gonna party like it's your birthday

Thanks! I enjoyed a truly marvelous birthday!

My law school friends took me out to lunch yesterday and we had a nice juicy gossip session. (Note: in two weeks, three girls at law school got engaged. It’s madness. My friend Megan has a very romantic story about her British boyfriend proposing during a sky dive.)

Then Joe came over and spoiled me rotten! He made a two-layer chocolate cake with MARISA spelled out in white chocolate chips. “This is the first cake I’ve ever baked,” he said. I was touched esp. b/c he has midterms this week and yet he took the time to bake. He also gave me a dozen fragrant pale pink roses. And he hid other gifts around my room and I had to hunt for them! He gave me several books of love poetry. He is so gorgeous to me.

My parents came into town for the evening – now they have 2 kids in Tucson, the drive is more worthwhile, I guess. They also brought my brother’s pug for a visit. I can't escape that darn dog.

My parents, my roommate, Joe, my brother and I all enjoyed a delicious Mexican dinner and frothy strawberry margaritas at the oldest restaurant in Tucson. We got a private room painted deep purple and covered in shiny icons of La Milagrosa – the restaurant's cat roamed around rubbing against our legs – my roommate and I gave my dad legal advice re: speeding tickets, my brother asked Joe about protein intake and body-building. My parents gave me an emerald ring and MP3 player – I can’t wait to load it up and go running.

It was a great, great day. I'm 25 years old - and I'm excited to see what the next quarter-century brings!