Happy birthday to me!

As the title suggests, today is my birthday. Forty-flipping-eight. Would someone please explain how the heck that happened? I'm pretty sure it was just yesterday that I was at university!

I have a wee tradition. I take the day off on my birthday and just do what ever I want. Sometimes TMM can do it too, though he couldn't this year. I love getting to spend a sneaky day with him, midweek. It feels as if we're on the beak. But I enjoy a solitary day too, when I should be working, but I'm not, just out of self indulgence.

My indulgence at the moment is sitting in Cafe Nero, having a large black Americano (extra shot), some popcorn and a fizzy water. Boys oh! I know how to live it up!

I'm blogging and looking out the window, watching the world go by, feeling decadent and spoilt rotten. Even the weather has given me a present today. It's bright. Sunny and clear, crisp and cold. In short, perfect November weather.

And I will make an admission. I dug out a Christmas jumper. And yes, I'm wearing it. It might be a bit early for some, and I happily concede that point. But for me, my birthday is the tipping point, when I go into "Christmas Season mode." The jumper is a tad on the large side, but it still looks okay. And I've bought enough stuff recently. Even I, with a serious recent proclivity for over spending on new clothes (most of which, I need, in my defence)  genuinely can't justify anything more, especially something so transient as a Christmas jumper. But I feel a million dollars today, baggy jumper or not. And when I say spoilt rotten, I really am.

I'm a grown woman, Hell, I'm well in to middle age, and I adore my birthday. My sibs and Mum gave me my cards and pressies last Friday night, when we all met at Mum's for my birthday tea. It's been a real struggle not to open them before today. I get so impatient. But I wanted there to be something to open this morning, so I held off. I'm very proud of myself. I didn't open a single one!

I opened them at 6.30am. Yip! Like a kid at Christmas.

I went for a run at the usual time. I know I'm off work, but I thought that I would run early, then I could shower, have coffee, open pressies and go back to sleep on the settee in front of the telly, if I fancied it. I really wanted to run to earn the calories for going out for dinner tonight. TMM and I are going to the pub across the road (not a three minute walk away!) which has a great restaurant. The menu never changes, but it's consistently good. I figured I'll probably really treat myself tonight, and have the mixed grill, with chips, and sticky toffee pudding for afters. That's a lot of calories. I mean, a whole helluva lot! A six mile run won't come close to covering it, but it'll make a dent in earning it. So 6 miles/10k was my distance this morning, when I went out the door at 5.30am. It was cold and clear, no wind at all, which is very unusual by the sea these mornings. Full base layer, but no gloves or hat, so not too bad for a November run. I ran 5k, then decided to add my other regular 5k route, in order to earn more calories. And I do want to up my weekly distances gradually, so it's all good. I earned almost 800 cals in my one hour six minute run.

God! I am loving how fit I feel at the minute. Hitting a hill (Bangor, Co Down, is a hilly wee bugger of a town) and not nearly expiring at the top, is the best feeling! 

TMM, as I said, had to work today, but he came downstairs when I got in from my run, to give me my pressies. He knows me so well. He bought me a beautiful silk scarf, with sparkles, making it perfect for Christmas, and it can be worn as a sort of stole. He got me a poncho with a massive, thick ribbed, roll neck and fringing. It will look amazing with jeans. And a handbag. "A handbag?" as Lady Bracknell exclaimed. Yes, even though I need another handbag like I need another hole in my head, the man knows I love a handbag. Handbags and shoes. You can never get too fat to wear them, so I love 'em (Well, technically, you can get too fat for your shoes, though you need to gain a lot of weight!)

So, I'm very stylish today. But not only that. My gorgeous siblings might just have bought me...some DMs! Again, I needed a tenth (!!!) pair of DMs as much as I needed another handbag, but seriously? New DMs!!! These were a pair, a photo of which I'd posted on FB. They only went and bought them!

They're amazing! They're white! How the Hell am I, who am extremely hard on shoes, going to keep them clean? My first stop today, when I eventually got dressed, was to call to a shoe shop and buy some protection spray and some cleaner!

So it's official. I have the coolest sibs in the whole world. This year's pressie was DMs, last year, it was a tattoo :-)