In case I haven’t mentioned it, my birthday is coming up! And I’m going to Kauai, did I tell you I’m going to Kauai? I’m going to Kauai! I’m soooo excited about this birthday and this trip - I feel like I can’t stop talking about it or thinking about it. In case you’re just as excited about my birthday and feeling the sudden urge to give me a gift (in all likelihood, you’re probably wondering who is this person whose blog happens to be in my RSS reader? Noor? What Noor? What is this Noor you speak of?), here are the gifts I’ll appreciate (in no particular order):

  • clothes - losing a lot of weight is great but I have to keep giving away clothes to the Goodwill. Gift certificates to help me replenish my wardrobe would be very much appreciated. REI, Banana Republic, Eddie Bauer, and J Crew are current favorites. I don’t like shopping at huge department stores but I can usually find something at Macy’s and Nordstrom.
  • workout clothes - I spend a lot of time working out and even though I’m not an athlete, I like wearing workout clothes that make me feel like one! :) Gift certificates to REI, Macy’s (I’ve found that they sell some awesome Adidas workout pants that actually have pockets), Nike Store, and Title Nine would help in this area.
  • personal training at 24 Hour Fitness - I haven’t had a personal trainer in over a year so some sessions with a personal trainer would help me freshen my resistance training routine
  • spa/massage time - Of the few spas I’ve tried in the Bay Area, I really like Preston Wynne (in Saratoga) and The Four Seasons (in East Palo Alto) but I’m open to trying other places. I’m also staying here in Kauai so getting me some spa time while I’m on vacation would be pretty awesome, too.

And here are gifts that I don’t want (really I would much rather you didn’t get me anything at all than one of these):

  • chocolate (or anything else that I love and can’t resist) - I love chocolate but I don’t want any large amounts of chocolate around (maybe if you get me a small single-serving of something, then maybe maybe I won’t hate you and think you’re an evil vindictive person who is trying to derail my progress)
  • knickknacks - unless it is something totally awesome and I’m going to be like, “OMG THAT IS SO AWESOME,” I’m not a huge fan of knickknacks and I really hate clutter so save your candles/picture frames/etc for another person
  • jewelry - I like jewelry but it isn’t something super useful that I need. I’d much rather you got me something from the above list.