expect the unexpected

I have great friends. Last Monday night during our class, a few of my friends (*ahem!* - Joyce, Helen, and Carlos) organized a little surprise consisting of delicious chocolate cake with chocolate dipped Oreos on top (mmm...), plus juice to hose it all down.(I didn't have my camera, so the pic below is the closest I could find.) My entire class including my professor got to enjoy the fun with me. I received a really thoughtful card from all my buddies in the SCAN program - with whom I have definitely have walked many, many hills and valleys. Thanks, everyone, for remind me what a gift my life is!

I have a great family. I was pretty bummed by the end of class because of a miscommunication mishap with a paper we submitted, so needless to say, I drove home nearly in tears until my mom called saying she cooked a little dinner. My family knows I'm at class until almost 9pm on Mondays, so I was shocked to see a full dinner spread on the table, not to mention Junior, who my mom apparently called and invited him to join us.

I thought I'd celebrate with my family next week when our schedules freed us up, so it was a nice surprise to see what mom and dad whipped up for us that night. Chicken with mushrooms, salmon, asparagus, rice, and of course, a strawberry-vanilla ice cream cake from Marble Slab! (Frankly, Marble Slab is WAY better than Coldstone.)

...And the celebration hasn't quite ended! I went to Mimi's Cafe yesterday morning with my awesome friend Malena, who treated me to a yummy breakfast that included a Pumpkin Spice Muffin. It's only available seasonally, so that was a birthday gift in itself. (Thanks, Malena!)

My birthday wish as I blew out the candles was just for the safety of our firefighters and the people whose lives and homes are threatened or have been taken away as a result of all the fires across So Cal. Something to keep on praying about!