Jerel's Final Birthday

Thursday was Jerel's big day. He wasn't particularly excited about it, but then those of you who know Jerel know that he doesn't get particularly excited about anything. It's part of his charm. Anyway, I've spent the last 3 months trying to get him to commit to something he wants for his birthday. He's not very good at doing that, which I don't get. If you asked me right now for a birthday list I could name at least 10 things I'd like. Not so much with Jerel. I thought about getting him a really fancy ice cream maker since he LOVES ice cream, but then I remembered I did that 2 years ago and as it turns out he doesn't LOVE ice cream or even really LIKE ice cream so it's only been used once. Then I thought about getting him a dress coat. He's mentioned several times he might like one (he won't go so far as to say he for sure wants one, just maybe). Then I remembered I got him one 2 Christmases ago--a really nice one--but he had me return it. Then I thought about getting him a winter coat. The one he has is hilarious. Both of us could fit in it comfortably (although that would be awkward) and it hits him mid-calf. Then I remembered that I got him a cool Columbia one last Christmas and that was returned as well.

Should I keep going, or do you get the idea? So I told him that until he told me specifically what he wanted, including style number, color, model & serial number, etc. I wouldn't be getting him a present. See, this is Jerel's last birthday. By the time his next birthday rolls around I won't be working and my budget for his birthday gift will be right around 38 cents. I told him I wanted to get him something really nice this time since it's his last chance. Over the past couple of months there have been a few times when he ALMOST thought about MAYBE wanting something enough to CONSIDER putting it on the list, but as of now--2 days post-birthday--nothing is on the list and so nothing is what he's received.

That doesn't mean I completely ignored his birthday. I took him to Olive Garden for dinner (his favorite place). I also got him a cupcake cookbook. Jerel LOVES cupcakes...at least I think he does. Maybe he just sort of likes them a little bit. Anyway, he seemed to like the cookbook because aside from 30-some-odd really fancy cool neato cupcakes it also has a recipe for vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting. When he opened it he was telling me that cupcakes are getting more popular and that in Utah they even have bakeries who only do cupcakes, which he thought seemed like a great idea. So after dinner I took him to a surprise place. It was in downtown Portland, which is not Jerel's favorite place to drive, and also not my favorite place to be a passenger when Jerel is driving. By the time we arrived I had to give him strict instructions to change out of his cranky pants. And then we went in to a cute little cupcake bakery called Saint Cupcake. See, Utah isn't the only place on earth with cupcake bakeries! You can see their website here http://www.saintcupcake.com/ and prepare to be impressed because even Jerel liked the place! (Probably because aside from 8 million fancy kinds of cupcakes they also sell vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, which is what he got).

When we got home I told him "Don't forget, whenever you figure out what you'd like for your birthday, just let me know." And he says "What? We just had my birthday--Olive Garden, cupcake place, and cookbook. It's done." What does a girl have to do to get something nice for her husband around here?!