Birthday

My workouts have really fallen off the rails for the last two weeks. One massive contributing factor is my birthday. I like to spread the celebration of the anniversary of my birth about as thinly as Vegemite: a cracker here and there until the knife is scraping the sides of an empty jar.

There was a delightful weekend away with my paramour during which we sampled cheesy lasagna, eggy breakfasts, tapas and red wines. We sampled these delights in establishments within a two-block radius which completely eliminated the need for walking. There were brownies enjoyed with a colleague one boring afternoon at the office. Then there was a pub dinner with friends where we ordered meals assembled from diverse but ultimately calorific ingredients, like the white bean dip that was decorated with turnip dices and sour cream, and served with a bowl of fried homemade tortillas. We consume more calories with friends because of subtle peer pressure or encouragement, depending on how you see it, plus we're happy to be with people we don't see often enough. Either way, we want to keep the party going with "meal stretchers" like appetizers and desserts, which keep us bound at the table for more togetherness. This applies to dinner parties or restaurant meals.

So, it looks like my birthday is not just the deciding factor, but the only one in my workout schedule being so empty over the last 10 days or so! I go through this string of celebrations every year, but only once, and I derive so much contentedness from it that I can't imagine striking it from my life. It's an excuse to socialize, see my dear friends, and enjoy romantic time-outs with my sweetie. Healthy practices all.

I need to just go with it. :-)