Birthday Dinner - numero uno

Yesterday was my birthday! I am 34. I usually don't care about age. I think aging is a beautiful thing! However, this one was a little bit harder for me to swallow! I'm fine with it today & I was yesterday, but the week or so leading up to my birthday? Well, it's just been a tough week, I guess. Going through some stuff! But I have realized how incredibly blessed I am when it comes to the people in my life! I have the sweetest husband, family on both sides who love me unconditionally, and TONS of TRUE friends! Not everyone can say that! So I am thankful. Very thankful indeed. :)

I had a very productive work day yesterday & was able to leave on time! (I was determined - it was my birthday, after all!). We decided to meet some good friends at Chimes East for my birthday. If you are ever in Louisiana & want to try some good Louisiana food, come to the Chimes in Baton Rouge. There are two locations & it's some GOOD Louisiana food (they have "normal" things too, don't worry! But lots of really good cajun food, too! It's a good place to try it out!). 

I got the Crawfish Etouffee (ay-too-fay). This is one of my favorite dishes. I got it last year on my birthday & I got it this year, too! Didn't have it in between though. And it's served over rice, something I'm not supposed to have. But hey! It's my birthday! (I will also be having pasta tonight. But only because I have been craving spaghetti for weeks! Just this weekend, I really do promise!). This was the best Crawfish Etouffee I have ever had. I told the waitress to tell the chef! Haha.

Crawfish Etouffee from Chimes East

Three of my theater friends came & I am so glad I got to hang out with them for a bit. 

 Emily, Davis & Robert

Two of our couple-friends that we know through church also came. Been friends with them for a long time!

Brad & Mel, Mike & Becca, Adam & Katie!

We waited forEVER for a table. (But it was worth it!) We had fun while waiting, though! Becca brought me a silly birthday crown. And yes. I put it on. I have no shame. 

I really appreciate that Davis didn't mind taking some pics. Not that I gave him a choice! (Haha...kidding!) He always gets good shots! This one is my favorite of the night. :)

He took these, too. Thanks, Davis!

 Kind of scary, I know. Haha! I love his face, though!

We had a great night! Afterwards we went to Barnes & Noble (just the two of us) & I got the book I've Got Your Number, by Sophie Kinsella. A birthday gift to me from my bestie Laura. She knew just what I needed! Thanks, Laura! 

Tonight: Birthday dinner with the family! 

Happy birthday to me! {& Dr. Seuss!}

Today is my birthday!! (Actually, I'm up wayyy past my bedtime... so it's March 3 now. My birthday - and Dr. Seuss' - is/was on March 2nd). :)

I am so thankful that today at work went well... I got a lot accomplished, didn't have any stressful or teary moments, and didn't get interrupted 409 times. This is a slight miracle & I think it's just because you HAVE to have a good day on your birthday. Even if all the other ones are crap. 

I share a birthday with some pretty cool people, ya know.

Like Jon Bon Jovi. Ha. :)

And Karen Carpenter

I just love her voice. This pic makes me a little sick though because of her anorexia. :( So sad.

Also born on March 2, is Bryce Dallas Howard!

I used to have to say, "You know...Ron Howard's daughter?". But now i say, "You know...the snotty one from The Help." :) She's a good actress. 

Oh, Hilly. 

OBVIOUSLY, i have a favorite. And that is... Dr. Seuss. I love sharing a birthday with him! So...here you go. :) 

I will tell you that my favorite Dr Seuss book is "If I Ran the Zoo". When I was a nanny, the little girl had a book of 5 or 6 Dr. Seuss stories & this was one of them. I read it every time i was there for awhile, until I had it memorized. I would like to give one of these away for my birthday. So leave a comment with your favorite Dr. Seuss story or quote & you are entered to win! Or just tell me your favorite children's book.

I know it's a children's book & some of you don't have children... but come on. Who doesn't love Dr. Seuss?! So go ahead & enter & I'll pick a winner on Tuesday evening. How about that?!

Places to go, people to see!

Initially, I was a bit worried about this weekend. It was one of those jam-packed with things-to-do, people-to-see, places-to-go - none that I was willing to give up! When i woke up feeling yuck on Sunday morning, I was even more worried, but it was all good! I felt a lot better after I got a long nap! I think we can assume that was just due to exhaustion!

So anyway... my weekend! It was a lot of fun!

{FRIDAY}

Friday night? Well, nothing. I came home, got in my PJ's & did the email/facebook/blogger/pinterest thing (it's my nightly routine, in that order). 

{SATURDAY}

Saturday was my mother-in-law's birthday! We went over there for breakfast. Jaimie cooked & everything was delicious! Fani was really excited to wear this hat to join the celebration. Ha!

Saturday afternoon I headed to Cheesecake Bistro for a daddy-daughter date! Okay, normally mom joins, but she had plans already! This was kinda last minute since my sister was in town. We had a good time together. (And no, i did NOT have cheesecake! Although I never do... I'm always way too full by then!)

This picture KILLS me... obviously Michelle & I should invest in some sunglasses - & my smile is a bit cheesy! I was laughing at something! Haha! But I still love it! :)

{SUNDAY}

Sunday I woke up feeling really bad. Got ready for church & at the last second decided not to go. I was just feeling terrible! I ended up napping from 11 to 1:30 - and maybe that's all I needed? I felt much better when I got up! I'm so glad, because I had some plans!

First, was Abby's gender reveal baby shower. So fun! 

So, Abby & Mac chose to do a gender reveal shower. Everything was decorated so cute! I voted boy & I was right! (I have realized that my guess is always right... the only times I've been wrong is when i changed my guess at the last minute - should have stuck with my gut! Haha! Obviously, it's a 50/50 chance, but it's still fun to take a guess!). Anyway, they already knew before the shower, they were just announcing to us. You can see in the bottom two small pictures that they're opening a box - i was a little late getting the shot of the balloons popping out, but you can see a stray blue balloon inside the box! :) There was lots of family there (they have a huge awesome family) finding out if they were having a grandson/nephew or a granddaughter/niece, so that was fun to watch too! 

The top pic of Abby & Mac is them holding a pic that says It's a Boy - perhaps i should have gotten a close up. Next to that is a pic of Abby & her oldest sister Aimie, who was my roommate for years & years & years until we finally both got husbands. Haha! I love her so much! And then the bottom left pic is of me & Abby. She is a doll! So happy for her & Mac. 

My weekend was amazing enough already, but I would have to say that the highlight of the whole thing was meeting Lindsey from A Dollop of my Life.

I was having a really hard time editing this one & finally just did black&white! We had almost NO lighting & it was with my cell phone! That's my story & I'm sticking to it! Haha!

So anyway... my next post may be about why it's so awesome to meet blog friends in real life, but I just have to tell you that i LOVED meeting Lindsey & I am wishing we lived a bit closer! She was so sweet & funny & easy to talk to. It was just comfortable hanging out with her & I can't wait to meet up with her again! We had a great time. Thanks for taking the time to meet up with me, Lindsey!

TGIF, y'all!

Thanks so much for all your sweet comments on my last post. I am so excited to finally have reached that 25 pounds lost mark. It took me FOREVER (as you know if you read my weightloss blog), but it has been SO worth it. I still have about four more "25 pounds lost" to go, but I'll get there! I'm not in a rush! 

But seriously. I did that collage on the spur of the moment a couple days ago, and i was overwhelmed by the response i got here and on facebook. Y'all made my day! 

Can't wait to do another set of pictures. May it not take so long this time! Ha!

So, what else is new?

This weekend, I will - 

1.) Have breakfast at the in-laws

2.) Celebrate my MIL's birthday. I just love her. She is wonderful.

3.) Have lunch with my sister & our daddy! Yay!

4.) Work "Queen of Bingo" at the Manship Theatre. This show is HILARIOUS.

5.) Go to church. :)

6.) Attend a Gender Reveal Baby Shower. 

7.) Meet blogger Lindsey for the first time! Yay!

And... that pretty much sums up my weekend!

A week from today is my birthday. :) What shall I do?!

About Lent - I decided to give up sweets. (P.S. I've never participated in Lent before. But I decided to this year.) So far, so good. Also, my favorite speaker, Angela Thomas, was talking on her facebook about how Lent is not just a time of giving UP, but of GIVING. Giving to others. I was trying to think of something I could give, when my friend Laura shared this idea with me. She might have known it'd be right up my alley! What I am doing is writing a note of encouragement to a different person each day for 40 days. I am SO excited to do this & have done it faithfully each day so far. I have always been a card-writer, but it's been awhile. Thanks for the idea, Laura! Everyday I talk with another person who is hurting and i am so excited to be the person to speak some encouragement & love into their life!

What are you doing this weekend?

Happy weekend to you!

Can you see a difference?

I hope so... I can! :)

Next time I'll take better "before" pics, so you can really tell see it! I actually have some somewhere, but I can't find them. So I just took some pics from my heaviest weight & some from today. Also, please forgive the blurry-ness. I promise, better pics next time! 

 25 pounds down!

I still have a lot to go... but it's a good start! :) 

If you ever want to follow along, I blog all about this journey on my weightloss blog, Little Mrs. Married is Maintaining Victory. :)

My week in pictures - #7

I just realized I forgot to do this last week! Oops! 

Monday, February 13th - A rose has bloomed by our trailer! Pretty! 

Tuesday, February 14th - Valentine's Day! Got these beautiful flowers from my man at work!

Wednesday, February 15th - Spontaneous dinner with my friend Tonya (& her sweet baby boy Ethan!)

Thursday, February 16th - How can you say no to a face like that?!

Friday, February 17th - My flowers are still looking good!

Saturday??? February 18th??? (I think!) - I got bored & made silly faces. :o) 

Saturday & Sunday, I did nothing but watch Downton Abbey! Such a good show! 

So there ya go! Just a bit behind. ;)

What I'm Lovin...

Just thought I'd share what I'm loving this week! :) 

{one} 

I'm loving that we were off yesterday for Mardi Gras! So today felt like Monday, but tomorrow is Thursday! How great is that?! Almost the weekend, again!

{two}

I'm loving that this weekend, I get to meet my blogger friend, Linds. :) 

{three} 

I'm loving that things have calmed down somewhat at my new job & i'm able to take the time to BREATHE & catch up on work that I should have gotten done when i was wayyyy too overwhelmed & stressed out! (I did get things done then. I just neglected other things due to not wanting to spend the night there! Ha!)

{four} 

I'm loving that a new gym has opened up in a good location for me that is ONLY 10 or 20 bucks a month! That is the greatest deal ever! Seriously. I say 10 or 20 b/c you can do 10/month to just workout or you can do 20/month to workout plus have a lot of other benefits (such as unlimited time in a massage chair, bring a friend for free everyday, or half off drinks). Both include unlimited personal training. Y'all. That is unheard of! This is Planet Fitness, in case you're wondering... do any of you have a Planet Fitness? Do you like it? I'm considering joining with that price that can't be beat! I mean, i spend $10 on lunch sometimes! I can save that & hit the gym each day after work! I've been missing Zumba & Bootcamp so much & it's always been good for me to workout on my way home. This would be a good alternative until we one day move in the same area as those classes i used to take! 

{five} 

I'm loving my husband. I mean, seriously. He is so funny & fun to be with & handsome & kind.

 

 (He looks so much like his cousin Chad in this picture, it's kind of freaking me out a little bit.)

{six}

I'm loving Aveda products! There are some definite perks to working there!

 I get the Smooth Infusion, because my hair has always been what I call "fluffy" & it's also always had little frizzies that annoy me... much better since using this product, I'm not even lying! And it smells sooo good!

{seven}

I'm loving that the "You Version" app on my phone has me reading the Bible daily. Sad that i needed a phone to help me with that, but hey, whatever works, right?

{eight}

I'm loving bloggers that are true to who they are & that don't have ads on their blogs! Like this one! (No offense if you have ads, it's just that it sometimes takes forever for your page to load & i also don't love ads popping up on the screen while I'm trying to start reading your blog! Just my preference! :))

{nine} 

I'm loving Laura's new series on Sugar. READ IT!

{ten}

I'm lovin this show. Downton Abbey. Except we're done watching now & Season 3 won't hit the US until this time next year. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? if you haven't seen Downton Abbey, you should start. Today. For real. 

 

John & Anna. {sigh!}

{eleven}

I'm loving everything you see on my Pinterest wish list board. And my birthday is next Friday. Just so ya know. ;) (I kid, i kid!)

Well, now. That was a very random list, wasn't it?! But there ya go. What I'm lovin today & everyday, lately! What are you lovin???