i think it was my 7th birthday when my mom asked me what kind of cake i wanted. i insisted that i wanted lemon filling. she asked me if i was sure; what if i didn’t like lemon filling? didn’t matter. i needed lemon filling.

and guess what? i didn’t like it!

in hindsight, i think that’s hilarious. but i guess it’s not my favorite birthday.

there was that one birthday when i was pushed around in a box. i think i still drank whiskey then.

or that time i made a few friends go bowling with me.

on my 21st birthday, i went to old chicago and drank killian’s. (incidentally, i’ve been working on the beer tour ever since then – only 18 more beers till my name is on the wall of foam! slowly but surely someday i’ll get ‘er done.)

or that birthday that my family gave me a gift certificate to adopt my first kitty! i waited another month and a half until i brought ellipses home.

on my 13th birthday, i got a pizza party with my friends and then we all went to see “ace ventura: pet detective.” that was back when i had a sense of humor. i’m too old for that now.

taking a trip to san francisco just after my birthday that one time was pretty cool, too.

of course, last year i gave myself hawaii (with the cooperation of my friend, jen). that was one of the best ideas i’ve ever had, probably.

i can’t lie: my birthday is my favorite holiday. there have been a lot of good times on and around november 13th.

Kristi and I used to joke about being soul mates, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s true.

Karyn is my sister and I know she only wants the best for me.

Vani can always make me giggle like an idiot, which is a good thing.

Jen does a really good job of bringing me out of my shell.

Erin is the reason that all I’m doing lately is knitting; she’s due to have her first baby at the beginning of January.

Jason helps me forget to be self-conscious.

kristi and laura got married on the same day, so this photo is them stretching their faces in preparation for a full, long day of smiling too much.

we started the party at the red stag supper club for elegance and stylishness then moved over to the u otter stop inn for karaoke and lettin’ loose.

we had to call her “bride-to-be kristi” during karaoke because there was another gal named kristi singing that night, as well. towards the end of the night it became a fun thing to yell. everyone at bars at 2 a.m. is loud.

i know jen is blurry but she came specially from hawaii for this get-together (okay, not really) so i wanted to post this photo.

i don’t remember why we asked this gal to be in a photo with us, but she did an amazing rendition of celine dion later in the evening. no, really. she belted that sucker! also she reminded me of jenny lewis.

kristi insisted on helping me sing kim carnes so i eventually just gave her a microphone.

kristi really didn’t want to stop believin’ — she wanted to hold on to that fee-e-e-lin’… of being the bride-to-be (and center of attention). she may deny it, but she enjoyed the limelight, i think.

the following morning, we went to brunch and she held up surprisingly well.

fun with friends!

Pattern: By Whitney Van Nes.
Made For: My coworker, Jen’s, first son: Lucas Thomas, born January 20, 2010.
Needle: US13 & US15
Yarn: Spud & Chloë “Outer” in soapstone, and S.R. Kertzer “Northern Worsted” in cool blue
Completed: January 7, 2010

Spud & Chloë yarn is so soft and wonderful — it was a delight to work with. I only knit a simple square with it, but at least it knit up quickly. Four skeins didn’t produce a very big body and the yarn cost more than I would’ve liked to spend. I found a cheaper, but still lovely, yarn from S.R. Kertzer for the border. This made it more affordable for me to double the number of rows in the border in order to give the blanket a little more width.

I was worried about creating the mitered corners, but they turned out very nicely! I also had to tackle picking up stitches around the whole edge of the blanket, and then again to “close” the border — thank goodness for crochet hooks.

I love the finished piece, and I hope Lucas does, too!

If you’re on Ravelry, you can view full details here. You can also view all of my photos here.

As she drove me to the airport (to go home, sad), Jen asked me for my Top Five, in no particular order.

1. Kailua Beach
   
   

   This was the first beach that Jen and I visited. The tide was pretty high along this beach, so our towels got drenched right away. Oh, well! This was my first time swimming in an ocean (I’ve waded around both the Pacific and Atlantic before), so the waves knocked me over on my first try. On my second try, I dove in head first and managed to make it past the break and float around for a while.

2. Kaena Point
   
   

   Jen’s friends from her previous home (in Bellingham, Washington) joined us a for an overcast afternoon at Kaena Point. We saw critters here: tiny sand crabs, larger crabs in the waves, our first Portuguese Man o’ War, and even a sea turtle. Jen and Martin jumped in the water while Jade and I watched from the beach.

   
3. Spam Musubi/Shrimp Truck/Motsumoto Shave Ice

   We ate these within a reasonable time period so I’m considering these one meal — three courses!

   
   
   

   To sum these up in one word: ONO! (which means “delicious!”)

4. Japanese Garden at the University of Hawaii at Manoa
   

   I suppose all of the student were either in class or still sleeping, because I had this whole area to myself. It was peaceful and lovely.

5. Lanikai Beach
   
   
   

   Don’t you love our glasses? I do.

   

   Even though I cut my foot on coral here, it was the best beach for swimming. It wasn’t crowded, the sand was very fine, and the water was clear. The Portuguese Man o’ War littered this beach, however, so we had to watch our step!

   But, Jen, how can I stop at 5?

6. Magic Island Barbecue
   
   
   
   

   Jen’s classmates invited us to barbecue on Magic Island at Ala Moana. It was a great, sunny day until the clouds rolled in around sunset – but they were so beautiful and photogenic, that I didn’t mind too much.

7. Green Tea Ice Cream with a Candle for my Birthday
   
   

   A jet-lagged Terry (who had just flown back from Minneapolis!) joined Jen and me for dinner. We got three very yummy sushi rolls, a huge bottle of Kirin to share, and the waiter surprised me by putting a candle in my complementary ice cream. I had a wonderful birthday.

8. Chinese Cemetery
   
   
   

   I only visited the smaller half, too. The plants here were incredible (colorful and out of control) and I loved the zodiac animal statues.

9. Lunch at the Kona Brewing Company
   

   It took me a day and a half to find this Mai Tai.

   
   

   For a moment I forgot that I was in Hawaii with Jen — it felt like a wonderful Minnesota summer day! I loved sitting on their lanai (porch) overlooking Kuapa Pond

10. Seeing Jen
    

    ‘Cause she’s so funny and pretty, you know? (Mahalo for hosting me, darling!)

I could probably make a list of my top 100 and still not cover every awesome little thing, but I feel I should have a few more honorable mentions: downtown Honolulu, seeing Coco Head (and most of the rest of the island) from a convertible, getting flowers from Jason on my birthday, the cats of UHM (at night!), seeing Jen’s current show, and people-watching at Waikiki.

I posted a ridiculous amount of photos on Flickr and a few videos on YouTube.