They Say It’s Your Birthday

Hey everyone!  Hope you all had a great weekend :)  I had a really nice birthday and relaxing weekend with the family!

My birthday started off with a 3 mile run in glorious weather, then a cup of fall – Pumpkin Spice coffee…

in my “meanie” mom cup :)

When it’s your birthday, you have to have cake for breakfast!  No?  Oh, it’s just my rule I guess!  I made a Chocolate Brownie Cake Yogurt bowl using plain yogurt, crumbled Lucky Chocolate Cake (tastes like a brownie!) and chopped walnuts.  Yum in a bowl…

Part of my birthday wishes for the day included a visit to our church to help organize and pack up Thanksgiving food baskets for needy families.  I asked the husband and daughters to participate with me and we got the job done in no time!  Along with other helpers, we packed up close to 60 boxes filled with canned goods, pasta, cornbread mixes, stuffing , juices and desserts…

I was pretty hungry when we got back, but didn’t want to eat a huge lunch knowing that much more “birthday food” was to come later.  I opted for turkey and cheese on a Pepperidge Farm Deli Flat and some carrots…

Later in the afternoon, we headed to my parents’ house for my birthday dinner.  Mom started us off with proscuitto wrapped breadsticks…

Shrimp cocktail…

I had both…

Then, the hot appetizers came out :  mini crabcakes, raspberry and brie in phyllo, lobster tarts and scallops wrapped in bacon.  I tried not to go too crazy and plated a few…

But, ended up digging in to those x2!

After that settled, we sat down at the beautifully set table…

and began with a first course of Rigatoni with Bolognese Sauce…

I don’t drink often, but decided to indulge in a little vino…

Are you full, yet?  I was, but wait, there’s more!!!

The main course was served family-style and included all my favorite dishes :  Veal Valdostana, broccoli with garlic, marinated portabella mushrooms, salad and crusty rolls.  I filled my plate with tastes of it all…

The veal was delicious…

I ate my piece, but left almost half of everything else because I was stuffed!  That and I needed to save room for CAKE!!!!

And my MIL’s famous Pumpkin Squares…

I had a half piece of both!

I opened gifts (Mom got me a fun new exercise gadget – I’ll display that tomorrow!) and we called it a night.  The husband rolled me out to the car like Violet from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory…

I need juicing immediately!

Have a great day, everyone :)

ONE GOOD THING:  I was able to get in a good run before the eating marathon!

Happy Birthday!

Saturday was the husband’s birthday!  His first gift was a beautiful day!  He really loves the outdoors, so it was nice that he got to enjoy most of his day outside.  I spent most of the morning inside getting things ready for his celebration dinner, but took a breakfast break to try something new… oats!  Well, it’s not really new to me, however, I’ve never been much of an oat fan, so it’s not a usual breakfast choice for me.  I’m always so inspired by other bloggers’ morning oats and various toppings, that I decided to give oats another chance.  I went with  Cranberry Chocolate Almond….

It was delish!  Of course, anything with dark chocolate would be!  I think what holds me back from oatmeal is the fact that it doesn’t really hold me over that long and the addition of lots of toppings also adds lots of calories.  But this mix did a good job and held me over pretty long which was a good thing because the husband had a “special” request for his birthday – flu shots!  I know that sounds like a strange request, but this has become a family tradition and a source of extreme fun for the husband and daughters due to the fact that I am scared of shots and get all screamy/giggley/weepy when I have to get one!  What makes it even more comical is that the husband and I usually go to a public venue (Target, Walgreens, Township bldg., etc.) to get our shots because it costs the same as the doctor’s office and easier since we don’t have to make it an appointment.  I usually make such a scene that the husband and daughters have been bringing a video cam to record my histrionics!  This year, I decided I would be stoic.  No freaking out.  I told the husband and daughters that this year there would be nothing to see.  They would be sorely disappointed. Yeeeaaah, riiiight was their response.  While the husband gave his pre-shot speech to the camera, I maintained my steely approach and told them to prepare to be bored.  I walked into the Walgreens, filled out the paperwork and sat in the waiting room, patiently and relaxed while waiting to be called.  We were called back to the pharmacy and the husband went first.  I made the mistake of looking at the GIANT needle, but quickly dismissed it and erased it from my memory because I AM NOT SCARED.  Nope.  Not one bit.  The husband ooooohhed and aaaaahed and winged and whined in an effort to try to break me, but I wasn’t budging.  Nope.  Calm, cool and collected.  That’s me.  Then, it was my turn.  The daughters set up, with cameras in hand, ready to record my behavior.  The technician began by asking me some questions…’did I have fever, diarrhea or vomit this morning’?  Yes, I told her.  Yes to all.  “Oh well, guess I can’t get the shot today” I said.  Unfortunately, she didn’t believe me and the husband and daughters outed me anyway, so out came the BIG, GIANT, MILE LONG needle and JAB…

Boooo!  Okay, it really didn’t hurt, but it’s just the whole anticipation of it all that gets me!  I did a much better job maintaining my composure this time and as I told the husband and daughters before we left…show’s over…nothing to see here!  They still thought my biting my lip and shaking was hilarious, though.  Warped, aren’t they?? 

The daughters took our picture outside after that torture was over…

By the time we got home, it was 1:30, so as I said, the oats did their job!  I knew we would be eating a lot later, so I made a mini turkey, cheese and spinach sammie on a piece of baguette with some carrots on the side…

I ate outside with hubs and soaked in the beautiful sunshine :)

Later, everyone came for the birthday celebration.  I started us off with a Hot Artichoke-Cheese Dip with toasted baguette…

I had about 3 of these…

After some yard bocce, it was on to dinner.  I made all the husband’s faves…

Ravioli…

Meatballs (regular and turkey- for the haters)

Salad…

Italian-style Squash…

Gram brought her Milanese Torte…

I tried to control my portions, but had a bit of everything…

also a half piece of the Milanese Torte and a few bites of foccaccia (not pictured).

The gang’s all here…

Later, we sang ‘happy birthday’ and dug into some cake and caramel apple pie…yeah, me too…

We finished with presents, a bonfire and board games.  It was a great day to celebrate my awesome husband!  He works so very hard that I’m so glad he got a chance to relax and enjoy all the things and people that he loves. 

ONE GOOD THING:  I have the best husband in the world!

Hope you all have a great day!

Question of the Day:  Do you get the flu shot?