Happy Birthday To Me!

That’s right, folks, this blogger just turned the big 2-9. I’m a little more frightened by this birthday than the next one, because this feels like the END of my 20s, while the next one is a little more hopeful — the START of my 30s!

I had a fantastic day. I didn’t have high expectations … the day fell on a Tuesday, one of my busiest work days, Lucas and I are holding off on big celebrations until our trip to Chicago in two weeks, my parents are far away, and — let’s face it — birthdays are pretty unexciting when you’re this old!

Unlike, say, your first birthday — look at this face!

That’s my friend Jackie’s BEAUTIFUL baby girl. I love her so much!

But I was shocked and thrilled at what a great day it was. I started with a 5:45am spinning class, using my brand new cycling shoes.

What a difference! I spun my little heart out, making every moment count. I knew when I got off the bike that I had worked as hard as I possibly could, which gave me a lot of energy through the day.

I took a break from my no caffeine zone, since it was my birthday, and indulged in two delicious cups of French Vanilla coffee with stevia and soy milk. Yummmm. I enjoyed and appreciated it so much more than I would have without my caffeine and artificial sweetener break.

When I got to work, I turned on Facebook and Twitter and had dozens of greetings waiting for me … what a way to start the day! And the fun kept coming in, in the form of gorgeous roses:

And the BEST edible treat ever — do my co-workers know me, or what?

Didn’t take long to polish that bad boy off.

And the roses have been blooming more every day, and make my little space of the office smell incredible. Thanks, Mama and Papa Tater Tot.

And you’ll be enjoying my present from dear husband Lucas, right along with me … not only did he give me the AWESOME new camera that took many of these pictures, he gave me an Eye-Fi wireless card so all I have to do is put the camera near my laptop and the pictures automatically upload to Flickr!!! How cool is that?

And what makes him even cooler is that he does the dirty work around the house — poor beast is still sore after raking the front lawn and clearing out all of the nasty pollen.

Thanks for all of the kudos about my triathlon finish — I am still very proud of myself, and know that if I never complete another race again, I will always have that age group win. Of course, I need to keep pushing for the Danskin SheRox Tri in May!

I was pretty sore after last Saturday’s race, but I made sure to stay on my normal schedule, and was able to complete my 7.5 mile run on Wednesday as planned. Felt good!

I have also been working in as much yoga as I can stand … just like everything else, I’m learning to love it, and I really crave the stretching on my non-yoga days! I use the Exercise TV on Demand channel on my cable — free!

I’ve gotten away from snapping pictures of all my meals … I’ll leave that to people who are better at it than I am (blogroll coming soon!)

But I will share meals and foods that are above and beyond. Like tonight’s meal — a healthy foodie’s dream and possibly the best salad I have ever eaten. And I’ve eaten a lot.

Can you identify that all? Organic romaine, baby portabello mushrooms, sweet corn, tomato, tomato and basil feta cheese (reduced fat) and the STAR of the show … broiled tempeh. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

Healthy food not your cup of tea? (Speaking of, I am now obsessed with Yogi tea … it has replaced my morning coffee!) I do indulge Luke’s sweet tooth now and then, since I love to bake and he loves to eat.

Especially, Heath Bar Cookies.

They came out GREAT, using this recipe.

And if that STILL hasn’t given you what you came here looking for? Some pictures of
the happy family. Have a great weekend, all!

Tagged as: birthday, Healthy Living, Silly Tater Tot, Silly Tater Tot