My Birthday Boy

I'm a couple of days late but life has been crazy as of late.  Work has been a nightmare.  I've been working 55-60 hours a week for at least 6-8 weeks and still am not caught up.  Our new contract launched 4/1.  We also had a new system put in for medical management with the same launch date and a new program to implement in my department.  THAT little endeavor required interviewing, hiring, training, etc.  Soooooooo..... I apologize for my absence.  All that time at work in front of a computer makes a person shy away from one when they absolutely don't need to use it.

I was in Florida for the week before CC's birthday.  I had lamented, stressed, pondered, and generally raked my brain over coals to decide what to get him.  I try hard to get gifts he can't or won't get for himself.  I'm not sure where the crossover happens, but there is a point in our lives when we just get the things we want leaving it difficult for gift givers to plan....  BUT.... About a week before I was due to fly out, it came to me.....   WATCH!!!!!!!!!

When we were on our cruise, we spent a lot of time in jewelry stores.  Not searching for rings or anything but looking at nice watches.  He had mentioned he would like a Breitling but didn't want to spend the money on it because he already had a Tag and so it was hard to justify in his mind..  Sooooooo......  I got on the internet to try to find a dealer here in town.  Thank goodness we had one!  Genesis Diamonds is the only place in 100 miles of here that sells Breitling watches.

Of course, I didn't know what the heck I was doing.  I mean, if we are shopping for a suit, shoes, handbag, bedding... Hell, just about anything else, I would have experience and feel confident.  But, I have never purchased a high end watch and really had no idea.  They were nice and the poor man that helped me put them on so I could see, explained all the features and what nots.  After a long while, I made my decision and bought one.

They told me at the store I could return it if he didn't like it and they gave me a book with all the watches they make in it.  They said they would order what he wanted, get a different band, blah, blah, blah.  Basically, buy one and make him happy in the end.

They shipped it to FL which helped with the sales tax thing and promised I would have it on Friday which was the day I arrived.  I knew I couldn't wait until closer to his birthday and would want to give it to him that day.  It was kinda cool I had it shipped as I have been having many things mailed to the house so he wouldn't think anything weird was going on.  BUT, I didn't count on the efficiency of FedEx.  They got to the house before we even arrived home from the airport.  When CC found the note on the door, I panicked!  I made up some lame excuse WHY we had to get it on the way to the restaurant.  Tangent-- We had tickets to Tony Bennett for that night and were going out to supper prior to the show.  At any rate, we did make it to the store and I was able to pick up the package.  While I was in there they were nice enough to help me get the box open and get just the box the watch came in into my purse. That was a feat.  I had a large handbag on purpose for that but I had no idea the SIZE of the box those things came in.  They say good things come in small packages but this was not small by a long shot.  Good thing my handbags are more like overnight bags...


So, we get to the restaurant and I give him his card.  He always gets two.  One funny one (at least to me) and one serious one (that freaks him out because he says I could have wrote them).  So I preface the gift stating his love for me is priceless. I cannot begin to express how much it means to me but I want him to let me try (something along those lines) and I give him the box.

He seemed extremely surprised.  YAY!  He didn't guess!  To be honest, I was afraid he was going to try to make me take it back. (Which I would not).  He didn't though, crisis averted!  He did feel it was kind of big though.  After the concert, I gave him the book to look through to see if there was anything he would prefer.

Before the Concert!!

Well, he looked.... And looked.... And looked....  Finally, he determined there wasn't one he liked any better.  I kept trying to convince him the watch wasn't as big as he thought. I think it looks awesome!  So, since I did a FABULOUS job choosing a watch, we went to the Breitling dealer in Belleair Bluffs to have a link or two removed, discuss warranty work, care, etc.  They were very nice.  We went to Columbia  for lunch and their yummy beverages and went home to relax before the Louisville/Florida game.  I took a picture of CC wearing his watch.  Kind of like shoe shopping, you have to get the view others will get.  A lot of shoes don't look attractive when you are staring straight down, you need to be looking at them from a different angle. He agreed, it didn't look as large from this viewpoint.  :)







I told a friend about the gift and they exclaimed  they couldn't believe I would pay for a watch like it was "jewelry".  I feel men, on the whole, are cheated when it comes to that sort of thing.  A man's wedding band, etc., never costs much.  A woman will want her "two month's salary" or whatever the going rate is for engagement rings.  A man deserves the same sort of treatment.  A man isn't as much into jewelry but a watch is a functional attractive item.  This watch will last him forever.  Why not buy him the best I can afford?  I get the best of him every day.  He deserves so much more.  You just can't put a price tag on love, respect, companionship, friendship, etc.  I would gladly give him everything I have.  Happy Birthday Baby!