Birthday Week

One bonus to Bryan and my relationship is that our birthdays are two days apart!  So rather than a birthDAY its always a birthWEEK!  We started the week with having separate birthday parties with our friends.  For mine, I organized a Girls Chocolate Fondue night at the Melting Pot.

 This was truly the best fondue at the table- Cookies n Cream w Marshmallows! Delish!

For Bryan's we went to a Middle Eastern Grill with friends.  It was complete with a belly dancer ;-)

And the BDAY week continues....
Last night I took him out to a seafood grill in Jupiter, FL called Tapica Grill.  It was phenomenal!

We both ordered the salmon and couldn't have been happier!  After dinner (and dessert!) we went back to my place where he opened his gifts.  I ended up getting him tons of clothes from his favorite sports teams: MSU Spartans and the Detroit Lions.  I also threw in a DVD and a few dressier shirts (because they look so good on him!)

After gift-opening, we relaxed and dove into some great conversations about the book we are both reading. 

And the best part?  My bday is on Thursday so we get to celebrate again! :-)

Today's Run:
5 miles:
1mile @ 7.5 1% incline
1mile @ 7.6 1% incline
1mile @ 7.7 1% incline
1mile @ 7.8 1.5% incline
.5mile @ 7.9 1%incline
.25mile @ 8.0 .5%incline
.25mile @ 8.5 .5%incline

Total: 5 miles in 39:07minutes

Question: Do you have multiple birthday celebrations for your birthday? 
I love celebrating the whole week whether its mine or a friends!  Birthdays only come once a year! Why not?!?

Double-Cheesecake Factory Weekend Fun!

This weekend was the perfect relaxation I needed!  I started off Friday night by going to a church event with Bryan.  They served root beer floats afterwards in the lobby so I kept dinner on the light side (a salad and Fiber One bar). 

Then Saturday was my friend Heather's 27th birthday celebration!  After a day at the pool with Bryan, I took a long hot bubble bath and got ready to meet the girls at Cheesecake factory to celebrate!  I was so excited to finally wear my teal dress I wore to a wedding earlier in the year. 

Girls Night = perfect excuse to dress up! 

Then on Sunday, Bryan and I met up with some friends for church and lunch.  Guess where we went? 

Cheesecake Factory (AGAIN!!!!) I guess I am addicted this weekend ;-) I ordered off their new Skinnylicious menu which I highly recommend!

Later, Bryan I and I spent some time relaxing in the sun here...

The pool at my condo.  I love how relaxing it is with a view of the waterway behind us.  We got in some great reading time (a weekend must for me!)  

the pool, ahhh!

Weekend Workout:

1 hour Spin Class and 10 minutes stair climber.

Questions:

I am curious, what is your favorite cereal bar? 

I like Fiber One right now, but always am curious to try new ones.

Cheesecake Factory fan?   Yes/No?

For sure!!!!

Do you always eat dessert? 

I eat it about 5 nights a week.  (usually healthy desserts involving dried fruit and yogurt + chocolate chips).  Saturday is ALWAYS an indulge day though ;-)

What are your typical Monday night plans?

I like to make Monday nights fun to start the week off right!  I am going to a friend's house for dinner with the girls tonight.  ...and watching the bachelor pad of-course ;-)

Birthday Cake + The Good Life

A bit of good news to start the day off. I talked to my mom on the phone today and she is feeling much better today! Her recovery from surgery has been a long process but she was in high spirits today so I was thankful!

This was the balloon we got her at the hospital. It came with a prescribed daily dosage of looking at it for 5 minutes a day to speed up recovery ;-)

The drive home was long. 3 hours long. But it is always worth every minute to spend a few days with my family! Its always hard leaving them! But.....

Coming back to enjoy this helped! ;-) It was my friend Zach's birthday and we decided to get a group together at Juno Beach for a few rounds of volleyball and the deliciousness pictured above!

The group was glad to be under the shade after a 2 hour straight session of back-to-back games. (I was on the winning team a few times!!!).

After a nice refreshing day at the beach, Bryan and I spent some time together back at my condo. I missed him so much and the distance (spending 5 days apart while I was with my family) brought us closer.

I am ready to pick out my wedding ring! haha- just kidding! I am, but I am also happy to enjoy the place we are at in our lives RIGHT now :-) Dating, having tons of the same friends, going through life together. He is my best friend and I get butterflies when I see him.

Life is good and I am right where I want to be.

Today's Workout:
I slept in. I was up pretty late at my friend Lisa's house watching the Bachelor Pad. (how am I sooo addicted to it!?!?!) I am planning a nice 5miler tonight after work.

Other 'Good News':
The hurricane changed courses and is no longer heading towards Florida- THANK GOD!!!!
My friend Lisa (from last night) is having a baby boy today!!!!!!!

Question:
What is "good news" for you right now?

Pure DELICIOUS!!!!

Today was one of those days- woke up starved and didn't want to completely destroy my day by rampaging the fridge (especially after the DELICIOUS Italian dinner I had last night with Bryan~ compliments of Lisa's bday giftcard to us for Carrabas- Thank you LISA!!!)

I was completely sore rolling out of bed so I knew that a 5 mile run this morning was just not going to happen. BUT, NEVER LOSE hope, CHOC DELIGHT PROTEIN BAR came to the rescue!!! I decided I would go to the gym and workout light for 45minutes and treat myself to Chocolate afterward..... (if all else fails I can always motivate myself for the gym with something indulgence afterward- whether it be a bath, chocolate, or massage). I ended up running 3 miles at 7.1 speed and trekking 2 miles on the elliptical trainer while watching Hollywood E (for some reason it really motivates me to watch this???!!). It was perfect, I was glad I made myself go and even more excited that I had started my day out right. So many times I hit the snooze button thinking I'll be happy to get the sleep but have a harder time getting started then if I would just jump out of bed right away and go to the gym.

The best part of working out first thing in the morning is that I feel I DESERVE a satisfying bfast. Bryan introduced me to Pure Protein bars a few months ago and I am in LOVE with them! Everytime I open a bar I let each bite melt in my mouth. The best part is that after about 3 bites I feel satisfied. Its crazy how fast it works and its so awesome that its actually GOOD for you too with 20 grames of protein!

I swear I should be a marketer for them haha, but I truly love this stuff!

**** Photo compliments of www.meltingmama.net

Vintage Lace, Shots of Sweetness....Here's to 25 years!

My 25th Birthday was unforgetable! I went to the gym early morning and got in a 5 mile run which set the tone for a perfect day. Its cool because even the girl at the gym counter wished me a happy birthday (so sweet and crazy how she knew?)

On my lunch break I went shopping with the money I had received in a birthday card from my grandma. It was so fun to go on a shopping spree! I got a cute vintage lace dress to wear out to my surprise dinner bday date with Bryan. Bryan said to arrive at his place around 6pm.

When I arrived he had a HUGE box wrapped with my initials on it. But that was for later. Dinner was first. Seasons 52 is one of the best places on earth and that's exactly where Bryan took me! There was a piano lounge player at the bar when we walked in and the atmosphere was perfect- dimly lit candles on every table, live classy music, and the best Autumn Seasonally inspired menu. We ordered the Shrimp Feta flat bread- which tasted deliciously sweet and slightly spicy with a perfect crispy texture.

Next was the main course- Cedar plank Salmon served with an assortment of steamed baby carrots, crisp asparagus, and roasted garlic red potato slices. Every bite was more savory than the last and we devoured every last bit.

The best part was dessert. The waiter came to the table with a candle for me and had the lounge player do an original remmondition of happy birthday- right to me! It was beautiful. Whats more, the waiter treated us to 6 dessert shots on the house! Each one rich and decadent and delicious! We got Pumpkin Pie, Swiss Mocha Mouse, Peanut Butter/Chocolate Mouse with shaved white chocolate, Pecan Pie, and Blueberry Cheesecake.

It couldn't have been a better birthday! But there were still gifts! When we arrived at Bryan's place I opened the Huge box- inside was a Kitchen Aid food processor! My very own!!!!! (I had mentioned I wanted on months ago and forgot he even knew!) All I could think of was all the parties I can have now- complete with hummus, guacamole, Banana PB Mouse desserts, and pina coladas! A perfect end to a perfect birthday!

I am so blessed to have an amazing boyfriend, wonderful friends, and a loving family! 25 amazing years - and.......Cheers to lower car insurance! ;-)