Making Memories!

The older I get the more I LOVE TO CELEBRATE MY BIRTHDAY! I mean...yeah the gray hairs are making an appearance ...and if I want to hang out later than midnight I have to take an afternoon nap but other than that I am confident and secure about being in my very early forties!

This year I decided to celebrate my birthday by throwing a food and wine event at one of my favorite places...... the local winery in our area. So I invited some close friends  to help me celebrate another year and I must say it was one of my best birthdays by far.

Let's face it these days most birthday wishes come in the form of an impersonal text or Facebook post and I am guilty of sending a few of those myself. But I have to say nothing replaces getting together and sharing good drinks, food and company while making some awesome memories. Receiving real hugs and kisses while hearing real laughter can not and should not be replaced with emoticons! We should grab every opportunity to make good memories, not the ones that get deleted but the ones that stay with us forever.

So I don't know about you.... but I am going to continue to plan and attend as many formal and informal get togethers with the people that are closest to me and I really don't need a reason on the calendar.

Memory making is enough of a reason! 

Cheers!
 

Celebrating 42 All Weekend Long!

As exciting as starting a new school can be it also comes with a great level of stress and anxiety! But there was light at the end of the tunnel. Thursday was my birthday and I had plans to celebrate all weekend and I mean ALL weekend!

The celebration began on Thursday when my bff and her family came over and surprised me with a bouquet of flowers, a delicious home-made dinner and a strawberry shortcake....my favorite!

As I sat at the table and saw all she had done I couldn't help but think about how blessed I am to have such an amazing friend. As busy as her life is especially on a school night she found the time to make sure my night was extra special! It was the perfect way to celebrate after a long and stressful day at work!

The celebration continued on Friday night when friends invited us over for dinner and drinks. We love hanging out with this fun couple! Drinks, good food and great conversation. What else can you ask for? You know when you are in good company when you don't even realize how late it is. We left their house at 3 in the morning and I can honestly say a good time was had by all.

Saturday was the day I was waiting for all week.....MY SPA DAY! Massage and facial was just what this 42 year old girl needed!

When I got to the Spa at Forrestal I could almost feel the stress starting to leave my body. I don't know if it was the relaxing music, the aromatherapy candles or the way everyone speaks to you in a soft whisper-like voice. When I first met Ken, my masseuse I was hoping he wasn't afraid to give a real deep tissue massage because when it comes to my massages... I'm no wimp! I was not disappointed! When he was finished I felt like a new woman. All of the tension in my shoulders (or speed bumps as he called them) were gone. It was the best massage I have every had and I have had many. To quote Ken "A bad massage is worst than bad sex!" I agree since I have to pay for massages!

Next up was the facial and I got some good news....I do not have the skin of a 42 year old! Apparently, I have amazingly healthy skin that shows no signs of aging. Wow, I didn't think that I was supposed to be ready for a face lift.

Saturday night ended with a romantic night on the town with my handsome hubby. He took me to a restaurant called The Frog and the Peach. I meant to take a picture of the restaurant and my meal but I was so wrapped up in the moment of spending time with the man that I love that I forgot.

The weekend festivities ended with Sunday brunch with the family at City Streets Cafe. It was a wonderful way to end my birthday weekend!

Sometimes it's good to just take a break from the everyday stresses of life and enjoy all that is fabulous about being alive! It really makes you appreciate life and all it has to offer. So here's to you year 42, I am ready to embrace you and all the fabulous things you have in store for me! Let's start making some memories!

41 and Fabulous!

When I turned 40 I embraced this new decade in my life. I even threw myself a Fabulous at 40 cocktail party and celebrated the night away! I mean 40 is the new 20, right? That was last year. Now I am 41 and every now and then I say to myself…WOW, I AM 41! When did this happen? It seemed like just the other day I was in my 20’s and now my oldest daughter will be 21 in March. Seriously, where did the time go?

Although there are a few things that I miss about being younger (like a faster metabolism) I am enjoying this time of my life much more. I am more confident, focused and sexier (yeah, I said it!) than I ever was in my 20’s! There are some things that just get better with age. Every hardship and lesson learned in my youth has made me the woman that I am today. Every consequence to the good and not so good decisions I made lead me to this place and so I regret nothing! I truly have been blessed and will continue to embrace each fabulous year of this decade and all the other decades God allows me to celebrate! So is 41 really fabulous? Heck Yeah!

Let Your Hair Down!

It is funny that the older I get the more fun I want to have. Maybe it is because I had the responsibility of being a mother at a young age and was afraid to be silly for fear of what people might think about me.  Now that I have a healthy disregard about what people think from time to time when the feeling hits me I get as silly as I want to! Sometimes when I feel myself thinking about something that may get me down I just break out in dance right in front of the television even when the rest of the family is watching it. Just for fun! My daughter usually looks at me like I am insane but it makes her laugh which makes me laugh. We can get so bogged down with the responsibilities of everyday life that we forget that it is okay to be silly once in awhile and just have plain ole fun!

When I was in grad school my weekend consisted of doing research and writing papers. So when I completed my Masters last year I made a promise to myself that I would start enjoying my weekends by doing something other than household chores, lesson plans and preparing for the work week ahead.  I work hard and I should play hard, right?  So whether it be movie night with the family, hanging out with friends, or date night with my husband I intend to make my weekends fun! This past weekend I played Rap Star and Just Dance 2 with my family and our good friends! I learned that I can rap like Lil’ Kim and can still shake it like a Polaroid picture! I had a blast! Why not? Don’t we deserve to have fun and laugh at ourselves every now and then! I know I do and will continue to let my hair down!