Birthday the Actual

I came into work early the other day, as I wanted to take extra time to have lunch with my mom. My boss was kind enough to not only give me the additional half hour, but to take as long as I needed! Mom took me to SK Noodle, a nice Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant. I had Szechuan Shrimp, which was much sweeter than I was accustomed to, and much more balanced with the heat, so it was a nice change from ohdeargodthefire! I also had a Thai Boba tea, but I think southern California spoiled me, as it seemed much to sweet and not as good as I'd hoped it would be.

My sister called while we were eating to ask what I wanted from the Chinese food establishment Twin Dragon for dinner. Now my sister adores Twin Dragon because they make a thick brown egg foo yung gravy, which she always orders on the side (she never actually eats the egg foo yung). However, I hate Twin Dragon as the prices are high for the quality and amount of food one receives. I would much rather eat at Szechuan Express or Egg Roll King (also near our residence), which I informed my sister of, but she would not be swayed. The exchange went something like this:
Sis: "NO! I'M GOING TO TWIN DRAGON!"
Me: "But it's MY birthday!"
Sis: "It's MY money, so there!"

I know, we're so mature for out age.

It occurred to me after this conversation that no one in my family bakes as well as I do, so I took pity on my folks and recommended the nearby Raley's store to pick up a cake. I chose a nice, small layered Red Velvet cake with white chocolate on top, as well as a mini raspberry cream cake to enjoy at the office. However, when I got back, there was a surprise awaiting. Despite only being informed of the fact it was my birthday that morning, the ladies had gone out and bought a chocolate strawberry cake for me (and a card)!

I'm so lucky to have a great place to work like this office.

I received a nice, shiny new electric spice grinder from my brother, Ben. I think he meant it more as a gift for him, so we can do nice spice rubs for the meats we buy. Unfortunately, we do not yet have whole spices to grind, so a trip to the store is needed to test out the new toy handy kitchen device. Sirenidi was a bit peeved that it wasn't her birthday, and I'm not sure if my efforts to get her to celebrate her un-birthday were successful. Anyways, we all enjoyed the red velvet Raley's cake very much.