Sometimes you have to force yourself to do certain things. It’s for your own good.

This morning, I forced myself to sleep in. I typically wake up around 6 am so I can have some quiet time before Makenzie wakes up. Today, I made myself stay snuggled up in bed until 7:30.

Then, after making and eating breakfast, I forced myself to stay on the couch all day. I feel better than yesterday, but know rest will do my body some good.

Side note: I look super young when I’m sick. I promise I’m not 16.

I had to force myself to stop negative thoughts. I hate feeling lazy. Sitting on the couch all day will do that to a person. I momentarily started feeling down on myself and “gross” – but I stopped all of that nonsense pronto.

Then, more nonsense appeared in the form of guilt for having M chill with me on the couch all day, watching TV or reading books. I’m still a good mom. She still loves me. Heck, she probably loves me more for allowing her to watch a marathon of recorded Word World episodes today.

I had to force myself not to poke my eyes out from watching the same episode 4 times in a row. How can kids watch things over and over and over?

I couldn’t laze about completely. I still had to force myself to use my brain and plan for Sunday’s class.

I had to force myself not to laugh too hard at Makenzie’s antics singing “Needof the Red Nose Redoor”. I didn’t want to have to change my underpants. Remember the joys of leaking “they” don’t tell you about?

Now, I have to force myself away from the alluring call of Nyquil. Oh, to knock myself out from feeling the cold ickies!

• Did you have to force yourself to do anything today?

Even being under the weather, today was a great day. Before leaving for my lunch with the birthday boy, I found a special package on my doorstep. Chobani!

I had to dig through a lot of packing peanuts to get to the treasure – 12 containers in a variety of flavors of Chobani Greek yogurt. I am an upcoming featured blogger for their blog, so they sent me some yogurt to play around with for holiday treats. Exciting! And yummy!

Time for lunch. I adore Groupon. Not only do I adore Groupon for the deals they share, but also for helping expose me to new restaurants. A lot of places they feature are fairly local, yet small enough to where I haven’t heard of them before. We visited such a place today for Peter’s birthday lunch - The Kozmo Gastro Pub.

They had a wide variety of options on the menu. Quite a few of the appetizers sounded really tasty to me. However, Peter was the birthday boy and he did not want hummus or parmesan truffle mushrooms, which I gladly would have split if dining with my sister – or one of you who I’m sure those sound good to as well.

Instead, the birthday boy went for classic fish and chips. And I chose a slight twist on a classic – a horseradish chicken salad sandwich, with a delicious side salad.

Any place that serves a side salad consisting of more than iceberg lettuce, carrot shavings, and croutons gets a gold star in my book. I devoured my lunch. The. Entire. Thing.

The last hidden treasure of the day is the best one of all. My man. I cannot fathom life without him. Kind of crazy to think because 5 years ago I was listing off the qualities that would make me even consider marriage…and believing that man did not exist. So, clearly I would never get married. Funny how things work out.

Peter, on your birthday I want to thank you for the wonderful man you are. A man with values and a strong faith, who works with me as a team to build each other up into the people God created us to be. A family man who puts his family above all else, no matter what. A determined man who works hard to care for and provide for his family and can take pride in his quality work. A man with just as quirky and goofy a sense of humor as my own. A man with the utmost patience when I’m moody and cranky and pregnant. Or just having one of those days outside of pregnancy. A man who will happily stand beside me and cheer me on with any dream or goal I hope to pursue. A man who will try new things, because he recognizes what they mean to me. A man who will care for his achy and sick wife, even though its his birthday. A man who gives of himself and loves fully. I love you, Peter. Thank you for being you and happy birthday!

• What qualities do you expect from someone as a significant other?
• What are your favorite things to do with yogurt?