First of all, thank you SO much for all the lovely birthday wishes! Turning 50 was amazingly stress-free. Possibly because I was so focused on pulling off the party, that the whole "over the hill" business kind of slid by.
As a summation of the big day I offer you a few...
The birthday party was perfect. It truly was. An abundance of wonderful friends, some I have known for 20 plus years, some I haven't seen in many years, some new friends. All people I love and adore. It was lovely watching people from different areas of my life come together, and fascinating that they all got along so well! And it was amazing how many people knew each other, but didn't know that they both knew me. Plus, it was fun getting so many presents. I love presents.
I was blown away by the incredibly generosity and hospitality of Lynn and her husband Darren. They opened their home not just to me, and our mutual friends, but many people who they had never met in their lives! I can't even begin to imagine how much work and trouble this was for them. And on top of everything, the day after my birthday was...LYNN'S birthday! So she sacrificed her own birthday fun for my 50th. Amazing.
I truly hope that they know how much it meant to me. Jimmy and I want to get them a thank you gift, but I'm stumped. Something for the house would be good. Any ideas? And Lynn, if you're reading this, don't read the comments!
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I went ahead and took all of your advice, and went with the comfortable, foundational-undergarment-free halter dress...
...this is one of the few pictures in which I don't look as big as a house. I'm afraid that while I love this dress, it is a tad...muumuuesque. But it was really damned comfortable, which made me happy.
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Jimmy wrote a birthday poem for me. And performed it. I was terribly impressed. I would print it for you, but it was really more of a performance piece...
It was wonderfully charming and funny and rather...weird. Much like Jimmy. I must say it was a pretty special moment. Several people even teared up a bit. I would show you a picture of me giving him a big thank you hug and kiss, but unfortunately I think my back looks fat in all the pictures, so you'll just have to take my word for it. You will notice that Jimmy dressed for the momentous occasion in one of his many ascots. Sigh...
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The Girlfriends' Catering Company came together in a MAJOR way. Nine of my girlfriends volunteered to bring a dish, and the food was outrageously good. And there was TONS of it. In defiance of the no-fish-on-Friday-during-Lent rule, we had a chili bar AND beef dip sandwiches. Yum.
And my friend Laura made my birthday cake. Well, actually two cakes...
Don't you LOVE it! It's a Slutty Middle-Aged Barbie Cake! Here's Laura with the cake...
She also made a German Chocolate Cake...
Both cakes were absolutely delicious! Maybe, if Laura reads this, she'll pass on the recipes and I can post them next week!
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The "Signature Cocktail" I finally decided upon turned out extremely well. It was vodka, lemonade and fresh basil. The basil gave it an interesting twist. Quite a bit of it was consumed. I had purchased a Costco Beverage Jar...
...which holds FIVE GALLONS, and filled it with the Signature Cocktail. They pretty much cleaned it out. Definitely something I'd recommend.
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Jello shots, while excellent in theory, are in fact pretty nasty.
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The best place to throw a party is a place where there is a hot tub. Lynn, Darren, Melissa and I after the guests left...
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I have still not completely recuperated from my birthday. Not because I had so very much to drink (I was too busy flitting around and socializing), but because the two days following the party were hellacious. On Saturday morning, I had to get up, pick Jude up from where he was spending the night, make Jimmy drive me over to Lynn's house to pick up my car, then I spent the rest of the day driving to hell and back with Jude in tow for two rare Saturday auditions. At the second of them, I was stuck waiting for TWO HOURS, while Jude whined. After this, I was forced to endure a two hour Lasertag birthday party filled with shrieking 7 and 8 year olds. It would be interesting to find out if anyone has ever attempted to measure the decibel level inside a lasertag party, I suspect it's extremely high.
Then on Sunday, after church, I went over to load up my car with all the stuff I'd brought over to Lynn's for the party. Los Angeles was in the middle of a rare monsoon. An absolute downpour with high winds that were blowing the rain horizontally. By the time I made my 15 trips to the car, I was actually soaked to the skin. I looked like a drowned cat. And I haven't been able to get warm ever since. I fear I may be sick.
This doesn't seem fair, does it? Shouldn't the Birthday Girl get a few days of rest?
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Luckily, Jimmy has been of this belief. Maybe he just feels bad for me that I'm so damned old. Maybe he saw all these cool people show up for my birthday party, and he figures maybe he ought to be nicer to me. Either way, he has been particularly, uncharacteristically solicitous. When I got home from the monsoon, I found that he had DRAWN A BATH for me! Unheard of. He keeps lighting candles so I have a pleasant ambiance in which to relax. He keeps using that word too, "ambiance". This morning, with no prompting, he got up early and took Jude to school, then he made me oatmeal and coffee. I feel certain that any minute now he will revert to his usual careless self. But I'm going to savor every minute of it.
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And if all this talk about turning 50 has bored you silly, head over to Keely's and check out other non-birthday related Random Tuesday Thoughts.
The birthday party sounded wonderful!!!
Happy Belated Birthday!
Posted by: Kristine | 03/22/2011 at 03:22 AM
What a great party! Did you get to see the super bright full moon? Maybe that has something to do with the ambiance.
Posted by: Michele Renee | 03/22/2011 at 04:15 AM
Fabulous, fabulous! So glad it all turned out well. What a great birthday! May 50 treat you extremely well.
Posted by: Sarah at themommylogues | 03/22/2011 at 06:58 AM
Now that you've made it to the top of the hill, may the ride down be bump free.
Posted by: VandyJ | 03/22/2011 at 07:55 AM
It sounds like your party turned out fabulous and the dress was beautiful! And I love the Barbie cake!
Posted by: Kendra | 03/22/2011 at 09:10 AM
Let me be the first to officially say, you looked gorgeous in your dress and not at all fat. Now, shut up.
:-)
Seriously, looks like a rocking party and I hope Jimmy never comes to his senses because you are living in style, woman!
Posted by: Sprite's Keeper | 03/22/2011 at 10:02 AM
Okay, I'm not reading the comments, but I will say: Please, nothing in return is necessary. Except, if I'm being honest, take away the photo of us in the hot tub. Oh, the lighting! Oh. the horror! Seriously, great party. We loved having everyone here.
Posted by: Lynn @ Curly Girl's Music World | 03/22/2011 at 11:44 AM
Happy (belated) Birthday! Looks and sounds like such a fun party! I especially LOVE the birthday cakes and the signature cocktail sounds yummy! :)
Wii Bowling and Champagne Making - RTT
Posted by: Stacy Uncorked | 03/22/2011 at 02:44 PM
Happy birthday!! You look gorgeous. Love that drink container... what a great idea. xo
Posted by: Erin | 03/22/2011 at 03:22 PM
Happy (belated) Birthday! Looks like you had a BLAST!!
Happy Tuesday!
Posted by: Toni | 03/22/2011 at 04:22 PM
Hi, so nice to read you had a great time.
I wonder -- abt the ambience, yk? -- are you cleaving to yr lenten action? My own husband becomes extreeeeemely solicitous of my hedonistic side whenever I decide to devote myself to the pursuit of a higher Getting It Awwn rating.
Posted by: lala | 03/22/2011 at 06:29 PM
Oh, muumuuesque, pshaw. You look absolutely gorgeous.
Maybe you could get Lynn another 5-gallon jug of that drink. It looks heavenly. How much basil do you use? I grow it every year and never use it, but I'd use it for THAT :)
Posted by: Keely | 03/23/2011 at 02:59 PM
Jimmy is so cute. Looks like you had a blast.
Posted by: Jenni | 03/23/2011 at 05:56 PM
5 gallons? And I did not even get a taste!
For the cake recipes, the chocolate one is from Gourmet a number of years ago, and available on Epicurious.com called "Inside Out German Chocolate cake" and for the Barbie cake you need a domed cake pan called the "Magic Pan" or something like that and I used the Fluffy Yellow Cake recipe from Cook's Illustrated and buttercream frosting in Barbie pink!
Posted by: Laura | 03/26/2011 at 05:17 PM