The Birthday Wishlist

The other day, my mother said to me, “What do you want for your birthday?”

I drew a blank. 

I think that might be a first for me, the Queen of the Wishlists.

Truth be told, I’m pretty content right now with what I have.  Sure, there’s always new toys and trinkets to dream of, but I’m not really longing for much these days, materially.

I guess I really AM getting old, huh?

In any case, I’ve done some pondering and google perusing, and though I don’t expect any of this last-minute birthday wishlist to actually be given to me, here are some of the things that I wouldn’t mind receiving if the Birthday Fairy decided to veer my way on or around July 28th:

Jumbl™ Vegetable & Fruit Spiral Slicer w/Three Stainless Steel Blades

With a machine like this, I’d finally be able to test out those “zoodles” that I’ve been wanting to make!  This has been something I’ve been almost-ordering off Amazon for weeks now.  I keep stalling.  But eventually, I’m getting one.

Fitbit

A few months ago, this little activity tracker – which keeps tabs on your steps taken, calories burned, hours slept, etc – was high on my list of “wants”.  However, I’ve read some reviews on Amazon, and it seems this might be a gadget whose novelty fades quickly.  I’m not sure it’s worth the coin now.

Indoor Grill

As someone who thinks a lot about healthy eating, I know that one of the healthiest ways to cook lean meats is on the grill.  And I loooove grilled food.  But Jill is afraid of BBQ’s.  Don’t know how to start ‘em, and I’m always afraid I’m going to blow my face off or something.  The old hand-me-down BBQ on my deck hasn’t been started in years, and I’m pretty sure it WOULD blow my face off if I tried to start it now.  A little indoor George Foreman would really help me out if I had one.

PiYo

It’s the new workout program from Chalene Johnson, and you guys have NO idea how many times I’ve gone to the Beachbody website and actually had this in my cart before cancelling the order.  I keep telling myself, You can’t afford it right now, Jill!  Wait until you can!  You don’t need it right away!!  But man, I’m dying to try this program out.  I’m hoping to start it in the Fall.  I’ll have to buy it sometime over the next month.  Unless, of course, it magically appears, wrapped in a bow, that is. ;)

Food Scale

They say it’s an essential tool for an attemptingtobehealthyeater who tracks their calorie intake.  I’ve been using MyFitnessPal religiously for a long time, and I’ve managed to get by this long without, so I’m not sure how “essential” it is.  But I admit there’s a lot of guesswork involved with my tracking.  For instance, the half of a BBQ’d chicken breast I had for dinner on Sunday evening?  I picked one out of the list on MFP that said 4 oz.  I have NO idea if that’s how much my half of a chicken breast weighed.  This would certainly help with portion control and eliminate my guessing.

Dutch Oven

We all know my penchant for making soups and chilis and thick hearty sauces in the fall/wintertime, right?  I’d love to own a nice, sturdy Dutch Oven to help in these kitchen endeavours.  But these mothertruckers are expensive, yo. These are the kinds of things girls register for when they’re getting married.  We all know I have no such opportunity on the horizon.  This is why my birthday and Christmas wishlists end up looking more like a wedding registry.  I really need a “just because” shower.  Somebody?  Anybody??

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

This is the last book I will need for Book Club this year – and I won’t need it for a while yet, as it’s the last selection of 2014, but I’m excited about it.  It sounds promising.  My kind of book.

Frozen on DVD

Another long-standing item on my Amazon Wishlist… I SO regret not ordering Frozen when it was on sale coming up to Easter.  I remember at one point, it got as low as $13.99 or something like that.  I check on it daily, but it has held steady at $23.00 for months now.  And I’m refusing to pay $23.00 for it.  (at least, for the time being.)  And Danica won’t let me borrow hers.  *sigh*

Gift Cards for Shopping/Dinner/Movies

If anyone asked me what my “perfect day” would be, it would be this:  waking up without an alarm, then spending a leisurely morning over a large mug of coffee (or two), watching TV or reading on my back deck, with no rush to get ready for the day.  Once the spirit moved me, I would shower & get dressed, then hit the road.  Stop #1 would be a quick bite – maybe somewhere like Tim Horton’s, for some kind of yummy sandwich and a Honey Crueller, and a rich, creamy iced cappuccino.  Then I’d be off to Carlingwood for an afternoon of shopping.  I do most of my shopping on-line, and I haven’t done much of that at all lately -  so to actually go to a mall and be able to go into stores and actually try things on would be so very nice!  Then, once I’d “shopped til I dropped”, it would be supper time.  I have 80 million favourite restaurants, but these days, it’s Montana’s calling my name.  I’d have an appetizer of Antojitos, and then I’d probably have the chicken tacos for a main course.  Of course, I’d have saved room for a skillet cookie for dessert (or not, but since when did that ever stop me??) – OR, maybe skip the skillet cookie and hold out instead for a stop at Dairy Queen.  mmmmmmm!!  After that, it would be off to the movies – one of my “happy places” - for a bag of buttery popcorn, a huge icy Diet Pepsi, and a few hours spent in the dark, laughing at a flick like “Tammy” or “Sex Tape”.

That’s Jill’s Perfect Day right there, friends.

Gift cards for these activities would be greatly appreciated. ;)

But honestly?  None of these material things really matter to me.  And as I said, I don’t expect one thing off the list for my birthday.  I am turning 31, after all… I do believe this is the age where birthdays cease to be important.  As I keep telling my mom, “I don’t care, I don’t care.”

I’ve already spent one great day with friends, and if I could pack in some more time with family and friends next week on my vacation, then all my birthday wishes would be fulfilled. :)