Friends - Finally Fifty!

     So, not that I want to mention this again, but last year I may have turned the big 5-0 !!  Unfortunately, I had to be "first" in my little circle of BFFs,

but it finally caught up to them, too.

      In August, my friend Donna and I planned a surprise overnight at the MGM Grand Casino.  Nancy loves baseball and our beloved Detroit Tigers.  Donna and I tease her about it whenever we get the chance!!  While I do love our Tigers, Donna and I wholeheartedly agree that baseball is the longest game on earth and more often than not we just plain ol' don't "get it".  (I'm thinking maybe 5 innings!???)  Nancy, of course, thinks we are crazy!!  But, I digress.  So Nancy's daughter helped us out by taking her to an afternoon Tiger game and then bringing her to the hotel for some gambling, only to find the two of us waiting for some casino fun!!!  You may say, well how did you get her to the casino?  Or, how did you know she would go to a Tiger game?  Well, 'cause she does both quite a lot and those are two of her true loves!!!  It was not difficult!

      The poor girl walked to the hotel in like 90 degree plus weather that day!!  (Again, this is yet another reason why Donna and I might not be the die hard fans of baseball that we perhaps should be!!)  But don't despair as it wasn't long before we were enjoying some complimentary appetizers on the Concierge level, singing happy birthday and then hitting "the floor" of the casino.  We got a kick out of the Village People slot machine and the Willy Wonka is pretty fun, too.  Sadly for me, I lose money rather quickly...  Like, really it doesn't last very long!!  I will never totally see the fun in that -- but I do see the fun in laughing with my besties, chatting, eating and drinking a few glasses of wine!!

     We also knew that a few days later Nancy's family had planned a surprise birthday party for her.  Donna and I got each of us a "friendship necklace" that we ordered on Etsy.  They're really pretty silver necklaces with each of the three of our initials and birthstones.  We love them and thought it would be a good way to commemorate our milestone birthdays!  Her birthday was in September!!

Cheers - To Fifty Years!

Not Sure Who Made This for Nancy's Surprise Party,
But I Don't Think She Looks Like This!?

    Then there was Donna who tends to be in complete denial about "age" and birthdays...  A friend of hers had thrown a surprise party for her and her husband in August (her birthday is actually in November).  It was a very nice summer (remember summer!?) party with great food, a beautiful cake.  Once they finally made it to their surprise party (ahem...) we all sent off Chinese lanterns off into the sky.  It was so pretty and fun!  

Closer to her actual birthday, we had a nice lunch at Black Rock to celebrate Donna's big day.  I made some alterations to a slot machine as part of her gift and we gave her some funds for her next casino visit.  We also were lucky enough to all take a trip to Florida together in November where we bought her a few surprises for her big day, but that trip is another post for another day!!!

So, one casino overnight, one leisurely lunch, two surprise parties and one trip to Florida later -- and my friends are Finally Fifty!!!!

Our Gift to Miss Donna
Her Very Own Sex and the City Slot Machine

Donna Making a Wish and Sending Off Her Chinese Lantern

Donna Says "I Love Being 50!"
(or did I make that up??)