Ringing in A New Year

Today is my birthday. And let me caveat this post is being written while being under the blissful influence of two glasses of vino. (Considering I'm typically a one-glass girl, this is a big deal ... so yeah, I'm probably asking in advance for any crazy type-o's.)

I could not have designed a  more perfect day ...  I firmly believe that your birthday sets the tone for your year. And I have definitely had my share of good and bad. And it looks like the year that I designate as 35 is starting off on the right foot.

I started out this morning with D running our third 5K of the year:

It was a good run. I continue to improve on previous races. I have yet to run the thing straight through, but apparently according to D, when I run, I look like I'm just on a nice leisurely jog (translation: I could push myself a  lot harder.) That's probably true, but I also like the fact that I started out my day with a focus on my health with my partner. It was also great to run into a girlfriend who's birthday happens to be just before mine. She was also celebrating a milestone year. (P.S. she kicked my butt from a time standpoint, but I've got 7 more races a head of me :))

The second main part of my agenda was enjoying a massage. 90 minutes of bliss. There are few things better than getting a therapeutic massage after running a race. It was bliss, and I feel so much better having someone get out my aches for me.

I ended the evening having dinner with D at Restaurant Alma. Normally, I'm all about taking photos of my meals, but for some reason, it just didn't feel like the right thing to do tonight. But oh, what a meal. I started out with Bison Tartare. It made D a little squeamish ... but it was oh so very good. I love red meat. I am not ashamed of this ... and I will enjoy raw meat if I want to.

My second course was squash soup with pork belly and ginger. I twas like a collection fo all my favorite things tucked away into a bowl of heaven. It was soo darn good. My meal ended with duck and beets. The duck skin was so crisp and flavorful. Every morsel of dinner was so delectable. Unfortunately D and I were so full we had to pass on dessert. However, the waitress knew it was my birthday, and so she brought out a small scoop of sorbet with a birthday candle. It was so sweet. And it was blood orange sorbet. (Hello! How did she know that was my favorite fruit??)

It really was a magical day. I couldn't have asked for more. I am such a lucky, lucky lady to be surrounded by such love and joy.(Shout out to my in-laws who watched the boys in the morning, and my sis who watched them in the evening.)

Tomorrow is K's golden birthday. It will be a great way to end such a glorious weekend. He had his friend party on Friday ... laser tag, gifts, fun and joy. It was a great day for him. So tomorrow, he'll get to hang out with us and enjoy being another day older. I hope I can bestow upon him as great a day as I had.

Here's to the year ahead ... may everyone's year be as blessed!