One of my co-workers joked with another one of my co-workers a few years ago that once she turned 31, she was already in her mid-30s. So based on that logic, I guess I’m officially in my mid-30s as I turned 31 yesterday.

I was in denial last year about turning 30, and I guess I’m still in deinal about being in my 30s. I liked being 25, but I feel like I sort of have more things figured out by now? “Sort of” is the important phrase.

Since my birthday always falls around Memorial Day, I take a few vacation days from work and make it into a super long weekend. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to crash the party with what seemed like never-ending rain; the only really good day was Memorial Day itself, and I was staying home. Regardless, I still made the most of the weekend and my time off.

Thursday, May 22

This was the day it rained all day, but it made for a good excuse for a cozy day. Josh and I went grocery shopping in the morning (since we wouldn’t be around Friday night after dinner, which is when we normally go shopping), and after we put the groceries away, Josh had to run up to his parents’ house.

That meant I made myself into a blanket burrito on the couch and spent most of the day reading. I think I got through most of Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage, the third book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series; my library seemed to only have the third and fourth books, so I grabbed the third to see if I liked them.

After dinner, we played Mario Kart, in which I beat Josh like usual; then we watched the series finale of You (which we found disappointing with how season five went and the entire series overall) and started American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden.

Friday, May 23

Josh and I had plans in the afternoon, so we had a bit of a slow morning. I finished Lost and Lassoed, and to my surprise, I gave it 5 stars. Hopefully, I can get more of the series the next time I go to the library.

After we ate lunch, we got ready for our trip down to Mystic, CT. We first went to Mystic together back in the fall of 2021 when we were just babies.

Our first stop was Mystic Aquarium; Josh and I hadn’t been there since we were both really little, so we were looking forward to going there as adults. Thankfully, the weather held off and it was just cloudy and a bit breezy while we were there.

The different animals there include beluga whales, seals, sea lions, and penguins outside; inside the main gallery, there are a ton of tanks with fish, jelly fish, sharks, other weird sea critters, and more. There was a touch tank where you could touch sting rays or sharks, and I would have done it, but I’d have to stick my entire arm in the water and just wasn’t feeling it.

It took us about two hours to walk through the entire space. We spent some time at the end watching divers go into the beluga whale exhibit to clean algae from the floor; that was pretty cool, and I guess they had to move a few of the whales into a different area or else they’ll play with the divers while they’re in the water.

We had a dinner reservation in downtown Mystic at 5:15 pm, so we had some time to kill. Olde Mistick Village is right next to the aquarium, so we walked around the little shops for a bit. We went to Chapter One Food & Drink for dinner, both of our first times there. And it was really cute!

We got calamari for an appetizer, and for our meals, Josh got the chicken caprese melt, and I got the chicken bacon ranch wrap. Everything was really good, and I’d definitely go back there on our next trip to Mystic. We didn’t end up needing the reservation as it wasn’t super busy when we got there, but I wasn’t sure since it was the Friday of a long holiday weekend.

Saturday, May 24

Josh works weekend mornings, so I always have some time to myself before he gets home. I rode the stationary bike while catching up on Grosse Pointe Garden Society before showering and meeting my mom for lunch. We met for breakfast last year at the same little restaurant in town, and she wanted to do it again this year. We were able to catch up a bit since I hadn’t seen her (or my dad) since the previous week’s Friday night date night.

That afternoon, I watched the Red Sox game and started Kentaji Brown Jackson’s memoir, Lovely One. There were spot showers around for the rest of the day, or else Josh and I would have gone for a walk. Knowing our luck, we’d get stuck in a downpour halfway through.

I made a charcuterie board for dinner, and we watched an episode of CohhCarnage, the YouTube video game streamer we’ve been watching together since the beginning of the year. Then we continued watching American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden before Josh went to bed, and I watched a few episodes of Younger.

Sunday, May 25

My birthday! And my mom’s!

I had a pretty relaxing start to the day: wrapped my mom’s gift and made her a card, worked on some writing, finished up The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett, and patiently waited for Josh to get home from work so I could open my gifts. They had been wrapped and in bags in the living room for a few days, and it felt like Christmas when I have to wait to open them.

He got me everything I asked for—wine, bookmarks, a baseball cap, and My Friends by Fredrik Backman—plus a few extras—a candle, a cute t-shirt, and a gift card to TJ Maxx/Marshalls/Home Sense. And I got a few little things from his parents, too, which I unwrapped at the same time.

Then we were heading over to my parents’ house for a BBQ. We did the same thing last year, and the same two family friends were invited again. Food included hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, potato salad, pasta salad, deviled eggs, baked beans, and I’m sure something else. And, of course, Josh and I left with plenty of leftovers.

My parents got me a few little things, including small stuffed animals in the shape of dino nuggets, since those are the only nuggets I’ll eat, even as an adult.

Monday, May 26

Today was basically the only nice day this weekend, but the weather in New England in May is very unpredictable. I spent the morning working on this post and then some writing.

I only lasted out there for a few hours because trees were cut down last fall that blocked a lot of the sun in the spring/summer, and now that they’re gone, there’s much more sun on the balcony. So I came back in and read while watching the Red Sox game.