Neverending Birthday

I'll admit that I was dreading turning 37. Somehow it seemed like it was just too many steps beyond my "mid 30s" and teetering dangerously on the edge of my "late 30s" and I didn't want to celebrate. Stupid late 30s. Stupid braces. I figured I'd have a dinner or two with friends and leave it at that.

But wow! It’s been non-stop birthday action leaving me utterly charmed with a gleamingly bionic grin on my face! Just yesterday I had a lovely lunch at Jean Georges (with George Stephanopoulos just a few tables away) where they brought dessert after dessert to delight the anniversary of my naissance. Molten chocolate cake, flan, vanilla bean ice cream, and then, they brought an entirely new plate of carrot cake, bejeweled for my birthday:

And on top of that, they brought out chocolates, homemade marshmallows and rhubarb marcarons de paris (my favorites!!)

I thought I would never eat again…until that evening when my friend Michal and I went to Red Cat, which I’ve been dying to try. Michal had *gulp!* bacon tempura, which is the most decadent thing I've ever seen, and they brought out a lovely bread pudding with more homemade marshmallows and superrich truffles with candles in them. Oh my!

I suppose it wouldn’t be a posting from me if I didn’t include a quote from the Buddha, so here goes:

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.

I have certainly been lit up by my friends in my 37^th year! Thanks to you all! And the party is still going on--bring on the weekend!