Oh my 

It was my Mom’s birthday today!!!  Yay!  Birthdays in our family are a big deal.  My Mom has always liked making a fuss for our birthdays.  We get early morning birthday greeting phone calls, presents and of course, there’s the food.  The birthday person gets to choose what special dinner dish they would like and usually gets taken out for a birthday lunch, also!  Mom is no exception, so we made sure that she got treated for her special day, too.

Since I knew it was going to be a big eating day, I wanted to go for a run in the morning.  That plan got thwarted due to some histrionics by little daughter about what to wear to school.  I am quite positive that I will be fully medicated when she hits the teen years.   The episode pushed me back time-wise, so I reluctantly ditched the run for errands instead. 

I made sure to have a good breakfast before I left.  A pumpkin oat bran muffin and Oikos caramel yogurt…

For lunch, Dad, Gram and I took Mom to one of her favorites – P.F.Chang’s.  We started with the lettuce wraps…

I made a small one…

Then shared the Cantonese Shrimp with Gram…

My portion with a little brown rice…

It was delicious!  I have never had this dish before.  I tend to order the same thing whenever I go there, but thanks to Lara at The Dining Detective, I decided to give this a try.  This may be my new “same thing”!

After lunch, I headed home to get the dinner prep under way.  But, something was nagging me. Nagging.  It was the exercise.  I felt the urge to do it.  Maybe even a little guilt pushing me to have to do it.  I glanced at my watch and realized even if I couldn’t run (can’t run on a full stomach!), I could fit in a walk.  I threw on my sneakers and around the neighborhood, I went for a nice 30 minute walk.  It wasn’t pumping, but it was something!

Then, I really got to making Mom’s special dinner (with Gram’s help, too!).  First on the list was her all-time favorite, Bucatini alla Amatriciana…

The main course was Grilled Lamb Chops …

Roasted Baby Yukon Potatoes with Rosemary and Olive Oil…

Green Salad (not pictured) and Roasted Asparagus…

We also had Gram’s Famous Chicken Cutlets for the daughters (of course) and crusty bread.

I had a little of it all……okay, maybe more than a little….

I was pretty full.  But, I really wanted to taste this…

I had a small slice and a few extra bites.  It was divine…

The crazy(and eating) continues with a jam-packed weekend…

Friday- lunch with a friend
Saturday – wedding
Sunday – all day Communion Retreat with little daughter (complete with Chick-fil-a, hot dogs and brownies galore)

All I can say is……… HELP!!!!!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Do you get upset when your exercise plans are disrupted?  Do you feel guilty if you can’t fit it in?