Celebrating 27...

27 years ago on September 27th, a 27 year old Sue Ann Boren gave birth to....ME! Thank goodness she did cause I have had a very blessed 27 years of living!

Though I tend to dread birthdays and bad-mouth getting older, it is a part of life that I just need to get used to! Luckily, birthdays don't have to be completely negative, and with the help of family and friends, this year mine was nothing short of positive!!!

(Gotta have pink cupcakes and pink champagne!!!)

A few weeks ago, one of my good friends asked me what I had planned to do for my birthday this year..."Good question? Nothing!" I told her! With the move, Nick deploying, and me planning my trip back to the States...the only birthday on my mind was my husband's, which clearly takes precedence over mine!!! Nick's birthday is two weeks before mine....and just barely got celebrated before he left! My friend then asked me if I would let her plan my birthday party??? “Of course,” I said!

Her idea was to go play Pachinko…

Pachinko is a game they play here in Japan that is a mixture between pin ball and a slot machine. Pachinko parlors are EVERYWHERE! Some of them are open 24/7, just like Vegas….it’s smokey, there’s alcohol a-plenty, and people obsessing over their need to win! Since there is a Pachinko place right down the street from my house, it made sense for us to pre-party at my house and then mosey down the street to try our luck at the popular Japanese game!

We did just that…

The girls met at my house (and since I had just moved in a little over a week prior, it was also a semi house-welcoming party) and we shared cupcakes and champagne!

Then we walked the 2 minutes from my house to the Pachinko place, where we attempted to play Pachinko like the Japanese! Not so surprisingly, we didn’t really understand how to play…even though we tried to research what to do prior, it was not so easy playing a game that was extremely foreign to us all!

(We didn't know what this sign represented...some advertisement for Pachinko on September 25...what God had to do with it, we didn't know....the Japanese tend to use American words randomly...but since it said God, we all just had to take a picture with it)

Some of the workers and fellow players tried to help us understand what to do….but again with the language barrier, it wasn’t easy! Once we sort-of got the concept, we were still confused as to why we weren’t winning and what winning actually meant!!!

After about 30 minutes, we all agreed that we could leave satisfied that we had at least attempted to play Pachinko, and that was good enough for us! We then set out in search of a popular bar that one of the girls had heard about.

(Our shoes at the bar...all lined up perfectly by our waiter...so cute!)

We found the bar, which was in fact popular, and for good reason. We had great service and great Sake…definitely worth going back!

After our Sake, we headed back to my house for more Champagne and appetizers!

It was a perfect, low-key birthday party and I had great girl-friends to enjoy the evening with! Couldn’t have been a better night!

My party was on Saturday, but my actual birthday was this Monday. Sunday night at midnight I got a phone call from my very favorite person (uhem…Nick)! He was calling from the ship and wanted to be the first person to wish me a happy birthday! He had hid my present before he left…that night over the phone he helped me find it. Turns out, when he was on his last deployment he bought me a pearl necklace from the Philipeans and a little jewelry box to put them in from Korea! Love it!!!

I went to bed a very happy girl! The next day continued to be blissful…I got to skype with several family members, received many cards, packages, birthday messages all day, and two of my girlfriends brought over gifts from several people in our squadron! The best surprise all day though was the bouquet of flowers that Nick had delivered to my door!!! It was gorgeous and totally made my day!

I had dinner that evening with a few friends, ending my birthday with another cupcake and toast of champagne.

Then today, even though my birthday is technically over my two English students brought over pastries and hot tea to celebrate my birthday! Kawaii!!! Not going to lie, it is fun having a birthday in a foreign country… with the time change, it is my birthday here for a day, then in the States for another! Love it!

Thanks to everyone who made it so special!

I am 26 no longer! Here’s to a great year of being 27!!!