Last Thursday I turned 29. To make the most of this landmark occasion Joe and I celebrated all week long. Starting on Tuesday, we had a group of friends over for a Japan-style party. We had brought some Japanese treats back from the States with us. I spent all day preparing the food- we had miso soup, rice balls, roll-your-own veggie sushi, teriyaki chicken, soba noodles, ginger and mint iced green tea, sugar coated sweet potatoes, Pocky, pineapple and watermelon. What a feast!
We took the table top off of our dining room table and placed it on the living room floor. We set the couch cushions on the floor around it to make things authentic. It was so much fun sharing some of our favorite foods with our friends.
Joe and I have been slowly setting up one of our spare rooms as a yoga/relaxation room. We recently got a carpet and some floor pillows for it. Having known this, Danielle, Laura and Malte (three of the Amani volunteers) brought me a plethora of presents to complete the room. Five potted house plants, two beautiful wall hangings, and two decoupage candle holders! It was super thoughtful and just what I wanted.
Wednesday evening the festivities continued. Joe had arranged for us to have dinner at the Watering Hole (our favorite bar which happens to be a five minute walk from home) followed by a special screening of a movie just for us (they have a projector and big outdoor screen)! We had a fantastic barbecue meal with our favorite group of Amani volunteers. Then we settled in to watch Hitchcock’s North by Northwest on the big screen! Midway through Matthew and Valerie arrived, bearing a pan of brownies lit with birthday candles! Plus I got to keep the pan as my birthday gift!
Thursday morning Joe told me I wasn’t to go to work and that someone would be picking me up at 9am. Before he and James (Amani volunteer who is also our new roommate) headed off to work James gave me a bottle of gin and a guns ‘n’ roses T-shirt, both always good to have!
At 9am our friend Jenn arrived in her Landrover. Despite Joe’s secrecy I had a pretty good idea of where we were headed (there are only so many things to do in Moshi!). She confirmed my suspicions by telling me that we were going to the TCP sugar plantation where a lovely woman named Caroline lives and does massages at her home. It was a beautiful drive into the plains through sugarcane fields and when we arrived at the house I could have sworn we were in different country (South Africa to be exact, where the house had come from!). I went first and thoroughly enjoyed a fantastic massage with tree-scented aromatherapy oils. Afterwards while Jenn was getting hers, I went for a swim. It was a truly relaxing and beautiful experience.
That night Joe made us a spaghetti dinner. We shared a bottle of wine and watched a movie. And he gave me a muffin tin! (You have no idea how much I’ve been wanting one.) Quiet night in to continue the relaxation theme.
Friday is my usual day off so I went into town to use the internet and spent the rest of the day doing word puzzles (a new Games Magazine arrived from my mom, appropriately, the day before) and working my way through Atlas Shrugged. The instructions for the day were to pack for an overnight stay and be ready and dressed up at 4:30.
He arrived after work in Matthew and Valerie’s car (thank you, guys!) and we headed off into the sunset towards Arusha. Our destination was a beautiful lodge set in a coffee plantation just outside of Arusha.
The plan was to check in and then head to a different nearby restaurant for dinner. But upon arrival we were so impressed by the relaxed atmosphere at the guest house we decided to stay there for dinner too. The setting was amazing. The grounds were huge, with a large lawn and swimming pool surrounded by winding paths through flower gardens leading to individual cottages. It was a shame we were only staying one night.
In the morning we enjoyed a very generous buffet breakfast and then took a walk on a path through the property. It was still quite early and we weren’t ready to go home yet so we headed into Arusha to do some shopping and other important things like eat ice cream.
Although this was the official end of my birthday celebrations, it kind of felt like it continued on through the weekend with macaroni and cheese and poker Saturday night and swimming and Trivial Pursuit on Sunday!
So yeah, I totally am spoiled. It was a fantastic week and thank you so much to everyone who had a part in it! Particularly to my awesome husband :)!
Hey, Love - so happy you had a great birthday. Joe IS an awesome husband. You deserve each other!!
Posted by: Dee | Tuesday, 25 November 2008 at 10:27 PM
Hi Squibs,
You look beautiful! Happy belated birthday!!!
I am so sorry about the losses from the theft - it's horrible. I check your blog severy few days. Hopefully I will write you an email shortly - I saw Michelle Roberts the other day. Take care and keep being beautiful.
Lots of love to you and Joe
oxoxoxxoxoxoxxooxoxo Alex (from Oz!)
Posted by: Alex Rawlings | Monday, 01 December 2008 at 08:23 AM
What a great story! I am so happy everything went so well! Love you both!
Posted by: Jennifer | Monday, 08 December 2008 at 01:35 AM
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