Birthday!

I admit, I was a little nervous about my birthday. On Friday I was sad about being so far away from home and even college. Normally I celebrate with my family before heading back to school, a few days early, and then I'd celebrate with my friends. Dressing up, staying up until midnight, celebrating the next day. I really didn't know what this year would hold. I didn't think that at med school with all of the work we had to do that we'd really have time for celebrations and, quite egregiously, wasn't sure if my friends would be down for anything big. I was totally wrong; this birthday has been one of the best on record.

On Saturday one of my good friends made breakfast for a few of us. This is something we do quite regularly, but it was quite fun, even with listening to gun-talk and rampant Republicanism (I'd say conservatism, but I don't think the two are equivalent).... just kidding. I had a really good time. We all met up again later for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants and we had a good time just talking. I did ask about my friends about being 23--what it was like, what they learned, and my two best girl friends told me it was the worst year of their lives! Mine is not going to be that way! Even though it will be full of med school and studying, by this time next year hopefully I will be learning in a real hospital! It was super fun and they surprised me with a chocolate ice cream sundae, my favorite! 

That night a few friends of mine and I hung out and went out to a local hot spot to hang out with some other friends and get a little dancing on! 

Sunday morning I hosted a brunch for a bigger group of my friends. It was so fun! We made piles of bacon (I can still feel the cholesterol in my arteries, I might need to eat a little healthier for awhile!), eggs, and I made banana bread muffins!

They turned out so well!! I had never used my propane oven, and I was a bit nervous because I only had one measuring cup (the big liquid measure) and my oven had no sort of thermometer or temperature gauge! They turned out great though; I guess all that baking experience paid off if I could approximate the right temperature by feel! They popped up like they should and the knife came out clean!

A few of my guy friends surprised me with a red velvet cake! It was so delicious and best of all, I got to share it with my best friends!

Little did they know I also got the ingredients to make red velvet cupcakes. One can never have too much red-velvet right? Doesn't this look super gory though? I was a little worried, the batter was so watery, but it turned out okay!

I didn't make the frosting. Frosting is entirely a problem here. Too hot! It melts off!

Gooey and delicious. 

Today, needing to burn off some of the calories from the eating fiesta and for a nice study break, I headed back to the trail behind my apartment. I had never been up there and figured I should explore a bit!

There were a few houses back there, but largely just a dusty old road with not many people nearby (though I did run into a chatty tourist on his way back to a hotel tucked in back there!). As always, there was some pretty spectacular scenery.

Nice to get away from the bustle of school and books for a little while. Very peaceful up here. I will have to explore further down the road in the coming weeks. 

I always thought this was a little island just off the coast, but it turns out that it is attached with a very narrow strip of land to the mainland. 

Big sailboat looking this out there. 

I wish this picture would actually show it like it looked; this hill was so steep! I was huffing and puffing before I got to the top and boy did my muscles burn! I ran into a cute guy on the way who said he walked it 3 or 4 times a day...I guess you'd get used to it but wow!

This little fella was waiting for me when I got home, but with a little encouragement she scampered out the door!

All in all, a terrific birthday and weekend of celebrations! Back to the grind!