Birthday Burgers

Ryan stepped up to the plate to make me one heck of a tasty birthday burger for dinner tonight.

Birthday Burger

I swear, that man is a machine when it comes to grilling. He gets it right every time!

Ryan made our burgers with lean ground beef, seasoned with garlic salt.

While the burgers were sizzlin’, I roasted zucchini in the oven.

Roasted Zucchini

The other day when I was talking to my friend Carrie on the phone, she asked me about my veggie roasting routine.

Here it is for you, in detail:

• Preheat oven to anywhere between 375 and 415 degrees (depending on your level of patience 😉 )
• Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread out veggie of choice on the cookie sheet
• Spray the veggies with cooking spray (or you may toss them in olive oil before spreading them out on the cookie sheet), and sprinkle with desired seasoning (I typically use garlic salt)
• Roast in the oven for approximately 20 – 25 minutes, flipping halfway through

And there you have it! It seems like almost any veggies tastes great when prepared this way!

My Plate

The burger was great and the roasted zucchini tasted almost buttery. Loved it!

Yummy

Check it Oooout

Presents + Dessert

No birthday would be complete without presents and a lil’ somethin’ sweet!

I came home from work to a kitchen table full of presents… all wrapped in Christmas paper.

Presents!

Apparently Ryan didn’t see the birthday wrapping paper in our storage closet. 😉

Merry Christmas... Errrr... Happy Birthday!

Me 'n' My Gifts

Ryan did a great job with all of my presents, as always. He’s a good gift-giver!

After presents, we headed out to Mochi for soft serve.

Birthday Soft Serve

I got a combination of strawberry shortcake, taro, chocolate and some white flavor I can’t remember. I added rainbow sprinkles, mini peanut butter cups, toffee bits and cheesecake bites to the mix as well for a little spice!

My 25th year is off to a great start!

Thank you to all of you for your thoughtful birthday wishes! You guys are the best. 😀

See ya in the mornin’!

Looking Back: My 24th Year

In my new-found old age, I think I’m becoming one smart food-combo  cookie, because this lunch was totally random and basically the jam!!!

I present to you, the ravioli sandwich!

Ravioli Sandwich

I made the sandwich by topping a toasted Arnold whole wheat sandwich thin with Laughing Cow light original Swiss cheese, spinach and two large ravioli poofs, which were leftover from last night’s dinner.

Laughing Cow

Ravioli Sandwich and Steamed Broccoli

On the side I also ate steamed broccoli, sprinkled with garlic salt, for some added nutrients.

Broc

For dessert, I had a small bowl of butterscotch chips and roasted peanuts.

Butterscotch Chips + Roasted Peanuts

Ryan and I also enjoyed this little combination after dinner last night. Ryan said it tastes like a peanut butter bar. It’s a winner!

Looking Back

I wanted to take a little trip down memory lane of my 24th year through pictures. I love birthdays but also always feel a little sad that another year is gone, so looking back over the fun times of the past year of my life helps make me smile!

I hope you enjoy this little flashback!

The Day After Our Engagement

My Mom, Me & My Sister Before Wicked

Celebrating My Friend Laurel's Birthday

On the Yellowbird (aka a Booze Cruise)

Before the UCF Bowl Game

With My Cousins, Celebrating My Grandma's 80th Birthday

'80s Formal Night on a Cruise with Our Friends

Boating with My Family, Ryan & Sadie

Me & My Dad, The Night of Our Engagement

With Ryan and Sadie After Sadie Won the Doggie Derby

Celebrating Sadie's Doggie Derby Win Downtown

Surprised By Our Families After Ryan's Proposal

Visiting High School Friends in Arizona

With My Sister at Her Sorority's Family Weekend

How does your birthday make you feel? Excited? Happy? Sad? A mix of emotions?

25 Random Questions

Thank you so much for all of your birthday wishes!!! 😀 You sure know how to make a girl smile.

25 Questions

Today I received an email with 25 random questions, which I thought I would share with you since it’s pretty appropriate for my 25th birthday!

• Where would you be able to spend hours and be happy? At home.
• What’s your favorite kind of doughnut? Glazed doughnut with chocolate frosting.
• Do you have any tattoos or piercings? Nope, none. Not even my ears.
• What is your favorite movie? Father of the Bride, The Little Mermaid or Christmas Vacation.

Father of the Bride

• Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? My dad.
• Are you still friends with the people you knew in middle school or high school? Yes! Four of my girlfriends from elementary school are going to be bridesmaids in my wedding.
• What is the last thing you ate? A red velvet cupcake made for my birthday by a coworker.
• What did you want to be when you grew up? A dolphin trainer, a weather girl, a news anchor and a teacher.
• Name three things that are close to you: My purse, my phone and a water bottle.
• What was your best subject in school? English.
• What is your favorite restaurant? Season’s 52.
• Any hidden talents? I can roll my stomach.
• What is your middle name? Elizabeth.
• What is your favorite website? Cookinglight.com, Health.com, FitSugar.com and healthy living blogs!
• How old were you when you had your first kiss? 14.
• Chocolate or vanilla? Is this even a question? Chocolate, puh-lease.
• What is your favorite girl’s name? Favorite boy’s name? For a girl, Reagan (but I can’t use it one day because it rhymes with Ryan’s last name 😦 ) and for a boy I like Caleb or Connor.
• Favorite store? J.Crew and Banana Republic.

J.Crew, I Love You

• Would you rather be a rock star or a famous athlete? Athlete. I’d be a tennis player for the cute outfits. 😉
• Favorite food? Ice cream.

Best Food in the World

• What are you wearing right now? Purple tank top, black skirt from Banana Republic, gold sandals and a long, gold necklace.
• What is your favorite animal? A dog.
• Did you graduate from college? With honors, baby!
• What does your last text message say? Ok, great! I’ll Google! But plan on us coming. 🙂 (From my friend, Minda about a BBQ we’re planning.)
• Do you have any nicknames? Jules, Juju and JB are the most common.

Now It’s Your Turn:

Three questions for you:

1. What is the last thing you ate?
2. Would you rather be a rock star or a famous athlete?
3. What is your favorite movie?

25

Exactly 25 years ago today, I was born!

My mom gave birth to a little red-headed baby and I actually had a natural mohawk for my first year on this planet!

Eventually my red hair turned blonde, but I still think it’s crazy that I was a little red-headed baby. 😀

Breakfast

My birthday started out on the perfect note.

How is a Peanut Butter Finger lover supposed to kick off her birthday?

With a peanut butter finger (or two), naturally!

Birthday Peanut Butter Finger

Nom, nom, nom.

Peanut butter was the star of my breakfast!

Peanut Butter Bagel

I topped a toasted sweet wheat Alternative Bagel with creamy peanut butter and a freshly sliced juicy pear.

On the side I munched on a small serving of roasted peanuts.

Birthday Breakfast

PB & P Bagelwich

It was a great birthday breakfast!

Workout

Today’s workout was all over the place!

I wanted to take Sadie for a run to test out my new Garmin now that I think I figured out how to get it to report my statistics in miles vs. kilometers, but I forgot to charge it!

Bummer.

Instead of a run, I hit the gym for quite the random cardio hodgepodge:

• 2 rounds of the At Home Cardio Blast workout
• 20 min. elliptical
• 10 min. run

Jessica’s At Home Cardio Blast workout is so entertaining! It’s perfect for those days where a typical cardio workout on the treadmill or a machine simply won’t do.

Age Old Question

In honor of my birthday, I figured I would turn the tables on you and ask you the age old question:

How old are YOU?