Gina's Birthday Blog!

Today I’m turning 36! WOW- what a life I’ve had. I don’t even know where to begin…

My birthday started out last week with a pre-birthday celebration. It seemed as though fate was on my side, before I even walked out of my building a limo was waiting in front. My PA (a.k.a. Hungover Barbie, a.k.a. Operations Manager) walked over to Gus (one of her “people”) to work out a deal. Talk about starting off my birthday in style!

We rolled up to D.O.C. Wine Bar where I was fortunate to have some of my closest friends join me for dinner. It was such an amazing night; all we did was laugh. Nothing is better than spending time with the people who mean the most to you.

Of course we had to hit the Chicago club scene afterwards. We went to the hottest club Studio Paris, where my favorite door guy let us skip the line. Once inside I passed, not 1 or 2, but 3 of my exboyfriends! YIKES! We ended up joining some friends at a table and danced the night away. Eventually we went back to my house and passed out.

Guess what- 9 am woke up drank some coffee. Circa 10 am, Christina’s attempting to open a bionic bottle of champagne with a pair of pliers. It felt like we were in Vegas. We woke up our other girlfriends from the couch and the chair by shoving glasses of champagne in their faces.  Listen, were not alcoholics or anything- we were getting ready for a Sunday Funday!

We’ve taken up a new sport… tailgating at Bears games were invited to… or not (sometimes we get snuck into the games. You read that right – snuck into!), where we bring our own champagne. 

Do you like how I'm hailing a cab on Lake Shore Drive?!

Fast forward to this Thursday for a fabulous Thanksgiving feast with the family where I got drunk, pigged out, and passed out. Unfortunately Mr. Mayor (a.k.a Prince Vinnie, a.k.a Fluffy) was not in attendance, we had to bribe him with cheese and lock him up at my parent’s house, so he wouldn’t eat my aunts 3 cats. You see Vinnie believes he’s actually a person and cannot be bothered by the annoyance of other 4 legged creatures.

My family, like most families, is quite interesting. First my aunt continued to kick us back to the family room. She said there were too many cooks in the kitchen. What she didn’t understand is that we didn’t want to help cook, we were just trying to get to the wine. 

Then you have my dad. He tucks his napkin in his pants like he’s a waiter. Waving it around like a weirdo. He got grief for that from everyone for at least an hour. Then there’s my 7 year old cousin who’s jumping and climbing on my brother like he’s a jungle gym. At one point she says, "I’m protecting him!", gives him a kiss and takes his finger to wipe her snotty nose with it. Meanwhile, I’m passed out on the couch waking up every 15 minutes to cats jumping on my head. I always wonder what my sister-in-laws parents think of us. They sit quietly in the corner soaking it all in, while the rest of us look like idiots.

Tonight I hope to gather my friends and celebrate. I have been so blessed and am so thankful for my amazing life. Anyone who knows me knows I always say, “I LOVE MY LIFE!” I can’t wait for tonight, let alone this year, who knows what wonderful things are to come!