It was Steve's birthday on Monday, July 24. I won't broadcast his age on here, because he probably wouldn't appreciate it - and because he tells everybody who doesn't know better that he's 35. ;-). Because his birthday fell on a weekday, we decided to celebrate on Sunday and went out to brunch at the Ports O'Call restaurant in San Pedro. If you live nearby and have never been there, I would highly recommend it.

I'm not usually a fan of buffets, as I find that they have large amounts of average quality food aimed at feeding the masses. This is fine, if you see value for money as being able to stuff your face until you can't move with bland crap, but not so much if you are looking for a reasonable quantity of nice, tasty, food. This is where Ports O'Call restaurant is different. The food is excellent. There is an amazing selection too. As well as the traditional breakfast type foods, you can also get sushi, other fresh seafood and custom made fajitas and stir-fries. It is a little pricey at $29.95 a head, but you get unlimited champagne with your meal too. Oh, and I forgot, there are no laws against gluttony at Ports O'Call either. Right, Steve? :-) We asked our neighbours Bill and Jacque (no it is not a gay couple... Jacque is a woman, pronounced Jackie) to join us. This was originally going to be my birthday treat for Steve, but Bill and Jacque insisted on paying, which was very nice of them. They have known Steve for a long time and they had no idea what to get him as a gift.

When we got back I made Steve a birthday cake, which I must confess was more for my benefit than his. :-) I have an allergy to both milk and wheat, so I bought a gluten free mix and used rice milk and a non-dairy butter substitute (this is delicious, by the way and you cannot tell that it is non-dairy) in the recipe. This was so I didn't have to miss out on the treats completely.

The next day, on his actual birthday, I went to the mall to see if I could find anything for his birthday present. I couldn't find anything remotely exciting for him (I got quite a few things for myself, but that's another story…). I ended up buying him clothes, which he couldn't really care less about, so I decided to spoil him with food instead, which gave him great pleasure. :-) I made gluten and dairy free pizza for dinner which, although Steve has no allergies, he requested anyway because it really does taste as good as the regular stuff. If anyone is interested, I can post the ingredients and recipe... I also bought apple pie and ice cream, which Steve prefers anyway, but are out of bounds to me. This brings to mind a conversation we had yesterday;

Me: Would you like a piece of birthday cake with your cup of tea?
Him: No, I've had enough cake. I'm really not a cake person... (he pauses and doesn't sound convinced of this)
Me: You had to eat half the cake to realise this? (trying not to laugh)
Him: Stop making fun of me! I can't help being greedy. (trying not to laugh as well)

Funny thing is, there's not an ounce of extra fat on him. He works out, but not enough to get away with the amount he eats. Must be good genes, I guess.