last night my house was turned into an oriental oasis. or something.

it was my birthday party. and people came and drank my freshly invented chinese gooseberry delight.


there were prizes for best dressed. which turned out to be much more political than expected. some began lobbying the judges, ie me, from the moment they arrived. others brought more than one change of outfit and referred to other costumes as homemade-ish. in short, i may never do anything so absurd again as to judge my friends publicly. at least not while we're all in the same room. on the internet is a different matter entirely.


for example, if i had more prizes i would have awarded best couple to the ex-internet dater and partner for their interpretation of the year of the pig party. ex-internet dater also gets a prize for being my bff with regards party hosting. and other things besides. but fresh flowers delivered half an hour before scheduled start time? that is the work of a bff. other honours would have gone to my knitting buddy kylie for second hand find of the night, best commitment to the party to miss carterton (she came from carterton! and brought flowers and food, talk about commitment) and best confession came from my male friend who admitted to reading baby sitter club books throughout his early years. and anne of green gables.

also there was a photobooth. set up by me.

i figured if i focused my oriental themed things in one corner and took most of the photos there it would look great in the memory bank (ie on a photo disc marked "birthday oh seven" that i will look at again in like ten years by which time i would have forgotten that i only decorated one corner *that* awesomely). anyway, hats off to spotlight, which never fails to have a collection of random things. and to hrc who OWNED the photobooth and looked fierce in the photos.

someone took a photo of me in the photobooth but unsurprisingly he doesn't understand my angle. so i had to re-take it this morning while i was in my pyjamas. but i'm sure you'll agree - it works.

and today i spent some time with one of my favourite people who couldn't make the party itself. due to mother in law commitments. honestly, who'd get married (only just about everyone i know, i had coffee with a high school friend yesterday - i KNOW, reunions as well as hosting a birthday party, how DO i do it? - and she was listing everyone who's gotten married over the last year or so. to summarise, EVERYONE except me. and this was just the ones she knew about. i can think of at least two secret marriages she had no idea about). anyway, my coffee date this afternoon involved tea biscuts (acknowledgements here go to hels) and board games.

oh and presents. from her to me. and now, the birthday mardi gras is over. phew.