Bumped Up Birthday Dinner

Though my 25th birthday is actually on Tuesday, we bumped up my family birthday dinner to tonight!

Presents and cake a few days early? Sounds good to me!

Birthday Girl

My mom still busts out a birthday crown, birthday pins and decorations every time my sister and I come home to celebrate our big day.

We also get to pick a special homemade dinner and cake of our choice.

This year I said I wanted a “seafood feast” followed by red velvet cake.

Ask and you shall receive…

Jumbo Shrimp

Corn on the Cob

Along with jumbo shrimp, my mom also bought crab legs, clams and mussels, but we’re saving those for tomorrow… Birthday Dinner Part II! 😀 

I filled up my plate with jumbo shrimp, corn on the cob and roasted brussels sprouts.

All Done

After dinner it was time for cake and presents!

I couldn’t wait to dig into the homemade red velvet cake with homemade icing.

My mom knows me so well and actually had two little bowls of icing waiting for me when I arrived home so I didn’t have to wait until after dinner to enjoy a little taste. 🙂

Icing Samples

Luckily, I got to enjoy the real deal in all its glory!

My Fabulous Mama, the Cake Baker

The candles on my cake were really neat! The flame from the candles matched the color of the candles, so the blue candles had blue flames, the red candles had red flames, etc. Fun, huh?

My mom managed to cram 25 candles on my cake and I somehow blew them all out on my first try!

Make a Wish!

Red Velvet Cake

I had three slices of the cake. Hooray for birthdays!

Slice Numero Uno

While we were eating cake, I opened my wonderful gifts.

Among the goodies were clothes from Banana Republic and J.Crew, glass Tupperware (I got it! 😉 ), new placemats and napkins from Pier 1, a necklace, food and… the big ticket item…

Garmin Forerunner

I am so excited about this gift! It will be perfect as I start my half marathon training in June. Thank you to my wonderful parents!

I’m off to spend more time with the fam, Ryan and Sadie before hittin’ the hay.

See ya in the mornin’!

Goodness, Gracious, Great Bowls of Chocolate!

“Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!”

Love that song and love that scene in Top Gun! Goose warms my heart. 😉

Today’s lunch was a great bowl o’ chocolate, in the form of brownie batter hot cereal.

Coco-Tastic

Into the mix went:

• 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 scoop All the Whey chocolate peanut butter cup protein powder
• 1/2 serving Flax-Z-Snax chocolate cream hot cereal
• Water

Flax-Z-Snax Chocolate Cream Hot Cereal

After nukin’ it up for about a minute and a half (and stirring regularly), I had one heck of a rich and chocolatey lunch.

Brownie Batter in a Bowl

This concoction seriously reminds me of brownie batter. Love it.

Speaking of sweet treats, I see a trip to Mochi for some frozen yogurt in my near future… It’s becoming a bit of a Friday staple, I think.

Weekend Plans

Another weekend is upon us (Hooray!) and I can’t wait to get the fun started!

My plans include:

Friday:

• Drive to St. Pete with Ryan and Sadie for dinner with my parents

Saturday

• Spend all day on the boat!!!
• Meet with potential wedding DJ
• Birthday dinner with my family (My actual birthday is on Tuesday)
• Eat my mom’s homemade red velvet cake with the best cream cheese frosting EVERRRR

Sunday

• Meet with potential wedding officiant
• Drive back to Orlando
• Surprise birthday dinner with Ryan

What are YOU most looking forward to this weekend???

I am so excited to get out on the boat! I can’t wait to have some fun in the sun!

Of Possible Interest

• Become a Faster Runner in 6 Weeks
• 6 Eating Rules for Faster Weight Loss
• Exercises for a Better Butt

Kinda Like Starbucks

Sadie says, “Happy Friday!”

"Hi Guys!"

I love my dog. She makes me happy. 🙂

Workout

As tempted as I was to take a BodyPump class this morning, I stuck with my guns and did my own total-body weights routine. My muscles need some shockin’ since I’ve been in the same routine for a while now.

After a quick 25-minute warm up on the elliptical, I hit the weight room for the following workout:

Total Body Weights

Those step ups got my heart pounding!

Breakfast

After the gym, I took Sadie on a quick walk before making a yummy breakfast smoothie.

I love Starbucks Frappuccinos and was determined to create my own this morning.

I made myself a banana mocha frappuccino by blending the following:

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1.5 Nescafe instant coffee packets
• 5 ice cubes
• Cold water
• Approximately 2 tsp. xanthan gum

Instant Coffee

Blended

Banana Mocha Frappuccino

The mix was thick and creamy and had a nice little kick to it from the instant coffee.

After filling up my tumbler to the brim, I still had quite a bit leftover and tilted the ol’ blender back to get the rest.

Filled Up

To the Brim

Chug, Chug

Yummmmmy

My mock-Frappuccino was quite tasty and had a lot more protein than the Starbucks version to keep me full until snacktime. Score!

Do you like coffee drinks? Any favorites?

My favorite coffee drink is the Starbucks light mocha Frappuccino or the light pumpkin spice Frappuccino (which I reviewed here). Both are phenomenal!