Friday, February 6, 2015

5 Things Friday: The Birthday Edition

Happy Friday!  Yesterday was kind of a rough day for me at work so I am especially thankful that today is Friday and the weekend is here!  Plus, today is my birthday!  Here are 5 things that are on my mind that are mostly birthday-related!

1.  Today I turn 34.  My last 2 birthdays kind of sucked as 2 years ago I was down about my move to Charlotte and then last year I was down because I was living in Charlotte and wasn't sure how or when I'd find my way back home.  This year I get to celebrate with no doom and gloom surrounding me!  Woo hip!

2.  It's a little bit weird for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I am 34, mostly because my life looks so different from what I thought it would look like at this age.  But there are lots of aspects of my life that I never would have imagined like my trips to Paris, the marathons I've completed, and the friendships I've formed with people from all over the place so I am trying to focus on those aspects of my life versus the other milestones I haven't yet achieved.

3.  I'll be celebrating my birthday by going out to dinner with Phil at a Mexican restaurant I have been wanting to try.  I can't wait to celebrate with a margarita and some chips, salsa and tacos.  The celebration will continue tomorrow as Phil invited some of our friends over for ice cream sundaes and board games.  I love playing board games so much so this is the perfect way to celebrate my special day. 

4.  All I want for my birthday is a nice dumping of snow.  I know that people in the North East will probably shake their fist at me when they read that, but we barely have any snow...  I just bought cross country skis in January and gosh darn it, I'd like to use them on some real snow! We did get a couple of inches earlier this week so it's looking a bit more winter-like out there, but we could use a good 6+" snow fall!  I mean, if it's going to be cold, we might as well have snow on the ground!

5.  Lastly, on a non-birthday related note, we leave for Santa Barbara in 6 days and I am so excited!!  Even though I'm wishing for snow, I'm also excited to escape to warmer weather and sunshine!  We're in dire need of some vitamin D!  (Yes, I'm simultaneously wishing for snow and in need of sun)

What is your ideal way to celebrate your birthday?  I'm all about low key celebrations so wouldn't change a thing about the plans I have!

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday! Hope you enjoy YOUR day and all it brings ! :)

Caroline said...

Happy birthday!! Sounds like you have a great weekend planned :) I totally agree, if it's going to be freezing there better be snow! Although I'm pretty sure we have too much at the moment haha. Have a GREAT DAY!

Gracie said...

Happy birthday! How perfect it's a Friday. Enjoy your dinner and your board games tomorrow (I think that sounds fun, too, even more so if it were cards).

Becky said...

Happy Happy Birthday! I think tonight and tomorrow sound fabulous and I hope you have a great time and feel so loved and celebrated because you ARE! And hooray for this birthday having NO taint of Charlotte!

I'm all about the low-key celebrations too!

Jeanie said...

Happy Birthday, Dear Lisa! Three cheers! (Just wait till you're looking 64 in the face and 34 will have been a piece of cake emotionally!).

Sounds like my kind of birthday celebration -- dinner out with someone special, then another day celebrating with friends. I love board games, too and pair it with sundaes and you've got my vote! Have a wonderful time!

Emilie said...

1. Happy Birthday!! I am so glad you are in a much better place this year. Everyone deserves to have a fantastic day on their birthday!
2. I feel like that, too. Pete will be 35 next month and he's the last of his friends to still be unmarried and without kids. It all happens when it's supposed to. That's what I keep telling myself!
3. Mexican is my FAVORITE! And super easy to eat GF. Enjoy your margarita! I love board games as well.
4. Come to Connecticut and ski here!!! I would gladly send you all the snow in my backyard if I could!
5. Sunshine will be awesome. I'm counting down the days until my cruise in April!

Stephany said...

Happy birthday, Lisa! I am so glad this birthday is not overshadowed by Charlotte misery. You deserve all the happiness and I hope 34 is even better to you than 33 was.

I am TOTALLY about low-key birthday celebrations. Well, I say that, but I also generally like taking a weekend trip for my birthday, too. HA. But yes, your birthday plans sound FAB. Ice cream sundaes and board games? Sign me up! :)

Marlys said...

The year you were born was a mild winter with no snow but later that day a 3 day blizzard started and we were marooned in at the hospital with no visitors! The nurses really pampered us and I got lots of rest!
It sounds like you have a perfect birthday celebration planned! Have a great weekend!

Nora said...

Ice cream sundaes & board games? Sounds like a huge win to me! Ditto on the Mexican food. Hope you have a great time tonight & tomorrow and look forward to hearing all about it on Sunday! Happy, Happy Birthday!

missris said...

Happy happy birthday! I hope the snow delivers for your special day ;)

katielookingforward said...

Happy Birthday!!! I'm with you on the request for snow. I bought snow shoes in November and haven't used them yet. Not okay.

Amber said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I definitely prefer low-key birthday celebrations. Usually it will involve a private celebration with Eric, dinner or lunch with my mom and usually one or two friends will take me out for either lunch or dinner or I'll get a bunch of girlfriends together for a wine night or something. Nothing crazy and definitely more on the low key side is preferable to me. Your plans sound perfect! I hope you get completely spoiled and feel very loved today because you totally deserve it! xoxo

Anonymous said...

Happy happy happy happy birthday! You are great!

suki said...

happy birthday! :) i hit the big 3-4 this year as well, but later in the year. hopefully santa barbara will be beautiful when you visit!

Leigh said...

Happy birthday friend! I hope you've been having a wonderful day.

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Happy happy HAPPY Birthday! I can't believe that 1 year ago tonight we were having a video chat where you guys were staring at my wall because I was feeding Max and he used to take like an hour to eat. Lol. AND, you were in Charlotte! Crazy, it feels like you have been back in MN for so long (to me anyway)!

I'm glad you have a fun birthday celebration planned, and I can't wait to see your photos about your trip to CA. I seriously hate snow with a passion and would be more than happy to send our 3-4 feet of it (and more in the piles) over to you anytime you would like :)

Abby said...

I hope your birthday was fantastic!! I know that life is very different from what you expected, but you're right. Taking a different path in life, has warranted you to see and experience so many amazing things!

I agree with you on low key birthdays. I'm looking forward to this year's - Ryan has missed by past 2 birthdays! I've started a tradition of sharing my celebration with my friend Heather, and this year we are making a whole weekend of the events.

Santa Barbara is going to be amazing!!!

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

I hope you had an excellent birthday! Margaritas and board games sound like my kind of party!

Ah...snow... We are having the same issues over here. Our average yearly snowfall is something like 16 feet in the mountains, and this year I think that we have maybe gotten two or three max. It is not only bad for our winter sports, but it is going to be a hot and dry summer if this keeps up! We need a dumping of snow really badly!

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

I hope your trip to the Mexican restaurant was delicious and the margarita was amazing! I like going to my favorite bar and drinking with friends.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Happy belated birthday!! I hope you had a great time yesterday :-)

To answer your question about the beet mashed potatoes, they did have an nice earthy taste.

I like a low key celebration for my birthday, usually just dinner with Christopher.

Charis Faith said...

I'm so thankful you are celebrating your birthday in a wonderful way!!! I totally understand the concept, if it's cold there should be snow, if not it should be warm!!! I live in NC for a reason :) I'm excited for your Santa Barbara trip!!!

Shoshanah said...

I think a night of board games and ice cream would be a pretty perfect way to celebrate a birthday! Hope you had a very happy birthday and this year is so much better than the last!!

Lauren @ Sassy Molassy said...

Woohip! I hope you had a fantastic Birthday weekend, Lisa! I tried commenting on this from my phone on Fri, but it didn't work and I gave up. :/ Your celebration dinner sounds pretty nice and a fun night with friends! You definitely deserve a birthday just as you want it after a few years of less than ideal situations.

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

I think reflection around birthdays is fine, so long as we're able to balance the "not where I thought I'd be" stuff with the really wonderful stuff that's going on. You seem to be doing that well - and I hope you really internalize all the good in your life right now! Happy happy (again)!

J and A said...

Happy Birthday!!! I hope you had an awesome weekend! BEST year to come!

Elizabeth said...

Glad you had such a wonderful birthday! I hope the year ahead brings you so much happiness! You'll make those milestones---sometimes they just arrive at different points or in different ways. Sending so much love in your direction!

Linda said...

Happy birthday again! So glad you're happy with where you are this year vs. last couple of years.


The last few years birthday celebrations have been big but low key. Big in attendance where it becomes a logistical worry but low key meaning it didn't take much to organize. Last year I booked a thing a movie theater and had a cheap dinner of noodles. Or year before was a pot luck of ball shaped foods.