I think I’m ready to wrap up birthday month. It’s been overwhelming…ly
great. The anticipation, the indulgences, the activities, the stress, the fun.
My birthday has been a constant excuse to spoil myself with vegan treats
all month long! While the heartfelt concerns for finding a proper vegan cake
were appreciated, the real trouble lay in calculating just how many sweet vegan
treats I could incorporate into the celebratory month. Chocolate mousse…Blueberry
cheesecake…Coconut macaroons…Vegan powerball…Carrot cake…Dark chocolate with peanuts…Mocha
almond fudge coconut milk ice cream…Candied nuts…Vanilla almond
butter equatable to gooey cookie dough…Chestnut mousse with blueberry
chutney…Chai-infused muffins...Cookies, how about pecan oatmeal, coconut, and apple cinnamon. You
better believe it all went down.
Birthday week festivities intensified on the 23rd when my MWF
students brought me small gifts. My day was completely made when a former
student with whom I share a birthday thought to bring me a gift! The office
staff also kindly/unkindly bought a couple birthday pizzas for us teachers. They
didn’t know… At home, birthday eve kicked off with delicious coconut curry and
wine. I worked out a recipe for vegan cupcakes with a peanut butter banana
frosting. These would be used the following two days to assuage the guilt of
forcing students to sing happy birthday all week long…
A leisurely birthday morning was exactly what I wanted. I woke up to a small
gift from Bethany: a nifty kitchen appliance and herb seeds! The morning also
included a quick run since the birthday flu had kept me out of the gym the past
four days. In a what can only be described as a birthday miracle, I had made
full recovery by the big day. One awesome thing about my birthday is that no
matter what I’m doing, it feels really special. Birthday wishes began to stream
in through almost every form of technological and social media. Way to
diversify, everyone!
On my way to work, I was treated to a tea on the house from a friend’s café. In
the break room a birthday card and package awaited me. Two wonderful iHerb
packages with my name on them arrived this month. I finally feel my pantry is
perfectly stocked in a way that will support my healthy, vegan, and of course delicious, lifestyle.
During classes, my students fawned over the cupcakes. My last class even
threw me a legitimate party with party poppers, a chocolate cake with candles,
and surprisingly nice gifts like soy candles and Belgian chocolate. I may or
may not have agreed to a party if they were willing to bring the party supplies.
It was completely unexpected but goes to show how far 12 year-old-boys will go
to get out of class work.
After work I rounded up a few coworkers for a casual drink at our go-to
spot in the area. My birthday day ended with two Long Islands and a tequila
shot. A fun time and luckily I had a free Friday morning to recover.
A second awesome gift magically appeared from Bethany on Saturday: white
wine, lotus root, a pomegranate, and an avocado!! All things that in passing I
had mentioned I loved. An avocado is a pretty unbeatable present these days. Friends
joined me for a Mediterranean dinner, including a buddy from Semester at Sea. Though
the restaurant owner was not the friendliest, we continued to patronize his
business with post-dinner hookah. Bethany surprised me with yet another great gift: a vegan cookbook!
I’m lucky to have a willing and brave taste-tester for a roommate. Maybe she is
trying to tell me something…
The final birthday hurrah was Sunday morning. I had planned a vegan
brunch a few weeks ago, not only in honor of my birthday but also to celebrate
the near culmination of my vegan month. I love any reason to bring people from
different parts of my life together. Cooking for ten had me a bit stressed out
in the morning but it all came together. The menu: banana pancakes, veggie tofu
scramble, toast & marmalade, coffee with almond milk. We toasted with mimosas,
courtesy of my lovely lady guests who brought quite a few bottles of juice and
champagne. Thoughtful cards as well as the vegan chai muffins (Alien’s Day Out)
that I had been meaning to order for forever found their way to me! They were
the perfect surprise. My coworkers are kind of awesome…
Birthday season, equally as festive as Christmas season, must come to a
close. It’s okay because I feel fully celebrated and I have managed to keep PBD
at bay. My next birthday is less than a year away...phew. That’s not to say that if something were to trickle in through the mail
in February it would be a problem…
Green class approved.
Talk about a surprise party!
Little gifts just popping up when I least expect it...
The birthday girl.
Digesting and cuddling
My birthday IS kind of an international celebration, come to think of it...
wish I could have tasted my cake!
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