
on sunday,
upon matt's return to his apartment, we saw a large group of deer not once, but twice! and the second time, they were extremely close,the only regret i have is not being able to take out my camera in time before they frolicked away in the distance. i'm sure i will be able to capture a deer photograph some time soon. he lives on a mountain, with lots of thrushes and a pond nearby--perfect living conditions for deer so they often wander around here. well, 'twas a magical night it turned out to be when we ventured out in to the blizzard for a little moment. we realized that the act of getting prepared to play in the snow was actually more fun than actually being in it!

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for my birthday on the 27th,
i was blessed with freshly fallen snow. it was a lovely landscape to wake up to, a complete white-out, the dreamiest of days. the best gift of all, was when matt sang the "happy birthday" song to me when i woke up in the morning. he then presented the loveliest of gifts to me. i received a pair of golden rose earrings and...teto! the cutest little creature from the land of gibli studios. he also made a beautiful birthday card for me in addition to giving me a traditional birthday card featuring hello kitty on a piano. i will need to scan them in next time! we went out to eat sushi for dinner and then treated ourselves to a sweet strawberry-filled cake to celebrate.


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the day before new years eve, matt wanted to check out this record shop nearby. i was his little helper holding on to the vinyl records that he picked out while he scavenged through the stack of music scattered on the floor of the shop. apparently that place has a basement full of vinyl records! then we went to get art supplies so he can make fantastic paintings. on new years eve, we spent most of the day watching the legend of the condor heroes and ranma 1/2. and feasted on an herb-roasted chicken with some vegetables and bread along with apple cider for dinner. as the night grew on, we both became extremely tired and sleepy, but the stars were aligned so that our new year started with a kiss.
