Today's my birthday. I'm 28. I have a fun, long weekend away planned which meant that i got to open my birthday pressies early.......

My mom and dad bought me this Moroccan Oil for my hair. This stuff smells Divine and does unimaginable things to hair. Due to the price of it i have been putting off buying myself some of this now i am lucky enough to have an entire bottle all to myself.

Stu bought me this beautiful bunch of flowers. It has roses, coronations, Lillie's and other flowers i cant name. My lounge smells amazing.

And finally i bought this gift for myself. My very first 32inch flat screen LCD TV. I have been saving up for this a few months now and finally, with my savings and my birthday money i finally had enough to treat myself to this!

Yup, talk about a long term goal. 2949 days is how long it has taken me to work towards this.

So tonight my mom and dad came with me to this place.....

We all sat together in this room

Listening to this man give his speech.

My dad managed to sneak in a naughty little photo

And then i was presented with this certificate.

We sang the National Anthem to the Queen and then i was finally given the title of Full British Citizen.

As i have already said; its taken me 2949 days and over £3000; but i can say with pride that i did this on my own. I stuck with it. Jumped through all the hoops and worked my way through all the red tape.

Although today i have been given British Citizenship by her Majesty, my heart will always be South African.

Wow, this year is just flying by. September is here again, and along with it a new start. I have booked this week off of work and i am so glad that i did. I have a few things planned, tomorrow is a big dentist appointment and Thursday evening is my British citizenship ceremony but other than that i am taking the time to relax, to refresh my spirit and to enjoy the last few days of summer.

This time of year is a little weird for me - now that i live in the UK September is the beginning of Fall, but growing up back in South Africa the beginning of September was the start of Spring. The start of fun to be had and a reminder that Christmas was just around the corner. This morning i decided to take the opportunity and walk to and from the gym. It was gorgeous out. The sun was shinning and the wind was blowing - it felt wonderful on my face. But here i sit, just four hours later and i am cold. The clouds are coming in and rain is on its way. The days are getting shorter and the evenings are getting darker earlier.

So, keeping that all in mind i have done a few things today to start off this new season, this new chapter of life and the final leg of 2009.

- I went to the gym and updated my exercise goal sheet

- I washed my bedding and everything else that is in sight (not that i only wash my bedding once every new season....lol)

- I weighed in at 244.4lbs and made a new commitment to my health

- I made a To Do list/goal list for September which will be sitting on my fridge shortly

- I treated myself to strawberries and fat reduced cream for a late breakfast

- I got my camera out and spent some time taking photographs

So to all my friends back home.....HAPPY SPRING DAY!

To all my friends everywhere else in the world.......HAPPY SEPTEMBER 1ST!