Birthday

This is my step-sister-in-law, but that's quite a mouthful. I normally just call her Kathy. I love this picture of her, which I have posted in honor of her birthday. Actually her birthday was yesterday, so oops. Happy birthday, Kathy!

Happy Birthday

Today is a special day. For those of you who don't know, today is Britt's birthday!!!! She's a pretty special lady and deserves every delicious bite of that pear tart. Happy birthday, darling!

Post-Birthday World

The day after your birthday is so bittersweet. I have lost my get-out-of-jail-free card for another year.

I feel like this picture requires a bit of explanation. My two co-leaders, Brandon and Timur, got up at 6AM (even though wake-up was at 7:30) and went to Dunkin' Donuts to get coffee and donuts for everyone. I walked into breakfast and everyone shouted "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" and this donut was practically on fire with candles. By the time I blew it out it was pretty much a pool of wax. I'm a little ashamed to say that I still ate most of the donut. Pretty much the best birthday surprise ever.

On a somewhat related note: How much would it suck to be born on the 29th of February? You would only get an actual birthday every 4 years. Lame!

The Big 25

It is that time of year again where I get eat as much cake as I can stuff into my mouth and no one can SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT. It's pretty much my favorite day ever. I mean, who doesn't love cake?

I'm feeling a little ambivalent about this birthday. A quarter century is a long time to be alive. Some people would say that qualifies me to be an adult. I certainly hope not, but rental car companies certainly seem to think so. Luckily they don't know that I've never owned my own car. Well, what they don't know can't hurt them... too much.

Happy Birthday

Awesome people do not just grow on trees. They must be carefully selected from the rest of the merely mediocre ones that you see everyday. When you're lucky enough to know three of them, then you have really got something. And when three of the awesomest people you know where all born on the same day? Well, it just boggles the mind.

Christine, Jess, and Ben: I hope you have a mind-bogglingly awesome birthday!

Be still my heart

Happy Birthday to a very special lady! She is such a giving, generous soul. Literally.

Miss you always, Meghan!

Birthday Wishes

Now you might be looking at this post, Ted I certainly hope you are, and be thinking, what is this picture? Why is Ted next to a bunch of flowers? Firstly, Ted posed, so that was his choice not mine. Secondly, screw you. A man can pose next to flowers if he wants to. Don't even get me started on all that hetero-normative crap dictating what is considered manly or feminine. If Ted wants flowers, well then he is getting some pretty flowers. Ted – HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

 Hope you like the flowers.

Birthday Wishes

This is almost 2 months after the fact, but some of you might enjoy looking at pictures from the anniversary of my 24th year. That is what the French call it, an anniversary - or anniversaire. Seems very appropriate to me.  I invited Jess and our friend Caroline to make the long 3-hour train trek to Rochefort. I lured them out to the boonies with promises of cake and champagne. I also threw in some macaroons for good measure.

Now these macaroons are not your grandmother's macaroons. Well maybe... but only if your grandmother is a Parisian pastry chef. These little pillows of almond flour cradle flavored creams of lemon, raspberry, pistachio, chocolate, and coffee. So many different flavors of loveliness! Sometimes I just want to eat macaroons everyday for the rest of my life. But I digress...

The real pièce de résistance was my chocolate mousse cake. Imagine, if you will — chocolate mousse with chocolate shavings and a marzipan plaque. Everyone in France spells my name with an accent, which doesn't bother me. At least they always say my name right the first time.

Just looking at this cake makes me want to eat it all over again. Lastly, but definitely not least was the bottle of champagne (pronounced "sham-pahn-ya") that we drank. The most surprising thing about champagne is how heavy the bottle is, even with it is empty. Apparently, the bottle is made in three pieces: the two sides and the top ring, so that French swordsmen can slice off the top piece of glass and open the bottle in one fell swoop. We did not have a sword to open the bottle, but luckily champagne corks practically open themselves.


Jess also brought along France's idea of a birthday candle, also known as the sparkler. I have to give the French props for their choice of candle in this case. A giant tower of sparkling madness is one hell of a way to hail in a new year in your life.