birthdays + gyms

H A P P Y . B I R T H D A Y . B R A N D O N ! ! !

Today is Brandon's 26th birthday. He is now over a quarter century old. I surprised him with cinnamon rolls this morning before work, not to mention he got to open his gifts. ( I like to spoil my birthday boy in every possible way I can think of! August 23rd is one of my favorite days of the year.) For lunch, his co-workers are taking him out to Leo's Mexican food. I'm joining them there. Come 6:45, I am picking B up from work and taking him to dinner in Venice... CA (I wish Italy.) The restaurant is called Chaya Venice and is supposedly amazing Mediterranean/Asian food. I found it in our Zagat Guide and am looking forward to trying it out! The description was, "The immortal cool Venice population gravitates to this chic spot for its modern blend of wonderfully prepared Japanese and Med offerings and excellent wine selection, served by a helpful staff in a beautiful high-ceilinged space." It got very good reviews; I'm sure it will be a winner.

After dinner, I'm not exactly sure what the plan is, but I have some options for B to choose from. There are some cool, chill places we can go in Venice or we can drive closer to home and hang out at the Hermosa pier scene. We'll see. Regardless, it will be a fun night. :)

On a different note...

Last Saturday, August 18th, Brandon and I found ourselves sitting in front of a man named Jason discussing the different options for becoming members of the "club." Prepaid or month to month, do you want to think about it or sign up now for the "point of sale" discount, both of you or just Brandon, personal trainer sessions included or not, do you want to go with the Sport version or the Active version, etc. 45 minutes later we walked away from Jason's desk official members of the 24 hour fitness gym. I know, wow, I, Lisa Rigg, joined a gym. I never thought that would occur in my entire lifetime! And depending on how well you know me, you never would have thought that would happen either. I'm still in shock. The truth is that I am blessed with good genes, and I certainly don't take them for granted. Instead, I use them to their fullest potential. It is a gift that I can eat as much as my 11" taller, 100 pound heavier husband without displaying any side effects. Thank goodnesss!

However, circumstances in my life have caused there to be a need to not only be thin, but to be strong, specifically my legs. As most of you know, I injured my knees about 2 years ago, and I'm still trying to let them heal. Part of my recovery process is physical therapy and 2 sessions a day of 11 exercises/stretches that I'm supposed to do at home. But seeing as how I am anti-exercise, it has been difficult to do my daily "homework." When it comes to working out, my motivation levels are loooooow. Well, to cut to the chase, going to the gym helps me accomplish my physical therapy work that I can't seem to do when I'm just sitting around at home. So we go to the gym 2-3 times a week and while Brandon works out, I do my stretches and exercises. My legs are definitely getting stronger and hopefully this will allow my knees to fully heal. I've done 8 of the 12 physical therapy sessions and will soon be on my way to hiking Mt Everest. Just kidding.

So there you have it. The big news of the year (at least in the Rigg household) is that we are not only gym members, but also gym attenders. Don't get me wrong, the gym is still my enemy, but is maybe, just maybe, slowly coming around to being my friend.

I'll leave you with this random quote that I read yesterday and felt like sharing with someone... "Dying for something is easy because it is associated with glory. Living for something is the hard thing. Living for something extends beyond fashion, glory, or recognition. We live for what we believe."