Today is the last day of my 20′s, what you see below is a “Pre-Birthday” carrot cake that Harrison lovingly made FROM SCRATCH (I know, I’m basically the luckiest girl) and surprised me with the other night. And it WAS a total surprise. He totally gave one of those “knock knock, candy gram” Land Shark lines at the front door. And, YES, there are 30 pink candles….in addition to the Happy Birthday candles. Here’s the “BEFORE”…..
And here’s the unfortunate AFTERs:
You’ll notice the lovely molten frosting and NUBs of what used to be the candles…
How hysterically funny is that? I felt a little old, but I blew them all out in ONE breath, whew! (Thank goodness, that means my wish is going to come true, right?!)
And I don’t know WHAT recipe Harrison was using, but it is hands down, one of the BEST carrot cakes I’ve ever had. I’m sure there’s enough butter to feed an Army, but who cares, it’s my birthday. One last shot:
Look at that delicate crumb! And the frosting was also a “from scratch” effort. Job well done!
It’s funny how I, all of the sudden, have tried to apply the brakes to the past week or so. I want to savor every minute of this week – just to make sure I don’t forget anything. The laughs, the family, the food, the conversations, the smiles, the love. I wanted to share a bit of it with you as I close out this decade, so here we go!
This past weekend we celebrated both my precious nephews birthdays. They turned 2 and 4 years old, and we had a big birthday celebration for them. I am so blessed to have them in my life, they are so wonderful, and teach me SO much. Not only about how I’m supposed to do things according to what “mommy said”, but also about how to treat others. I don’t have any birthday pictures from their party yet, because they were taken on my sister’s awesome camera, but here’s a picture of all of us eating dinner the next night, as a family – Kate (my big sister, standing up), my Dad at the end, then my sister-in-law Marla, then Harrison in the orange polo, then my awesome brother-in-law, Nathan. The two boys are sitting on either side of Grampy (my dad) so they’re hidden. I had just ran inside to grab the ketchup when I peaked out the kitchen window and saw them all digging in. I just sat there for a minute and realized how lucky I am to get to spend a simple meal with the people closest to me. They are truly amazing and wonderful and I wish you all get to have the same experience with those close to you sometime real soon.
Oh, and I can’t forget the dogs, who are sitting under the table waiting for drops! That’s Boo, Marla’s pug in the lower right!
Then just last night, Harrison and I went to the private showing of the Bill and Melina Gates Foundation Visitors Center. It was a real honor to have time to walk around in a private viewing of all the work they’ve done so far, and to see what’s happening currently. I got more education and inspiration in the two hours I was there than a whole week of listening to NPR and reading my RSS feeds!
Below is a picture of one really cool exhibit they have there. They have this wall that is all screens and they ask you to answer this question: “If you had a foundation, what would it work to do/solve?” And then there are two consoles where you can type in what you’d like to do, and it goes live, up on the screen right in front of you…so COOL! It was really amazing to see what is in everyone’s hearts, what causes are out there, and to know that others are hoping for all sorts of cures and working towards making the world a better place.
It was a neat concept, and so I sat down and typed my wildest dream for a foundation that I though may actually feasible if I had the resources. My foundation is at the very top left of the screen. If you’re ever interested in hearing more about what I’d do, let me know! Someday I hope it will be a reality!
Then there was a camera at the end of the center, after you’ve more than been influenced by all the amazing work that’s being funded and implemented, where you can join the community and be up on the wall of rotating portraits. So of course, we obliged….here we are, left of center (pun intended):
So, that’s been my last week….a roller coaster for sure. And no doubt, the coming days will be even more fully loaded of lessons and fun.
Next week, I’ll be starting my “30 days of 30 years” program – which you’ll want to come back for!!! It’s a celebration of my birthday, starting a new decade of clean eating, delicious and easy foods, embracing healthy and fun living, and of course, PRESENTS!!!!!! Come back for the giveaways, at the very least, won’t you!?
The 20′s have been fun, but I’m running full tilt for the edge of the cliff to start the next decade off with a BANG!
Champagne and Doughnuts,
Siiri
Very cool and Happy Birthday! Good bye 20s, hello 30s! 30s are wonderful, 40s are even better.
Happy Belated Birthday, Ms. Sampson! Thanks for sharing the last days (gasp!) of your twenties. Trust me, it only gets better as you age
. Thanks for your thoughts about visiting the Gates Foundation Visitor Center. I, as many others, empathize with your views on making the world a better place; so it was nice to experience the center through your writing.