Turning 23

Sometime during the day yesterday, i turned 23. at first, when i woke up, it didn't feel like my birthday. actually i didn't think much about the day until i came outside and i saw how happy my mom was about the whole day. she cooked everything i liked (my dad told her all the foods he thought i liked---which turned out to be all the foods i like) and she baked a cake. while i was saying my prayers she came up to me and gave me my present. i guess she thought i was taking a really long time to finish. but anyway, it turned out to be a necklace with an om pendant on it. she made me promise to wear it everyday. she said that she was tired of seeing my tulsi beads. i still wear them, but i also wear the necklace. ami came over around 2:30pm and he brought me a vase with two dozens of red roses and a balloon sticking out of the vase. i guess it cost him a lot. when he gave them to me, he said, "mamita, this is all i could buy for you." i was happy though. sometimes, i feel like a celebrity with ami; he buys me flowers every month. the roses are beautiful and the scent is heavenly!
i have no idea where my mom found all the energy that she had yesterday but she surely did a lot. she cooked food like if she was having a party for about 40 people! then she sent me out in the evening with my dad. she claimed that she was going out with my aunt and uncle and she even got dressed and everything to go out too. when i got home, i saw a whole bunch of cars at my house. i just thought that everyone came over like they usually did on birthdays. it would have been good because i thought that they could help us eat all the food my mom cooked. well it turned out that my mom and ami had planned a surprise. she decorated the house in the time i was gone and she had my other aunt and uncle and ami's family come over. it felt like my birthday because of my mom's enthusiasm. she told everyone that she wasn't sure if next year i would celebrate my birthday in her house so she wanted me to remember this birthday. she really outdid herself....and yeah, i had a real cake too! she had ordered one and she went telling everyone that i thought that she was going to ice the one that she had baked earlier in the day too. the cake was awesome!!!! i am enjoying a small piece of it everyday....and so is furgie. seems as if furgie cannot resist. she is cutting little cubes of cake and before she knows it, she has made a significant dent in the cake. well i gotta hand it to the lady who bakes the cakes. they are all eggless cakes and they are iced with my favorite chocolate icing.. and my friend has told me that one cannot tell the difference between this cake and an eggless cake. she thought that the eggless cakes were better actually because they weren't as airy as the cakes we get in the grocery.
btw, furgie spoiled the surprise about my cake...as usual! i didn't know i was having a cake until furgie came in the room...bubbly and excited and told me in a very excited tone when i said that i didn't know my mom had invited people, "wait 'til u see the cake!" then i said, "i got a cake?!" and furgie exclaimed, "oh sh-t! act surprised when you got out there, okay! please!"
so yeah, i had to act surprised. really i didn't know that i was going to be surprised. ami's mom, sister and younger brother came. my two oldest friends called and emailed me and i spoke to my cousin and my aunt earlier in the day.
after the cake, ami insisted that i open my presents. then i said, "i have presents too?!" didn't expect presents. his mom brought a bouquet of flowers and his sister gave me earrings. i got perfume from my little cousins, shivy and daniella, and finally ami told me to open his present last. he got me an opal and diamond necklace from macy's. it is really really beautiful. i was surprised once more. my little trouble is what i am going to wear all the necklaces for now...i live in my tulsi beads!

on a more serious tone...turning 23 on april 23rd was a big birthday for me. yes, i have learnt more things and i will continue to do so. for now, i am happy with life. there is still much to do and much to see, but right now, i am happy with where i am.

finally, my friend's wedding was an event to remember. it was a very well organized and traditional wedding. the family did not get caught up in the partying part but they focused on the religious part. there was no alcohol either. and in the reception, the guests had a ball of a time! everyone danced including me and furgie. by the end of the evening, everyone who stayed back was on the dance floor having a good time. of course, you can't let good music go to waste!