Advanced Birthday Celebrations

If your birthday happens to fall over a major holiday, then what do you do?

Celebrate 6 months in advance? Celebrate the week before? Or even 4 weeks before?

Depending on when it is then I guess you celebrate when convenient.

A friend has a child born on Feb 29,  she said they choose which day suits them best Feb 28 or Mar 1, although she says they do try to stick to the same day each year!

Alex is born over a public holiday weekend here in New Zealand. We always celebrate his birthday on the right weekend but when you want to hold a large party then you have to celebrate the week before or after due to everyone going away for the said weekend!

However, the biggest one we have is Steve.....his birthday is Dec 26, Boxing Day.
And this particular year it is important to celebrate due to the fact he is turning........50!

So we discussed it and decided to celebrate his birthday at the beginning of December. Why I hear you ask, well because everyone, including ourselves, are away over the Christmas period (it is our summer holiday after all). We can't celebrate closer to the day because everyone knows this is the manic period of everyones life, what with work functions, school functions and any other organisation function you happen to be involved in.
This week I am out Monday and Wednesday night, the boys have Judo on Tuesday and Thursday and Steve and I both have a work function Friday afternoon/evening. So this is one of our busiest weeks before Christmas.

So this past weekend we had a party to celebrate his 50th Birthday at my mum's house in Rotorua.
Sadly I didn't get pictures of the party in full swing or even of any of the guests having a great time playing pass the parcel! But I did manage a picture of the birthday boy with his birthday cake.

The weather did not cooperate quite how we would have liked it too, but we all had fun anyway.
So thank you to everyone who came and celebrated with us this past weekend. Steve had a wonderful time and loved catching up with family and friends.
Thank you to mum, who kindly loaned us her house for the party and also helped us by doing some of the shopping and helping us cook the food.
It was all delicious and nothing was wasted, in fact for once it was the perfect amount required for the amount of people attending.

I think it was a great way to kick start the festive session ahead.

Life Lessons and Celebrating

This is my 1000 post, yea to me for getting this far. It has taken me 5 years to get here but the first 2 years I really didn't blog much at all, 6 or 7 post a year, so maybe it will only take me 3 years to get to 2000?

This was sent to me by email, am sure I have seen it before, but everytime I read it at least 1 or 2 of the points ring home some truth to me and make me realise that sometimes I really am sweating the bad stuff and ignoring the good.

GOOD ADVICE Written by a 90 year old

This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!!
Make sure you read to the end!!!!!!

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland ,
Ohio .

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me...
It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Hope this makes you think about soemthing in your life and makes you realise that it is not all bad!