My Birthdays

My birthday lasted two and a half days. The day before Reiko-san had to take me back to the doctor for a checkup (don't worry, I am fine, I just got dehydrated and it made me sick). While we were out she said she was going to take me out for lunch to celebrate my birthday! She is so sweet. We call her our Japanese mother for many reasons. She is the same age as my mother, I am the same age as her youngest child and she worries about everything we do just like our mothers (and grandmothers!).

She sang me Happy Birthday in English in the car on the way to the restaurant! Most English I have ever heard her speak.

She took me to this Italian restaurant near the mall that we bike to (I paid attention to the directions in case it was good and I wanted to take Luke). It was called Dono Dono. I don't know if that means something in Italian because it wasn't Japanese. Anyway, the food was AMAZING!

Started with salad (don't worry those are strips of ham not something wierd)

Reiko-san did the ordering and we shared a pizza and spaghetti. I forgot to take a picture of the spaghetti because I was too busy eating this awesome pizza! The pizza at Dono Dono is actually made on naan bread. If you have ever had Indian food you know what I am talking about. And it is amazing. Why we didn't think to do that is beyond me. It didn't have red sauce but lots of cheese and was topped with chopped garlic, pistachios and almonds. Divine! The spaghetti not pictured was also very tasty. Lots of chunky fresh tomatoes and chunks of mozzarella chesse. If you are eating spaghetti at home without the mozzarella on top you aren't eating spaghetti! It is so perfect together, like a tomato and mozzarella salad! Of course it goes together!

And of course it ended with desert. Beautiful cake on top of a lemon drizzle (I don't know what the other pink stuff was but it was probably the best thing on the plate!) and a whipped cream flower with chocolate swirl stick and mint leaf. AMAZING! We will be going back there! Reasonable prices too, especially for pizza which I hear is very expensive to get here.

I went to work that afternoon where some of the children made me a birthday card and my boss informed me that his company was going to gift me a cake the next day for my birthday!

The birthday card on my fridge at home.

On my actual birthday I still had to go to work at the normal time but I spent the morning making more cheesecakes, one for Reiko-san and one for me and Luke for my birthday. I also called family so they could wish me Happy Birthday! At work the ladies sang me Happy Birthday and we had celebratory cherry yogurt.

I spent most of my time that afternoon outside playing soccer with several of the kids. Ok, so here's the thing, I may have only played soccer in third grade, goalie by the way, but I can still kick and punt and block that goal like a son-of-a-gun. Therefore I am amazing and sungoi (wow in Japanese). Take that tiny boys! I kick butt! Good self-esteem boost for the old Birthday. (25 by the way if you didn't know, that's halfway to 50!)

This is the big field by the Gidokan. To the right is the Gidokan and to the left is the Elementary School. But check out that view. Mountains and the bluest sky since I have been here. Beautiful Birthday weather! Thank you Lord.

At home I open my cake, beautiful, and also a present from one of the ladies, Jo-san, and her family. We also know her daughter, Jo-san!

My beautiful cake, it says Happy Birthday Lindsey, and the two awesome coffee mugs that Jo-san gave me. They are metallic looking, hot pink and lime green, my favorites!

That night I get home from work, tired and dirty from the soccer, and fetching the soccer ball out of the drain on several occasions, and Luke and I look at each other and wonder what we are going to do. Then I see a message on my Facebook from our friend Wesley wondering why he didn't know it was my birthday and why we all aren't out celebrating. I write back and say, "Where are you taking me?" He says he will be right over!

He decides he is going to take us to this awesome pizza place. It ends up being closed. But I happened to know a place near there, Dono Dono! I know it sounds silly to go there two days in a row, but it is my Birthdays! I go where I want! Plus it was very cool to introduce these two guys to a place that they hadn't been to that I had (a first!). We order the same pizza and spaghetti that I had earlier and a spicy pizza, Luke's idea of course!

I know this one looks strange but it is fa-nominal! After telling the boys that the other pizza had no meat, they wanted one that did. The dark circles are actually eggplant, the "sausage" is more towards the center and is a light pinkish color. Here sausage tastes more like hot-dog but meat is meat, right? The red stringy stuff I believe is finely shredded pepperoncino. Strange combination but my taste buds didn't think so!

And wonderful Wesley not only picked up the tab (thanks so much again) but told our waitress that it was my birthday and she brought me this! Tiramisu! AND Happy Birthday, in English, in chocolate with raspberry sorbet! PERFECT!

Next adventure is this weekend. Luke is taking me camping/hiking to celebrate my birthday!