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God gave me an AMAZING birthday present! I woke up really early and couldn't go back to sleep (no that wasn't the gift!). When I went to the kitchen to fix my coffee, a beautiful sight awaited me. The sun was just beginning to peek over the buildings and through the trees and the sky was filled with white, puffy, golden-lined clouds. Sunrises in this city are rarely more than a golden ball ascending in the smog and this is the first time I have seen one so spectacular! A birthday gift from my loving God just for me! Thank you, Abba!
I then treated myself to a Chinese street breakfast with a slight American twist. I had my favorite tofu soup (a salty soup with soft tofu, mushrooms, sesame paste and cilantro) and donut-like bread that the Chinese affectionately (and appropriately, I might add) call "grease sticks." I watched the breakfast cart owner scoop creamy tofu from her 15 gallon pot and ladle brown broth into a plastic bag. Her husband rolled and cut the grease stick dough and set it in the bubbly vat of oil until it turned just the right shade of golden brown. I brought my goodies home, put my soup in my favorite bowl, and prepared little sides of confectioner's sugar and cinnamon and sugar for dipping my grease sticks. Mmmmm! They tasted just like funnel cake from the fair! Indulgent!
I spent the rest of the morning shopping at my favorite discount didn't-quite-make-the-cut-for-export market and bought a super-comfy-yet-elegant black shirt and my first pair of skinny jeans. I love buying jeans at this market because the lady who owns the jeans' stall has this incredible ability to tell a person's size. As a customer walks up, she asks what color and cut of jeans they like and she digs the perfect size out of her piles of denim. No different for me that day. I loved these pants as soon as I put them on. I felt like I was in college again! I figured cute jeans that made me feel 15 years younger was the perfect purchase on the day I officially hit the mid-thirties. And, I couldn't go wrong for ten dollars!
After a lunch of yummy noodles (cut, not pulled), I boarded a bus (another one of my favorite activities) headed to the plant market. I found some great glass bowls to grow my plants in (I have better luck keeping them alive in water instead of dirt).
In the evening, my friends threw me a party--semi-formal, jazz music, decadent food, special drinks, and of course one of Lisa's amazing cakes. Isn't it beautiful?! It was a wonderful night and I felt so special and loved! Thank you friends!
