Wait, I had a BIRTHDAY!

I was so excited about celebrating my birthday that I forgot to write about it.

Brent was full of surprises, which I love, even though none of them included puppies. Flip flops, chocolate peppermint candy (not a JuniorMint, but possibly the closest thing you can get to it in this country), and coconut milk were only the beginning. He also took me to a tango show.

The funny thing about the tango, this iconic idea of Argentina, is that Argentines don't so much care for it. Oh, there are huge, beloved tango names scattered throughout history, you can find lots of lessons around town, and there are places you can go to tango the night away, but the dancing is really for the tourists. We love that stuff.

But even though every tango show in the city is performed with the turistas in mind, they are still awesome.

Brent did his research and chose a fantastic venue. Not only was the show incredibly impressive, it included a dinner that was as good as any regular restaurant. I even ate meat, since with the choices available it was either break the vegetarian streak or have pasta, which is never on my list of birthday favorites. Dessert beat the hell out of birthday cake (depending, of course, on the amount of frosting), but it was a bummer that both choices were made of lots and lots of milk, so that Brent couldn't have much of either one. Bummer. Big birthday bummer. (Fun fact: one of the desserts, flan with caramel sauce and caramel ice cream, included a slice of cheese and a slice of what must have been jam. A slice. Of jam.)

The highlight, however, was the tango lesson before the show.

In understanding the significance of this, it helps to know that Brent doesn't dance. Not because he can't -- I know he would do fine after a few of the salsa lessons I'm hoping for on my 30th birthday -- but because he considers it not fun, which I mock him about a little bit because I find it incredibly hard to understand. But, because I love him, I halfway respect this life choice and only try to talk him into dance lessons when the timing feels right.

And he arranged this evening for me knowing full well that he would have to learn dance steps for up to 45 minutes.

The tango lesson was awesome fun, though Brent assures me that it was a one-time birthday event.

I told him this, but I don't know if he believed me: this birthday was the best birthday I've had since Mom put chocolate dinosaurs on my cake. For real.