Tuesday, January 19, 2010

They say it's your birthday...

It's my birthday, too!

Whoot! Another year gone. They say everyone has one birthday that's harder than the rest, then it's smooth sailing. Mine is long gone, so I like to look ahead rather than behind.

Rather than New Year's resolutions, I'd like to offer up some Things to do While I'm 36:

1. Continue to lose weight. As of today, I'm down 22 pounds since December 1st. I've really gotten into the South Beach Style of eating. One of my new favorite websites is Mark's Daily Apple. Also, I weigh myself most every day on the Wii fit. I love the way it keeps track for me, and graphs it all out. Looking at it like that makes it easy for me to see how much progress I've made.

2. Continue working toward a 1/2 marathon. Right now I'm slated to run the Oklahoma City 1/2 Marathon on April 25th. Joining me will be my friend Tree and my sister. Two and a half years ago Tree, Anne and I did the Denver half marathon. We said we'd do something every year, but... well... life intervened. My sister? She's just caught the running bug, but you can find her at "The Sissy Jogger Companion." Clever, that girl is...

3. Go on a family vacation. I say this every year, but this year I mean it.

4. Read more. I have gotten back into reading now that we don't have cable. The library is my BFF. They do an excellent job routing books from one branch to the other and emailing when they're waiting. Any suggestions? I'm not looking for anything heavy, just fluff right now.

Finally... Here's the birthday cake I'm making myself:

Low Carb Almond Cake
2 1/2 cups almond flour
1 1/2 cup sugar substitute (Splenda)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 large eggs
8 ounces cream cheese
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat the oven to 300 F.

Whisk together the almond flour, sugar substitute, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy, add eggs one at a time beating between each addition then whisk in the almond and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients and stir until combined.

Pour the batter into a well greased (cooking spray) bundt pan.

Bake until slightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when stuck in the center, about 65-70 minutes. Let cake cool for about 15-20 minutes before removing from pan.

Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 0:15
Cook Time 1:10
Carbs: 7g

I pilfered this from another site and messed with it enough to make it my own. Let you know if it's any good tomorrow!

Until then - have a great day!

...

5 comments:

Tree said...

Happy Birthday!!! Looking forward to April and to celebrating together.

Good job, G!!!

Lauren @ mostly i run said...

Happy Birthday!
And, wow, 22 pounds? You're doing great :)

mayberry said...

Happy birthday! I died laughing the other day at Mark's screed about the Taco Bell Drive-Thru "Diet."

Jenny said...

Happy Birthday. Request The Help from the library, it will be a long wait but a good book.

Rachelle Jones said...

Still reading you 2 plus times a week, just do not have time to comment much! Love the new home!! Also keep it up with the weight loss! I have not been as great with the Wii fit