subscribe to receive my posts, special offers, recipes, and workouts.
≡ Menu

A Very Happy Birthday

Wow, where do I even start? I don’t think I have ever felt so loved on a birthday before. Thank you SO MUCH for your comments, facebook messages and tweets. I read every.single.one of the comments and loved hearing about your best birthdays! There were some common themes…

  • It’s fun to celebrate your birthday in Vegas.
  • Getting engaged on your birthday pretty much ensures it will be the best birthday ever.
  • Surprise parties are always a big hit!
  • Babies and children make birthdays special.
  • Pools, skating rinks and bowling alleys make for memorable childhood birthdays.

So much fun! Thank you for sharing! 😛

I had a wonderful birthday! I started it by honoring myself with an ashtanga practice. My body gave me the gift of a beautiful practice that felt amazing. I even did some second series backbending to really make it a special practice!

I worked on my birthday but my co-workers made it special.

I arrived to find a card and a cupcake on my desk. I had overnight oats for breakfast – oats, cinnamon, dried cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, chia seeds, raspberry Chobani and milk. Crofter’s and almond butter on top.

My co-workers treated me to sushi for lunch at Nikko.

We started with edamame as we discussed the truly crazy TLC show My Strange Addiction. Apparently there are people who are addicted to eating toilet paper and couch cushions. Whatttt????

Seaweed salad…which wasn’t so appetizing as I thought about eating foam!

Spicy tuna and bagel roll.

And then they surprised me with ice cream! Thank you to my fabulous co-workers for a fun birthday lunch.

I had to teach BodyPump after work. I was hoping to find a sub for my class but it didn’t work out. I didn’t mind having to teach because I love it. We celebrated my birthday with lots of extra pushups and hard work. My class loved me for it! They are definitely glad that birthday Jen only comes around once a year! 😉

This extreme cuteness came running out of the front door to greet me when I got home from teaching.

I mean, seriously? Instant birthday smiles. 😀

Brandon had cleaned the house and set out gifts and cards for me and bought a bottle of my favorite wine! So sweet! He told me I needed to be ready to leave for dinner in 45 minutes. Brandon had made reservations for us to finally try Customshop. I hopped in the shower and then proceeded to have a change of heart…I just was not feeling getting dressed up for a nice dinner. I ended up asking Brandon if we could reschedule Customshop for a weekend and just do something causal instead. I felt terrible but I wasn’t up for it.

We ended up on the patio at Mellow Mushroom.

We split a Lil’ Greek salad.

And a half and half pizza – Cosmic Karma for me (pesto, sundried tomatoes, feta, roma tomatoes) and the House Special for him.

Since Brandon was planning on taking me to Customshop he hadn’t done anything for dessert because he thought we would have it there. He felt so guilty about it but I was stuffed from pizza! We ended up ducking into Petit Philippe for a box of chocolates.

Petit Philippe is a relatively new wine/chocolate shop. This was our first time stopping in. There chocolates are beautiful and they offer all kinds of unique flavors. We selected a variety and brought them home. We each enjoyed a couple of chocolates as I opened gifts. I’ll post a gift roundup later this weekend.

Again, thank you so much for making my birthday special! I had a fabulous day!

And finally – the giveaway winner. Random.org says that’s #189!

Congratulations Christina! Send me an email at peanutbutterrunner (at) gmail (dot) com and we’ll coordinate everything!

{ 17 comments }

Recent Posts…

Breakfast + What I Bought at Trader Joe’s

Breakfast + What I Bought at Trader Joe’s

I am such a creature of habit when it comes to breakfast. 95% of the time I’m craving a breakfast that is on the sweet side. That mostly alternates between smoothies or yogurt bowls with overnight oats, chia pudding or oatmeal occasionally thrown in there. On the rare occasion I go savory – it’s scrambled [...]

{ 1 comment }
Life Lately: Summer So Far

Life Lately: Summer So Far

I want to bottle up this summer and make it last forever (well, maybe minus the wildly hot and humid weather that makes running a big thumbs down). I mentioned this in my last post…but I am really enjoying the slower pace and the days that feel like they have more space. While I’m trying [...]

{ 6 comments }
So Many Dinner Ideas

So Many Dinner Ideas

Happy Friday! I hope this post finds you well and enjoying the summer. We are in the dog days of it over here in Charlotte – the heat and humidity is off the charts – but it’s something I’ll embrace because I deeply appreciate the massive slow down that summer has brought. A lot of [...]

{ 4 comments }
Big Bear Peaks + Pines Race Recap (3-Day Stage Race, My First 50k)

Big Bear Peaks + Pines Race Recap (3-Day Stage Race, My First 50k)

I recently traveled to Big Bear Lake, California for the inaugural Big Bear Peaks + Pines three-day stage race hosted by TransRockies Running. This was my third TransRockies event in 12 months (see also Colorado + Moab) and I’m here to tell you that they can do no wrong when it comes to race organization [...]

{ 4 comments }
Reading, Watching, Listening (Spring 2026 Edition)

Reading, Watching, Listening (Spring 2026 Edition)

Happy weekend! Another week in the books! I got three runs in (6.5 miles, 5.5 miles, 5.5 miles) and I have a trail run planned for tomorrow. Total weekly mileage will end up around 30-35 miles depending on if I go for 13 or 17 tomorrow! I’m 16 weeks out from the Golden Ultra so [...]

{ 7 comments }
Life Lately: 8 Years Old, A New Piercing, Trail Training and More

Life Lately: 8 Years Old, A New Piercing, Trail Training and More

Happy Memorial Day Weekend. It’s a very rainy one here in Charlotte and while I am a little bummed not to be spending the weekend in Florida with the fam or by the pool at our swim club (just opened for the season!), I’m also welcoming a slower pace and time at home. It’s been [...]

{ 2 comments }
24 Things I’ve Made for Lunch Recently

24 Things I’ve Made for Lunch Recently

Hi and happy May! As we roll into the first full week of a new month, I have almost a month’s worth of lunch ideas for you. It’s a great mix of sandwiches, bowls, salads and wraps. I hope you enjoy and find some inspiration for your midday meal! Open-faced chickpea salad sandwich on toasted [...]

{ 4 comments }