Norman's Birthday

The 13th was my husband Norman's birthday. We keep birthdays fairly low-key around here, but I always like to make them at least a little special. A few presents, a homemade treat of some sort, a whole lot of "Oh, let me do that! It's your birthday!" and "You pick! It's your birthday!" I supposed I do it this way because that's what I want people to do for me on my birthday.

So, Norman's birthday:

It starts withthis book. It's a novel. About steampunk zombies. Steampunk zombies! It's like the author wrote it just for Norman. I read the review on this site. (Side note: Meg Wood is so great. You should subscribe to her movie-and-book-reviewing blog and check her Ex-Boyfriend of the Week site sometimes. Good stuff.)

[Remember Perler beads? Girl scouts? Summer camp? Awanas?]

Then I decided that Norman needed some Tetris magnets. Who doesn't, really? This meant I had to buy Perler beads. I haven't owned Perler beads for a very long time, but now I have... a lot. I need more nerdy/ironic projects to make with them. They're very good for pixelated things.

Lucy gave Norman the magnets. At least that's what the tag said.

I also made these cakes for breakfast. I really made them as a trial run for Lucy's birthday party next month. They turned out so fabulous. I was really quite shocked at how tasty, fluffy, and moist they were. Did you read the recipe? No grains, no processed sugar (just honey). Beans. Oh, and the frosting? It tastes like the inside of the tastiest chocolate truffles I've ever eaten. Canned frosting can suck it from now on.

So -- steampunk zombies, Tetris magnets, bean cake. Yep, that sounds like a pretty standard birthday around here.