Champagne Birthday

Next Sunday is my champagne birthday (sometimes called Golden Birthday) - that is, I'm turning 27 on the 27th.

Unfortunately, the Internet has very little to say about where this idea came from. I always thought my cousin Pauline had made up this phrase, but I was talking with my boss the other day and she confirmed it. She said that one of her friends made a big deal about it when she turned 20 on the 20th. If only she could remember which friend it was so we could determine her cultural background. Then we could narrow down the search a bit!

Anyway, real or made up, to celebrate Darren and I are going to Edmonton for the weekend to hang out with all of my sisters (yup, you read that right - all of them! That's 4 in one city - unbelievable!) and Ben, Alex and Levi.

But tonight a few local friends gathered at my wonderul apartment for a little card playing, cake eating and champagne drinking - in other words, to celebrate with me. Even a few out-of town visitors joined in the festivities: Thorold, Welland and Hamilton were all represented.

It was an interesting night - Darren and I barely got the shopping and tidying done by the time my friends arrived, Lorraine got lost, Amy is underage, Lyla made it for about 20 minutes between work and the time they had to leave, the Virginia "bathroom candle" was used for the cake, Kari wrote on the great article about the ongoing missing sock phenomenon that my present was wrapped in, and I think I woke Jean D'Or up and forced him to come. It was fun to visit a little, play a little, laugh a little and eat a little. If you're lucky maybe I'll even show you the bizarro (and fabulous) ppt story "Larissa's Dream" Chrissy made for me.

Thanks everyone for joining with me in this celebration! At Michelle's request, here are a few pictures. Be warned; a couple are fuzzy - we had some issues with the flash. Enjoy!