Things I've Accomplished Lately: Birthday Edition

So, it was my birthday this weekend. First, all the pretties:

Picked up a few things Saturday with some budgeted mad money from our tax refund. China Glaze gray crackle polish (I think it's called Crackled Concrete), a bottle of Philosophy shower gel (a free birthday gift from Sephora), Kiehl's grapefruit essential oil rollerball and Deborah Lippmann Glitter in the Air. This was my first DL polish purchase; they're $18 and I hadn't seen a color before that I thought was worth it. But this one I fell in love with at first swatch; lots of people online are disappointed in the sheerness but I think it's perfect. I'll be trying it out this week. 

My husband and I dropped B off at her auntie and grandmother's and had a wonderful evening out. We stayed at a hotel and he thought I was being my usual dorky self when I told the guy checking us in that we were celebrating my birthday. But then this turned up in our room: 

So this dork enjoyed champagne with her bubble bath. It was bliss! 

This was my birthday mani; Milani Gems over a coat of China Glaze White Cap: 

On my "work birthday," last Friday, I did a totally office-inappropriate manicure with OPI Katy Perry Teenage Dream: 

And I wore one of my most favorite things in the universe, a vintage sparkly cocktail ring that I've had for years: 

Had lunch with two of my favorite ladyfriends. It was a good day. 

Sunday we celebrated with my in-laws. My wonderful sister-in-law made me this gorgeous box with decoupaged sheet music from 1927: 

Now for the SRS BZNS. I just turned 38 and I feel like I'm in regeneration mode. Things are changing and I don't know exactly where I'll end up. One thing: I've lost six pounds in the last three weeks. And last week I tried two new classes at my gym: spinning and yoga, and I enjoyed them both immensely. I need to feel better and I need to work at feeling better, so I want to keep this up. And there are lots of things I want to do this year. At the start of 2011 I made a list, not of "resolutions" per se, but of things I want to do this year. Here's how far I got:  

1.     Make a quilt. Or something quilted. Start and complete a quilt project!

2.     Embroider tea/dish towels for people I love who are far away.

3.     Try going vegan. To see how it feels. To see if I can do it. [UPDATE: Tried this and did fairly well but my urge to succeed comes and goes. I do want to make more recipes from my many, many vegan cookbooks.]

4.     Get over my fear of running on a treadmill. The elliptical just isn’t cutting it and I’m never going to be a better runner if I don’t fucking run. And I think it’s more of a self-conscious nervousness than a fear and I CAN GET OVER IT!

5.     Do more thrifting. Buy more used things, especially clothes.

6.     Make my own lunch to bring to work the majority of the time. To keep from spending on restaurant food, save on calories and decrease the amount of junk going into my body. [UPDATE: This is working pretty well so far.]

7.     Read all the books currently sitting on my nightstand. [UPDATE: Slow start on this; am currently working my way through Wuthering Heights. Want to finish Women Food and God and the two parenting books I bought recently.]

8.     Have fewer retail experiences. I.e. stop using shopping to feel good. Find other outlets for expressing creativity, etc. Other than retail outlets, ha. [UPDATE: Er...still working on this one.]

9.     Create and stick to a budget.

10. Drink more water. Make water my default drink. [UPDATE: Have been doing well on this!]

So what does it all mean? Who knows. I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound.