i'm 23.


tee hee!

fun is self explanatory!

amazing birthday week ahead!

Let the bells ring out and the birds sing, cause it's freakin offically my birthday week!!

The tradition of extremely long birthday celebrations, i.e., week or even the entire month of july, began when I was a wee little lassie. Being an only child on spurred this on all the more- my parents had lots of money and attention for MOI!

The Festivities would begin with a birthday with my school friends. This normally consisted of: pool parties/ice cream cakes/pizza/water fights/relay races/neighborhood wide scavenger hunts/& talent shows.
If it rained, we went to Chuck E Cheese. (oh hell yes!)

THEN. Party with Auntie Jeri and Uncle Chris.

THEN. Every summer we went to Bulgaria, which meant:
Party with Grandma!
Party with the neighborhood friends, (who I couldn't talk to cause they spoke bulgarian, but who needs to talk to one another when you have a good imagination? and besides hide and go seek is the same in other countries...)
Party with Grandma's sister, Lela Peppa, brother Vucho Stoyan and his tacky wife.
Last but not least, party with Grandpa, Grandma's ex. That was always so much fun.
They fed me lots of dried sausage called Loufkana, and yogurt soup, and horrible cake. But I like watching my grandpa gum his food. His jaws moved in the most mezmerizing pattern. And they smoked and drank, which I remember liking being around adults who did that. And of course my grandpa would kiss my cheeks all night and they were always wet. He was a really happy guy, but every time a camera would go to snap a picture he would take on this rock hard stoic face. Remnants of communism maybe?

So that's why July is my birthday month, and THIS is my birthday week!
Saturday- dinner party at Niki's! Scrumptous food and bubbly to go around!
Sunday- big gala at my house (my parents are throwing me a surprise party, but since they are out of town, they needed ME to PLAN it. hahah)
Monday- family b-day dinner
Wednesday- actual day of birth.
Friday- The boy is taking me on a date
Saturday- Pinic at a vineyard, and bowling!

And THAT, ladies and gents, will conclude my most amazing and fansatic birthday week. And then I'll be 23! I whole new year for me...whoopie!

Yay.

I'd make a great Nanny, except I don't like other people's kids

So every once in a while, I THINK I like kids.
Just like I THINK I like Puppies.
And then the nostalgia or the 'romance' in owning something small and in need of care every few minutes wears off.

The other day I thought I would love to be a music teacher. Why? Because these two girls were watching me play piano, and they were impressed, and they asked me to teach them my song.
I was flattered of course. So I taught them and boy did they learn quick. Everything was going great...until they started arguing over the parts they were playing. And I was like noooooo.
What was I thinking? How could I have forgotten? I don't like kids!

I was a nanny once. For like 2 weeks. Hah. I did not like it. I got paid well...but I was so bored!
I would pick the girls up from school after waiting in line for an hour with 15oo mini vans & stay at home moms. Drive to their house while breaking up their fist fights like 5 times. The girls would make themselves a snack. The older one would immediately computerize herself and stay on the Zwinky website for like 4 hours. The younger one would first put on her princess Jasmine costume, then put on a movie. So I would just SIT there. Reading Oprah or calling my boyfriend. It sounds like an easy job...but I was going out of my mind! They didn't NEED me to do anything. Just drive them around and make sure they didn't bleed. I couldn't handle it!!! I NEED more stress than that in my day to survive! More adreniline! I am NOT a good sit around do nothing person.. So I quit. The mom was disappointed of course. But I said something lame like, 'an opportunity in my line of work has presented itself to me, so in my best interest, I need to take it. Which wasn't a lie, at all. There WAS another opportunity. It was to go and work for an antique dealer. Which meant I would be doing anything and everything that she didn't want to do. I.E.:

Taking her whippet, Jack Shaw, to the vet
Taking Jack Shaw for a ride
Picking up her sushi
Grocery Shopping at Whole Foods (LOVE THAT)
Babysitting Jack Shaw
Picking up her mail
Picking up her dinner

I was on full time booty call. She would call me whenever, wherever. And you NEVER said no to Tara.
"Hey Yana Baby....can you do something for me, are you free, are you around town?"
"Hey Ms. Tara, of course (wipe the food off my face, rinse the shampoo out of my hair, speed down the freeway) I am free and around town (lie)
"great....pick up Jack, pick up my photos....come to my house, drive across town, come back, waste your gas, come back to my house, go to the warehouse, pick up lunch, and come back. Can you do that in 25 min? Thanks Yana Baby. Love you! Buh Bye!" Click.
"SIGH. Where can I buy a gun and some vodka?"

I'll be a wife someday?

Let me set the record straight- I'm not engaged.
But I will be.
Eventually.
Once my sweet love stud buys it for me.
What an exciting day that will be.

4 words that make such a huge shift in one's life.

chris and I have known for 8 months now that this boyfriend-girlfriend relationship is going to end and marriage will begin. So I have known that this is the man I will spend my life with, but I know that being officially engaged will change everything.

What does it mean to be a wife? I think I'm a pretty good girlfriend...I'm pretty good at figuring out his needs and giving him everything I can. I'm great at cooking and making sure he eats enough. And I love him like crazy. So I think i'm on the right track.

We are making initial wedding plans now. How crazy. It's normally not kosher to pick your date, find a venue for a wedding and reception, and make budgets BEFORE oneself is engaged...but my life has never been normal. I'm ok with that.

moldy water

well, as it turns out, water gets moldy.

who knew? i certainly didn't. It never occured to me that lemon water could take a turn for the worst until I swallowed. After pouring myself a glass of strange consistency water, and noticed it had a silky texture. 'Strange' I thought to myself...but I drank it anyway. A moment too late I looked in the pitcher to find green moldy circles growing on the side.

ughhGG)(**F(AF!!!!

My only thought was to kill the bad bacteria with good bacteria. So-I ran to the fridge. Opened my bottle of apple cider vinegar. Drank too much of it. Felt quite ill........afterwards....but I think I did the right thing. The end.