44 and Feelin' Fine

44. I guess I'm getting old.  It's my aching back that reminds me of that.  It hurts for no reason! Yeah, I literally have no idea why it hurts- I did nothing that I know of, there was no pop, no painful event, no new or strenuous activity. Just started gradually hurting, then would feel better, then would feel worse.  A painful mobility roller coaster of sorts.  GRRR! It's aging! I'm aging! (deep breathing. . . in . . .  and . . .  out . . .). 

ah.. thanks for letting me get that off my back ;)

I really didn't mean to start my birthday blogpost with a complaint session.  Let's dive into a happier space! I am so loved and I'm grateful to get to celebrate my birthday with my loved ones!  They kept asking me what I wanted to do the entire week previous.  I really couldn't think of anything.  I was just coming off of celebrating Christmas with Lily being home just barely.  

Well, when I awoke on my birthday it was clear to me what I wanted to do.  I was still in bed with Steve, just taking a lazy morning, then Amara and Lily came in and wished me a happy birthday. I told them my birthday plans of eating and thrifting, then grabbing snacks at the store and coming home for a movie together.  We watched the story of Alma Richards "Raise the Bar." Everyone was game, and the day went off without a hitch.  So much fun!  Great memories.  My favorites!

When I finally got up and walked out into the living room, it was decorated for my birthday amongst all the Christmas.  And Amara threw confetti on me.  :) I know one day I won't get a birthday confetti shower but I sure LOVE that she does that to me each year.

God also confetti'd the world... I woke up to some snow dusting the ground.  We haven't had much snow all winter.  I felt so special.  I love snow and I love God sending me that little treat.

At night, my loving family sang to me. I got an Italian Cream Bar Cake with Cream Cheese frosting from Walmart.

We ate at Plaza Mexicana in Vernal.  Lots of delicious food! When you start eating, you can tell it fills in the cracks.

Veggie enchiladas

Crispy rellenos and ground beef enchilada

soft chile rellenos

Love this place and love these crazy peeps

Thought we'd get another pic in front to include the red Dino and get the whole family in there.

When I woke up I had an idea to go thrifting and creating an upcycled gift to give each other.  Then Lily shared a fun date idea of buying an ugly shirt for each other and wearing them to the store. That idea resonated with me! So it was a plan! We assigned names to everyone and went thrifting at Neighborhood Thrift.  This little activity was fun.

Found a soda I actually like!  This one is so good!

We tried all kinds of fancier sodas.  Uhm.  I didn't like any except the culture POP.  I really hated the prickly pear.  It was so spicy it tasted like someone opened 5 bottles of various spices and dumped them in there.  The olipop tasted so artificial and candy-like instead of fruity.

Look at the gift Steve got me!  A new foot massager!

One Week Later...

My mom took me on a birthday date.  We went to Duchesne and ate Mexican food and went thrifting there!  It was awesome.  The place we went to was a cute cafe called Fely's.  I love places like that.  The food was delicious! 

We stopped by 2 thrift shops.  Amara bought me an insulated water bottle carrier which I love. 

2 mixed tacos and a chicken Gordita.  I love all the sauces.

My mom got Chile rellenos and rice and beans.

It came with fresh tortillas.  Amara gladly ate them.

Amara loves horchata and this place has the real deal.  Very good!

Things I've loved about my previous year:

~Going to the gym classes and getting stronger with my mom and Amara and even Steve sometimes.

~Early morning Monday P-day calls with my missionary daughter

~Learning/practicing chair yoga and mindfulness with Whitney

~Duo Lingo Portuguese... It's not that I love the daily practice, but I do love that I'm going after a hard goal.

~Retiring from our photography business

~Dropping teaching the academic classes (creative writing and geography) to make room for the other classes I really wanted to pursue teaching... Teams for Teens, Social dance, Folk and Line Dance, and Creative teen leadership. I love working with teens in this space.  It's my goal to have them experience love, caring, and seeing their value.

~Getting closer to my weight loss goals.

~Volunteering at Family Search Center

~My callings of Primary Music Leader and then after that Just Serve Assistant Coordinator with Steve.

~Daily Journaling and seeing God's love in this reflective time

~A beautiful garden

~Help from sister missionaries in my yard

~ Our landscaping rocks project finished

~ Our front porch lifted

~ Family reunions

~My first car camping trips to Whiterocks and Heber Valley

~I'm sure lots of other things I can't think of right now, but I truly am blessed.  God is good to us!