It's my birthday....

....and I want to bring this as the ultimate birthday present today.

GO GOPHERS!!!

The fun from this weekend

Well, this weekend, the focus was on the birthday boy, who turned 40 on Friday. We ended up with a two day celebration to mark the big occasion. It was a lot of fun and had a blast. Here's some of the pictures from the weekend.

Happy 7th Angel Birthday!

Myspace Graphics- At Myspacejunks.com

Happy Birthday, Marianne! Mommy misses you! I love you!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

I miss you!

Pictures from this weekend's fun

Well, as I said on Sunday's post, I had a lot of fun on Saturday night during my pre-birthday all-girls outing. After an afternoon of shopping for the perfect outfit and supplies for the evening, I sat home and relaxed. While I was shopping, Josh and the guys were partying it at the Festival of Barrel-Aged Beer that was taking place at the Wrigleyville Goose Island. Their drinking started at around noon or so. Right as I was about to relax and get ready for my fun night at 6:30 pm, the door to the apartment unlocks and in comes Josh all drunk (DUH!) and visibly worn out. I asked him why he's not out with the guys. He goes on to tell me that he's "taking a siesta" before going out again. I continued to prepare for the night by drinking about 32 oz of water over the next 1 1/2 hours. I was well hydrated!

(FYI - there was NO going back out for him that night, which I knew once his head hit the bed and WAS OUT! I am no dummy!)

My friend, Justyna, picked me up at 8 PM with our friends, Kelly and Erika, already in the car. We headed to bar #1 on Broadway. (Unfortuately, I don't remember the name of the bar we went to first.) I had already eaten before I left and just had a Creamcicle (the drink!) while everyone ate their dinner. It was yummy! After everyone ate dinner and finished their drinks, we headed to bar #2, Hamilton's located near Devon and Broadway. They had some games on the TV - all that I was interested in. I had a couple of drinks along with my birthday shot of my choice - a Raspberry Kamikazes, which was the smallest I have ever had in a long time. I also drank 1/2 of the pitcher of water that they had on the table when I was drinking my alcoholic beverages.

After everyone was finished, we were off to Bar #3, Atmosphere located in Andersonville off of Clark Street for what I thought was seeing strippers (who happened to be gay). Instead of that, we only lasted for only 30 minutes to have one drink and show at this bar. (I am not even going to say anything about the show because it's not worth mentioning at all. Trust me!) I did not want to wait until 1 am to see the strip show. We had other bars to head to.

After our one drink, we head to bar #4 (and last one for the evening), Delilah's off of Diversey and Lincoln. We met with the remaining guys who did not leave (who happened to be staying with me and Josh.) I had my last drink before I said good night and took a taxi home with our out of town guests. I was greeted by Josh, who was tired and still hungover from the afternoon of drinking. I then went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of Urban Detox, which is the greatest hangover preventative EVER. I gave one bottle to each of our house guests and downed my bottle pretty quickly before going to bed at 2 am and sleeping very quickly.

When I woke up at 7 am (which I did not plan to do), Josh and I had a very unique conversation about whether our atomic alarm clocks had changed time or if they were still in DST mode. We ended up not being able to fall asleep and slowly getting ready to go out for brunch with our guests to help elevate our hangover. (Mine - non-existent; Josh - very much existent) We ended up having brunch at Charlie's off of Clark where we drowned our bodies with Bloody Mary's and fattening brunch fare.

After brunch, we headed back to the apartment and watched a movie on the couch before guests left one by one towards their own destinations. After I watched an exciting Vikings games (and we kicked some serious butt using our boy, Adrian Peterson), we headed off to the Loop to do some pre-trip VERY early Christmas shopping for my daughter at the American Girl store (something that someone with a big hangover would cringe, but not Josh!). The trip to the Loop was very short and headed back home to allow Josh to rest before going to bed since he still had to go to work the next morning.

Tomorrow's going to be a very fun day. I will have to get up early enough to get a workout in the morning before packing for our flight that's expected to take off late evening out of Chicago Midway (my favorite of the two airports - I don't care what everyone says!) where we will head off to Minneapolis for my official birthday weekend. Pictures will follow as the weekend progresses.

Day two of vacation

And I feel SO relaxed. I am enjoying this feeling. I have not felt this way in a while. It feels great!

I slept in again for another morning - not much, but still counts. Josh and I finished cleaning up our apartment for our guests. He's heading to his own guy's only party while tonight I will heading off to my girl's only birthday celebration. My birthday is only 5 days away.

As you see on my Traineo widget, I took off another 2 lbs and getting closer to my goal weight. I don't think I will make it before my birthday, but I will be close. I will be happy when I get there. I feel great with the less weight. I feel it when I am running. I feel lighter and faster. I feel sexy and toned. I love the way I look in my new clothes. Look out, H &M! Here I come!

I plan to get a little cardio in. Mostly walking, but will head to the gym for 30 minutes or so of high intensity cardio too.



Plus it's NaBloPoMo TIME!

Please also pray for Ryan Shay's family as they deal with their loss.

Firefly's on VACATION!

Yes, this gal is on 6 days of vacation. It started about 2 hours ago after working another 14 hour shift. I really deserve this break. It has been a week from FUCKING HELL at work. No exaggeration here...period! I plan to sleep in tommorow before going to the gym and Best Buy to get my stuff for my new iPod. I have a very fun weekend ahead. A pre-birthday party for ME with a few friends on Saturday night involving strip clubs, bars, and girlie girl stuff. A full blown party! A trip to MN leaving on Wednesday night - one night before my birthday.

I can not wait! This is going to be GREAT! Bring on the beer!

10K Race Report....and a great start to my birthday

First of all, I have give myself HUGE credit for having the strength to complete the 10K yesterday. I had a few things going against me (a painful inner ear infection and horrible work schedule to train), but I was able to overcome the odds.

When I woke up on Sunday, I totally freaked out because it was only 39 degrees. Oh SHIT! My thoughts went straight to my memories of P.F. Chang's this past January where it was really cold. I was SO scared to run this 10K, but there was no stopping me now. The night before the race I had a great carb load dinner consisting of pan fry-lite polenta in a basil pesto sauce (the store bought stuff!) I added the Vicodin that the ER doc at the hospital that I work at gave me for the ear infection (gotta love a great doc who gives the great drugs) and turned in MUCH earlier than I usually do - I was OUT like a light and slept GREAT until my alarm woke me up at 7 am (and my bladder at 3 am too).

Once I woke up, I got dressed and quickly ate a PB on a toasted bagel with a 20 oz bottle of Powerade for my pre-race meal. Then Josh and I walked in the cold to the corner of Argyle and Broadway to catch a cab to near Montrose Harbor where the Treat or Treat Trot started. Josh and I saw a lot of people in costumes. Some very funny costumes. Some very unique costumes. Some very odd ones too. We had to keep walking around in order to keep warm after we got my race chip from the officials. Some spots were ok. Any shade was a big no-no. Sun was where it was at.

Then it was time to assemble at the starting corral. Josh gave a few good luck kisses and told me that he would meet me along the course to be my rabbit for part of the race. Before I start get nervous, we were off.

During the first mile, I was a little bit tight in my calves because of the cold, but did not take long to warm up. Once I hit the 2nd mile, I saw Josh, who joined me up until we passed the golf course and hit the edge of the tennis course near mile 3.5. I kept a very comfortable and steady pace. I did not feel like I was struggling at all. By the time I made it to mile 4, I knew that I could finish and picked up the pace a little bit. I found Josh again just before I made it to mile 5 and he ran with me until the finish. There was a total of 4 water stops during the 10K, which I was very impressed about.

As I ran the last 0.2 mile, I pushed very, very hard and was encouraged at the end by a few of finishers to keep going until the end. The effort and efficient pacing paid off. I finished at 1:02:36. I was sad to not finish under 1 hour - just shy by 2 minutes - but very satisfied with the end result. I then made my way through the post-race food line. I grabbed some Gatorade, banana, and some Halloween candy (I deserved the Hershey's Dark Chocolate - HELL YEAH!). Then I found Josh and slowly made our way to the Athletico tent to get stretched very, very good.

Mile 1 - 10:09
Mile 2 - 10:10
Mile 3 - 10:07
Mile 4 - 10:03
Mile 5 - 10:03
Mile 6 - 9:42
0.2 Mile - 2:19

After getting stretched and sticking around for the raffle, we walked towards home and stopped for some yummy dim sum for a post-race treat. I was craving it so badly and knew that it was what I wanted after running a 10K. The food was great as always. After brunch, we walked home to clean up and then take a well-deserved nap. We ended up spending the rest of the evening on the couch relaxing since I was still slightly under the weather.

After a very rough day at work, I hit the gym to burn off some steam. When I came home, Josh told me that my birthday gift (my birthday is not until next Thursday!) arrived early and gave me the option to open it. At first I wanted to wait, but he insisted that I open it because it will come in handy for our upcoming trip back to MN. I then closed my eyes and held my hand out. Josh then hands a slightly medium sized box. I then open the card that came with the gift.

When I opened the card, it read: "To my darling Denise, here is something to help with your next round of marathon training. (Hint: It's not a knee strap or roll of kineso tape.) Love, Joshua." When I opened the box, I was shocked to see a beautiful red iPod nano inside. Josh then insisted that I flip the iPod over where he had inscribed a message on the back of it: "To my darling Denise. Love, Joshua."

I then became overwhelmed with emotion from the events that happened today and then the total surprise from Josh. A lot has changed since my last birthday and so very thankful for these positive changes in my life. I am looking forward to a wonderful birthday coming up. I am also looking forward to the upcoming vacation starting on Friday. It will be something that I will enjoy fully.

Pictures from Josh's birthday celebration

Well, bloggers, last night was a blast! For his birthday, I surprised with him a party at one of his favorite bars. He was totally surprised with the whole thing and had a great time. Some of the people who attended the party were Mike, Barb, Jason and Leah. The food was great. People bought Josh shots and he left the party at the end of the party full of booze (and had a pretty good hangover this morning). I had to hold this surprise party a secret for 1 1/2 month, which drove me NUTS during the last two weeks. I am so glad that everything worked out at the end. I wanted him to remember his last birthday in his 30's before he turns 40 next year (which will be an AWESOME party in Las Vegas! Whooohooo!)

Now he's putting the focus on MY birthday in two weeks from today. I can not wait!

Here's some pictures from the party:

It's SOMEONE'S BIRTHDAY.....

......and it's my sweetheart, Josh. He turns 39 today. I have something special planned tonight and need to MUM's the word for now. Please post a birthday wish for Josh. I will make sure to forward everyone of them to him.

Happy Birthday, Brandon!!

Yes, it's my oldest son's birthday and turns 10. OMG! He's making me feel so old. These are pictures of him when he was 8 months old. I have a very interesting story of how he came into this world via c-section. Very funny now, but wasn't so funny at the time. It will leave it as something that will be told when he starts bringing his first girlfriend home to meet me. He has made me a very proud mom by being a very good student. He's a very smart kid, but still learning to put his smarts into good use. He's getting a huge gift today because all of local schools closed down for a second day. He was playing in it yesterday. I still have to go to work today, but getting paid DOUBLE TIME to just showing up. I hate to drive in it today, but hopefully the roads will be much better by the time I leave for work. It took me a hour to get home with only one road cleared of snow. Oh well! P.S. Send some positive vibes around 1 PM for Josh. It's his big day and will hopefully bring MORE good news for us and add on top of my good stuff.

To my angel

This post is decided today to my middle daughter, Marianne. She would have turned 6 years old today and the exact day of the week when I lost her too, but she's always in my heart. I refer her as my "angel daughter". She was born stillborn, but I always had a lot of hope for her. She died from a genetic abnormality caused Turner's Syndrome. She struggled during the pregnancy physically, but remained strong. I finally had to let her go after the last ultrasound at 20 weeks when she was getting weaker and weaker. I went through a lot of problems when delivering too and refer it as a time where I sacrificed myself physically to deliver her in a proper and respectful way. I also refer the time as when I felt like I was in the movie, "The Exorist."

It was the first time that I had to learn to let go and let God take control of the situation. She gives me the strength that I need to get through tough situations. When my dad passed away, My main comfort was that my daughter would greet him when he arrived in heaven after he bypassed all of the other great-grandparents who would tending to her.....or fighting over holding her. It is something that I do not normally talk about, but feel comfortable to talk about it here. Beside Josh giving me strength during this time, I have relied on the strength of my dad and daughter through prayers.

Here's a poem that I wrote in her memory:

Beautiful child Full of grace Pure innocence In a higher place. Oh, what do I see? Oh, yes! That is a part of me. Full of my love A higher power took your away And brought you home. Up to the heaven’s gates Far from where you roam Free from suffering Free from pain. Now full of spirit and love With a hope of seeing you once again You are my angel Up in heaven above You are always there with me Filling my heart with your love Life is so precious Cannot be taken for granted Like a flower It is planted. Your love has given me The greatest gift I know. Something that I cannot take back I just watch it grow My little innocent My little child Warm, tender and mild Wrapped with love Watching me from above

I love you, my little angel!

Chicago Trip - 1 more work day! Almost a sigh of relief!

It's my birthday....and I can bitch if I want to.

Yes, it's my birthday. I will not say how old I am. I will make all of you RFB member guess. (Note to anyone on MySpace: NO CHEATING!) Well, I woke up at 9:45 this morning after being up until 2:45 to watch election returns and got ready for a nice run. Well, I was trying to get out right away, but was sidetracked by a few people. Plus I received alot of birthday wishes so I wanted to read them all. I was not able to get out for a run until 1 PM. I was able to keep with the fuel until I was able to get out. I decided to keep up with yesterday's plan and run around Lake Harriet again. It was a VERY beautiful day. The last one until next Spring. Oh pooh. I wanted to make sure I got outside and enjoyed it. I stretched out a little bit before I started running. When I reached 0.5 mile, I started to get the side stitches. I was not going to let slow me down. But around mile 1.5, I started to lose steam. OH NO! I told myself mentally that I will finish the run. I continued to focus on the pavillion as my finishing point. I held on mentally to keep running saying, "I can do it! I can do it!" Well, I did that and it helped. I finished my run and doing much faster. After the run, I quickly fueled up in the car and started heading to Jamba Juice for a good smoothie. Then I headed off for some errands before heading home. When I reached home, I quickly showered and got ready for dinner with my in-laws. Dinner was yummy. I had grilled salmon at Timber Lodge Steakhouse with some wild rice on the side. After dinner, I headed to the in-laws for some apple crisp. I received a gift of some money from the in-laws, which will be used for new running shoes. But, sadly I did not receive anything from my husband. :`( I know that we had some times where we short of money after lost his good paying job to stupid managers. But I thought I would receive something since he worked his way to higher position in the last year along with a raise too. But nothing. I was hoping to be surprised with some concert tickets for Bob Segar, which is SOLD OUT here in Minneapolis. **sigh** I have gone through a few years of no Christmas gifts because of the lack of money. I was wrong. I do not want to dwell on it, but it's hard not to. I love him, but it just hurts. Well, I need to head to bed because I have an early morning class at work. I have a 3 hour break before heading back to work again. I also plan to use the day as a rest day before doing either cross-training or running on the treadmill for 3 miles. Today's workout 2.79 mile - run 26:59 9:40/mile - HOLY double SHIT!