surprise

you know how i told you that David had something planned for me on saturday night for my birthday? well he and my family and close friends surprised me with a birthday party at The Factory in Long Beach. i was completely shocked and overwhelmed with love and honored that so many people were there for me. it was such an incredible night. this birthday has definitely been my best yet. i was so surprised to receive not only the presence of all of those amazing people, but they brought fantastic presents as well! my store manager even made me that gorgeous bouquet and a dear friend gave me those beautiful orchids. i'm such a lucky gal. 

thank you to everyone who came to celebrate my 30th year on this earth. it truly is a humbling and fantastic feeling to know you all care.

thirty

yesterday i turned thirty. i had been quite anxious for the last couple of months leading up to the day and i think mostly it had to do with the fact that i have such mixed feelings about my twenties. the first half was really a part of my life i'd like to forget in a lot of ways. but the second half is when things changed for me a lot and i grew and matured in ways i never imagined i would. and though i know that i don't find my identity in being married and having a house and security and all of that, it sure made a huge difference that i was able to find my best friend and marry him. he helped redeem the horror of those first years in my twenties. i've changed so much in the last 5 years and i foresee a lot more change in the next decade.

having said that i think 30 is going to be way better than i had imagined. so many people have made this weekend so special and i'm so thankful for the people in my life, even the ones i don't see all that often.

on thursday, the day before my birthday, my managers and co-workers made my day super special by giving me those awesome balloons, showering me with gifts and a free lunch, and making the most delicious trifle i've ever had! i was spoiled. i just love my anthro family.

on my actual birthday i took the day off and spent it shopping with my mom. she spoiled me rotten with goodies and i had the loveliest day with her. then David gave me the most amazing birthday present. at the end of February he'll be taking me to Santa Barbara for the weekend and got tickets to a reading by David Sedaris, one of my favorite authors. AND on top of all of that he got us tickets to the premiere of Mistaken for Strangers, a documentary about our favorite contemporary band, The National, filmed by the lead singer's brother. following the premiere will be a FULL concert by the band!! i am beyond excited.

AND Dave has something planned for us tonight. i still don't know what it is, but i'm sure that no matter what i'm going to love it. this truly has been an amazing birthday weekend, and it's not even over. i'm a very lucky gal.

so far thirty is pretty fabulous.

i've got to be honest.

the last 9 days have been a bit miserable.

that "sore throat" i mentioned in my last post ended up kind of ruining my birthday weekend a little. dave and i did go up to lake arrowhead on friday, even though i knew it probably wasn't the best idea. since i thought i had just come down with a bad cold, i assumed dayquil would do the trick and i'd be over it in a day or two.

no no.

apart from a stroll at the outdoor shopping center of lake arrowhead, which ultimately exhausted me of any energy for the rest of the weekend, we spent the entire weekend indoors. though we had a good time, it was still not the best birthday weekend for me because i was out for the count.

i showed up to work on monday morning and was promptly sent home. i was in denial of the severity of my sickness.
so i got my tuesday shift covered and drove myself to the doctor who informed me that my little cold is in actuality a severe sinus infection and double ear infection (both ears). he gave me a prescription for a 5 day supply of antibiotics and thankfully tomorrow is my last dose.
even though i feel a lot better since i've been taking them, i am still kind of a wreck. my measly five hour shift at work today kinda beat me up. i'm ready for a nap.
i haven't jogged in 9 days and i know when i finally feel healthy enough to hit the pavement again, it's going to be pretty difficult to reach my 60 mile goal for february.

BUT i can't really say that i had a bad birthday because it was really only just the infections that put a giant damper on my days. dave took me out to a fabulous dinner on my birthday.
we spent the weekend in the mountains next to a fire. we relaxed. we watched movies. we napped. we read. we had fun. sore throat, coughing, sneezing, stuffy nose filled fun.
and he really took care of me. anything i needed, he was on it. he waited on me hand and foot with no prompting and no complaint. we're not usually ones to make fusses over each other because we're both pretty independent like that, but it's really nice when you're sick and you really can't find the energy to peel yourself off of the couch and your partner happily takes care of you.
that's one of the many great things about marriage, i think. that whole "in sickness and in health" thing.

i also graduated from celebrate recovery on tuesday and shared my mini testimony.
it was so satisfying to have the opportunity to stand in front of my step study partners and my sponsor and dave and our close friends who have been so supportive of me and my journey this year.
i was really nervous, though. i even left out my favorite part of my testimony by accident and didn't even realize it until after i sat down, but it was still a great feeling to finally put a close to this year.
it's been tough and it's been a sacrifice, especially for dave. but i'm so thankful for the support he has given, and to my close friends who were always there for me when i was struggling and when i was rejoicing during this year-long journey.
it's definitely an accomplishment that i'll always be proud of and look back on with confidence and assurance that God has blessed me with the strength, endurance and patience to overcome anything. at least i know i can with the tools i've learned over this year and with His help.
and with a little help from my friends, too.

this is pretty much the only visual documentation of our time spent in the mountains this weekend:

like any other day.

it's been pretty slow at work (anthropologie) this month, so i've had a lot more days off than usual, which has actually worked in my favor this week.

i've been able to (finally!) finish editing the second draft of my short story for the creative writing class i took in the fall.
i've fallen in love with a new author, John Green, and i have read nearly all of his books.
i've been able to make huge progress on a scarf that i started knitting for my niece before i sprained my wrist a few months ago.
i've also caught up on my independent film love affair thanks to netflix and redbox.
we've been able to have our best friend, Dominic, over for dinner several times and have had awesome discussions on books, as well as infected him with our Game of Thrones obsession. you're welcome, buddy.
i developed a raging sore throat yesterday and woke up in the middle of the night feeling like someone had spread a generous layer of wasabi over a piece of sandpaper and had grated it against the place where my tonsils would be, if i still had tonsils. that is, unfortunately, not even an exaggeration.
oh, and i turned 29 today. so there's that.

today will be like any other day this week.
i'll have some quiet time after i publish this.
i'll send some emails.
i'll run errands and pack for the weekend.
i'll read.
and i'll get gussied up for a birthday dinner with my love.

tomorrow we'll drive up to Lake Arrowhead for the weekend, just the two of us (and Bogart makes three). we'll ring in my last year as a twenty-something by sleeping in, taking walks in the woods, reading, watching films, and i'll do a little bit of writing. oh, and hopefully i'll get rid of this pesky sore throat/body aches.

basically we'll be doing this all weekend, which is pretty perfect.

i hope you all have a very lovely and relaxing weekend as well.

birthday boy.

today my love turns another year older. i am so thankful that God brought him into existence on this day 26 years ago so that i could know and love him. he is my best friend and an amazing husband. i couldn't have asked for better. even though we can't spend the day together, i hope this day is filled with all the love a joy he deserves. i love you, my love.

yesterday

was fantastic.
thank you all for the beautiful birthday wishes. i felt so loved!

David and I went to Open Sesame on 2nd St. in Long Beach for dinner. I had never been there, but I had been wanting to for a really long time and lemme just tell ya: oh so good.

Then we took a little walk up and down the street and stopped for the most delicious ice cream ever. Oh boy, if you live in or near Long Beach you're in for a treat. Go to 2nd St. immediately and taste the glory that is Paradis. I got a scoop of the toasted hazelnut and a scoop of the marshmallow. I am a marshmallow freak. I love them. I have to be honest and say that eating that marshmallow ice cream was better than eating an actual marshmallow. I kid you not. I was telling David how I want to buy a gallon pint of it, bring it home and drizzle nutella and crushed graham crackers over it to make s'mores ice cream!!!!! 

Yes, I needed to add those 5 exclamation points.

Go now.

today i am 28 years old.

time freaking flies.

i watched Sixteen Candles in the morning.
got a manicure and pedicure.
got my eyebrows threaded (ouch!)
ate a red velvet cupcake from Bake 'n' Broil for lunch.
did some shopping.
enjoyed all of the awesome calls/texts/emails/fb comments wishing me a joyous birthday. they brightened the day!
and now the hubs and i are about to enjoy some Mediterranean cuisine.

i didn't worry or stress about anything at all. that makes this day pretty awesome.
thanks for all the wishes and love everyone. i am a lucky gal.

birthday kisses from me to you

birthday boy

Today is the love of my life's birthday.

My husband turns 25 today and, though he's not the biggest fan of birthdays, I hope today is the best birthday yet. We don't have a party planned (though I wish we did), we're not celebrating with family or friends (though that would be fun), we're simply doing just what he wants: going to Famous Dave's for dinner and eating my homemade apple pie with homemade vanilla bean ice cream.

David is my best friend, the love of my life.

He has such a huge heart.

He is kind

gentle

loving

generous

beautiful

hilarious

forgiving

and so much more.

I literally could go on and on.

To my love, my Daveycakes, Happy 25th Birthday!

SHRED

So today was my fourth day of Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.

I could barely walk for the last few days. Today was the easiest since we began and I wasn't as sore, but man  is my body shocked. I've had some crazy hard workouts before, but this one is so killer.

David is doing it with me and I hope we both stick to it. I know I'm in for the long term, but I can see that I-want-to-give-up-and-die look in his eyes and I worry.

Last night we went to dinner at Sue, my mentor/director of The Hiding Place/former professor's, house and David didn't have time to SHRED (from now on I shall place "shred" in caps and italics because it is that hardcore) before we left, so today was his hardest day.

There is just something about the third day that makes it the worst. Yesterday I wanted to collapse and die, but today I was right there, in it, keeping up and I'm actually looking forward to more. I hope that's what it's like for Dave tomorrow (his birthday!), if he decides to keep SHREDDING.

(see how affective the caps and italics are?)

Speaking of Dave's birthday, it's tomorrow. He's going to be 25. From now until January I'll only be two years older than him instead of three (yes!). Today I made Pâte Brisée, a fancy French term for pie dough, so that I could make David's favorite dessert, apple pie, from scratch. I also prepped the custard for homemade vanilla bean ice cream (his favorite flavor) and will be making that tomorrow as well. 

He's stoked.

We'll be going to Famous Dave's for dinner. He loves BBQ so that's where he wanted to go. I have no idea what I'm going to get, but that doesn't matter, it's his day and he can have whatever he wants.

So back to Jillian and how she's out for blood, particularly mine and Dave's. 

We decided to start this thing because I mention to Dave how I've seen a lot of before and after photos of people floating around who have done it and he decided he wanted to try it so I jumped all over that. 

The thing about this workout that's so effective is that, although it's only 20 minutes (the longest 20 minutes of your life), it combines strength, cardio and abs. There's a warm up, then 3 circuits of 3 minutes strength training, 2 minutes cardio, and 1 minute abs, then a cool down/stretch.

Example:

Circuit One, Strength: two different strength building exercises alternating for 3 mintues

Circuit One, Cardio: 30 seconds jumping jacks, 30 seconds jump rope, alternate for 2 minutes

Circuit One, Abs: 30 seconds crunches, 30 seconds reverse crunches

Circuit Two and Three are pretty much the same with different strength building exercises, different cardio and different abs. Oh, and did I mention there are absolutely no breaks? You jump right into the next move over and over again. I have almost zero seconds to sip water during the workout or wipe the pools of sweat from my eyes.

But when it's done I feel like a champion... well, maybe not, but someone on her way to becoming a champ running up steps in her sweats.

{Have you done the 30 Day Shred? If so, I'd love to hear all about your experience!}

So today I looked up motivational quotes and photos on Pinterest and this is what I found:

this is the move in circuit 3 that kills me. KILLS me!

I am rapidly falling head over heels for the woman.

A Very Hedonistic Twenty-Seventh

Okay I'm gonna brag a little bit. My husband is THE BEST.


He made my birthday yesterday extremely special. In fact, since I've known David, every birthday I've had have literally been the best birthday's of my life.


His boss let him get off work waaaaaaaay early so that we could spend the day at Disneyland and grub on In N Out (thanks Victor!!) and it ruled.


It was truly a hedonistic birthday, I must admit. I really went all out since today was to be my first official day as a Pescetarian/semi-vegan and I suppose I just wanted to enjoy it all. 


As soon as we got there, we stopped off at the Catal bar at Downtown Disney for a morning gin & tonic (I've never drank in the morning, it's so weird), then we spent the next few hours riding all of the rides we possibly could (both parks were really empty). We went on Space Mountain (I just realized that I wanted to see Captain EO again, but totally forgot. Major bummer!), Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror, Screamin',  and Soarin'. We enjoyed some beers at California Adventures and then walked around for a couple of hours until we got hungry and drove to In N Out where we FEASTED.


David got a 4 x 4 and fries, I got an animal style cheeseburger and animal style fries. It was so yummy. I savored it.


Then we went back to the parks and just walked around for a while. We went to the winery at California Adventures and did the wine tasting. The guy who did our tasting was pretty weird and kind of pretentious, but I enjoyed the wine a little too much apparently because when we were about to leave, I tried to shake the man's hand and he wouldn't reciprocate, which was super distracting to me and when I meant to say "Thank you", I accidentally said "Happy yoeeeeeaaah, uhhhh..." and walked away. I totally started to wish the guy a happy birthday! I totally pulled a Brian Regan ("Take luck!") on that one, but Dave and I couldn't stop laughing about it! Hey if you can't laugh at your own expense when you make an ass of yourself, then life is going to seem way too long.


We went back to the main park and rode a few more rides (the Teacups and, my favorite, Big Thunder Mountain), walked over to the Gibson Girl Ice Cream parlor and got a scoop each of my two favorite flavors: cookies n cream and rainbow sherbert. I have to admit that I haven't had real ice cream in a few years and I couldn't finish it. I didn't even get a third of the way through it. Not only was I still full from my feast, but the ice cream was waaay too creamy and rich. I'm used to frozen yogurts and sorbets. But of course Dave finished his two scoops of vanilla in a waffle cone.


Side note: Dave usually only eats vanilla. In fact, I think I've seen him get something other than vanilla once and that was on our honeymoon in Italy when I made him "live a little" by getting a different gelatto flavor and he wasn't happy with it.


So after the ice cream (which I was disappointed by), I took Dave to try his first beignet, which he LOVED. We shared two small ones and he ate the other. Wow, that's a ridiculous amount of food we consumed yesterday. Needless to say I went to bed and woke up with an unhappy tummy. Whatever, it was my birthday!


Then David let me pick something out from Sephora as a birthday gift. I got a pretty NARS eyeshadow duo in Cleo. Isn't my hubs incredible?!


We finished the night by watching (translation: falling asleep to) a Twilight Zone episode and cuddling with my boys (hubs and Bogie). It was a lovely day. Such a lovely day.


I got so many wonderful comments (via Facebook & Blogger), texts, calls and emails wishing me a happy birthday and I'm SO thankful for every single one of them!

{My birthday cake & dinner at Maggiano's with our families the night before}

{Our day at Disneyland begins...}

{The line is never only 10 minutes!}

{These guys sang me "Happy Birthday" in the middle of "Sweet Baby's Arms"!}

{That's my Amelia <3}

{I ran to get that color teacup}

{He really makes our teacup go fast}

{Ever since I can remember, my mom has had a fascination with Gibson Girls. 

She had pictures of them & Victorian paraphernalia, which fueled my love for the Victorian era.

Of course, I now share her fascination with these beauties}

{If you've never seen this show, do it. 

Lincoln is my favorite president and this show is powerful}

{Dave and I counted how many times the DLand employees wished me a happy birthday.

We think it's 19, haha}