I'm 50!

 coconut cake made from scratch by Meg

 party flags

 my mom and me

 cupcake heaven...and ginger creams (thanks La)

 beautiful roses!

My B-Day weekend. Fabulous party put on by Megan with some help from the brothers. Food, friends, and lots of good conversation. 50 roses from my honey! This is what 50 looks like on me.

I set out to do 50 things by age 50 two years ago...I got close but still have stuff to do....maybe I'll do a 55 by 55 and see if I can complete it.

Someone asked me if I was really okay about being 50?  Yes I am. It is really no big deal. Age is just a marker. I look at living this long as an adventure. I know I have a lot more adventure to come. Some of the things It wanted to do by 50 were;  to loose weight and I lost most of it, re-found a little but I am back on the diet wagon......I mean the eating healthy and exercise wagon. I wanted to be healthier by 50 and I am and doing better every day at taking care of myself. 
So now I begin the next 50....I know it will be a bigger and better adventure; after all we come from a long line of 'long livers.'

MCC

birthday's on the horizion, so what have I done in a year?

Captain Awesome's other g-ma is having a birthday Sunday.....Happy Birthday to Karen.
Karen really looks too young to be a grandma and she is one to 4 darlings.
I love Karen, but she is not the point here....the point is Birthdays.


At lunch with my friends this week we were celebrating a birthday and someone said that they didn't like this years birthday because it would bring them closer to 50......
In two months I will have my next birthday..... still not the big 50, but a year closer.
Last year I created a list of 50 to do by 50.....I was really keen on it and worked on accomplishing it all for about 3 months then like most of my great ideas and resolves it went by the way side. So today I dusted it off and took a closer look at it.....can I do it still, how crazy was I to even attempt this, what was I thinking? Oh the thoughts we have when one hasn't really even begun to reach the goals set for themselves.......

I have 18 of my 50 by 50 done or in progress or definitely planned for......but the other 32, well they are all great ideas and goals, but they all need a bit of changing...... I guess it is okay to change a few of them up, make them a bit more realistic.....(no I am not coping out, I will just move the grander things to my bucket list, the unrealistic things......the things that involve others and their agency, well those will have to be re thought out. And for the stuff that just doesn't interest me anymore.....yes, I am flighty and scatter brained and not very focused or committed....well some days I should be committed, but that is a whole other issue....back to the not interested in, it is gone). I guess what I am thinking is that if I want to really do some of theses things I had better do some re-thinking and better goal setting and planning and get some follow through......
The other thought I had concerning the 50 list was to revise it and make it a list of things that I could possibly accomplish or put into motion in a week or so....thus giving my self 52 weeks (if I start my birthday week and give me 2 vacation or sick weeks) to do 50 things by my 50th birthday.......
I think that this is the way to go.......
Now to make my list, not an easy undertaking, but then who says I will even follow through with this.....I will follow through, I can and I will do it!

Marcie's 50 by 50 - the new and improved list.....
1.

MCC

Happy Birthday To ME!

This is what my 48 years looks like....not bad, but I am working on the improvement.
I am a wife, a mother, a mother-in-law, a sister a daughter, a grand daughter, a cousin, a niece, an aunt, a friend. I book movies and manage a movie theatre. I don't know if this is defining but it is an influence of who I am. I have always laughed when people define themselves as their occupation...."I'm a Doctor." or "I'm a Teacher." is one better than the other does the occupation really define who you are? To define better who I am I would have to ask other people but here are a few words I hope they would use to define me.....kind, helpful, happy, inquisitive, nurturing, good cook, artistic, fun, optimistic, peaceful...............

To help better define who I am, I have decided to do '50 by 50'....I am making a list of 50 things I want to do by 50. 2 years will come and go, so I feel I have to do something worth while.
Gary has cautioned me not to dream to big for my 2 years.....I say if you don't dream you don't live......and if you don't write it down and plan on it, it won't ever happen.
I know that there are travel things I want to do, and education things....but what about the adventure, daring, risk taking? Am I up to including them on my list?

I have been reading Phil Keoghan's book NOW - No Opportunity Wasted 8 Ways to Create a List For The Life You Want. He says the reason we don't do things is because of the 10 great excuses: 1. I don't have the money. 2. I don't have the time. 3. My job is my life. 4. My family must always come first. 5. In my spare time I need to relax. 6. Not interested in dying right now. 7. My spouse would think I am crazy if I did that. 8. I am too old for this. 9. I am too out of shape and have a bum_____. 10. I just don't think I can do it. After he debunks your excuses he shares 8 themes to help you crate the life you want. 1. Face your fears
2. Get lost. 3. Test you limits. 4. Take a leap of faith. 5. Rediscover your childhood. 6. Shed your inhibitions/express yourself 7. Break new ground. 8. Aim for the heart. All of this is good stuff that I will use to help make my list of '50 by 50.'

On this day I would like to thank my Mom and Dad for my life. They are the best...they started me out right. It has been a great 48 years. I am glad that there have been so many wonderful people around to influence and guide me. I hope that these folks will help me and join with me in my '50 by 50'. Today I will begin again, another year of life, another year of growth, learning and adventure.
Happy Birthday To ME!
MCC