More Birthday Celebrations

Hey friends! If you live in America, isn't it nice to have such a long weekend? I get four days off,and I'm loving every second of it. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that I would rather be relaxing at home or by a pool on Monday than at class, right?

My birthday was almost a week ago, so it's about time that I finish with the recaps. On the day after my bash with my friends, I spent the afternoon in Jon's apartment with my laptop and Libby. Jon was at his first-rate pool a few floors above since the weather was perfect, and I was stuck inside. At least I had the pooch for company. 

Jon didn't have that much food in his apartment since he just moved in, but he did give me a packet of Blue Diamond Bold Wasabi and Soy Sauce cashews. They were super-fab. They have the same idea as wasabi peas, but they're not quite as strong. I highly recommend them, but I warn that they are addicting!

I also found potato salad in his fridge. He told me to eat it, so I did. 

I sadly gazed out the window while doing my homework. Can you see the red car in the parking lot? That's my car! It only cost me $12 to park there for two nights. For that area of Chicago, that's an unbelievably low price.  

Once I finished my biology homework, I took Libby for a walk. She knows her way down the stairs. 

Actually, I brought her down the wrong set of stairs. I thought I knew my way around the building, but I guess I just knew how to bring LIbby to a dead end. Can I just blame it on her?

We found the correct staircase on the second try, and we went out into the sunlight! Seriously, how can anybody say that Chicago isn't a beautiful city? I firmly believe (along with many others) that it has the most stunning skyline in the world. 

Even Libby was impressed. She gazed off into the distance towards the river. 

After the walk, I packed up my things and got ready for dinner in the suburbs. Jon and I drove out in our separate cars to meet my parents and brother Ben at Ron of Japan in Northbrook. I haven't had teppanyaki cooking for so many years, and I finally decided that I wanted it for my birthday dinner. 

I didn't take photos of the interior of the restaurant, but it looks like a little Japanese village. There are bridges throughout with water running underneath, and it is intricately decorated. My mom really didn't want to go at all since she had the idea that the food would be bad, but she changed her mind when she walked inside. 

We all ordered the same kind of meal that came with soup, grilled veggies, rice and a protein of our choice. I chose chicken and scallops. 

I was expecting miso soup, but we got a chicken noodle soup instead. It tasted fine. I was naturally stressed about classes for the upcoming week, so the soup was great for my poor knotty tummy. 

Then, our chef arrived. In my experience with teppanyaki dining, my chef is always very theatrical and talks a lot. This guy didn't talk to us at all, but he did a good job cooking our food. I guess that was the important part. I was still a little sad that he didn't do any tricks like throwing eggs up in the air and cracking them perfectly on his knife or setting things on fire. 

We got our veggies while we waited for our rice. 

All of us except for my mom upgraded to fried rice. They put ground beef in it. Yuuum. When we started eating our rice, Ben asked if the chef had any egg sauce. He pulled out a bowl that looked like a solid yellow lard-like custard and plopped some onto the grill. It looked gross, but I said that I would try it. I'm still not sure what is it, but it sure tasted great. It had to have been egg yolks and a crap load of butter and other yummy things that cause arteriosclerosis. 

Good fried rice. 

I then got my chicken and scallops. Everything went so well together. 

After dinner, I had some food that was not authentic to Japan: my birthday cake! My parents surprised me with it. We only get our cakes from one place: Deerfields Bakery. They will make a cake for you any way that you want it. Last year, they made a cake for me with a kangaroo on it. 

We always get the same kind of cake: one layer of yellow cake, raspberry filling, one layer of chocolate cake, raspberry filling, another layer of yellow cake and then lots and lots of chocolate frosting with flowers on top. Nothing beats it. I will never have a better cake in my life. If you want to convince me otherwise, send me your name and address and I will come to your house and taste other cakes. I don't think you can change my mind, though!

I would marry this cake if I was not already engaged a human. 

Sunday was great, and then Monday came around. This was the day of my actual birthday. It didn't feel like my real birthday, so I was extremely happy that I had such a great weekend before. I left the house at 6:45 in the morning and didn't get home until after 6 pm. Regardless, I made sure to buy myself a tasty lunch before my chemistry class. I got a Southwestern wrap from the school cafe. It wasn't very good, but at least I got some "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" calls while I was eating it. 

It came with salsa and sour cream.

I also got bagel chips and hummus that were included as a side dish. They tasted much better than the wrap. 

When I got home, my parents had a home-cooked dinner waiting for me! My mom made spinach cheese casserole. 

My dad made salmon on the grill. 

It was the perfect birthday dinner. I also got a Garmin Forerunner 110, which I am so excited about. I can't wait to take it for a whirl.

Another present included having hardly any homework for the night. I was a very happy girl. I actually had time to sit with my parents and have a glass of wine, which is very different from my normal nights. 

That's all for the birthday recaps!