Another June Day, Another Birthday


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Another June Day, Another Birthday

Another June Day, Another Birthday

Today is the day that Johnny dreads above all other days of the year. It’s my birthday. Johnny feels immense pressure on my birthday to make sure all is blissful in Joanna-ville. It makes me laugh a little but not a lot because I hate that he gets stressed out over such a silly thing. I don’t know what I do to make him think I have such high expectations on my birthday. Johnny told me last week that it’s hard to tell what I’m actually thinking about a given situation. That also makes me laugh a little. But mostly I wish I made it more obvious to Johnny how happy I am on each and every birthday.

I will say this. I love me a day of being pampered and gifted. It’s just so fun! And if one of my family members asks me what I want for my birthday as a rhetorical question, they will regret it. Because I will unrhetoricalize that query! I’m a self-diagnosed “browser,” meaning I look at my favorite websites regularly. And at any given moment I have at least 10 items on a mental wish list.

Whew, I’m just sounding better by the second, right? Not like a diva at all…

This birthday I told Johnny that I just wanted some alone time. He looked at me with a horrified expression. And so I clarified. “I mean some time without a baby. To do me stuff.” He still looked completely confused. “Like giving myself a pedicure and editing pictures on the computer.” “Oh! Okay! We can do that!”

So I’ll be enjoying a few hours of “me” time today, but I first wanted to let you in on a little budget-minded gift-giving tool that we were recently introduced to.

Ziftit is perfect for birthdays. It was designed to make the shopping process enjoyable and easy while eliminating the guesswork out of gift giving. For my birthday this year, I created an account and made a list of gifts I wanted. I then emailed my list to Johnny. And when family members asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I sent them the list, too.

Birthday Zift List

Johnny always asks for help when my birthday nears. And while getting anything is awesome, getting something that I’ve actually had my eye on for a while but couldn’t justify buying otherwise is even awesomer. Such as this skillet. Because really great skillets are actually kind of exciting when you’re an adult. Just me? Don’t answer that.

Ziftit Gift

Also, we’ve got quite the combined brood of siblings/parents (15 between the two of us) and that means lots of birthdays. We try to stick to a budget of $20 for family birthday gifts. But unfortunately, that’s pretty limiting. But with the site, you can invite others to pitch in on a gift, allowing us to stick to our set-in-stone budget. So while I’d never be able to justify getting one sibling an Amazon Kindle, if just a few siblings pitched in $20, we could totally make it happen. Score.

Because of my list, Johnny had some ideas of what to get me. So hopefully that helped to alleviate some of the stress and pressure on his end! Now pardon me while I go and enjoy a little ME time! Peace.

We were selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all our own.

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29 Comments

  • Reply Shauna June 24, 2013 at 7:31 am

    Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy your “me time.” And no, you’re not the only one. I asked for a waffle iron for my bday.

    Cheers,
    Shauna

    • Reply Joanna June 28, 2013 at 2:30 am

      Thanks, Shauna!

      And I started watching Pretty Little Liars before our baby girl was born. Your post mentioning it makes me want to watch more! 🙂

  • Reply Mrs. Pop @ Planting Our Pennies June 24, 2013 at 8:44 am

    How is this different from an amazon wish list? My MIL loves those things.

  • Reply Becky @ RunFunDone June 24, 2013 at 9:33 am

    Happy birthday! I would never, ever, ever ask for a cooking item as a gift. But I hate cooking, so a skillet would be like the opposite of a gift to me…more like a curse!!!

    • Reply Joanna June 28, 2013 at 2:32 am

      Thanks, Becky! I never thought I’d ask for a skillet, either! But now that I cook almost every night, here I am asking for one, haha!

  • Reply Elvin @ Journey To Millions June 24, 2013 at 10:32 am

    Happy Birthday Joanna! Hope you’ll had a wonderful day. Honestly, I find it hard to give gifts to friends. I like the idea of having online gift registry but it is not yet popular here in my country. How I wish, more people from our country become aware of this.

    • Reply Joanna June 28, 2013 at 2:33 am

      Thanks, Elvin! I have a hard time figuring out gifts for friends, too! I’m terrible at it!

  • Reply Jake @ Common Cents Wealth June 24, 2013 at 11:02 am

    Happy Birthday, Joanna! I hope you enjoy your day and get the “me time” you wanted. I don’t make a very big deal about my birthday and neither does my wife, but we do make sure to do something a bit more special than normal.

    • Reply Joanna June 28, 2013 at 2:34 am

      Thanks, Jake! Johnny definitely made sure I got some “me time,” so it was a perfect day!

  • Reply Jennifer @ Budgeting in Baby June 24, 2013 at 11:22 am

    Happy Birthday Joanna! You are not the only one who asks for household items for your birthday. For Christmas, I asked for and was given a mini food processor and it is probably one of my favorite gifts that I received. I hope your birthday is awesome!

    • Reply Joanna June 28, 2013 at 2:35 am

      Thanks, Jennifer! I hear food processors are pretty great. I’ve never had one, so maybe I should ask for one for Christmas, too! 🙂

  • Reply Jolene June 24, 2013 at 11:46 am

    I totally either have that pan or one really similar to it and it works even better than traditional chemical laden non-stick pans. I don’t think anything has stuck in it since we bought it. I lurve it.

    • Reply Joanna June 28, 2013 at 2:36 am

      So good to know, Jolene! I’ve had my eye on this skillet for a while, so I’m glad to hear from someone first-hand that it’s as awesome as it sounds. Thanks!

  • Reply Rob June 24, 2013 at 12:52 pm

    Here’s my happy b/day wishes to you too, Joanna. Hope you guys enjoy a nice yummy b/day cake (with ice cream, of course) as no birthday should be celebrated without these essential food groups! 🙂

    Since I’ve been with my lady for 46 years now, it gets kinda dicey as to what to get her when her b’day rolls around (since she owns just about everything under the sun – lol). So, with that said, I find that I have to compile a special “wifey’s wish list” all year round from which to refer to (“Gee honey, I’d really wish that ….”). So this July I’ll be getting her an ipad for her b/day (but keep this a secret, ok?) 🙂

    • Reply Joanna June 28, 2013 at 2:37 am

      Thanks, Rob! There was lots of cake and lots of ice cream, so no worries!

      And your wife will love that gift! I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t love an iPad! And our lips are sealed. 😉

  • Reply Brian June 24, 2013 at 2:31 pm

    Happy Birthday!

    On a mildly unrelated note… I can’t be the only one who read “Clever Girls collective” and thought about Jurrasic Park where the raptor tricked that hunter type guy while on the way to restore the power? Well maybe I am…

  • Reply jennifer p June 24, 2013 at 5:46 pm

    happy birthday joanna !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Reply Joanna June 28, 2013 at 2:40 am

      Thanks, Jennifer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀

  • Reply JW_Umbrella Treasury June 24, 2013 at 6:55 pm

    Happy Birthday, Joanna!

    I too am a maker-of-wishlists (my birthday isn’t until August, but I’ve already got a few items on my virtual wishlist)

    • Reply Joanna June 28, 2013 at 2:41 am

      Way to know what you want! And now you just need to drop hints for the next month to your family and friends to make sure you get those items. 😉

  • Reply Michelle June 24, 2013 at 11:12 pm

    Happy Birthday!! Hope you got what you wished for Joanna. Did you look in to the Mother’s Helper idea??

    • Reply Joanna June 28, 2013 at 2:45 am

      Thanks, Michelle!

      Yes, I’ve been looking into getting a mother’s helper! Things are pretty crazy right now as summer always is with our vacations and business retreats, so when things settle down in the fall, we’re gonna get serious about getting one. Thanks again for the awesome info. I’m pretty sure the mother’s helper idea was tailor-made just for me! 🙂

  • Reply Tabitha June 25, 2013 at 7:13 am

    Happy Birthday Joanna – May you have many happy returns of the day!

    And no you’re not the only one, that skillet looks really nice! Have you ever checked out cast iron? Those skillet are pretty sweet too especially when their seasoned just right.

    • Reply Joanna June 28, 2013 at 2:46 am

      Thanks, Tabitha!

      And, yes, my mom gave me a cast iron skillet recently! I’m still figuring it out, haha. I’m such a novice when it comes to cooking. But I’ve made cornbread in it, and it was awesome. I have a feeling I’m really gonna love it.

  • Reply Laurie @thefrugalfarmer June 25, 2013 at 9:38 am

    LOL, yes, after kids come, me time, alone time, is a crucial gift. Hope you had a great birthday, Joanna!

    • Reply Joanna June 28, 2013 at 2:48 am

      Thanks, Laurie! It was a great day, and Johnny made sure to give me some “me” time, which was perfection!

  • Reply Chris June 25, 2013 at 12:33 pm

    OMG HAPPY BIRTHDAY! My computer wasn’t refreshing your site so I missed like 3 days. What an exciting month for both of you. I don’t like “stuff” so I always ask for alone time or dinner dates. It’s cheaper and can get interesting when you have to get creative.

    • Reply Joanna June 28, 2013 at 2:50 am

      Thanks, Chris! It is an exciting month! We celebrated our anniversary this month, too, so it’s pretty much everything crammed into a couple weeks.

      Johnny and I love asking for dinner dates, too. Get us to a good steakhouse, and our birthday is made.

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