Birthday Blog!

Top 10 Rocked My World Birthday Moments 2007

1. Flowers from my Dad ~ since the 5th grade, Dad sends me a bouquet on my birthday. This year, it didn't matter he had to send it to Hawaii.

2. 80 minute Hot Lava Rock massage ~ ohhhh, heaven in paradise! Seriously. Hot rocks aligned on my spine while more hot rocks were used to massage my body. Hot damn! I was so sad when I heard "We're done."

3. 3660 on the Rise ~ I've been dying to eat at this restaurant since January! I knew what I was going to order - soup, main course, dessert, even the wine. And I wasn't disappointed. Our waiter was fantastic - making a special dessert for my birthday. I didn't eat it. Sorry, I wanted creme brulee!

4. Locals only ~ everywhere we went, Mom & I were asked which island we were visiting from. I love that the locals thought we were locals! Mom and one of our breakfast waiters had a lot in common: he went to the same school she did and he lives on the same street she did when she lived there. It's a small, small world.

5. Champagne basket from my Team ~ ohhh, how well my co-workers know me! Mid-day on my birthday, a bottle of champagne arrived at the room. Midnight on my birthday, a bottle of champage had...uh...disappeared!

6. Upgrade ~ The Outrigger on the Reef is my favorite hotel in Honolulu. When I booked my trip, I decided to treat myself to an ocean-view room, instead of a partial ocean-view room. As we were checking in, the desk guy said "We are upgrading you to an ocean front room for the week. And, you'll be the first guests to stay in this room - no one has been in it." Uhh...Happy Birthday to me! WOW! The room? Huge! The view? All water! The room? Huge and awesome! It was so nice to sit at night with the sliding glass doors open, sheers closed, listening to the waves crash, slight breeze blowing. This must be just like living in paradise - and I don't want to go home.

7. ABC Stores ~ these are the best stores EVER! On one block, you may find 4 or 5 of these stores. I can't really describe it...it's Target and it's 7-11 and it's a cheesy souvenir shop all mixed up and called ABC Stores. Anything Hawaiian - it's in there. I love the ABC Stores!

8. Hawaiian Fire ~ ohhh, the firemen. It's a blog unto itself. What a fun, fun time! Yeah, I had to sit in the jacuzzi for, like, 5 hours. And, yeah, I still can't lift my arms above my head (and I surfed *last* Thursday). But it was fun!

9. Cookie basket from my sister ~ my sister is the greatest! I really missed her on this trip...but she sent me this fantastic basket of cookies ~ hibiscus-shaped cookies. They were yuuummmmy :)

10. my Mom ~ I really planned to do this trip alone. But, a week with my Mom was wonderful. Really! We love the same things about Hawaii and doing the same things while there. I love seeing her Hawaii, her home.