A good birthday

I had a very nice birthday! I spent the majority of it alone, but have great memories of the people I met while out running errands and such.

Thank you for the sweet comments you readers left today. They made my day and were so nice to read throughout the day.

My massage this morning was awesome-one of the better ones I have ever had. It was only a half hour long, but that was the perfect amount of time to relax, get the stress out of my lower back and neck, and a great way to start my day. The massage therapist I had was really nice too.

After the massage, I went to World Market to use my $10 off b-day coupon. I picked up a cooling rack and a pretty place mat that was on clearance.

I also headed to the mall to use up some coupons. I got $20 off a $50 or more purchase at Boston Store, so I found some perfect black trousers for work.

I got the Clinique bonus and because I am an old lady today, purchased some “all about eyes rich” eye cream. It’s never too late to prevent wrinkles!

When I was done perusing Boston Store, I went to Mayfair to use my $15 off Banana Republic b-day postcard. I popped in there on Sunday and couldn’t find anything. Today, I walked out of there with two perfumes and didn’t pay a cent for them! Hooray!

And the best part of my shopping trip was that the Apple store had my printer in stock! It took a little while to get it added onto my old order, but I walked out of there with it and was so happy I don’t have to go back to get it. It will only cost about $5 after the rebate. Score! We finally have a scanner and a wireless printer! They seem to be including these printers with any new purchase whether you are a student or not.

The funniest part about the Apple trip was the funky guy I worked with had me raise my right hand and pledge to buy Apple care within the next year. Not sure I will, but it was pretty funny. He also told me that I seemed so laid back, unlike other women. Maybe he was having a bad week with his wife or girlfriend.

Once home, I made myself lunch–a whole wheat tortilla shell with provolone cheese, tofu, spinach, and tomatoes. I also had some strawberries and watermelon juice on the side.

I spoke to a few friends and family in the afternoon and it was so sweet of them to call and wish me a happy birthday!

Then the UPS man came and SPREAD THE LOVE today by delivering a package from Love Grown granola! Hooray! What a great birthday surprise.

I am most excited to try it for breakfast tomorrow. It’ll just be hard to decide which flavor to open first.

I went to the gym and when the guy behind the counter scanned it in, he said, “Happy Birthday!” and then he went over to the speakers to turn up the music. Their computer automatically plays “they say it’s your birthday” when a guest with a b-day comes in on that day. I started dancing around at the front desk and it was fun. Then the guy just kept chatting to me–he was nice.

After not getting much cardio in during belly dancing last night, I was happy to hop on the elliptical for 35 minutes and then to lift some machine and free weights.

Once I was home and showered, we went to Red Robin for dinner. Yet another freebie to use up–a gourmet burger or chicken sandwich is free during your birthday month when you sign up for their rewards card. We don’t go to Red Robin that often, but we were impressed with our meals tonight.

We both eyed up the Chicken Bruschetta sandwich and were glad we went with it. The flavors all blended together deliciously! When I ordered, I pronounced bruschetta the Italian way and it confused our waitress. She thought I wanted a certain salad, so I corrected her and pointed to the sandwich we wanted and then she said bruschetta the American way and it all made sense to her.

And I’ll end with the funny picture Craig sent to me “from the cats.”

31 is off to a good start! Lots of funny memories from today. Oh yeah and besides lots of people telling me I looked 21, not 31, I also got hit on during my drive to the gym. I hope I look youthful for a while and that my new eye cream helps.

My 31st year and blogiversary

Today is my 31st birthday and it is also my 1st blogiversary!

I am off of work for the next six days, which makes me so happy.

I enjoyed some coffee and my favorite Chobani yogurt flavor, pomegranate, for breakfast this morning.

I almost forgot to open my pile of birthday cards that have been arriving in the mail. I like to save them all until my actual birthday.

This one from my friend Loni is perfect for me!

Especially because I just started meditating this year.

I better get ready to head out of the house! I am getting a half hour massage and then using some of my birthday coupons because a bunch of them expire today.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Happy 31st Birthday to my husband Craig!

Today, my sweet husband turns 31 (I’m right behind him turning 31 on August 31st)! Happy Birthday my love! Every day, I appreciate you and how lucky I am to have you in my life.

Ok, I’ll stop being all sappy and lovey dovey for the sake of you readers.

Last year, I surprised Craig with the day off of work. I wrote an e-mail to his boss and HR lady, asking for him to have off and for them to keep it a surprise. He was sure shocked and didn’t believe me at first. I think he was more shocked that I kept a surprise from him for that long.

I brought him breakfast in bed and everything.

We went for a long bike ride along Lake Michigan and walked around downtown Milwaukee later on that night.

No big surprises this year! He actually has a training class and can’t be off of work. We’ll celebrate with his family this weekend.

Hope you have a great birthday Craig! Love you!

Happy 75th Birthday to my dad!

Today is my dad’s 75th Birthday. After going to the gym for an hour, quickly showering and getting ready, Craig and I headed out to my parents’ house to celebrate.

Here’s me and the birthday boy.

My dad and mom love Panera bread and my dad hates waiting at a restaurant for his food, so we treated him to a meal at his favorite restaurant.

I had my favorite meal there–french onion soup and a Mediterranean veggie sandwich with an apple.

I enjoyed taking pictures of the peonies that were blooming in my parents’ backyard.

We sang happy birthday and had cake after letting our stomachs settle a bit from Panera.

Mmm…homemade chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream!

My mom gave me some magazines, two of which are fabulous! Whole Living and the Consumer Reports Food and Fitness edition.

Have you seen that Consumer Reports magazine before? It is very difficult to find in the store (believe me, when I saw it advertised somewhere last year, I went to about five different bookstores to look for it and could not find it).The library my parents go to orders it and then my mom is so sweet to request to buy it for me when they take it off the shelf. It’s the perfect magazine for a food and fitness blogger!

And now I want to watch one of two movies I picked up at the library. I’ll probably go with “How Do you Know?” tonight. It’s not supposed to be that great, but I like Reese Witherspoon as an actress. I’m not a big Owen Wilson fan, so I hope he doesn’t annoy me too much.

source

Hope you’re having a great Saturday!

Happy 1st day of September!

Well, my big birthday is over and I had a nice time at dinner last night with Craig. We went to a restaurant downtown in the Third Ward and I enjoyed a BBQ chicken wrap with fruit on the side while Craig got a hamburger with the healthy choice of fruit on the side!

Craig and I

We went for a walk along the lakefront after and then randomly saw a custard stand, which was perfect timing because I was craving something sweet!

Northpoint Custard Stand

We shared a swirl of chocolate and vanilla. For those of you who haven’t had it, frozen custard is popular in the Midwest and is made with eggs, cream and sugar. It is creamier than ice cream. I personally love Kopps frozen custard and all of the unique flavors of the day you can try.

On a healthier note, cookbook author Mark Bittman was on the Today show this morning and talked about integrating whole grains into your diet–specifically Quinoa, Bulgar Wheat and Polenta. I love Quinoa already, but haven’t had it for breakfast. He was talking about cooking it with a bit of orange for breakfast and adding toppings such as nuts, dried fruits and maple syrup. Yum! I’ll have to try it sometime and post about it on here. It might be a good option for a post workout breakfast, since quinoa is so high in protein.

Off to get ready for the day. I am going to meet a friend and her baby for a walk.