As Opposed to Hundreds of Years Later, When You're Younger.

The celebrating of my birthday started off a little early. On Saturday when Drek and I went down to his parent's house they had made a birthday cake for me! Unfortunately, Drek and I couldn't stay long, I had to go pick up Jessi from the airport, but he had fun while we were there!

Jessi was my first present. I picked her up on Saturday and didn't have to give her back until the day after my birthday. We had a lot of fun while she was here. On Monday we went to the Aviary and while there my twin cousin called and wished me a happy birthday. It was so good to hear from her!

On Wednesday Drek made a big deal out of my birthday. He kept saying "happy birthday" and kissing me and such. He asked if I wanted me present now or later (later ) and kept asking if I knew what it was. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed!! That morning Jessi gave me Guillotine and we even played it a few times. That afternoon we were supposed to go out to dinner with Rissy and Ismail, then I had to go to a meeting at work, and then we would get back together and watch LOST!! Work called around two pm and asked if I wouldn't come in earlier. It had been dead at the store and they wanted to get the meeting over with. So we changed plans. I made it to work at four, thinking the meeting would take thirty minutes and then we could go out to dinner and then watch LOST. Of course, as soon as I walked into the store, the customers came. The store had been dead for three hours, but once we try to start the meeting, the people won't leave us alone. At least we sold a bunch of stuff. The meeting didn't actually start until five-thirty. Poor Ben and Jessi were bored out of their minds by this point. Anyway, Cherie surprised me with balloons and cupcakes and the funniest birthday card. They all say to me and we had a very short meeting. We were out at six. Alas, it was too late to eat out, so we got take out and headed back to Rissy's house where she had made the most amazing cake (with fresh fruit and fresh whipped cream) and homemade chocolate dipped strawberries, complete with "23" written on each one in icing. Not only did they look amazing, they tasted delicious. It was amazing. Rissy also gave me a present: the DVDs of A Beautiful Mind and Romeo+Juliet, plus The Magic Sword which I cannot wait to watch, with Rissy of course. It was also here that Drek gave me his present. Oh? Did I already mention that he got me Wicked tickets. Oh well. He got me tickets to see Wicked. Squee!! Anyway, the party was wonderful. I had such a great time.

Thursday I had to drop Jessi off at the airport. :( When I returned home I found a bag hanging on my door. Krisling had dropped off my birthday present: The Chronicles of Narnia; both Prince Caspian and The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. Oh, and the most delicious chocolate truffle ever. The truffle was a gift all by itself. Even though it was supposed to be Turkish delight (For the movie. You have seen the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, right? Anyway, when Krisling and I went to go see it in the theatre we made sure we had a king size Turkish Delight) I actually liked the truffle more. It was that good.

That night Ilya and Lexi came by to play games. They brought me the most hilarious gifts. I love it when people buy things for Acouchi. Ilya got her this...um...pink thing that um...bounces? Well, it's pink, and it's made out of stretchy things, and when you shake it it goes all blinky with different colored lights. Acouchi is terrified of it. Terrified. This is great news for me and Drek. We hung it on our bedroom door and she is so scared of it that she won't sit outside and meow all night. Brilliant. It works like a charm.

Friday my family came up to have a party. We had a barbecue in the park across the street from our house. I made shishkabobs, they turned out wonderfully!

My dad can't have sugar, so I made baked whole-wheat sugar-free hamburger and hot dog buns. My cake was fresh fruit with whipped whipping cream on top:
We had a blast!! Lani and Megan made me Andes Candies Cookies that I am pretty sure are the best darn cookies on the planet. Oh, they are so good. The party was wonderful!! I had so much fun.