In My Shoes: Birthday Celebrations Part The First

It's been quite the week, as I've been busy celebrating the day of my birth as many times as possible (cause that's what birthdays are for). I have to say this - birthdays always help you remember just how wonderful your friends and family are. SO many people cooked and cleaned their way through BBQs and gave me lovely presents and well wishes and came out to dinners and drinks and all just for me! But more on all that later.

The party started on my actual birthday, Wednesday, when Jo gave me a dress, some perfume AND sent flowers and wine to work for me - what a doll, i tell you. I went out to lunch with my lovely work friends, and had cake in the afternoon - even though i maintain that no-one likes to have Happy Birthday sung to them at work, nor does anyone really like to sing Happy Birthday to the birthday person (except for Sonali, who sings with gusto...)

Flowers and presents and cards, oh my.

That night we went out to dinner with my brother and Ashley, Maria, Peter and Jack and my cousin Charlie, who also goes by the name Roger. Well, not really, but i told Jack his name was Roger, not Charlie, and by the end of the night he was totally into it - "Bye Roger!" What can i say, confusing kids is just one of my many talents.

So our dinner was at this local(ish) Lebanese restaurant with THE best humus ever. I don't even remember eating anything else. Delicious. And when it came to cutting my cake, we were presented with a sword - yes a sword, cause that's how they roll. Knives are so passe.

Charlie brandishing the sword cake-cutter

Maria, Jack, me and Charlie

Jo, me and Roger (HA! No it's not, its Charlie! Did i trick ya? Did i?)

My brother Andrew, me and Ashley

My cake, which was shaped like a dog. We thought Jack would get a kick out of it. I mean, I'm not that childish. No way....

HaaaaaiYA! Cutting my cake. Jack enjoyed slicing his head open just a liiiiitle too much for me.

Jack and I picking at leftovers. The kid loves him some chocolate that's for sure.

A loverly way to spend a birthday! Plus, Jack has gotten so good at singing Happy Birthday (at the top of his lungs). On Thursday night, we were out again, to see The Whitlams with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Opera House with our friends Tony and Kama. Since Kama and I finish work earlier than the boys usually can, we felt the best use of our time would be to drink a bottle of German champagne at the Lowenbrau, in the Rocks, which is a German style beer house who serve Delicious schnitzel, which is exactly what we dined on. I knew i was slightly tipsy when i started toasting everyone with random German words like 'Apfel Zaft!' which means Apple Juice, apparently, though who knows for sure.

Afterwards, it was onwards and upwards to the Opera House, where we had to contain our giggling and focus on the wonderful Symphony Orchestra and The Whitlams, who are one of the great Australian bands in my opinion, and who put on a cracking show. Some of the arrangements with the Symphony were just gorgeous, and we had a great time.