Late Twenties

Homemade chocolate cake with chocolate icing. YUM!

OK - This was great fun.... Somehow the girls convinced the guys to do the "3 Monkeys" - Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Jacob was cracking up behind his hands. He'll just love the fact that I posted this. :)

Me and Sally, one of my many good friends here.

I heart birthday cake.

All the ladies...

The whole party -- except one guy who was taking the picture!

It is official, I think I'm now in my late twenties. Or maybe mid-late-twenties. Sunday, March 8 was my 27th birthday, and it was so much fun! Here is a play-by-play account of my day:

10:00am - Church in Beijing. Lots of fun. Great worship. Even had Happy Birthday sung to me from the front! And, since it was also International Women's Day (which while it isn't a big deal in the USA, is actually a well-known holiday in China), all the women were being celebrated! (Also, all Chinese women think it is fun that my birthday is also Women's Day.)

12:00pm - GREAT lunch at my current favorite place in Beijing with lots of friends. I had a Mediterranean Chicken Sandwich with goat cheese, hummus, and a miso-yogurt sauce. Yum.

1:00pm - A short hop away from the lunch spot was Coldstone Creamery. (Yes, Beijing has everything.) It's expensive, so we don't go there much, but this was a special occasion, and I did it right... Cake Batter ice cream with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough chunks. It was yummy.

2:00pm - Long hunt for this new market... but we found it! Hidden away on a little corner, we found this wonderful international food market with low prices and a great selection! I found passion fruit -- one of my all-time favorite fruits! They are expensive in the USA, but I got 4 for .37 cents each!!! Most imported fruits and veggies are expensive here, so these were quite the find!

6:00pm - We went home and rested for a bit, and then at 6, went over to a friends house for dinner. I thought it was just going to be me, Jacob, and her, but there were lots of people! Some of our best friends in China hosted a birthday party for me. I felt so loved. They cooked yummy jiaozi, spicy chicken wings, a great salad, bitter melon, and of course, BIRTHDAY CAKE!

10:00pm - Bed! And then woke up to even more messages since it was March 8 in the USA. I got two birthdays!

Beyond that, I received lots of calls, emails, and facebook messages. I felt thoroughly loved. Thank you all for making my 27th birthday so special.