Another Weekend In Austin

It was a cold and windy night. The scent of joint liniment, Just for Men hair dye, and Geritol wafted in the air. It was my birthday. 33 years ago in a humble log cabin or Birmingham hospital, I was born into this world.

Birthdays used to be about having a cartoon-themed party or maybe a sleepover. Action figures and cap guns would be gifted, and one kid would always throw up. In mellow old age, the party shifts. It is less about awkwardly cementing friendships with classmates and accumulating the latest GI Joe figure and more about just having a great time with friends and family.

So that's just what we did this weekend in Austin. We started with a laid back family celebration at home on Thursday night. Michael was afflicted with another accursed cold, but he was still able to run and play with his little role model, Uncle J.J. We dined upon the reformulated Domino-s pizza. Apparently, the old stuff was cardboard and ketchup, but this pizza rocked the house. Three words for you: bacon, glorious bacon.

We tapped a couple of fantastic red wines. The first was a Spanish Red, Ludovicus. This was an excellent and intriguing wine especially for the $9 price tag. The attractive, modernistic orange label looks good enough to bring to classy parties. The second bottle was another fantastic Spanish garnacha, Mas Donis Barrica. This one featured smooth delicious dark fruit and complexity way beyond the $9 price tag. My apologies for this vino diversion if wine is not your thing. For those who do like wine, check these two out.

For birthday loot, I was the lucky recipient of a pair of ridiculously awesome Shure SE210 Headphones. Thanks, mom and Carl!

The celebration continued Friday night. With Mikey kicking it with grandma, Shannon and I joined friends for dinner at Sazon, a fantastic interior Mexican restaurant. Holy mackerel, the Cochinita Pibil hit the spot. We had a great time with Rob, Andrea, Chris, Steph, Squish, and Carl.

We closed out the night at uber doughnut trailer, Gourdough's. The tagline is "Big.Fat.Donuts" and boy are they. Just browsing the menu raises your cholesterol by 15 points, but it is so worth it.

It was a perfect birthday weekend: the perfect antidote for feeling old and decrepit. Thanks to everyone who sent good wishes and celebrated with us.