Birthday – Page 2 – HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

A High-Fiving Birthday Celebration!

So it’s official. I turned 30 on Saturday. But you know, I’m quite okay with this number. It is, after all, just a number, right? Yes, physical signs of aging come with the territory, but I like to think of age as a mentality- I feel mature and I feel my age, yet I feel youthful, active and I see the world with so much promise. Bring on the 30’s, I say!

Happy Birthday Karmen, Rob…and Me!

A few years ago, shortly after I moved to Calgary, I celebrated my 28th birthday by buying myself a piece of carrot cake, a coffee, and going back to my empty apartment to consume it all. Honestly, it was a great birthday. However, fast-forward two years, and I can truly say that I had a birthday weekend described as epic, made special by great friends *aww*. What was awesome, though, is that the celebrations for the birthday weekend extravaganza were for six birthdays! 🙂 Another great note is that my friend Jenine from Toronto was visiting Calgary, so it was great to have many people together for the festivities.

Ready to hike Nihahi Ridge Trail

“We’re happy to be here!”

Hiking through the meadow on the way to the ridge

A coconut cupcake (with candles) to be eaten at the summit!

A great view of the Elbow Valley

From Friday to Sunday, it was a packed weekend. First up, a night of bowling for Rob’s, Karmen’s and my birthdays. It was a riot: fun 5-pin bowling and tasty pizza, cake and gifts! Early the next morning, and the day I turned 30, a planned day hike to Nihahi Ridge was greeted with fantastic summer weather. It was a quadruple celebration day: Robin’s, Shari’s, Laura’s and my birthdays.

Shari and I

I’m 30 years old and I did it!

Jenine being adventurous 🙂

Nihahi Ridge

After a steady pace to the top of the mountain, we ate like royalty: a baguette, brie, prosciutto, turkey, lunches and snacks, and a 2006 bottle of an Argentinian Malbec that I picked up in Buenos Aires and have been saving for 3 years! Hiking in style is the only way to go, and I guess I was just waiting for the right occasion to crack open the bottle :). Of course, birthday celebrations wouldn’t be complete without cake and candles. We had cupcakes, chocolate cake, and a gigantic coconut cupcake from Crave (To note: Coconut cupcake from Crave = the best cupcake EVER! Thanks Sony!). Needless to say, we had a great feast near the summit, and no, there was no wine left for the descent :). We ended the evening relaxing on the patio at Redwater Grille in Aspen, where I had a flat-iron steak and mushroom risotto served with asparagus. It was also great to chat with my parents and siblings that night. Even though I couldn’t join for the anniversary dinner (To Ed and Lynne: Happy Anniversary!!), we were all together in spirit for the double celebration… *aww*, *tear*.

Robin opening melted cupcakes. Yum!

Such a tasty wine! Totally worth the wait 🙂

One of many birthday cakes

My meal at Redwater Grille. Sooo good.

On Sunday, Jenine and I visited Elbow Falls, hiked the area, and returned to Calgary in time for a session of Bikram hot yoga (… and it felt fantastic!). The weekend ended with a meal at The Keg… and more steak… and wine.

Elbow Falls

Give me my steak!

Thank you to everyone who made this past weekend incredibly special. I turned 30 and celebrated several birthdays with such great people. I had friends and family from home and abroad call/ text/ FB/ e-mail/ and send letters/cards to wish me happy birthday. I ate and drank like they were going out of style! Many amazing memories were formed, and I look forward to seeing what the future has in store. What a way to start a new decade, I say… :).

I really am happy to be here! Bring on the 30’s…

Uh, do I know you?? Yeah- that’s how much time has passed.

So we all remember my awesome friend Jen, right? She is a great fine artist living in Ottawa (you can find her website here), and she was responsible for sending me the Double Rainbow shirt of awesomeness. Well, today is her birthday, and it’s a milestone day. Happy Birthday Jen!

A few months ago, her husband Jeremy contacted me. He wanted to do something big for Jen, and he asked me: “What’s the possibility of you being in the Southern Ontario region around the time of Jen’s birthday?”. He knows that Jen and I hadn’t seen each other in forever, and what a great surprise it would be if we could reunite. After discussing the details, it was decided that I would go to Ottawa directly for her birthday weekend and surprise her. There wasn’t much convincing needed- I love surprises, and this one would be epic! You see, I hadn’t seen Jen in about 7 or 8 years, so the trip would be a great surprise for both her and me. We went to the same elementary and high schools, and we both attended The University of Guelph. There would be much catching up to do, lots of hijinks, and many hours of reminiscing.

Hijinks: A Strange Woman offers you a cup of coffee. If you accept, turn to page 36. If you refuse, turn to page 47.

I arrived in Ottawa on Saturday morning and Jeremy was there to greet me. After a quick stop to pick up some flowers, we were off to their house where Jen was waiting. Seven years was definitely far too long. When she came around the corner and saw me standing in the foyer, we immediately hugged. And I’m not going to lie: it was an emotional scene with laughs, expressions of disbelief, many hugs, and happy tears. An epic weekend followed from there. We all talked into the wee hours of the night, shared some great meals and stories, and just enjoyed our time together.

YUM! Cheesy garlic bread… :P — YUM! Cheesy garlic bread… 😛

The thing is, Jen and I are different people now, and yet everything felt the same between us. We would talk for hours in elementary school, and we talked for hours this weekend. Sometimes time doesn’t change the fundamentals of who people are, but instead crystallizes them to who they’ve always been. A lot of time had passed. Jen and I are more mature and incredibly silly at the same time. We made similar kinds of jokes that were familiar to us, and found ourselves in shenanigans that we missed.

An ill-timed jump shot taken by a newb? Being crazy after humming “Crazy Clock” from our high school music class? Or just prancing around Parliament Hill?? All of the above I suppose :) — An ill-timed jump shot taken by a newb? Being crazy after humming “Crazy Clock” from our high school music class? Or just prancing around Parliament Hill?? All of the above I suppose 🙂

Thank you, Jeremy, for orchestrating such a wonderful surprise, and thanks for a fantastic weekend. Jen, you are one of my oldest and closest friends, and spending the time together was priceless. I miss you already! Let’s not wait another 7 years to see each other again, Mmkay? 🙂