My Birthday Blog!

Whooo Hoooo!! It's my birthday today!!! Yahooo!! Bring out the cake!  Light the candles!! Let's get this party started!!

So, it's just after 9 am and I'm still in bed.  I have enjoyed the morning snuggling with my boy and lingering over a delightful breakfast in bed of crepes, nutella, and banana courtesy of my awesome husband. And now I'm sipping on a coffee as I blog about my birthday.  Life is good!

And I know most people over the age of  20 don't shout their birthdays on the roof tops for the world to hear.  As we get older the special day evolves from being a day to celebrate getting a year older to a day to dread getting a year older.  It's all about the age--the number.  And so as the numbers increase, our enthusiasm for the day starts to wane. It becomes a reminder that we are indeed getting older, and now it's official.  It reminds us that our bodies are less flexible, our skin a bit saggier. We become humble, mentioning the occasion to only a few, telling ourselves that we don't expect lavish gifts, or big 'to do's', because, after all, it's just another day.

So here's the deal.  I love birthdays, especially mine.  I tell my friends about the day, I tell my husband how I want to celebrate it.  In fact, I've already posted it on Facebook as a way to celebrate the big event. Am I getting older?  Sure, but I was yesterday too!   We all get a bit older each day, but who cares?  The alternative to not getting older is not being alive, and isn't that the whole point?  Isn't that what we're celebrating?  Being alive? Being born!  And frankly, I'm damn happy to have been born! Thanks Mom and Dad for getting 'busy' all those years ago and making a baby!  Thanks Mom, for giving birth to me!  I'm glad you did it!!

And I guess I see birthdays a bit differently.  Like I said, it's a day to celebrate life.  My life.  And as corny as that sounds, I think that it's very important to celebrate our own lives.  For one thing--they're awfully short in the whole scheme of things, they're precious, and we only get one.  We don't get 'do over's' so we need to be vigilant about making good use of the ones we have.  And given this, birthdays are a great reminder to celebrate not this one particular day, but to celebrate each and every day.  It's a reminder to introduce passion and joy into our spirits and souls and do a proverbial Whoooo Hoooo about our lives and the wonderful people in them!

One other reason I love birthdays is because of the presents.  Anyone who knows me knows, I love presents.  Every year on my birthday I ALWAYS buy myself a birthday present. I actually started my little custom years ago when I was single, but now hit has continued to where it's a fun part of my birthday.  Sure, I get presents from my family and friends, but I always take the time to buy myself one too. And I always make sure to buy something for myself that I wouldn't normally buy.  It has to be fun. Ya, this might sound a bit corny, or a tad materialistic, especially since I'm a bit older--because let's face it--a common belief out there is that presents are for kids. But here's the deal.  I think presents, whether they're birthday, Christmas, or Mother's Day presents are very very important.  They are a symbolic way of telling ourselves and our loved ones that we're important. We're special.  We're worth it.  They're a way of celebrating our loved ones, and showing how much we are valued.  And that, to me, is something that we need to do every single year. When we get into that mode of not buying presents because we're too old, or because Christmas is just for kids, or because we don't need anything--we stop celebrating ourselves and making ourselves 'worth it.'  We stop feeling the joy and excitement for the day and what it really symbolizes--which is a day to rejoice in life itself and the glory of being that wonderful YOU!

And yeah, I never think of my birthday as a day to remind myself that I'm getting older.  It's a day to look back on the past year and reflect on all the good things that have happened, and what I've accomplished.  It's a day to make plans for the next year and add a few new tasks to my bucket list. I'm quite proud of the fact that I wrote my first book this year, and have decided to officially start on a second.  I've had a story rumbling around in my head for some time now, and so this year I will make it a priority to get started on this next book.  I'm happy that I've become a Beachbody coach and am excited to see the results I've gotten from completing the Insanity program, and so this year I will be working hard to incorporate a lot more strength training into my regime to see where that takes me.

 Finally, I see my birthday as a day to feel thankful for all the blessings in my life, for which there are many, like my good health, my amazing family, and my wonderful friends.  I have been blessed in so many ways, and today is a day to take a minute to really savor all the love in my life.

And, so there you have it! That is why I LOVE Birthdays!!

And happy birthday to YOU!!  I know that there are many of you celebrating this month, and so I am sending you Happy Birthday Vibes your way!  May your day and year be filled with love and laughter and good health too!!

Happy Birthday cousin Robin!

Happy 18th Birthday to my good friend Quinn Hardie!

Happy Birthday to my former student Sarah Marten!

Happy Birthday to my good friend Angela Kimball!

Happy Birthday to my former student Alana Rutherford!

Happy Birthday to my good friend Tara Meikle!!

Happy Birthday cousin Kelly!

Happy Birthday cousin Ev!

Happy Birthday to my good friend Jacqueline Bissoon!

Happy Birthday to my former student Joey Dobson!

Happy Birthday to my good friend Laurissa Harkness!

Happy Birthday to my good friend Jesse Van Steelandt!

Happy Birthday to my good friend Jess Brown!

Happy Birthday to my former student Angela Worthman!

Happy Birthday to my good friend Cathy Rookes!

Happy Birthday to my good friend Nicole Gottert!!

Happy Birthday to my good friend Becca's daughter!

Happy Birthday to my good friend Jenn's son!!

Happy 50th Anniversary to my parents, Henry and Isabel Zarn!!!

And Happy Birthday to Jesus!!

If I've forgotten you, send me an email and we'll put your birthday here too!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US ALL!!