happy birthday to ME!

so this is what 31 looks like? i am so completely okay with that.

thank you lara, for letting me pretend awhile longer;)

in fact, this is the best birthday in recent history, and i'm only an hour and 19 minutes in.

obviously the birthday festivities began early, and involved a strange combination of activities that wove themselves into a wonderfully perfect pattern.

there were no grand trips, no dramatic rebellions. and even though the weekend involved quite a bit of work, that was also a blessing (overtime is time and half, and that makes tara a very happy girl).

i had a chance to see my boyfriend in bourne ultimatum with lara and nick. anne and i enjoyed breakfast and the nanny diaries (HER birthday activity). aaron and cindy treated me to cheesecake factory and stardust.*

and to top it all off, the culminating event, the birthday bbq at lara and nick's.

i'm sure i won't express this adequately, but have you ever had the feeling of really connecting to a moment? your thoughts laser focus on only that experience, and that focus brings a sense of wonder, awe, and most importantly, gratitude. i think it's what they (the great inimitable they) call joy.

i find that in general i am a happy person, but joy is so much more than happiness, and so much harder to grab hold of.

this weekend was filled with joy.

this is what 'joy' looks like

special thanks go to lara and nick for their continued love and patience (and attempts at domesticity on my behalf), aaron** and cindy who are perhaps the unlikeliest of friends, yet among the most cherished, and anniebean, my self-portrait soul sister.

and to the rest of you kooky kids, thank you for helping me celebrate, and for all that you contribute, on a daily basis, to my life!

the rest of the pics are here...

* thought ultimatum was much better than supremacy, not quite as good as identity. nanny diaries was exactly what i expected--cute, but not outstanding. stardust, was my favorite of the weekend, and a definite 'to own'.
**aaron--one night, i'm coming over, and we're going to take self-portraits all night long. this needs to happen sooner rather than later, fyi.