The Princess turned 30 on Saturday.
And because I “listen” to “things she says”, I knew just what to get her for her birthday.
A kitchen appliance.
Specifically, a KitchenAid 5-Qt Artisan Series stand mixer. Empire red, of course.
“You can’t get her that,” my friend Blue told me weeks ago when I told him about the present.
“But it’s what she wants,” I told him.
“It’s not very romantic.”
“Says the guy who once bought [his ex-girlfriend] a star.”
True story. Blue actually bought an ex-girlfriend a star. Actually, what he got her was a certificate that “proved” she was the owner of a shiny, new light emission. Since stars visible to the naked eye no longer exist, this was the equivalent of purchasing air.
He would have been better off buying her some cosmic dust. At least that stuff is real.
In any case, The Princess wanted this KitchenAid mixer to add to her already potent arsenal of cooking/baking weapons. I knew it would take the sting off turning 30, which she was having some trouble with.
Apparently, I have learned, turning 30 is a more difficult rite of passage for people than I realize.
When I turned 30 (three years ago), I was totally ready for it. I was ready to be more mature, ready to grow up, and ready to be seen as a man improved by experience.
Ten days later, I threw up at a Fourth of July party.
Whoops.
But why is it so difficult to hit this day? It can’t just be a chick thing because a lot of my guy friends have faced the same problem.
Is it a “I haven’t done everything I expected to do by the time I was 30″ thing? Because that’s just retarded. You have the rest of your life to do “everything” you want to do. Besides, even when you die you won’t have accomplished everything.
It’s like being in a gigantic library, among the thousands of stacks of books, and knowing you won’t ever read each one.
All you can do is grab a book, turn the page, and start reading.
And turn 30.
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Wow, the library comment is hitting the nail on the head. I remember being in elementary school one day and doing some calculations on my own, and came up w/ the notion that if you read one book everyday for the rest of your life, you could never completely read one full library, or mega-B&N… and that majorly depressed me… LOL.
Also, i figure, if i am really lucky, i only have another 15 or so World Cups in me… scary thought. Happy Monday! lol…
I thought 31 was worse. There was all the buildup around turning 30 and, in the end, it wasn’t a big deal. 31, though, meant that I was celebrating my first anniversary as a 30-something… For some reason, that hit harder.
Next year, I’ll turn 35. I’ll be legally old enough to run for President and will be closer to my 40s than my 20s. Now THAT is depressing.
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Not to mention all the yummy food she’ll be preparing with her great new mixture. A gift that keeps on giving.
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I didn’t flinch at turning 30, but had an odd twinge at 31. Because at that point, I wasn’t 30, I was over 30. Which somehow seemed a bigger deal.
Romance is what you make it. I’m guessing that the mixer went over quite well, right?
WiB’s last blog post..I should have trained just to watch the Olympics
I was thrilled to turn 30. Then again, I made a total hash of my 20s.
Appliances are a tricky thing - I would probably hate to get a mixer for my birthday. It’s better than a vacuum cleaner, but not nearly so nice as a weekend away or…well, pretty much anything that isn’t a tool of the hausfrau trade.
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First of all, happy birthday to the Princess.
Second of all, how’d you find room in your kitchen for that thing?
Well,
There is a diference from gifts that I would like to receive, things that I would like to have, and surprisly romantic stuff and a star for exemple (wich is actually, just a piece of paper) it’s ADORABLE!!!
You have to know what you do want to do, and also have to know your lucky girlfriend. So then you could decide and buy something that she want to buy (she will get it sooner or later), or something special for her, maybe it’s just a mixer…
good luck!
ha, was that ting’s party that you threw up at?
Um for the record…
1) I would love the BF forever if he bought me a kitchen aid mixer for a present. I’ve wanted one for about 2 years now. So I think this is a perfectly acceptable (and wonderful) present. Then again I spent close to five hours last saturday making cupcakes so I might be biased.
2) That’s a really great photo. How’d you do that? And with what type of camera? I’m looking at getting a new one from Santa this december! Yipee!
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Happy Birthday to Princess. I think your gift was very nice–especially if she wanted it.
Just wait till you turn 40. I did this past December and was it ever tough! Fortunately, I had a lot of distractions because I had just moved to a new country. When I didn’t have distractions on my 39th birthday, I ended running off to China to stand on the Great Wall because I wanted to be next to something older than I was.
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I’m 31, and so far I love my 30s. I got married, bought a house, and now I’m ready to start spewing forth babies. Life in your 20s is so damn complicated - everyone is too busy “finding” themselves and trying to figure out life. Somehow things seem more calm now…or maybe that’s the aftereffects of all the weed I smoked in my 20s. Tell the Princess that yes, not being a “twentysomething” is somewhat startling at first, but your 30s are when it all comes together.
i think that is an awesome present. good job! i’m sure the princess loved it. i want one too and put it on my christmas list each year, but my mom told she won’t buy me a “counter decoration” that expensive…. however, she told me she would buy it for me when i got married. no joke.
i really like the library metaphor, boyo. for some reason, i don’t care about being post-30. i think because my life is a lot better now (in terms of the things that are hard to quantify) than they were in my 20s. it’s not that i think i know more now — it’s just that the questions without answers don’t bother me as much.
happy birthday to the lovely princess!! your gift to her is a gift to anyone who gets to eat what she creates with it!
Happy Birthday to the Princess - hope it is a great one!
Her gift is not a ‘kitchen appliance’ - that would be a dishwasher, or stove. Even a plain ol’ vanilla blender. Something you have to have. No. That mixer - in THAT red - is a kitchen frilly. A perfectly acceptable gift - esp. wrapped in ‘listens to things she says’ bonus points.
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Thanks for the birthday wishes. It was a great day! Luckily we had cleaned off the kitchen cabinets last week, randomly on my part, so I had room for the BEST PRESENT EVER. Words cannot express how much I love my new mixer. Which is red. And beautiful. And amazing.
30 has been ok for the past few days (all teeth still in my head; boobs not yet saggy), but I swear to god, the next time my lovely boyfriend calls me a cougar, nobody will be reading this blog anymore, if you get my drift.
Yay for the red KitchenAid mixer!! I have the exact same one (which nobody got for me, though) so I can understand her desire for it and the joy it must provide.
From a fellow KitchenAid lover, HAPPY 30, PRINCESS!!
Not So Little Woman’s last blog post..You say it best
30 was good. 35, not so much. But I plan on doubling that so no worries, eh?
Birthday wishes for the Princess. It’s not just any old crappy appliance - it’s a work of art. She will love you forever. I would… Your mate has no idea what he’s talking about.
Those things have a hold on foodie women. My sister named her and I believe considers it part of her family…
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Milton and Bacon, are mentioned as the last men to have read all available books (although clearly only European languages), although I recall from college that Erasmus was mentioned too. Now the library’s selection of cookbooks is probably larger.