My Birthday Blog Extravaganza!!!

Today is my 26th birthday, and when I woke up this morning, I felt SO old. Every part of my body hurt. Every muscle was sore. Every joint ached. So far, turning 26 felt like I was turning 96.

And then I remembered that I ran a 5K yesterday.

I'm hoping by the time we run our next 5K, which is now in 3 weeks, I'll be in better shape. Surely the recovery period gets better!

Me on the birthday saddle

Overall, today was pretty low-key... and I liked it that way. Jackie and I went to church and then out to eat at Texas Roadhouse with my parents and her mom. We had a great time! The waitress also made me sit on the saddle while the hollered to everyone that it was my birthday.

Then we came back to our apartment to eat some of the strawberry cake that Jackie got for me at Joe's Italian last night. It is delicious! (Last night we ate at Up the Creek with some friends. I LOVE their lemon-lime grilled shrimp!)

After taking a much-needed nap, Jackie and I watched Sister Wives (one of our can't-miss TV obsessions, along with MTV's Teen Mom 2).

Tomorrow, it's back to the grindstone...and back to the gym.

Also, today marks the 1 year anniversary since Jackie and I got engaged!! I can't believe it was a year ago that I got down on bended knee and popped the question. (And I'm glad that I didn't have to get down on one knee today...because I'm not sure if I would be able to stand up! My legs are unbelievably sore!)

And for your blogging pleasure, I'm including some funny birthday pictures I found. There are even some Star Trek ones! And there are some that aren't specifically birthday related, but I loved them and wanted to throw them in, too!

Before we went to lunch

Dad, Mom, & me after lunch

 

The crew of the Enterprise knows how to have a good time!

Riker is thinking, "Man, I make this hat look good," but Picard is thinking, "I don't think these are the hats we are supposed to wear to Bruce's birthday party."

Live Long and Prosper!

Neelix: I made you a cake for your birthday!

Janeway: Crap, Neelix baked a cake.

You heard right, Uhura!

Fascinating, I thought Spock would know the difference between "your" and "you're".

Picard: Here's to you on your birthday, Bruce!

Picard: Wait... You're how old?!?

And this one's just for fun!

Happy Birthday, Leonard Nimoy!! (and my tale of meeting him in person)

Most of y'all know about my love for Star Trek. I am a total Trekkie! Today, I want to take a second to wish Leonard Nimoy (aka Spock) a very happy 80th birthday!!

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Nimoy a couple of years ago when he was visiting UAB to talk about his photography. A couple hundred people gathered in a large lecture hall. When he finally walked in, I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin. There he was...in the same room I was in!!! (To date, this is my only encounter with any of the Star Trek actors, so I was really excited!)

The pic I took from my seat.

I enjoyed hearing him talk about his photography and the origins of the Vulcan salute. When it was over, he exited and the event organizers spoke to us for a minute.

When I was leaving the lecture hall, I came to two doors. I couldn't remember which one I had entered through. I picked the door on the right. I walked through and found about 5 people on the other side...including Leonard Nimoy! I was in the small room he was waiting in before going to autograph copies of his book.

The folks were taking pictures with him. All I had with me was my iPhone. I asked Mr. Nimoy if I could have my picture taken with him, and he said, "Of course."

I handed my phone to one of the others, but the guy couldn't figure out how to take the picture. I was panicking. I finally had a chance to meet Leonard Nimoy...and I couldn't get my picture with him. I was afraid he would have to leave to sign his books, but that's when one of the other people offered to take my picture with his camera and e-mail it to me. He snapped the picture. I shook Mr. Nimoy's hand and thanked him.

Here's the picture I got:

Me with Leonard Nimoy!

To this day, meeting Leonard Nimoy is the high point in my Star Trek fandom. And I'm so thankful that he was patient with me during my camera crisis! Another reason his birthday is special to me is that it is the day before mine!!

Live long and prosper!