Joyeux Anniversaire ... to me!

Birds are singing, the sun is shining, the trees are covered in buds ... it must be spring! And what happens in the spring? I get another year older.
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(just kidding)

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In fact, I love my birthday! Sure, I felt a twinge of regret at the gym on Friday, as I started my workout on the elliptical machine, and punched in 33 as my age for the last time. But numbers are just numbers. And I don't think 34 is all that bad.

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I was lucky to have my birthday -- March 21st -- fall on a Saturday this year. And I did have a lovely day, indeed. As soon as I woke up, Philipp wished me a Happy Birthday. After breakfast, I headed to the English Language Library for their annual Big Book Sale. I needed to drop off a cake I'd made to donate, and of course I wanted to look around at all the good books, too! I made it out the door with only 5 books (last year I had 15!) ... I could've taken a lot more, but knowing that we're moving in just over 2 months helped strengthen my self control.
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From the library, I headed back across the river to PhysicForm (my gym) for the 11:00 BodyBalance class. It's a combination tai chi, pilates and yoga. I love this class. It's great for forcing me to stretch (which I don't do as much as I should), has some cool poses and balance moves, and the last ten minutes is relaxation ... aaaahhh!
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I changed and swung back by the castle to pick up Philipp (who greeted me with the flowers at the top of this post), and we headed to his parents' house for lunch. As always, there were lots of family members, lots of delicious food, and a lovely time to be had by all. I even had a birthday cake, although my nephews informed me that I'm too old ... there were only 32 candles ... not enough for my 34 years!

I had a relaxing afternoon at home, and around 6:00, I took a bath in my new bathtub! It was lovely. Philipp made fun of me a little, but that's to be expected. :)

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We went to dinner at a delicious fusion restaurant in Angers called Thai l'Inde. We'd eaten there once before, and I wanted to go back before leaving Angers. We were both very impressed with our meals. So yummy!

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And that's the story of my birthday! It was a special day with family and friends, and some time for me to step back and relax, too. Oh, and I also benefitted from one of the many advantages of our digital society ... birthday greetings on my Facebook wall! It was fun to read the notes friends left me from all over the world.

Gala Dinner!

Saturday night, Philipp and I attended a gala dinner to celebrate 15 years of the English Language Library in Angers. I have been a regular volunteer of the library since 2006 and have spent the past few months working on the committee to prepare the event. There was a lot to do, but after throwing two weddings last year, it wasn't too difficult.

The dinner was held at a beautiful venue, called the Hôtel des Pénitentes. There was a cocktail hour, four-course meal with delicious wines catered by Coup de Coeur Réceptions (Nicolas Routhiau ... he's the one who catered our French wedding), numerous speeches and a silent-turned-live auction. I was fortunate enough to have my brother-in-law, Antoine, lend me one of his gowns for the occasion. And Philipp and I came home with a lithograph from the auction!