Monday, March 15, 2010

Birthday Weekend

I guess I'm milking this turning 40 thing for a little while longer, ha ha! After all, you only turn 40 once.

Todd spent the whole weekend working long hours for his company's software deployment. I felt bad for him because he missed out on some basketball games that he was really interested in, like the Big 10 tournament where Ohio State won, and the Cleveland Cavaliers game.

To take a break on Saturday, we went running at Miramar Lake at around 11am. I didn't realize until I got there that I didn't bring my camera with me, so I don't have any photos. It was cloudy with some sunshine coming through. I was so proud of myself because I ran six miles. It's been since last year that I've run six miles! Todd ran over seven miles in less time than me. :-|

Location: Miramar Lake
Distance: 6.08 miles
Time: 1:08:33
Avg time/mile: 11:16
Calories: 602

I felt very good, and ran progressively faster with each mile. My 6th mile was 10:44. I always feel good when my last mile is faster than my first miles. :)

After running, we stopped by Chile Peppers for some Mexican lunch.  And no, Todd did not get another churro!

Tonight I had a birthday dinner with my favorite friends. I had emailed them last week asking if they would be interested in coming to my birthday dinner. I said I'd treat, but Todd ended up treating because I did't bring my wallet. Hmm... a conscious mistake? Ha ha, it all comes from the same pot anyways. :) So anyways, everyone said they could come Sunday night, so we had my birthday dinner tonight at Dumpling Inn.

I'm always excited to take friends to Dumpling Inn, especially if they're newbies. It is in my humble opinion the best Chinese restaurant around here. The price is reasonable and the food is delish!

We picked up Anne and Gilbert on the way, and arrived around 5:45pm. There was already a waiting list, so we put our name in. We didn't get seated until about half an hour later.

Here's the whole birthday dinner gang.
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Gilbert, Meera, AJ, Todd, me, Sally, and Anne.

We ordered shao long bao (a very tender pork-filled steamed dumpling), potstickers, and shrimp dumplings (did I already say that this restaurant is called Dumpling Inn, LOL) to start. Then we had white sea bass with black bean sauce, pepper steak, deluxe tofu soup, sauteed greens with garlic, and szechuan eggplant. Everything was DELICIOUS. After the food arrived, we were all too busy chowing down and I didn't remember to take a photo until we ate a bunch of the food already.

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AJ and Meera
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Anne and Gilbert
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After the food was all gone, they brought out my birthday cake that Sally bought at Extraordinary Desserts (a famous dessert place in Hillcrest). Every side was so pretty I had to take two photos!

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And if you thought it LOOKED pretty, it was even more delicious than I could have ever expected! It's white chocolate cake with strawberry and raspberry filling, and whipped cream frosting. We all ate a piece. Then there was still some left. So I ate another little piece, as did Todd. AJ decided it would be egregious if there was any cake left, so he took care of the rest, LOL!

One last photo of the girls before heading home.
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I left with a full stomach and a warm heart. I'm so thankful for my friends.

11 comments:

  1. What a fun birthday weekend! I think I'll have to make a trip out west to visit the Dumpling Inn. Maybe I can get Tracey to come with me!
    And that cake...it looks divine! I love beautiful cakes that taste as good as they look.

    I'm so glad you had such a great birthday week with great friends!

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  2. The food looks delicious! AND..the CAKE! Almost too pretty to eat..almost :D.

    So glad you got to party with your friends on Todd's dime.

    I watched some b-ball this weekend. Tech made it to the finals of the ACC tournament, then lost to Duke. :( .

    Have a fun Monday..I'm off to start my school day.

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  3. Tell Heather to let me know when to pack..and that I'll pick her up on the way to the airport. :D

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  4. what a wonderful birthday party!!! You are so blessed with your friends! Sounds it was a funny together with yummy food and great surprises!
    Many hugs

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  5. What a fantastic birthday dinner. That cake looks amazing. OMG just stunning. It looked too good to eat. Wow.

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  6. Sometimes people write comments in their second language (English) with strange results. Christi, what's your excuse?

    "too good to eat" indeed.

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  7. And we're grateful to have *you* as a friend too, Christine. Those dumplings carried me well into the next day...they and that cake Sally brought were soooooo good. Thanks again for such a wonderful meal and time with friends.

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  8. Your birthday looked like alot of fun. What a great group of friends and gorgeous dessert! Love your blog and designs too!

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  9. What a nice birthday dinner! Great idea to meet up in a restaurant and just have the food and treats served, instead of slaving in the kitchen for hours before guests arrive.

    And the cake was just stunning! Soooo beautiful!!

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  10. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Sorry - I am behind the eight ball here. I hope you had a fantastic birthday. Many, many happy returns. I hope I look as amazing as you when I am forty. :) Have a great weekend!

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  11. I can't imagine a better dinner than going for dimsum ;-)
    Looks like you had fab day!

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