Sunday, March 2, 2008

Da Da Da Da Da

This is kind of Enzo's birthday song, but I thought it appropriate. Although my present may be late, at least my birthday wishes won't be. I'm really glad that Damaris took the chance to get to know me, even considering the fact that she was scared to meet me. Christian told us over the phone that he was dating a Brazillian girl, and it sounded more serious than I cared for (at the time), but I had already made him promise that any girl that he was considering marrying had to meet us first. I mean, Christian's kind of a package deal, and anyone who can't accept that is outta there. When Damaris showed up in Hawaii I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I was definitely NOT expecting was how Christian was so romantic, dancing with her in the living room, holding hands as they walked down the street, patiently waiting and helping her during the hikes-- I figured, any girl who could bring that out in Christian was definitely a good catch. Damaris was the one who cooked the first amazing Brazilian dinner that I'd ever had, and topped that off with lilikoi mousse, and she basically had me from then on. I am always delighted to find a kindred spirit in tastes. I never knew how to cook red meat at all before I watched and ate her cooking. It was always a mystery to me how to pick the right cuts and cook it the right way, even after I studied the Joy of Cooking's meat section. Since then I've been cooking her recipes fairly regularly. We were able to get to know each other better when Jake and I visited them in Conneticut, but when they came here to live last year I was pretty excited for them to be close by. I enjoyed being baby-obsessed and food-obsessed; hopefully she did not get bored with my only two subjects of conversation. I'm always sad when people leave Hawaii for "bigger and better" things (quotations not because I don't think that grad school is worthwhile, just because I'm making myself feel better about not really wanting to leave here, ever) because I enjoy having such accessible and good friends close to me. I'm not one to make friends easily (laziness? snobbery? both?)and I like to think that is because good friends don't come around very often. I've really missed having play dates with Amaya's fiance as well. Happy Birthday Da! I hope your day is perfect, and filled with good food. Eat some chocolate chip cookies for me.

7 comments:

Pamela Palmer said...

I first bonded with Da because of her cold sore. Before that, though I admired her, she seemed so independent I didn't think she needed me. Turned out though her cold sore needed some immediate attention and though I don't have any great remedies myself I had the contacts (Danny and his dad's magic medicine) so I went and got it which was real beginning of our relationship for me (with Danny it was when he let me cut his hair). Weird the way that works. In any case, I've enjoyed our heart to hearts, tie dying togeher, her sharing Enzo, and mostly how much she loves my son. Thanks Da and happy birthday. Love, Pam

noelle said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAMARIS! I love you. I have always appreciated how you are so kind and thoughtful towards me, and everyone, for that matter. It's been great having you in the family and getting to spend time with you.

sienna said...

Da! Feliz Aniversario! You are a very fun part of our family. I loved hanging out with you and your family in Brasil. It was great to see you and Chris together and how much you love your family and how much they love you. Thanks for being so good to us and for taking time to come and visit us. I hope you have a great day.

Melinda said...

oh yay! damaris' birthday! that will be a tasty celebration for sure. i just wanted to agree with the fine things said about damaris. and add something. it may sound cheesy, but i know you'll all agree. i personally appreciate her ability to see the good in people. she's helped me understand that other people are doing their best with their situation. as she's helped me see other's good qualities, i admire her even more. thanks damaris! happy happy birthday!

Kaity said...

Happy Birthday Da! I am so glad you guys moved to California so that you are closer to us. We love when you come down and we love going up. I hope you had a really good day. Thanks for helping me realize that Gio had a sleep problem. Thanks to you he now goes to bed at 7:00 on the dot every night and only takes 2 minutes to fall asleep. Wow! What a change. We love you!

Yesenia said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DA! thanks for being such a good friend to me! i've enjoyed our conversations about life, advice on everything, and your sweet spirit! i'm so sad that you're not here but i know that you're having fun and doing what you need to do. i hope you had an amazing birthday because you totally deserve it! we better hang out this summer! love you!

Damaris @Kitchen Corners said...

thanks everyone for the comments. Mariko thank you for the post. You're such a sweet friend. Thanks for the kind words. I had a good overdose of birthday fun and the blog added to that feeling. I was sure my birthday was going to be lame since stupid leap year skipped it so that it was on a fast Sunday. Chris planned a surprise party and it turned out wonderful. I also got lots of fun presents. Thanks everyone for the cool presents I got in the mail and the nice phone calls I got yesterday. I love you all so much and wish you could of been here yesterday. I wrote a long post about my birthday on my blog. I decided not to post here because it basically brags about Christian and since some people (Mariko) always teases me about it you can go to my blog and see pictures and get a full description of my 25th birthday celebration. I LOVE birthdays! can't wait till it is yours!!!