The Big 4-0!

The morning of my birthday (Wednesday, October 7th), I had cake for breakfast. The day before, Tomkin had burst into the house midday, run into the kitchen, put a bag in the fridge, then ran back out again. Turns out he had stopped at Cafe Latte to pick up a slice of tres leches cake for me. It was delicious! What a good way to start the day. Next I opened some cards and gifts. Tomkin gave me a beautiful pair of earrings. (The dog paintings we commissioned aren't done yet.) My cousin Danelle sent a book about Dewey, the small-town library cat. I can't wait to read it! Tomkin's parents gave me a very cool original painting by Thomas Coleman, the book "The Red Convertible" by Louise Erdrich, and some notecards with illustrations by Louise Erdrich. Such sweet gifts!My mom put together quite a treasure trove of goodies. She gave me a fun book about turning 40, another book about 1969 ("The Year the World Changed"), and a "Remember When" booklet about 1969, in which she wrote some memories about me being born. She also found an original copy of the book "The Teeny-Tiny Tale," which I LOVED when I was a kid. In fact, I made my Grandma Greene read it to me so often that she finally hid it and said that she lost it! (Reading it now, I don't blame her....) Mom also gave me a DVD of "Brady Bunch" episodes (I was obsessed with that show when I was a kid!), some ballerina stickers, and three of my favorite treats: peanut M-n-Ms, Charleston Chews, and Junior Mints. Plus she put 40 crisp, unused singles inside my birthday card. It was really a fun and thoughtful gift. I called to thank her for the gifts (and for being such a wonderful mom all these 40 years!). Then Tomkin headed to his folks' house for lunch, and Helena picked me up--to get pizza, of course! We went to Punch Pizza (her treat!) and had delicious food and a lovely conversation. She had brought me a pink foam tiara (for the "birthday princess"), but I opted not to wear it to the restaurant. Back at home, I finished watching the previous night's "Dancing with the Stars," and then Tomkin and I took Chloe for a walk. It was a beautiful day, so we went to a park to run Chloe around (and take a few pictures). And we stopped for some iced coffee on Grand Ave. Then we gussied ourselves up and headed to dinner at the 112 Eatery--the first time either of us had been there. It was fantastic! Beautiful space, good service, and delicious food. I had a glass of champagne, and we started with some fabulous breaded prawns. I ordered the fried bread with prosciutto, which was mind-blowingly (and artery-clogging) fantastic! I saved just enough room for some chocolate pot de creme, which was like eating a bowl of rich, creamy fudge. Wow!!! Amazing. We had a little time to wander around downtown and let our food settle (which was nice) before we headed to the Target Center for the "So You Think You Can Dance" live tour. What a great show! We both really enjoyed it. In the interest of time, I won't give a complete rundown; if you're interested in a set list for the tour, you can find it here. I will say that I loved Brandon even more in person than on the show; he is incredible! Janette, too. Wow! They and Kayla are still my favorites. Oh, and Melissa the ballet dancer! I love her, too.

Janette and the rest of the dancers after the opening number

Brandon lifting Janette during their fast-and-furious disco dance
Kayla & Jason performing a Broadway routineBrandon & Jeanine's fiery paso doble

Melissa during her solo (every dancer performed one)
Many of the duets and small groups were good. Of course they did all the "biggest" numbers of the season, including Randi & Evan's "butt dance," Melissa & Ade's breast cancer dance (which received a standing ovation), and Kayla & Kupono's addiction dance (my personal favorite).Pajama-clad Randi & Evan performing Mia Michaels' "butt dance"
Jason & Caitlin's fabulous Bollywood routineMelissa & Ade performing Tyce D'Orio's poignant and inspiring "breast cancer dance"Melissa & Evan performing a Broadway routineKayla & Kupono performing Mia Michaels' gut-wrenching "addiction dance"
I especially enjoyed the group numbers, like Mia Michaels' "One"; "I Know You Want Me," a Latin dance with some people performing on wet tables; and the finale ("Brand New Day").
"One" from "A Chorus Line" like you've never seen it before
Calle Ocho group number The finale: "Brand New Day"

They also had a pretty funny running gag about the much-maligned Russian folk dance. The only part that was kind of lame was the scripted banter between numbers. Those people are much better dancers than they are actors! And, to be honest, a bunch of those people could use a spray tan or two. Don't they watch "Dancing with the Stars"? The show ended about 10:00, and we joined the group outside to wait for the dancers to come out for autographs and pictures. But when one of the moms said that it would probably be about an hour-and-a-half until they appeared, I remembered my experience with Marcus after the American Idols concert and decided that we would just head for home. It had been quite a full day! It really was a fun and celebratory birthday. Turning 40 is fabulous!