birthdays . . .

so today's my 34th birthday. so much has changed since my 33rd birthday i don't even know how to comprehend it all. the last year has been about change ... almost more so than my 28th year of saturn return (wouldn't go back to that if you paid me!). i don't even know where to start at all the wonderful experiences i've had in the last year. and i can't even begin to think about how amazing the next year will be.

it's been a great day so far. mac made me breakfast before i had to head to work. a group of co-workers took me out to lunch. mac and i are due to go dancing tonight and tomorrow we head to manzanita to celebrate our birthdays. we are looking forward to getting away . . . despite all the work we have to do on the house. the contractor comes over tomorrow at 545p to give us a bid for the kitchen remodel. we're very anxious to get the project going. it would be ideal to get it done before i leave for europe but not sure if that will happen. the house is really coming together. the bathroom got painted last weekend and it looks fantastic. mac mixed a really buttery color and i'm very happy with the result. we're trying to get 2 hrs of house stuff done a day ... not always successfully but we're making the effort.

so today is my friend bd's wedding in nashville. she's marrying a great man (he's a pisces - you know how i feel about them) and i'm very happy for them ... so i'm sending a shout-out congratulations to them on their big day.

today i'm grateful for . . . a year's distance and the prospect of many amazing birthdays ahead shared with the love of my life.

recovering . . .

so it's been quiet on the wires for the last 9 days because it's been absolutely crazy busy. my family arrived on fri, 9.14 in a whirlwind. they arrived 2 hours earlier than i expected them so, needless to say, i wasn't done cleaning & getting the house ready. i ended up meeting them at the hotel and then going to lunch. we ended up at chez jose for dinner and then i headed to the goodfoot for star's going away gathering. good music, good friends, good dancing. i got home around 1a after getting all that nervous energy out from being with the family. was definitely a good time.

saturday morning started with a trip to the farmer's market to shop for goodies for that afternoon's bbq at my house so the *fam* could meet the *friends*. the fam was amazed at the produce & flowers available at the market but were a bit stunned by the prices. that way of shopping is just so foreign to them. we got back to the house and my stepdad and grandpa wanted to watch the gator game so we turned that on for them and my mom, grandma, and i headed out the alberta street fair for a bit. my friend, jg, was going to be in the parade with the samba bateria he plays with. they're called the lions of batucada and they're so much fun! we popped into the mash tun to say hi to kim & then headed back to the house. the bbq was a huge success. had a great turnout. thanks to star, jenmc (and her lovely lady), lara & todd, sweets, z & dk, jg & osha, ryan, and angell for coming over to show the family some love.

after the folks went home, star and i headed to the florida room for anunce's 40th blowout. was lovely to help her celebrate the big occasion. i got home around 230a after helping mfp clean up and run some folks back to the house. had a lovely breakfast with star on sunday am before i met up with the folks do go down to the willamette valley for some wine tasting. had a nice afternoon which included stops at sokol blosser, argyle, ponzi and torii mor. stopped for lunch at the dundee bistro and drank so more. we headed back to the house and cooked dinner and just hung out.

on monday, we made the trek out to the gorge to see multnomah falls and vista house. made a stop through edgefield on the way back for more wine tasting and a snack. since tuesday was my mom & stepdad's birthday (yes, they share a bday), i made reservations at higgins for a nice dinner. was a great meal!

tuesday was a slow day with visits to my office so the folks could see it and then went over to the rogue public house for some beer tasting. grandma was coming down with a cold and wasn't feeling well so we just headed back to the house. anunce and mfp came by to meet the folks. was a really nice visit with them. was nice to hang out and just spend time together. remarkably, there was no tension! i think that's a first.

wednesday was back to work for a full day of meetings & catching up. i had plans last night to meet up with mac, a very cool woman i met a few weeks ago at pop tart. she's an amazing dancer and a hoot to hang out with. we can just talk for hours! it's so nice. we had dinner at crush and then headed to holocene to see some djs. switch, diplo and dj beyonda were spinning. the music was awesome. despite being a school night, we danced till 2a.

today i'm thankful for . . . being able to function on 3 hrs of sleep.

more soon . . .