"Belated Birthday Bash!"

Well, maybe it wasn't quite a "bash" but if you've read one of my blog posts before  you know I LOVE alliteration AND I love celebrating my birthday, even if it is a month later!  My friend, Liz (@moviemouse on twitter) had wanted to treat me to a birthday day.  Of course, life happens, and we decided on August 19, exactly one month after my real birthday!

We started with a 3 mile walk around Pacheco Valle, where we both live, and have been walking together for the last 9 years.  Pacheco Valle has a 1 mile sidewalk path that is a complete circle around the valle and sometimes we feel like hamsters walking around and around and around.  We both have decided that walking and talking is our favorite type of exercise!  We love talking about the beauty all around us and appreciating our wonderful lives.  We love focusing on thoughts that feel good and practicing our better feeling "stories."

After our walk we went to my friends garden to harvest tomatoes, basil, mint (used to make mojitos tonight), apples and flowers.  I love eating tomatoes right off the vine.  I tried to control myself from eating too many since our next stop (after showers) was to Toast Restaurant in Novato.  I love the food at Toast, especially their roasted beet and spinach salad with fresh goat cheese, red onions and balsamic dressing (I have them add avocado).

Liz had the Chinese Chicken Salad.  They were both so delicious.  When Patty, the manager, heard we were celebrating my birthday (even though it was a month late) she treated us to a dessert of our choice.  The salads are very large and I was so full but we decided on a citrus cake with fresh berries (blueberries & strawberries - my favorite berries) and whipped cream.  All I can say is WOW! We ate the whole thing!  Thank you Toast Restaurant for a wonderful belated birthday lunch and complimentary dessert.  (Did you know that Toast does not have a corkage fee when you bring your own wine).

Then we headed off to see the movie, "Eat Pray Love."  Liz had read the book (I had not) and we both had gone to see Elizabeth Gilbert talk a few months ago about her new upcoming book that takes over where "Eat Pray Love" left off.  We both enjoyed the movie very much!  It was the end of a wonderful belated birthday bash day!

Celebrating my belated birthday with my good friend always raises my FUNtelligence Quotient!