I turned 31 last Thursday and got to celebrate my birthday for several days! At school my students were on quite good behavior all day and there weren't any of the daily tears! Jo, the 1st grade teacher, (she and I combine our classes together a lot) made the collage below with all the 1st and 2nd graders. (One student is missing because of illness). In fact, last week we had students out on various different days- influenza was going around as well as a stomach bug that caused diarrhea and vomiting. (I was never affected, hoping it stays that way). In typical January fashion, the day was grey, cold and wet. But with my all-weather boots from Dans, I stayed toasty dry. That evening, Jo, Ran (my supervisor) and I went out to celebrate at a small Italian restaurant down the street. The tiramisu was quite delicious! 
This poster was a gift from my co-workers- a street scene in Kyoto (which will look wonderful in my new apartment- post about that soon!). 
On Saturday, I celebrated with a great group of friends- chosen specially because they are not afraid to eat! We dined at an all-you-can-eat Brazilian BBQ restaurant. For 2 hours we had a constant stream of waiters stopping by our table with choice cuts of beef, chicken, even grilled pineapple and cheese and with their incredibly sharp knives, would load our plates up. There were salad bar fixings as well, but we were here for the meat. It was absolutely delicious and we were quite proud of ourselves for making the relatively expensive dining cost worth it! (Many of us had fasted earlier in the day in preparation). 
From left to right, Romica (my ballroom dancing friend who lives on the military base with her husband and son), Jaimee (we met working at the English language school and enjoy rock climbing and swimming together), Katy (we've been friends since I moved to Japan and hang out most weekends), me, Ces (originally from the Philippines, but lived in San Jose for many years, we met through Crossfit), Teneal (originally from Australia, we also met through Crossfit). They are a fantastic group of women and we had a really enjoyable evening together full of laughs. Notice how the meat was definitely the center of attention by the miniature sized dessert plate! It was more than plenty- by that point I was stuffed.
We continued the evening with karaoke, and another good friend, Michele, joined us. With tambourines and maracas we crooned and shimmied for 2 hours! Oh the entertainment.
And this photo and message made me grin like the cheshire cat! I can't wait to meet my nephew- March 20th can't come soon enough!!
I feel so loved from all of you!
Thank you
