*27th Birthday*

"Welcome to my Pink Penguin Blog."



"On July 23rd in 2009, ayumills turned.."



"27!"

Being 27 is a big deal to me. When I was 18 living in Tokyo,
I met someone who was 27. To me she was a perfection.
She was my co-worker at a dental office who taught me
all the tasks. I thought she was so much better than me
in every single way. She was so mature, so smart, so nice,
so beautiful, so creative, and so humble. I often compared
myself to her and got frustrated in the gap.
"Don't worry, you'll be like her by the time you're 27"
is the only thing I could tell myself to cheer me up.

So now what. I turned 27, didn't I?
Am I like her? Hmm.....Nope.

I am pretty much the same. Nothing changed except
that I like how I am now. I don't try to be a
different person anymore. I have come to the point
where I can embrace who I am. Now that I think about it,
maybe it was confidence that she had that made her
look so cool to me. She was happy to be who she was
unlike me who didn't even know to accept myself as it is.

I am really happy.
I am very lucky to be me.
Hopefully, this realization made me a little mature.



I had a fabulous birthday.
We had a Takoyaki party at my place.
Takoyaki is my favorite food ever!



Takoyaki is basically octopus balls.
In each of the sphere ball, there is a little piece of
octopus inside. It originally comes from Osaka, Japan.
You'll find a whole bunch of Takoyaki street vendors there.



Cooking Takoyaki is as fun as actual-eating.
It keeps everyone busy!




This is a birthday gift from my sister.
Sweet citrus jelly. Oh how crazy I am about it.



These are from my friend Vy.
I've wanted mini towels like these!!
Great choice! Vy!



From my friend Sachiko in Japan.
She always sends me lovely birthday gifts.


From my friend Victoria.
I was so jealous that she had gone to the craft
fair in San Francisco a few weeks ago!
What a surprise she was getting yummy goodies for me!



Joe got me the sewing scissor and the ruler.
The mini iron is from our friend Saurabh!
I am so excited to use these!!



This is a patchwork drawstring bag I made for my
Scottish friend who shares the same birthday as me!
Happy Birthday, AJ! I figured she likes green,
so I used several different kids of green fabrics.
I sent her this bag along with the magazine Stitch.

Speaking of Stitch, there was another thing that
made my 27th birthday more special. On July 22nd here
(July 23rd in Japan - my technical birthday),
I received an e-mail that made me teary in joy.
I want to keep this a secret until you find out..!!!


Thanks for coming and reading!!