Birthday Blog Post

Today was Samara's 29th birthday. She got a whole slew of nice answering machine messages from people wishing her well, and also got to talk to a few people on the phone before we went out for dinner.

But I'm getting slightly ahead of myself chronologically. We both worked as normal today. But while Samara was at school, I sneaked home at lunch and baked a birthday cake!

Well, actually, I baked brownies, and then I baked a cake. See, my mom is really good at sending care packages. To fit more stuff into the single-rate postal boxes, she takes food out of its boxes and sends just the bags and the cooking instructions. The problem is that when she sent a cake mix, she also sent a brownie mix. They both had instructions. The cake instructions were taped to the cake bag, and the brownie instructions were loose. Also loose in the box was the title from the cake box showing the type of cake. So I paired up the loose bits with the brownie bag. So even though I had the right instructions with each mix, I thought the brownies were the cake. I got halfway through making the brownies and got to the part in the directions that warned against overbaking and making dry brownies and realized my error!

It worked out okay, though. I went straight to the cabinet, pulled out the cake mix, and made that as well. They both cook at the same temperature, so no problems. Once they were done, I let the cake cool, flipped it out onto a tray and went back to work. Then later in the afternoon, I went back home for a few minutes and iced it. So when Samara and I got home from work later, here's the sight that greeted her...

She had a cake, some birthday plates and napkins, a present from Matt Hufford, some cards and a present from me. Mine is the one wrapped in brown paper with the homemade paper flower on top. I'm super creative home-made present guy! She was desperate to open her presents, and this was the result...

A book by one of her favorite authors from Matt, and a candle from me to try to make the house smell a bit better after we cook strange meals. (She tells me she's taking it to work at her new job. Hmph.)

We didn't eat the cake, since we were having dinner at the Muddy Rudder, and Pat from the school had made a cake for her for everyone to share afterwards. We sat around and watched the VP debate (well, Samara talked to folks on the phone--I watched the debate), and then headed off to the Muddy Rudder. I had a giant plate of fried halibut and french fries, and Samara had fried chicken and mashed potatos. The food is pretty darn good there, even if it did cost $50 for dinner. That's just Alaska for you. We were joined by Pat, her husband Randy, Mr. Hoobler and Sara May, who are all teachers at the school. They're all really nice folks. She got a couple of cards and another candle from Sara May, so maybe she'll leave at least one nice-smelling candle at home.

After dinner, we went over to Pat and Randy's, which has a nice view of the bay. They live next to the other teacher's place where we watched a movie a couple weekends ago. While we were having cake and a nice visit, we saw a barge unloading a conveyor/hopper of some sort...

Weird, eh?

Oh, also, here's a picture of yummy cake...


We just got home, and it's nearly time for bed. But just to round out the picture extravaganza, here's a couple of shots of a book Samara borrowed from the library. Apparently the author signed it with an inscription to the residents of Dillingham. Don't ask me what it means, though...

That's right... "To my Pals in Dillingham-- Trust me-- Don't eat the African Leaf Beetles."

Maybe it'll make more sense once Samara reads the book? Stay tuned to find out!

Tomorrow is an exciting day, by the way. Friday, October 3rd is the release date for Kentucky Bar Exam results! By the time I get to work tomorrow, it should be nearly noon in Kentucky, and results are supposed to be posted in the afternoon Eastern Standard Time. Hooray! If all goes as planned, I can actually say I'm a lawyer!