Birthday Post!

Saturday was my 22nd birthday, and thanks to my loving boyfriend, Aaron, it was a birthday weekend.

Normally, Aaron and I go home for the weekend to work for our business, however, this weekend, I wasn't able to go back because I had a recital for a dance class I took on campus. Aaron surprised me and stayed in Bloomington to be with me, and we had a lot of fun. On Friday, he surprised me and took me to a local Chinese restaurant that I had wanted to try for a long time. We had such a great time, first, because the food was delicious, and second, because of the wonderful conversation. The things he said to me expressed an overall theme that I just fit in his life in any way imaginable. Hearing how much I am valuable was so touching, and I could hardly help getting a little misty-eyed. After we left the restaurant, we headed over to a movie store and rented something that I wanted to see. The rest of the night was dedicated to cuddling on the couch and enjoying each other's company

On Saturday, I put Aaron through the paces. First, I wanted to go see a black belt testing for a tae kwon do club on campus,and we ended up staying for about two hours! It was so interesting to watch as the candidates went through all the memorized forms that the had learned over the last few years. Afterwards, Aaron and I went over to Goodwill to get a costume for my recital, and he provided some fashion advice.

The dance recital was held for a belly dancing class that I took this semester. I had a lot of fun with the class, especially since it had been so long since I had been on stage performing--it was fantastic! Our costumes were full, long skirts and tank tops with whatever accessories we chose to pair with the outfit. Aaron helped me choose a dark red skirt, and I wore a blue beaded tank top with a gold bracelt, necklace, and earrings. I felt really girly all dressed up!

I also got a glance at another culture because our professor developed her expertise in very traditional, Egyptian belly dance with traditional music. We learned how belly dance is a major part of traditional Egyptian wedding and which types of music are appropriate.

There were some other belly dance troups that were performing that night, and I was pretty interested that there were people out there who made belly dance a passion. Some of her more advanced students were amazing, and I enjoyed watching them. For me, I'm pretty sure that it was my retirement recital : )

To check out a really great video of a talented belly dancer, see this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YamDoDK71Ds

The rest of the weekend, Aaron took superb care of me. I was way behind on my laundry, so he did it all, and he also tidied up for me. All of my meals were also cooked for me, but I wasn't ever allowed to get up to get my plate or drink. He made me feel like a princess, and I shall return the favor for him for his birthday in January.