Update since last post - my Birthday!!!

Haven't been online or practicing much at all since last week, due to a cold I avoided, my job, and my birthday ;)
Although my main objective with this blog is to focus on my progress in bellydancing, I can't help but feel compelled to write about my fantastic birthday weekend!

My birthday was Friday. A girlfriend treated me to lunch (tabbouleh and hummus pita wrap) then we got haircuts at a salon ( I have bangs now). Then, a toast of cheap sparkling wine at a local pub. Around 7, my boyfriend came over in jacket and tie (mmmmmm- mmmm... hottie!!!) and many wrapped boxes. One was from his 93-year-old grandma, an entire batch of home-made toffee! Another box contained a hand-made scarf knitted by his mother. This was very special. Since my Grandma died in Aug. of '06, I NEVER thought I'd get a scarf knitted for me again. When he came over to my place, his dad called my phone and his dad, mom and grandma sang me 'Happy Birthday' and told me how much I meant to my boyfriend as well as his family. Then, his sister called (she's in another city)- she's the BEST!!!! If I never knew my boyfriend I know his sister and I would still be friends - we just groove that way ;)

Then it was time for his gifts. He got me an all-season jacket - one I can wear in the spring or on the slopes! We've been talking extensively about camping, hiking, etc. This is for our future, he said.

He also took me to one of THE best restaurants in our city. It was divine! He reserved the best seat in the house, too! I felt like a princess! After dinner, we went back to my place for a special birthday cake he got for me - no cake at all - just two sinful layers of gelato from the best gelatoria in the city. I can't remember he specific Italian names of the two flavors, but they were very much like chocolate chip and chocolate hazelnut - much like the taste of Nutella. Along with the conversation regarding us, the past and our future, he definitely gave me my best birthday!

Oh, and I should have taken a photo of the toffee before I ate it all ;) I have a photo of the cake, but that is on his nikon, not my cam phone ;)

Other fantastic gifts:
Brother: a Large, professional stock pot so I can make soup and chilli for more than 4 without having to ask him to borrow his stock pot ;)
Cousin and family: A crock pot - my first one!!! I love it!! I've already made a hearty potato, carrot, turnip stew and a hearty, fresh tomato sauce for pasta! Crock pots should perhaps be renamed to 'idiot pots'. I know how to cook almost anything, so I've already made soups, stews, casseroles, etc, without the slow-cooker. But, if you don't know how to cook, or don't have any time and are tired of buying pre-made stuff coated with preservatives, a slow cooker/crock pot is your best answer. Even a beginning cook can create an impressive masterpiece with a crock pot all long as the recipe is followed.

Mom: gave me a check - THANK YOU!!!!
Aunt and Uncle: another check, THANK YOU!!!

Can you believe this - when I opened the card from my uncle and aunt, my 10 year old cousin (grandparents of the child of the crock-pot givers) actually asked me how much the check was for.

I told her it was a birthday secret. She got pissed at me! Did not talk to me the rest of the day, and gave me a couple of 'staring moments.' I would have liked to explain to her that one should not ask how much money someone got for their birthday because it is in bad taste, but I did not want or feel it necessary to reason with a 10 year old child that is not mine. It's not even my place, I feel - but nor was it my place to let a 10 year old know how much money I received for a gift.