for my 30th birthday, which by the way was on december 29, thank you very much, i played in mammoth snow, riding on a waxed board.

in other words, snowboarding.

that's right. this 30 year old body of mine can still take it. no doubt. not a bad way of celebrating the big 3-0...something a little bit more risk�. i have to say i'm proud of myself for doing it. when i hit 50, i'm going skydiving.

the highlight of the afternoon was watching boyfriend very, very, very slowly "leafing" down the slope behind me as a group of us rested our asses on the cold fluff.

"where is he?"
"he can't possibly be taking this long."
"let's go. he probably ended up taking the other trail."
"no. no. he was right behind me last i looked. he was going real slow."
"oh, is that him? that looks like him...no, that's not him."
"is that him?"
"no, that's not him."
"oh! i think that's him over there to the left.
"yeah, that's him."

and there he was. all bundled up, leafing side to side, so cute and slow as i giggled out of adoration for my man.

that night they surprised me with a chocolate ice cream pie with two candles sticking out of it like radars. each representing the number 15.

i was so surprised that i was embarrassed. i don't know why i get embarrassed when it comes to my birthday and singing me a song. i mean, i like attention, but just the thought of being treated special that way is always a bit strange for me.

the cake/pie was bought at the prompting of boyfriend, who had told a friend of mine that, "we have to get rachel a cake." good, good boyfriend!

boyfriend got me a cool journal, which i still haven't written in.

sis got me the awesome george foreman grill and a cool, metal tin chinese checkers, checkers, and chess set. i think she hit it right on the spot...the george foreman is perfect for the 30 year old in me and the game set represents the kid in me. of course, she knew i've been wanting these for the longest time based on what she remembered off my amazon wishlist from a while back.

xmas

boyfriend got me:

1. a cool lamp made of bark. it fits nicely in my room.
2. a cool book called, "all about me." i fill it in with answers about myself.
3. a set of 40 home bar cards with easy-to-use recipes for smoothies. all of the recipes sound and look so refreshing and yummy!
4. a book called "zobmondo!!" for my "inquisitive" side.

i got him two tops, two pairs of boxers, and two pairs of socks from banana republic. basically....the typical sort of present to give a boyfriend. i ran out of creativity after the bear present.