Can we go back to yesterday so I can relive it five bajillion times? Pretty please with a cherry on top? As I mentioned in my post last night, Peter had a day planned out to celebrate my birthday together. And he met my two requests for my birthday – not having to think/worry about anything and feeling pampered/doted on – with flying colors. It was truly a perfect day for me.

You already know that yesterday started with a 9.5 mile long run followed with a cereal breakfast on our back deck. What I didn’t tell you was that I came home to a strangely serene and relaxing environment. Normally, I walk in the door and immediately have a toddler tugging on my leg and a bobbling baby scooting around getting into all sorts of trouble. Normally, I have about point two seconds to devour food, grab an ice bath, and attempt to stretch/foam roll as I get treated like a jungle gym.

Yesterday? Yesterday I was able to come home, leisurely eat my breakfast in peace, and take my time doing whatever I darn well pleased. While out on my run, Peter had taken the kids to his moms for them to spend the day and night with her. Suh-weet! I can’t even tell you how long it’s been since I could have a chill morning like that!

And apparently…on the way home from dropping off the kids, he picked up a little something something for me.

A Pistachio Mango donut from the only place I will ever eat a donut – Dutch Monkey Donuts. Dutch Monkey is a family owned shop churning out gourmet, high quality donuts made from scratch every day. Their menu changes daily and Peter discovered this gem for the first time.

We only go maybe once every few months, so this was quite the little surprise. Nothing big, but a special little touch to get the day started. And I love that he knows me so well to pick a mango donut over the chocolate crème pie he chose for himself. You know how else he knows me so well? While I was out he also tweaked a few things to my new menu for the blog (have you checked it out yet?) to make it look better. Sweets and blogging. I knew I married this man for a reason.  

Once early afternoon rolled around, Peter told me we had to get ourselves out the door. We had somewhere to be. Just where exactly?

Let the day of no worries, relaxing fun continue! I think he could sense I needed a physical and mental break. What better way to do that than sitting for 2.5 hours in a cool theatre, getting lost in a great story?

And while no movie ever compares to its book counterpart, I loved The Help and thought the directors/producers did a wonderful job recreating the book, developing the characters, and grabbing the essence of the stories. Much enjoyed!

After that, Peter said we had to go drop off something at his mom’s house that he forgot for the kids. Braedon just may need more than two diapers to get through the day after all. I told him I didn’t mind the pit stop and would love to see them for a few minutes. Well, little did I know it was all a ploy because before getting to his mom’s house Peter dropped me off somewhere else.

Why….hello, lover! A massage! A massage! A massage!!!!! And not just any massage. Some sort of body melt treatment that would include an hour massage plus reflexology treatment and a glass of champagne. I gave Peter a big kiss and giddily bounced my way into the salon’s main entrance.

Then plopped right on down with my champagne while waiting for Javier to come get me.

Yes, Javier. I about died laughing because not only did he have a stereotypical guy masseuse name but he looked the part to a tee too. Ha!

The massage itself went wonderfully. At first it felt a little weird having a guy massage me, since it was the first time. And it took a bit to quiet my mind – I have problems with that and it had hit me I wouldn’t be seeing the kiddos – but then I let it all go. It was truly the best massage I have had in my life.

I kept thinking “oh, it’s over now” and then Javier would start working the kinks out somewhere else…or start the soothing scalp/neck stress relief…or  start the reflexology (TLC for the feet). It actually didn’t zoom by in a flash! And Javier knew what he was doing. I mentioned training for a half marathon and also having a sore neck and shoulder area. He actually focused on those spots instead of just going through a standard massage routine. I can’t say this without it sounding dirty, so here it goes – Javier worked me in just the right places and it felt ohmygoshsogood Yea. Told you it would sound dirty.

Eventually Javier and I parted ways so I could go back to my true love. Peter found my goofy grin hilarious and kept saying it sounds like things got a little frisky with Javier. I told him not to worry. And then we went on our merry way for the rest of the night…which I will talk about tomorrow. I have written enough for one post. Hope you all had a great weekend too! See you in the morning.  

• What is the last movie you saw? Did you like it?
• What things can someone do for you that makes you say “he/she knows me so well”?

Happy Sunday morning!! Take the time today to think about how awesome you are…because it’s true. Allow Brittany from Itty Bits of Balance to share her story in believing in herself. She has come a long way and you can too! Catch you all later!

Hello fellow FFF readers! My name is Brittany & I blog over at Itty Bits of Balance.

It is an honor and a privilege to be contributing to Tina's Positive Sunday installment with my story of how I achieved the strength & confidence that I carry around with me today.

I'm the first to admit, I can be a complete wack-job at times:

I'm not afraid to make a fool of myself,

and I love to take the occasional crazy face photo.

I try my best to exuberate strength, confidence, and a sense of balance on a daily basis, however, things haven't always been this easy for me.

Throughout my youth, I was battling a constant struggle with weight & body image issues. For as long as I can remember, I was continuously tormented and teased for being roughly 20-30 pounds overweight, and like a lot of young girls I took it very personally. I went through 18 years of fad diets and binges– yet the results were never consistent and as soon as I started to eat normally again the excess weight found its way back.

Finally in 2010, I told myself that enough was enough.

At the age of 19 I decided that I was sick of sulking and feeling sorry for myself-- It was time for me to prove what I was capable of. I woke up one morning, read about The Disney Princess Half Marathon on Gina's blog and decided that I was going to train for it.

Just. like. that.

And boy, did I run my little white booty off.

Now, any normal person would go on vacation after four months of torture, or maybe even take a little trip to the day spa. Me? I decided to go big or go home.

I then proceeded to sign up to run the 26.2 mile Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco, California on October 17, 2010 with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training (Read about my flashback here.) In the process, I simultaneously raised $2,954.20 for the cause. Crossing that finish line was undeniable proof that nothing was going to stop me.

So how does my story pertain to you? Why should you care that I ran a marathon and found my "inner strength"?

Because nobody should EVER live the way that I was living before. All of us are filled with strength just waiting to burst out of our beings and overwhelm us with confidence. The problem is that many of us have that little voice inside telling us that we're "too big", "too small", "too fat", "too slow" or my personal favorite, "too weak." Whether your goal is to run a marathon, be more successful at your job, or even to be a better friend or mother.

Don't listen to that voice. Get up, get out, and go show me your strength!

I'll just be waiting over here making some faces 🙂

• How have you found your “inner strength”? What “little voice” do you need to tell to shut up sometimes?