Happy 28th Birthday!

Yesterday I celebrated my 28th birthday.  Overall, the day itself was great.  While I did work, I was able to work at home and that helped make the day a little more enjoyable.  I'm trying to conserve my vacation time for an upcoming trip.....one of the wedding-sorts.  To an island.  In the Caribbean.  I cannot wait!<br /><br />Anyhow, the day started off great from the get-go.  Joel arrived home from work that morning with Starbucks in hand.  He also presented me with my birthday gift right away.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMZOcVCXg8m5tsRRrsHH3lbWIJn6O8xjUfChmS2964VGfLDRrnpqiQBYwmyGEWHmIE_-tKUOMV8UHGxWaXMbRhBtPOJierT5NnEB5fKRW6Su7TGpjqx0z_aJrsl_2yKZQ5829YwJqcZU/s1600/watch+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMZOcVCXg8m5tsRRrsHH3lbWIJn6O8xjUfChmS2964VGfLDRrnpqiQBYwmyGEWHmIE_-tKUOMV8UHGxWaXMbRhBtPOJierT5NnEB5fKRW6Su7TGpjqx0z_aJrsl_2yKZQ5829YwJqcZU/s400/watch+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVs1yTbYgNAj2GT7LRVKhSF9-oJAQUKHDPpFLAHPdkdSSR8A6c_y7fGXk375lajEKNhRTW3FP6ROZ8mbrKWJEAICQtfkq6amP1gjFOZ5SStUZrguv7cGkqPDT9sVYlmbdbYrMjxAzQKlA/s1600/watch+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVs1yTbYgNAj2GT7LRVKhSF9-oJAQUKHDPpFLAHPdkdSSR8A6c_y7fGXk375lajEKNhRTW3FP6ROZ8mbrKWJEAICQtfkq6amP1gjFOZ5SStUZrguv7cGkqPDT9sVYlmbdbYrMjxAzQKlA/s400/watch+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />It looks just like regular yellow gold, but it's actually rose gold.  I love rose gold now more than ever, especially because my engagement ring is rose gold, and so are two other pieces of special jewelry I have.  This very same watch was going to be a weight loss reward, so I'll just have to figure out something else to get for that goal instead.  Shouldn't be a problem! :)  <br /><br />And even though I already met my minimum exercise for the week, I decided to take my lunch hour and do 40 minutes on the elliptical.  Why not start off year 28 with one of the best things I can do for my body and soul?  I'm a member at Gold's, and they sent me a birthday email with a coupon for 25% off an item in their shop and a free bottle of water.  When I signed in yesterday, the computer told me Happy Birthday, which made my day... it truly is all about the little things in life!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ar40Qxfvlj3Z3O7Zzayv2x5p8vB2iYWmRStZOuyZ64JFwsUY-B6eMXVpN-wgMRQzBYH0iNCMtmaRcM3HI_hRNymXtVLJReYPe0Cm2lRK42TEKGhe3V6SPWvaVWhmpfg24FTP9cvtSyI/s1600/gym.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ar40Qxfvlj3Z3O7Zzayv2x5p8vB2iYWmRStZOuyZ64JFwsUY-B6eMXVpN-wgMRQzBYH0iNCMtmaRcM3HI_hRNymXtVLJReYPe0Cm2lRK42TEKGhe3V6SPWvaVWhmpfg24FTP9cvtSyI/s400/gym.JPG" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">blurry pics are the result of taking them while<br />on the elliptical!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Not to mention, I need all the exercise I can get.  Last week was a great week for me.  This week.....I've consumed so much sugar it's a wonder I haven't had digestive issues as a result.  I'll just leave it at that... I'm sure no one needs an in-depth account of what goes on there! <br /><br />Sometimes my self control amazes me.  I could bake batches of cookies, or be around my most favorite foods, and it doesn't bother me one bit.  Other times, this week being one of them, I cannot stop myself from eating.  Why can't just a taste be enough?  <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzq_tv2tr_NeFKa9zJN8X5I6G1_aPmIOqHm6Qzd_NrxuE8hox2w8rWwPfSDO0-iyG4FUtjUqIPH35H2jd4EIjwD7emgl_EMVpQfWbD_ZGJzYp-9BB_eTdA7pmakXOS52f8JkFUxo_76M/s1600/bday+cookies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzq_tv2tr_NeFKa9zJN8X5I6G1_aPmIOqHm6Qzd_NrxuE8hox2w8rWwPfSDO0-iyG4FUtjUqIPH35H2jd4EIjwD7emgl_EMVpQfWbD_ZGJzYp-9BB_eTdA7pmakXOS52f8JkFUxo_76M/s400/bday+cookies.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday/Easter cookies I made for work this week</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Birthday week also means lots of eating out.  People at work kindly want to take me to lunch, and Joel & I had dinner at our <a href="http://kodorirestaurant.com/" target="_blank">favorite Japanese/Korean</a> restaurant last night.  I'm taking it one meal at a time at this point.  Just because I've been afforded all of these opportunities to eat out, doesn't mean I need to fully indulge and blow it.     <br /><br />At Chick Fil A the other day, I got a kid's meal. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvCrG8n_ss5lPt7Dz-vvanZKb-WGEoLUtrE5b5ULLB84R5MfLWs1_Kzp2tL06ulhmfY3Qda52k-5DSDObtvffj99EjeES6l1_xlD7icg_2lavw-Y4T-5vlrpabwSXjpINGJIhG7cEwtE/s1600/chickfila.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvCrG8n_ss5lPt7Dz-vvanZKb-WGEoLUtrE5b5ULLB84R5MfLWs1_Kzp2tL06ulhmfY3Qda52k-5DSDObtvffj99EjeES6l1_xlD7icg_2lavw-Y4T-5vlrpabwSXjpINGJIhG7cEwtE/s400/chickfila.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />This was JUST the right amount of Chick Fil A to satisfy my chicken desires.  A special thank-you to my friend <a href="http://cheerfulchatter.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Meghan</a> who shared this strategy with me.  I just assumed if a kid wasn't present, a restaurant would not serve you a kid's meal.  Not the case with our local Chick Fil A, and I'm so grateful that they allow it!<br /><br />I used to be able to consume the entire spicy chicken meal from our favorite restaurant (mentioned earlier).  However, now I can only eat about half of it.  That's a plus!  So while I haven't been eating the best things this week per se, I'm also not completely blowing it by eating <i>all </i>of it.<br /><br />The rest of the week will involve even more birthday celebrations: going to see my favorite movie of all time in 3D (Titanic!), shoe shopping with my friend Margie, and a weekend getaway to tour a somewhat-local brewery.  This is going to end up being an awesome week! <br /><br /><b style="color: #351c75;">Do you know of any other restaurants that allow the purchase of a kid's meal in lieu of the full adult version?  </b>

birthday Weight Loss Challenges Happy 28th Birthday!

Yesterday I celebrated my 28th birthday.  Overall, the day itself was great.  While I did work, I was able to work at home and that helped m...

Read more »