Truth: I love the Sound of Music. I think I drove my parents insane with all my pretending to twirl around on a mountain (read: stairs; also read: unsafe) as I sang songs about "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with string..."
Yup, those were my favorite things, along with Disney cartoons and Mr. Rodgers, and pink ponies. But as I've gotten older, I've realized, who needs that when you can have:
Deep dish pizza! (I love love love stuffed spinach. Seriously, it's so delicious, and I like to pretend it's not so bad for you since it's full of vegetables. Okay, kinda not really full of vegetables, but the key word here is pretend.)
Popcorn!
Jelly beans (preferably Jelly Belly since I like to mix them and make up sometimes delicious, sometimes disgusting, combinations).
Ciao Bella Green Tea with White Chocolate Chips (seriously, you have to try it; it is fantastic!)
Board games! Taboo! Jenga! Mafia! Whoonu!
Tiaras and clip-on plastic earrings, birthday ribbons, and pink and white streamers! (It's even better when the decorations probably constitute a fire hazard of some sort.)
Lots of cake! (If you look closely in the second picture, you'll notice that one of the candles fell over from the sheer amazingness that was Neil Biswas' operatic birthday song, but thankfully, nothing caught fire.)
And of course, my most favorite friends. :)
My list of favorite things totally beats Rodgers and Hammerstein's. Eat your heart out, Julie Andrews.
Thanks for a fantastic surprise birthday party that included ALL of my favorites. Twenty-four wouldn't be the same without all of you in it. Thanks for the emails, the e-cards, the voicemails, the texts, the poems, everything. I'm touched that so many of you remembered.
According to the boyfriend, I am now officially old.
...
I prefer to use the word "mature."
**Oh yes, I have a blue Spongebob Squarepants bandaid on my face. I'm just that cool, okay?
