Birthday Bliss

A familiar theme of mine is to pamper yourself whenever possible.  Life is hard; life is short; you deserve it!

With that said, last week was my birthday.  And I decided that another rule of mine is to NOT work on my birthday.  So I took the day off and filled it with some of my favorite things!

I started the day off with a massage.  As I have talked about numerous times before, for me, there is no greater relaxation than a massage.  It is the ultimate escape for an anxious stress freak, such as myself.

Thank you, Alison, for my perfect massage on my birthday!

Hubby sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers:

Thank you, hubby, for my flowers.  I love them!

And a homemade bouquet from daughter B:

Thank you, my creative daughter!  I love it!

Next up was a shopping trip to Barnes and Noble with my three daughters.  They have a love of reading which they picked up from their grandmother and me.  I love the escape that books offer.  And my one daughter is absolutely addicted to books; she would be happy if she could read all day, every day, and not have to do anything else.

Here we are at Barnes and Noble.  I absolutely love this bookstore, not only for all of their books, but also for all of the inspirational gift items.  I am a lover of quotes, and Barnes and Noble has many, amazing quotes printed on magnets, plaques, and bookmarks.  *sigh*

My favorite genre - Romance, of course!

My youngest enjoying the children's section.

My older two checking out some games (my book lover already has 4 books picked out).

Next on the agenda was dinner with my mom, followed by dessert at a yogurt place.  After pigging out for two hours, we finally headed home at 8:30 pm.  Unexpectedly, my two neighbors were there waiting for us with cupcakes and ice cream!  And yes, we all proceeded to have a second dessert...it was a celebration after all!

Delicious gluten free cupcakes from Trader Joe's!

Officially Another Year Older,
Me

Motivational Moment:

Today's moment is one of Life’s Little LaughablesTM:

The following conversation occurred the day after my birthday with a friend from work:

Me: I strongly believe in spoiling yourself on your birthday and doing something you enjoy.  What is that saying ...?

Her (excitedly yelling as if she were on a game show): KICK THE BUCKET?!!

Me: NO! That is NOT what I was thinking.  I do NOT want to "Kick the Bucket", particularly ON my birthday.  I was thinking more along the lines of "Seize the Day" and checking things off of my bucket list on my birthday.  But thank you VERY much for your suggestion.


Make it a point to pamper yourself whenever you can, even it is something small and quick, like sharing a laugh with a friend. And always take care of you.

Peace and Love,
SG

A Beautiful Day

Today ended up being my perfect kind of day. (I love it when days end up exceeding expectations...I think the key here, is that I really didn't have any expectations...or big plans.)  The 4th of July is definitely becoming my favorite holiday.  A day off from work.  Leisurely hanging with the family.  Weather was mild and pleasant: temperatures in the 70s, beautiful sunshine, light breeze, gorgeous sky.  My idea of perfect weather.

 
I live in a small town that has a 4th of July parade in the morning followed by a festival in town. Then we go back home and just relax for the middle part of the day.  We have the parents over for dinner (grilled hamburgers and hot dogs) and then we end our day with fireworks.

There was a beautiful sunset...

and an awesome fireworks display.

Enjoying the Moment,
Me

Motivational Moment:

Life is what happens in between our plans.  May you enjoy your downtime.