Birthday Weekend :-)

I had the most amazing weekend for my birthday. On Friday afternoon we hung out at the pool for a couple of hours, and that night my friend Andy hosted a wonderful "Happy Ramadan and Caryl's Birthday" party at his incredible house. There was dancing in the upstairs living room, live music on the landing, chill out space on the first floor living room, and plenty of couches and beds for people to crash in when the night finally ended around 4:30am. Andy also decided that the theme would be a black and white party, so everyone came dressed in black and white and we all looked very classy. Nalani made an incredibly delicious chocolate and vanilla layer cake, which Ben was responsible for carrying during the singing because we were all afraid Nalani would drop it. A bunch of my friends came, and they brought their friends, and Andy's friends came... it was awesome. Highlights included Brendan's "black and white" outfit, Andy's maids timidly asking me at 3:00am if they could go home and wishing me a happy birthday, and my wake-up call from Russ the next morning. As people were leaving they requested more parties at Andy's house, and of course we always aim to please.

Pictures, courtesy of Jinnyn...


mmm, I dream of this cake. too bad "Ben" forgot the plates and we had to eat it off of paper towels.















Abir (who missed the black and white memo), Jinnyn (the photographer), me, and Samira (who brought awesome chocolate)














Amanda, Aussie queen of the punch; Charles "I brought you some of my liquor stash, so you know I like you" Nailen; Jinnyn again; Henri (Quebecqois!); Nalani, queen of the birthday cake; and me again!














My actual birthday was a couple of days later on Sunday, which is a work day. Usually our staff has birthday lunches, but since its Ramadan, there's nothing open for lunch. So what did my wonderful team do? They got creative (and generous!) and had a birthday potluck with everyone's specialties. One of my bosses even offered to host it at her home. And Darbi, another queen of birthday cakes, made delicious chocolate, coffee, coconut, walnut goodness with candles on top :-)

That night, I talked with my dad and brother on the phone for a bit and then played squash with Greg, and then Nalani and Ben took me to Chili's for some good old fashioned American (tex-mex) food. And the Chili's staff sang their hearts out for me and gave me free dessert. Overall I would say it was one of my best weekends in Doha yet! I missed my family of course, but my friends did an awesome job. Along the line of Darbi's recent posts - they are my "I'm grateful for..." of today. And most days, really.