1/4 of a CENTURY

JULY 20

On July 20th I turned a QUARTER OF A CENTURY!  Tuesday I was blessed to celebrate my 25th year of life.  There has been a lot of successes, mistakes, learning experiences and life-lessons in my 25 years but each has left me with something to build off in order to hopefully become a better "me."

Last Sunday my bff and roommate, Ali Trier, threw a SURPRISE birthday party for me at a local restaurant called Ingredient.  It was the perfect setting to socialize with family & friends while making a healthy and reasonable dinner choice that wouldn't throw me off track with calories.  There was an awesome turnout with 25 people showing up to wish me a Happy Birthday and support me in my healthy living.  Some were hesitant, but it was great seeing the more conscious food choices my family and friends were making such as salads, turkey burgers & salmon.

I am so thankful to have the support system that I have and even more thankful that they aren't just a "support system," they are amazing friends.  I had a great group of "work buddies" who came to celebrate and share the special day with me.

In addition to just gathering for a great time, everyone pitched in to purchase me a BODYBUGG for my birthday!  SUHWEET!  I now have an amazing calorie management system to help propel me on towards my goal weight.  YES, I still have to do the work, but it's amazing how wearing a calorie burn counter will motivate you to move more to increase your calorie OUT numbers and work on a daily deficit.  I'm addicted to checking where I am and how much I burn doing different activities throughout my day.

Several close friends from church did a great job keeping the secret Sunday morning when seeing me at church, full well knowing about the SURPRISE coming soon. I seriously love these girls (& guys) - I am so blessed to have the church family that I do.

My family (Mom, Dad & Sister) not only helped out with the bodybugg, but went in on a new myTouch slide cellphone and gave me money that will likely go towards the purchase of the bicycle I have not yet purchased.  They were in on the whole secret and helped pull it off.  I have one of the BEST families ever.  Seriously, I'm thankful to have parents who are still madly in love with each other after 21+ years of marriage and who have loved, nurtured and cared for my since the day I was born.  I've never been left hungry, without shelter or proper clothing - all of my needs were met and I was taught a great deal about life and how to be an independent, successful person in life.  My Gma, Aunts, cousins, SISTER...they all would be there for me if ever I needed anything and I love them more than words express.

The fun before my birthday didn't mean the end of celebrations though!  At work, we celebrated ON my actual birthday with a yummy veggie tray to replace the typical cake that is purchased for every birthday.  That was accompanied by various gifts to again support my healthy living.  A eco friendly water bottle, sweatband for workouts, body oil and body wash.  There is no hiding what I'm doing right now - everything surrounding my birthday was right in line with encouraging me to keep moving foward and losing weight and I LOVE IT!

Ali got me a sassy shirt that say "Shut up and Squat," so blunt, funny and appropriate.  She also bought me the dress I eyed a few months back and casually mentioned wanting to wear at goal.  Thanks to her, I now own that dress and have it hanging in my closet on the wall where I'll always see it and a reminder that I am going to reach my goal, it's not just a dream!

ALL IN ALL - I HAD A WONDERFUL 25th BIRTHDAY

...I'm excited to see what this year brings!

Verse of the Day:

Proverbs 22:2

"The rich and the poor have this one thing in common: the LORD is the maker of them all."