Sur-prise, Sur-prise

I hope everyone had the merriest of Christmases!  My time at home was short but I had a great time with family and friends.  I definitely have to get my eating under control as I’ve been on and off the wagon since my birthday.  I really missed the gym, too.  I was gone for 2 days, which is totally normal, but it felt like longer.  The ONLY thing I cared about eating on Christmas was this baked brie.  Holy Toledo, it was worth it.  I made it with apricot preserves and Crescent roll dough.  If you’ve never had one of these, get your life together and make one.  It took about 15 minutes and 3 people to destroy it.  Ah-mazing!  Also, here's a photo of me passed out at like 3 p.m. from all the carbs I consumed.  Mom thought it was funny that Oliver and I were napping but he promptly awoke when she broke out her phone to get a pic.  His eyes are the reason mom called him devil dog for the first 3 years of his life.  Well, his eyes and the fact that he can be a jerk sometimes.  How cute am I in my lumberjack chic look?  #lumberjackchic is going to be trending one day so wear it and hashtag it!  Anyway…

#lumberjackchic

Remember a few posts ago when I said I wanted an honest-to-God surprise for my birthday?  Well, I got a few of them.  Technically, some of them weren’t necessarily for my birthday but they were definitely in the vicinity.  On the eve of my birthday, I saw a shooting star.  Well, I think it was actually a meteor as apparently showers are really common in the beginning of December.  Thank you, Google.  I was out walking Oliver on his last quest of the night and I glanced over my shoulder and saw this bright light shooting across the sky.  It took me a second or two to register but I closed my eyes and made a wish because you just never know.  The second thing that surprised me was the generosity of my friends.  I know I said I didn’t want my surprise to be a gift and I’m holding true to that.  I’m not surprised by the gifts but rather about the thoughtfulness and meaning behind them.  I believe I threatened to punch a few people over the enormity of their thoughtfulness.  The biggest surprise of all was finding that the truest of friendships will always shine through.  This year has been rough and I have definitely had a tribe of people behind me showing support.  Those same people are the ones that were there to celebrate my day.  Many helped me celebrate from afar but they were phone calls, text messages and cards filled with wishes.  As I get older, I realize that the quality over quantity mantra is so true.  I would much rather have 10 dimes than 100 pennies.  I want to thank all the dimes in my life for making my birthday so incredibly special.   Hugs!