the motor vehicle department opened on that birthday.  That may be the best birthday I've ever had.

Moving into adulthood... there was my 21st birthday (most everyone looks forward to that one).  I drank half a bottle of vodka (the first and last time I've ever done that) on my that birthday and passed out before the party my friends threw for me even started.

My grandfather (my dad's dad) told me once on his birthday, "I've survived another year."  I thought that was a good philosophy and I remind myself of that every year.

I'm working a regular workday tomorrow and Anthony has already baked some brownies which are sitting on the counter with a few unlit candles on top of the lid.  Eating one of those will definitely be a highlight.  I like food that is covered in frosting.

Thanks to Facebook and Twitter, it's likely I'll receive lots of birthday wishes.  I'll treasure every one.

One other milestone will occur in my life this week:  Thursday July 5 will mark the 25th anniversary of my career in broadcast media.  Its challenging enough staying alive for 46 years... I've kept a career alive in an often difficult field for 25 years.  Now that is amazing!

The biggest downside to turning 46:  I'm still not old enough for the senior citizen discount at Denny's.  But, time seems to go faster as I get older... so cheaper Grand Slams will come soon enough.

Pre Birthday Fun

My 46th (ugh) birthday is Monday July 2.  Since it falls on a Monday, Anthony took me out for some fun yesterday so I'd have a little chance to celebrate.

I couldn't go to Cosmic Bingo at Casino Del Sol because its been discontinued.  But, we decided to go for the regular evening session at 6:30 p.m. instead.

We had lots of fun.  Anthony won a bingo (and I didn't).  But, I did have little bit of luck playing slots.  I won a little over a hundred dollars.  Then, we went over to Desert Diamond Casino on the way home and I put a $20 into a nickel machine and won $180 dollars.

Happy Pre-Birthday to me!

The Casino Del Sol bingo hall... not as exciting as when Cosmic Bingo was around.

Performing the Leslie Lois signature drinking move using a soda and a coffee stirrer

We ate at Abulitas at Casino Del Sol after playing bingo.
Anthony is the only person I have ever met that eats carne asada street tacos with a fork.

Lucky's first visit to a groomer

Anthony and I realized this week that it was time to trim Lucky's paw nails.  Or maybe they're called claws.  Either way, when he walked on cement his paws were clicking loud enough that he could have passed for a tap dancing dog.

The decision was made to have a professional clip his paw nails and we decided to make it a worthwhile trip and have a groomer give him a bath at the same time.  The PetSmart grooming salon seemed fine so I called on Friday and made an appointment.

I was warned when I made the appointment by the person who answered the phone that I needed to have his vaccination records or they wouldn't take him.  It makes sense... grooming dogs isn't easy work and if one of the dogs the grooming crew at PetSmart works on decides to try and eat the groomer, they need to make sure it doesn't have rabies.

Lucky was his usual semi-well behaved and semi-restless self during the ten minute ride in Anthony's RAV-4.  He's pretty good in the car but he's a bit restless.  It doesn't help that it was about 105 degrees when we took him at about 11 a.m. and while the air conditioning in the SUV was on it was still relatively warm.

I took the folder full of medical history with me that the Humane Society gave us when he was adopted in May.  It turned out the shot records weren't in there.  Once it was determined they were missing, we had to drive over to the Humane Society office to get a copy and return to PetSmart.  When we got back, a family there was declined for a grooming because they didn't have any shot records for their puppy even though the man said they adopted it a few weeks ago from a Marine deploying to Afghanistan.  You may have done a nice thing buddy... but you still have to have those records.

They told us they'd need him about three hours.  I hope they got him a hooker and liquor to pass the time.  I don't know anything about grooming but apparently its a slower process than when I gave him a bath.  My experience giving him one took about ten minutes.  Maybe its because I don't work by the hour.

We went to Jimmy John's for lunch after we left and I got a nap in before picking him back up.  He's clean, shiny, nails clipped, and doesn't even smell like hookers or liquor.

The grooming folks at PetSmart were great.  On a side note, when I went to pick him up I brought a mat that you put dog dishes on back to the store.  I had purchased one a couple of weeks ago and discovered I had actually grabbed two accidentally and only paid for one.  I handed the extra one to one of the employees inside the store when I walked in and explained what happened.  Apparently that sort of thing doesn't occur often because the guy was shocked I brought it back.  And, when we went to the registers to pay for the grooming (and another new dog bed that supposedly is chew resistant) the manager of the store thanked me for bringing the bowl mat back.

Between returning the mat and the quest to find the owner of the lost wallet a couple of weeks ago I'm wondering if being honest is unusual.  I'm no saint, I just think its important to try and do the right thing.

Anthony drove Lucky and I to PetSmart.
It looks like he was saluting traffic but he was actually shielding his eyes from the sun.

Shoving eight inches of Jimmy John's roast beef into my pie hole.
None of the customers sitting nearby seemed impressed.