Today is a very happy Monday after a great birthday weekend.

I´ll tell you all about it, but first things first.
Here´s the Happy-Song Monday! song. Monday. Song.

Do you disapprove?
Alright you’ve made your point
You don’t have to choose right now
I don’t have the time to step into that joint
No one wants to see my face there anyhow

Monday come like Tuesday
You were something else I will admit
I remember what you told me
I only wish I could forget
I only wish I could forget

Standing in the sun
Smoking quiet cigarettes
Just before I let you down
Funny how a heart shatters all at once
Seems like it should make a sound

Too much to ask
Just one kiss
You’ll never know
What I’m gonna miss
Yes I’m getting old
Wandering this way
Wondering what’s wrong and right
Traveled alone but the traffic holds it still
Did I lose the will to fight?

-The Weepies

I´m slightly sunburned. (Thanks for gifting me sunscreen!)
Some say I look toasty.
A toast to those who say that.
And no, I´m not forgetting a thing and yeah, “You were something else I will admit".

Thanks to everyone for…everything: the laughs, the comedy, the persian food, my new purse, the conversations, the books and the socks.

Special thanks to:

• the handsome waiter who offered me a slow comfortable screw (you can click, it´s perfectly safe),
• the random guy who yelled he could offer a fast, uncomfortable one instead
• the math teacher from the Peace Corps who had very entertaining stories about exotic african villages
• the guy who taught me everything there is to know about Upanayana and was properly shy about his sacred thread.

Of course I didn’t accept either screw nor will I convert to Hinduism, but I may consider the Peace Corps. Thanks again to everyone for the experiences; I appreciated MOST of them.

All in all, turning 35 wasn´t half as bad as I thought it would be.
We should do it again next weekend.

On Sunday, it’ll be my birthday.
I’ll be 35 years old.
Here’s a list of what I’d REALLY like for my birthday, a list of secret things that I never tell anybody because it’s easier to say books and socks and thank you.

- A Vespa.

- A walk through an English garden.
- To see the ocean on a regular basis.
- A blue eyed dog with silver fur, like Sifa had. Named Sadie.
- One spoon on spoon by Hitomi Hisono.

- For T to say: I’m awesome, I sold it.
- Wild flowers.
- To hear my dad say my name. Living far away from home makes you forget your own name, sometimes. And I miss my dad.

- A crepe cake, like the one Annalise made for her own birthday.
- Hiking boots.
- For my sister to not be hurting anymore. For my mom to not have to worry anymore.
- A basil plant.
- To move into the house with the pool and make it all mine, mine, mine. Starting with my annexed, beautiful office. (Yup, bought a house. With a pool. With an annexed office. But I have to wait until April to occupy it. Once April rolls around thought, the occupation will be fierce.)
Here’s the front of the house:

Here´s the backyard:

So Happy Birthday to me!
To the rest of you, have a rocking weekend.

Today I’m being extraordinarily clumsy.
It’s 4:30 PM and I’ve spilled every single drink I’ve had.
I’m gonna need to get one of these:

I LOVE this website: Smitten Kitchen
And I love their logo, too.

And on saturday morning, I´ll be making their breakfast pizza.
Thanks, Steve!

Saturday
Renaissance festivals are fun to me because I am THAT sort of person.

The one I went to last Saturday was fantastic, and I got to do something I´ve always wanted to do:

I didn´t sit next to a roaring fire and there was no flagon of mead to accompany my impossible to finish turkey leg, but I got to bite on the hot meat and feel like an evil T-Rex. Yeah!

Possibly because I am the daughter of a seamstress (or couturier, as some snooty people would say), I always pay a lot of attention to the outfits.
Some people wear amazing garments, such as these:

But some others, like this guy (below), didn´t really grasp the renaissance atmosphere as the ones above did.

The “I´m too sexy for my shirt” shirt, the “wanna be school girl” skirt, the baseball cap, the belt that said BAD BOY BAD BOY BAD BOY over and over…
I did not have the gumption to take his picture from the front, but I assure you, you ought to thank me for that.

There are a few more pictures of the festival (jousting, blacksmiths…) under the Things I do section.

Sunday
Sunday was a beautiful day.

After finding the first ladybug of the season, I went to the desert.

There, I found a chipmunk.

The chipmunk was eating the leaves of a bush and when I asked about the flora, I was treated to a very beautiful experience.
It so happens that when you squeeze the leaves of the Creosote bush…it smells like rain.
Like desert rain.
Nifty, uh?

Monday

All of the above turned into a delicious dinner: scalloped tomatoes, breaded veal and a potato, onion and feta cheese omelette. Angel food cake for dessert.

Yes, I live a small life.
To make it even simpler, a couple months ago I decided to not dye my hair any more. I´ve been dying my hair since I was 16. I don´t think it looks awful. What do you think of the “sophisticated white highlights"?

Also, I´ve been informed I wear middle schooler shoes.

I couldn´t sleep last night, not because of the shoes issue (I´m more than fine with my shoes), but rather because of Nietzsche´s dancing star: there´s this idea boiling in my head that won´t let me be.

At the risk of being awake for a few more nights, I think I´m gonna kindle the fire.
I´m always on time to discard the idea afterwards, if it isn´t beautiful.