Eleven times two is now me.

Yesterday (the 2nd) was my birthday. It was pretty goddamn great.

Celebration really started after dinner on the 1st, when I got my present from Jenna: a sneakily procured couple of bags of my own self-designed trail mix produced by MyMixedNuts (I named it "Synapse Blast" and it delightful indeed)! The rest of the night included: my legal 22-turning, popcorn, vegging out, fun, and sleep.

Jenna and I woke up a little late today but eventually made it to the Metro, on our way to Sticky Fingers vegan bakery. Once at our destination, I got an incredibly delicious sticky cinnamon bun and a peanut butter fudge cupcake, Jenna got a s'mores cupcake and a red velvet cupcake. It was all so good. I wish I had pictures. Then we got some more treats to go, and walked around Target for a while (it was pretty hot today [90*F], and we wanted to wander in air conditioning). Then back on the crowded-like-the-Tokyo-subway-cuz-it-was-DC-rush-hour Metro.

We met up with my mom and friends Piper and Russ at my favorite Indian restaurant,Tandoori Nights, and we all ate a great and generally convivial meal.

Then home: Scrabble (which saw the victory of the only non-English-major at the table [Piper]) hanging out, and taking pictures. Here are my absolute favorites of the bunch:

So maybe it doesn't sound like anything flashy, but it was one of the best birthdays I've ever had. Mostly I think this is because I spent it with the person I am in love with. Also, it was completely free of any obligations, time tables, or complications: just doing what I/we wanted to, just having a lot of fun with people I care about.

EDIT:

This was followed by the best morning I've ever had in my life. After staying up all night, having all manner of fun, J and I took a post-dawn walk through my neighborhood and the Stevens Park woods. Mist, birds, turtles, the sun hazy and low and the moon pale and high, the grass wet and her feet bare, holding hands and seeing each other in the youngest rays of the sun for the first time.

/EDIT

The best feelings of the last 24 hours can be summed up in the following photograph: (Call me a sap, find me insufferable, be disgusted by the saccharine consistency of my mushiness... I don't care; I love her helplessly and immensely.)

Weirdly enough, this photo was not exactly staged. Piper was taking some photos of Jenna and I (my dad's side of the family requested a photo of us), and was messing around with camera settings and thus captured this semi-candid moment.

Happy Birthday to me.

Here's hoping 22 treats me right...