birthday away, year 2

this is the second birthday i spent out of the country. last year i was in holland where the only people i knew were my sister and her husband. i had a lot of visitors, all of them i only met that day. was fun though.

and like last year, i missed everybody at home and the fried chicken and spaghetti that are mainstays in my birthdays.

i'm happy, though, that i'm here with my sister anna and her husband ryan and of course, baby mac.



a couple of days before my actual birthday, we had my formal birthday dinner. no photos, though, but they have a website. we ate at picanha, where brazilian waiters (ampopogi!) with grilled meats impaled on swords go around the tables and offer to give you a slice, or two. :)

on the day of my birthday, my sister let me sleep the day away, then she made me breakfast, and we just lazed around. :) my dream birthday. :)

for dinner, we went to big mama's and papa's pizzeria along ventura blvd. in studio city.

we ordered a 10" pizza each for me and ryan, and ate anna had spaghetti.


it was a good thing we ordered when we did because after we placed our orders, a call came in for 75 extra large pizzas. 30 mins before closing.



they left us largely to our own devices so we just ate a couple of slices, asked for take home boxes and packed the leftovers ourselves. so this was me on my birthday:



i think i did justice to my birthday parties. every year is a different celebration, but you know what? wherever i am, whatever the fare, i never forget to give thanks for another year. after all is said and done, it has still been a blessed life. thank you to the Big Guy up there for my family and friends. sometimes it feels good to just sit back, reflect, and feel loved.