BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

So, my birthday weekend was pretty sweet:

• I spent a large part of Friday afternoon in the kitchen, making a double batch of BACON COOKIES. Those things are so, so labor-intensive, but holy damn, they're good.
• Later that afternoon, I got an e-mail from a potential client I'd all but given up on, saying that she wanted to move forward with the (big) project we'd talked about many weeks ago, and that she'd bring me the first deposit on Monday.
• Friday night, my hot boyfriend took me out for dinner at The Sweet Hereafter. I like that he didn't even blink when I suggested a vegan joint as one of the possible places we could go. And, in case you're wondering, that place makes freakin' delicious vegan food.
• Saturday morning was scrimmage, which is always fun, and I'm really turning into an awesome jammer. Of course, most of the league thinks of me as a blocker because I'm good at hitting, but hey, versatility, right?
• Saturday afternoon involved biking to Stumptown ComicsFest, to work a shift at the Geek Council's booth. I brought some bacon cookies to give away, and one guy quipped, "so you're giving away the cookies and selling the recipe?" Since I'd already posted the recipe on my business blog, that gave me the perfect excuse to pimp my web site and give out my business card for every cookie I gave out thereafter. XD
• Saturday afternoon also involved coming home and baking a birthday cake in preparation for the joint birthday party. I made a chocolate cake, with coconut "butter"cream frosting, topped with chocolate ganache. The cake, frosting, and ganache were all vegan, and it was also the first layered cake I've ever made. It came out both beautiful AND delicious. I wish I'd had my pro-camera on-hand so I could've photographed it.
• Getting ready for the party actually went really smoothly, in generally--I think this was the least stressed-out I've ever been prior to hosting a get-together at my house. The kitchen actually wasn't a disaster left for me to clean (unlike the old place), dakania and I were cooking/baking and cracking jokes in the kitchen, matrixleap came over early to help get things ready, and Joe came early to borrow the kitchen and help out. All afternoon, people asked me "what can I do to help?" and I really, really appreciated that. I love my roommates and my friends. <3
• The party itself? AWESOME. We had fantastic food contributions, plenty of libations to go around, silly hats ahoy, and wonderful people. There were a metric ton of things happening this weekend, and which made me appreciate it more that people came over to my little get-together. I also love that these parties always A) make me wish there were ten of me so I could spend more time with each of the awesome people, and B) fill me with happy because the cool people I know who didn't previously know each other end up clicking so well.
• There also may or may not have been a couple of alcohol-fueled fireballs happening in the back yard. It's really good that the concrete patio at my house is so huge. XD
• People got me presents! Really cool ones! I completely didn't expect that. D'aww. <3
• Sunday involved nursing a cop of Water Avenue Coffee, and finishing the third Game of Thrones book, FINALLY, so I can take a break and read something else now. But, damn, the way a Storm of Swords ended was completely worth it. Then, I met up with Joe at Stumptown ComicsFest to actually wander around and look at things.
• While at Stumptown, we went to a panel about Oregon History, which included a little trivia contest. In spite of my doubts, we actually won, so we came away with free comics and a gift certificate for Bunk Sandwiches. YES.
• Also while at Stumptown, I checked on drjeff's Kickstarter, because Sunday was the final day to make the deadline, and IT GOT FUNDED. So, he gets to write a book, and I get to design it (and a web site to go with). DOUBLE-YES.
• I dragged my very-tired-self off to Endurance practice, which I was highly tempted to skip, but I didn't, and I wound up doing a pretty awesome job, especially considering I'd gotten all of 5 1/2 hours of sleep on Saturday night/Sunday morning. And, one of my fellow Meaties gave me a really cute hand-drawn birthday card. D'aww.
• After practice, Joe made me curry for dinner, and we watched Avatar: The Last Airbender and passed out early. It was so, so nice to wind down after a long-but-fun weekend.

So, yes. Landing projects, getting creative in the kitchen, seeing wonderful people, skating, and generally winning at life. Happy birthday to me, indeed.