Tomorrow is my 41st birthday and I've treated myself to a shiny, new iPod Classic. It suddenly occured to me that I really, really needed one.

It's a great little toy with amazing technological features. Mind boggling really for a Gen-Xer like me.

I spent last night fiddling with it.

What does it say about me that my first two purchases from the iTunes Store were:

1) The Cure: Greatest Hits

2) Meditation and Relaxation Music

Birthday Upate #3 (final - thank god!)

My birthday weekend circus finished this morning with a dream featuring Gordon Ramsey and a great deal of vaccuuming. Just as things were getting frisky I awoke to Marianna calling out for a bottle at 3:45 am.

Yesterday we enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Italian cafe at the Watefront where dad lives. The Waterfront is a development of apartments at Homebush Bay where dad has lived for the last year and a half. There is something about this place. Whenever we drive into the complex I have an irrisitable urge to look at real estate. There is a part of me that desperately wants to live there. Perhaps it's the village atmosphere (it's real, not just the advertising blurb), perhaps it's the peacefulness, the beautifully maintained gardens, parks, swimming pools and paths. Even though it is a large complex there never seems to be many people around and those who are walk quitely or enjoy a meal or a coffee at the great cafe. Logically I know I would be unhappy should we swap our spacious house for a much smaller apartment and, worse still, apartment neighbours who I am quite sure would drive me nuts. I think this adventure may need to wait until the kids move out and we're an old couple without the need for so much space.

Then we picked up Jason's great-aunt and her daughter and son-in-law and I dropped them all off (plus Will) at North Sydney so they could walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge for it's 75th birthday. Jay's great-aunt Ethel walked over the bridge when it opened at the age of 6, so it was very special for her to do the walk so many years later. They had a wonderful time. I drove around via the Anzac Bridge and met them at Darling Harbour. I love that area of Sydney, I just do. I love the friendly buzz, the people walking around, eating, drinking, just having fun. As I pushed Marianna around in her stroller I felt so very happy to be living in Sydney. I just can't imagine a better place to be. When the walkers joined me we found the newly opened Lindt Cafe and enjoyed the world's best chocolate milk shakes and waffles. It was a wonderful way to end a wonderful weekend. Too much of a good thing but then that's what birthday weekends are all about.

PS. I finally did get the 2nd part of my birthday present from Big Jay, Jules and mum: a fabulous gift voucher for a FIVE HOUR day spa package at the gorgeous Gillian Adams Day Spa. It's a beautiful Art Deco building I've been driving past for years and now I'm going to go and check it out and have a wonderful day of pampering. It's a hard life, but someone has to do it!

Birthday Update #2

After dropping off Will at school on Friday morning Marianna and I continued on to mum's and then on to WBJ for some Target shopping (Cars undies for Will, Dora undies for Marianna). Then we had a nice sushi lunch, coffee and I bought a stainless steel strainer to replace my dead el cheapo plastic one. Woohoo.

Friday night dear Jules came to babysit the bambinos and Big Jay and I gleefully set off for the movies. I had been hanging out to see Hot Fuzz for a couple of weeks now. Having been a big, though late to arrive, fan of Shaun of the Dead, I was super excited to see what the new offering from the same team would be like. We weren't disappointed. It was bloody hilarious. This is just the sort of comedy which appeals to me and I was in stitches the whole way through. As Molly would say "do yourself a favour"!

This morning Big Jay had to work, so he set off at 4:30 am (bummer!). I pottered around with the kids and Jules and then we picked up mum and headed for a couple of hours at Bronte Beach. It was overcast but gorgeous (mainly because there weren't many people there and we got an easy, free car park and a prime possie). I do love time at the beach, if it wasn't for the aforementioned [usually difficult] parking situation and the fucking SAND! I would make an effort to go more often. The afternoon was spent eating and hanging about at mum's waiting for Jay to return from work. It rained so our plan to take the kids to the park didn't pan out. Will and I just handballed the dog's red ball on the verandah until it landed in the neighbours' yard and we had to find different entertainment.

Finally Jay arrived back and we bought falafel for dinner (my birthday dinner choice). It was so yummy but I ate too much ... way too much. Don't even ask about the huge, gorgeous chocolate mousse cake Jules brought out afterwards. It wasn't pretty (no, the cake was... um, you know what I mean...). My zip and top button are undone as I type.

It's 7:30 am on the morning of my 39th birthday.

So far the day has been underwhelming. Marianna has fallen off her little trampoline (no injury, much crying), refused to eat her breakfast and is being a stroppy 21 month old. Will has given me a sweet birthday kiss. They both gave me the gift of a full night's sleep.

At 5:00 am this morning Big Jay gave me (what I hope is only Part 1 of the gift cavalcade) The Making of Blood Sugar Sex Magik. A great book I'm sure but I was hoping for something a tad more substantial to mark the beginning of the last year of my 30s.

So far no calls of congratulations from either Robbie Williams or Anthony Keidis. It's early though. I still have hope. Stay tuned.