In Between

FRIDAY/ SATURDAY: The More We Get Together, The Happier We'll Be
As you can see, my weekend in Tahoe was tons and tons of fun! I spent it with the best bunch of pals and (their significant others) that I could ever ask for. We were celebrating twin bdays of Shannon and Glenn as well, and Saturday was a full day starting with waffles, then beaching, inner tubing, napping, happy houring, miniature golfing, and finally some late night barbequed STEAK AND CHICKEN. I don't have photos yet of the BBQ but when Marita shares hers it will be great. My big sister Lola went all out and with pink Princess crowns for the bday people, choco-sprinkled cupcakes with our names on the candles, and glowstick jewelry! Jas and I made little red mustaches on a stick for some sophisticated photos ops, to be shared as soon as I can nag them out of Marita.

The craziest part? They all pitched in to buy an iPhone for me. I was speechless.

SUNDAY: Why I Am The Luckiest Girl
In growing up I've always found myself in 1-to-1 friendships, never in groups larger than three. I still prefer the genuinity that you can get between sole individuals, but I always been curious about that kind of group belonging. As I get older I've nestled myself into three distinct groups (hometown friends, college friends and my boyfriend's hometown friends) and I'm really grateful for having these beautiful and sometimes complex bonds. To me, my birthday is the one chance to round up the circles and just have a good time together, and that's exactly what we did.

I don't yet have pictures of the barbeque we had at my parents', but I can tell you that it was really frippin' hot but wonderful at the same time. My childhood friend Hannah and her bf showed up unexpectedly which was a great surprise. And more friends from all over braved leaving the cool comfort of their own homes to drive an hour + to join in the festivities. And my sisters and my mom volunteered with prepping and made the whole thing run so smoothly, from the makeshift tent to the pretty pink Princess ice cream cake. My mom was up since 6:30 am cooking up signature side dishes like tofu steak and yakitori with spicy teriyaki sauce... and my older sister's fiance made kalbi, Korean short ribs. Go ahead and drool, I'll wait for you to wipe it up. =)

My favorite part was having my family hang with my friends, especially the part when my mom picked a favorite (my design friend Ben), subjecting him to near mouth-feeding, him out of everyone there. Or when I had to explain to my dad he'd already met that older couple over there a long time ago, remember? When he'd picked me up at their house the morning after the one time I ran away from home -- he kicked me and laughed when he realized.

If you meet my friends you can tell how awesomely good they are and how lucky I am to have them as a part of my life. I'm left feeling both lucky and near guilty for not deserving such selfless friendship and family.

MONDAY: Winding Down with Me TimeI spent the actual day of my birth my way. Slept 'til I couldn't sleep no mo', cleaned the house with mad ADD, showered, cooked myself a bomb ass huevos rancheros w/o the beans/sourcream/guac, personally replied to every FB birthday wish, edited photos, faked a nap, wrote a bunch of thank you cards, caught a bus to meet Mayu downtown, had Indonesian/Singaporean, some gelato, walked to Urban Outfitters and bought nothing, picked up some eyeliner, came back, took a quick nap, and went to dinner with mi amor Bridges, the restaurant location of the scene when Mrs. Doubtfire gave the heimlich maneuver to the guy who choked on the chili pepper, and then eventually was exposed for identity fraud. Great movie. Even better dinner! Thank you, love, and everyone who partook in making this the best birthday weekend ever!