birthday – Page 3

He’s two!

March 14, 2012 filed under: birthday, family, Germany

Tom is two years old today!

My, oh my, where does the time go? My sweet little nephew is not a baby anymore! And he can say my name now and he recognizes me on the computer screen when we skype. It’s really amazing to see him grow up.

My Mom made this birthday cake train for him – the cake is called “Kalter Hund” (which literally means “cold dog”, since it’s a no-bake cake) and my Mom already used to make this when my sister and I were little. Definitely brings back childhood memories and I most certainly wish I could indulge in a piece right now. Everybody is gathered at my sister’s place again. You know, birthdays are a big deal in our family and there are always celebrations happening on the actual day of someone’s birthday. I love that tradition.

As always, I wish I could have been there for this milestone, but as so often, I couldn’t. At least, we already had a little Skype session this morning and he yelled “Saaaandraaaaa”, when he saw my face on the screen. It made my heart melt and I just wish I could hug and kiss him on this special day.

Birthday weekend in the City by the Bay

March 13, 2012 filed under: birthday, USA, weekend

You guys, I had a wonderful, fantastic birthday weekend. Except for spending time with family and friends, there is nothing else I could have wished for.
I started Saturday morning off with a hot shower, birthday marble muffins and fresh coffee. Then I opened my birthday cards and a few presents that had come in the mail. Hooray for birthday mail!

A little later, I had a Skype date with my family, who was gathered at my sister’s place for a big birthday party. After all, it was my sister’s birthday, too, and it made me a tiny – ok, more than a tiny – bit sad that I couldn’t be there.
You know, for someone who used to share every birthday with a sibling and have family and friends come over for a celebration, it is kind of hard to adjust to practically having the day to myself for the last few years. At least, I had something to brag about on my own, because a little after the Skype call, I headed out to spend the weekend in San Francisco with my love.

We had a (very) late breakfast at our favorite breakfast joint in the East Bay (their apricot scones are to die for!) and then parked our car and took BART into the city! We had a hotel close to Union Square and really didn’t need to bring our car.

After we checked into the hotel, we set off for a nice walk around the city, sat and observed people at Union Square, had hot chocolate and then tried to decide where to have dinner.

We walked all the way over to Van Ness Avenue (if you know San Francisco a bit, you know that it’s a good 30-minute walk from Union Square) to check out the “House of Prime Rib”, of which we had read great things. And it’s quite obviously a prime dining spot, as we didn’t have reservations (we like to be spontaneous!) and the wait was 3 hours! So, a change of plans was in order and I quickly consulted my beloved iPhone and made an online reservation at Morton’s Steakhouse (don’t mind if we do!), and back to Union Square we went.

We sat at the bar for about an hour and had a couple of drinks (and I was strangely fascinated by the sleeping pig that was part of the table lamp, ha!), before we got our table and indulged in a ridiculously expensive, but oh-so-delicious steak dinner. Holy buttery-soft Filet Mignon, you guys, with a side of steak fries and sauteed button mushrooms! I am sorry that I don’t have any pictures of the food, but I didn’t dare to take out my DSLR for a food picture in this fancy restaurant and the iPhone picture didn’t do the food justice… so you just have to imagine what it might have looked like.

The next morning I went out for a little photo walk before we checked out of the hotel. J kept calling it my “birth-weekend” and made me make all the decisions (which, I am usually not very good at, mind you!). So, first, I insisted on riding the Cable Car to Hyde Street. When we stood in line to get our tickets, it was sprinkling a little bit, but then the weather decided to go with the birthday flow and sent some sunshine for the rest of the day. It was a beautiful day!

We had lunch at Lori’s Diner, walked around Ghirardelli Square and then went over to the Old Fort Mason Pier, which offers an amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the City Skyline.

We hung out in the sun, enjoyed the views and soaked up every precious minute of our time in the city. I must have taken what felt like a gazillion of pictures and I obviously will have to share some more with you in another blog post. I didn’t want this here to get any longer.

Needless to say, I feel truly blessed to live so close to such an amazing city and the opportunity to explore it whenever I want.
I can only hope you had as fantastic a weekend as I did.

Happy Birthday, dear friend!

February 7, 2012 filed under: birthday, friends, love

{us in 2005 • one of my favorite pictures}

Today is my dear friend Kim‘s birthday again. It’s seem impossible that a whole year has gone by again… but the good thing is that this last year, Kim’s friendship has – all over again – proven to be one of the important ones, one of the friendships every girl should have and one that is irreplaceable in a “don’t-know-what- I’d-do-without-this-girl” kind of way.

The photo up there was one of the first ones taken of us together and it remains one of my favorites. It’s framed and hung up in my apartment alongside some other photos, which remind me daily of the important people in my life. Even though we only see each other once a year on average that doesn’t change how close I feel to her in my heart.

Happy Birthday, Kim.

On your special day, I wish..

… that this day may be as wonderful as you are.

… that you wake up with a smile on your face.

… that you feel loved and appreciated by the people around you.

… that there is a birthday cake on the table.

… that you get many, many texts, tweets, emails and letters from people who are too
far away to come and hug you in person.

… that there are packages in your mailbox.

… that this new year is going to bring you more happiness than ever.

… that you know that I miss you, especially today, and
that you never forget how much your friendship means to me!

* * *

Go give this girl some love!

On someone’s birthday…

October 18, 2011 filed under: birthday, love

{via my flickr}

Today J turns 29 years ~~old~~ young.

It’s the tenth of his birthdays that we celebrate together (you do the math on how old he was then).

Ten years ago, we hardly knew each other on his birthday. I hadn’t really planned on getting him a gift or anything, wasn’t even sure what he was going to be doing on his birthday, but I had offered to spend time with him if he didn’t have any other plans. He didn’t and he gladly accepted. It was a special night, albeit the fact that we did very ordinary things. We walked. We sat on park benches. We talked. We poured our hearts out about stuff that some couples maybe never talk about. We got late night coffee and a bag of Dorritos that we shared on a bench in the parking lot of a little shopping center. Romantic, I know!

It was nothing fancy, rather simple really, but nonetheless one of the nights we both remember very fondly. I guess, when you just start getting to know each other, it doesn’t really matter what you do as long as you do it together.

Tonight I am taking J out for dinner. I have a couple of gifts for him (which I hope he’ll like) and then maybe, we’ll end the night with a walk and late night coffee and Dorritos… just like ten years ago.

Birthday celebration

March 28, 2011 filed under: about me, birthday, my so-called life

So, it was my birthday a little over two weeks ago.
I didn’t get to take the day of from work, but my co-workers took me out to a nice birthday lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and I go my first piece of birthday cake of the day – Original New York Cheesecake. Yum.

Later, I came home to a bunch of birthday cards and packages.

You know, the fact that I usually can’t celebrate my birthday with the people that are near and dear to my heart sucks on a regular basis, but a huge pile of birthday mail usually makes partially up for it.

I got a beautiful necklace from my dear friend Kim. I mean, could you think of any pendants that would suit me more than a (half) globe and a camera? I know. It’s perfection!

I received the book “Photoshop for Dummies”, which was actually on my Amazon Wishlist and I am so glad my friend snatched it up for me :) Now I have to get serious with my new Photoshop CS5!

My friend from Australia sent me this very nice gift set from L’Occitane. If you know me, you know I love the L’Occitane stuff, which in turn means that my friend knows me very well!

My parents and sister pitched in to help me upgrade my camera. I think I am going to go with this additional lens.

J got me an electric bread knife (which might seem unimaginative to some, but if you know my love for bread and are aware of the fact that I had complained about not being able to cut even slices from a fresh loaf of bread with a regular knife, you’ll understand that J had listened very carefully to what my little heart truly desired!) and he took me out to dinner over the weekend.
We also had a nice movie night on my actual birthday and (finally!) watched “Inception”. Loved the movie!

There were also a few more presents that are not pictured here… a book, a photo album, cosmetics, gift cards, and a whole bunch of birthday cards and emails.

Thank you all for thinking about me on my birthday! It did make me feel special.

He’s one!

March 17, 2011 filed under: birthday, family

On Monday, my sweet little nephew Tom turned one year old.

One year!

How can that be? He was just a teeny, tiny baby and now he’s starting to change into this little person with his own personality and he’s running around and learning new things every day. It’s scary how fast it all goes.

As always, I wish I could have been there for his first milestone, but as so often, I couldn’t. 6000 miles are not exactly a weekend trip. It was hard not to be there and be able to cuddle him and pinch his chubby little cheeks. Kids change so quickly when you don’t see them for months at a time.

Once again, I have to thank my sister for keeping me ever-present in my niece’s and nephew’s minds. I love when my sister tells me that Greta has asked about me – totally out of the blue. I love when she says “Come on, Mama, let’s go and visit Sandra” (and then my sister has to explain why they can’t do this). I love when she pets and throws kisses at the computer screen when we skype. Even though I am not there in person, I am still there. I am part of their daily lives. And I can’t wait for the day when Tom says my name for the first time :)

On birthday wishes and friendship

February 7, 2011 filed under: birthday, friends, love

{via}

So, today is the birthday of one of my very best friends.

Kim has been a HUGE part of my life for about 8 years now. We met online. We’ve been IRL friends for the better part of these 8 years. She’s one of the first people I will call when I need to talk to somebody. We met at a time when we were both in long distance relationship with Americans and we whined to each other and gave each other prep talks throughout this whole difficult time.

We’ve endured other people humoring us for holding on to someone who lives half a world away. We’ve proven to all those people that you can make the relationship work if you really commit yourself to it. We both had to learn the hard way that when you finally turn the long distance relationship into a “normal”, live-together relationship does not necessarily mean that there aren’t other obstacles along the way (although you think you might have overcome the most difficult of all.)
But we both know that having a friend to rely on throughout all of this, a friend who understands and who has “been there”, is a unique and precious gift.

Kim is one of the most giving people I know. She always puts other people first and tries to make sure everybody is content and happy. As a friend, I think it’s one of the most important qualities to be genuine and not run the other way when times are tough. It’s one thing to be a perfect friend in good times, but a whole other ball game to be there when things are not going so splendidly. Kim has proven to me many times that she’ll always be there, no matter what.

On your special day, Kim, I wish…

… that there is sunshine and lots of love surrounding you today.

… that this new year is going to bring you more happiness than ever.

… that you can pursue the things you love and make you happy.

… that there is plenty of coffee in your mug, cupcakes on the table and
lots of friends who show you how much you mean to them.

… you a bubble bath and lit candles in your bathroom.

… you something good on TV and a hand to hold
while watching your favorite show.

… you many, many phone calls from people who are too far away to come
and hug you in person (even though they wish the could!!!)

… that you know how much your friendship means to me!

* * *

Please take a few minutes and hop over to her blog and show her some love.
She deserves it more than anybody.