Today is my 30th birthday. The thing is I cheated a little bit and on Monday night I celebrated with friends and colleagues. It was really too perfect not to. We didn't have school on Tuesday because our 12th graders were taking the matura exam (some fairly serious Bulgarian state exam--I think they are in some way comprehensive but I am not really sure what the deal is) so I lined my friends up for dinner on Monday night after school.

We hit up the restaurant Sun and Moon in downtown Sofia. It was great. The food was wonderful--as usual I might add. The restaurant is also a bakery and they serve vegetarian fare and hearty homemade bread. Last night the hits were the hummas, an olive spread and the baked goat cheese as well as the Thai tofu and an Indian lentil dish. I had a dish with broccoli and rice with was well spiced and cooked with coconut milk. It was good. Really good but the Indian dish and Thai dish were better.

Most of my friends had never been to the restaurant before. I think they liked it. There was a little good natured grumbling about not having meat on the menu. But that's to be expected.

I was reminded of all the great friends I have in Sofia. A room full of them (and then some) to be precise. I never cease to be amazed by my wonderful friends. Smart and funny, open and inquisitive. Passionate and caring, thoughtful and considerate. I am not really sure how I got so lucky.

I was showered with gifts and well-wishes for my birthday. The homemade earrings are wonderful. Matching set of red earrings and a ring have kept me smiling all day. The mood ring was a huge hit on Monday night and it continues to be. A scarf from the Berlin flea market screams European cool and spring. And the flowers I received are really brightening up my apartment.

Two of the flowers are potted plants. These will require a new level of responsibility and dedication from me.  Before Monday night my responsibilities were pretty minimal--take showers, don't drink spoiled milk and try to keep up with my laundry--now I've got to water plants. I've also got to try not to kill them. Man, I guess at 30 my carefree days are over...

I thought I'd make some cupcakes to celebrate my birthday. When I was growing up my MoM would make me whatever cake I wanted for my birthday. Only my MoM isn't here to make me a cake. So now I have to look out for myself. My favorite cakes are either yellow cake with chocolate frosting or white cake with vanilla frosting. I am not a huge chocolate cake fan. Oh and I also love strawberry short cake but that's not really a birthday cake.

Anyhow, I spent part of the day on Tuesday making cupcakes. They turned out so-so. The cake was good as was frosting but I had a really hard time getting the cupcakes out of the muffin tins. I guess I really needed the paper liners that go in muffin tins because the cupcakes ended coming out in two pieces. Top and bottom. And I did a fair amount of swearing. That's okay though because now I am 30.

The good thing about turning 30 is that it's really not any different than being 29. Only now I can command a little more respect