life is good.

Ahhhhh....today was pretty much a fantastic and perfect birthday.

Although my day started out just a wee bit early (up at 4:30 to teach a 5:15 circuit class), I powered through like the birthday champ that I am.

Yeah, a birthday CHAMP - because I am cool like that.

I enjoyed breakfast with Nic before he headed off to work.

Sipped on coffee and read for a while on our new patio set.

Took at nap at 8:30AM. Because it is never too early to nap on your birthday!

And then the real fun began!

I headed up to Iowa City and...



...got an hour long massage at Zenders. It was lovely albeit not the best I've had, but you can't go wrong with a $35 massage (including tip) thanks to a nearly year old gift card.

...shopped around the Ped Mall, which very well could be one of my most favorite places to be. So many neat shops and a gazillion restaurants to dine at. It reminds me a lot of Uptown, MN. I like it.



...grabbed lunch with Diana at The Red Avocado. It was delicious. Diana was a little nervous to dine at an all vegan restaurant, but jumped in feet first and licked her plate clean. Diana is a wonderful friend and I am so glad we have been able to reconnect this past year. She gave me a card and had figured out that we've been friends for 15 years - doesn't that seem like a looooong time?

...went antiquing/shopping at a few gems of stores that Diana stumbled across a while ago.



...headed over to one of my most favorite places in Coralville - Running Wild, to have a gait analysis (get a gait analysis?). Walked out of there with a brand new shiny pair of shoes and a reflective vest to keep my old self safe of early morning runs.



...and then I went to a candy store. Well, it is my version of a candy store - New Pioneer Food Coop! Yep, second time in two days and third time in a week. I could seriously wander the isles for hours. I would love to work at New-Pi someday...I think they could use someone with 5+ year experience in the non-profit sector who is passionate about healthy living, don't you?!



After New-Pi, I made my way back to Washington (while snacking on a birthday chocolate chip cookie of course!) to sneak in a quick nap, power clean the house and get ready for the evening activities.

We went to our friends' house for a quick drink (and got to open a sweet birthday present - a bunch of food from New-Pi! My friends know my so well!), and with 10 minutes to spare, we hit up Hy-Vee for a wine tasting.

Fireside Winery was sampling eight of their wines, and Brad put up with our group as we sampled and re-sampled many of the wines.



Brad was fun - especially since we showed up so late and kept him in Washington for longer than he was probably planning on be there. We walked out with a few bottles of wine though, so I am sure he was okay with staying a few minutes late.



I've been up to Fireside twice. Both times for work and it has been awesome. We need to get up there again soon to enjoy some of the music they have on the weekends.

We invited everyone back to the house for an impromptu BBQ were copious amounts of cider, beer and whiskey were consumed.



And a bit of Pirates Booty as well.




Screen doors always seem to break when our friends come over...




The men powered through that bottle of Busmills' like champs!

And as if the house wasn't full enough, Nic's dad, sister and our nephew and niece showed up around 9:30 to visit for a few days.



Life is good.