{"id":379493,"date":"2014-01-05T20:47:00","date_gmt":"2014-01-05T20:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2014\/01\/05\/fifty-fabulous-things\/"},"modified":"2014-01-05T20:47:00","modified_gmt":"2014-01-05T20:47:00","slug":"fifty-fabulous-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2014\/01\/05\/fifty-fabulous-things\/","title":{"rendered":"Fifty Fabulous Things…"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
December 30, 2013.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Was an equally extraordinary and ordinary day\u2026<\/span>
<\/span>
I<\/span> turned 50!<\/span><\/p>\n

After months of build up (begin <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>, if you\u2019ve missed the excitement) that included a weekly birthday announcement from my mother, my half century celebration officially began.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

And the answer to that million dollar question, \u201cSo, how\u2019s it feel to be 50? (or any age for that matter\u2026): <\/span>It feels equally mundane, just another day in the life, and fabulously joyful!<\/span>
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The weekly cards, the <\/span>surprise birthday party<\/span><\/a>, and then this package that arrived with instructions to wait until my birthday to open\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
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\ufeff<\/div>\n
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\u2026gifts that have inspired today\u2019s post.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Here are my 50 fabulous things about being 50:<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
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1.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span> <\/span>50 means I\u2019ve officially put my feet on the floor for half a century.<\/span><\/div>\n
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2.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span> <\/span>I finally know what I want to be when I grow up<\/span><\/div>\n
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3.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span> <\/span>AARP is going to put money in my pocket<\/span><\/div>\n
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4.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span> <\/span>My children are learning to live independently<\/span><\/div>\n
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5.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span> <\/span>I found <\/span>my H<\/i> spot<\/span><\/a> (Get your mind out of the gutter. H<\/i>. Short for Happy)<\/span><\/div>\n
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6.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span> <\/span>#3 and 4 mean I can enjoy doing more of those things that feed my happy<\/span><\/div>\n
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7.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span> <\/span>50 inspires laughter<\/span><\/div>\n
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8.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span> <\/span>My mother is still here<\/span><\/div>\n
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9.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span>My mother is living independently<\/span><\/div>\n
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10.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>My mother still has a sense of humor<\/span><\/div>\n
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11.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>My mother bought me fifty things for my fiftieth<\/span><\/div>\n
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12.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Some things, like school buses, Maxine, and my hair color <\/span>will always stay the same<\/span><\/div>\n
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13.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Maxine makes me look good<\/span><\/div>\n
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14.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>I\u2019m wise enough to understand t<\/span><\/span>here\u2019s no place like home<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
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15.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 inspires jokes<\/span><\/div>\n
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16.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Laughter really is the best medicine<\/span><\/div>\n
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17.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Laughter and an apple a day (along with a good masseuse and chiropractor) help keep the doctor away<\/span><\/div>\n
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18.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 means there\u2019s plenty of fodder for my fiction<\/span><\/div>\n
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19.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 is serious business<\/span><\/div>\n
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20.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>My father is still here<\/span><\/div>\n
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21.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>My father is living independently<\/span><\/div>\n
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22.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>My father\u2019s sidesplitting laugh still makes my stomach ache<\/span><\/div>\n
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23.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>I\u2019ve amassed a beautiful arsenal of boots<\/span><\/div>\n
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24.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>I\u2019ve amassed a beautiful arsenal of bags<\/span><\/div>\n
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25.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 is sentimental<\/span><\/div>\n
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26.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 is understanding the wealth that comes from friendships and family<\/span><\/div>\n
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27.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>My nest is nearly empty\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
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28.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>#27 means those shoes can finally take me places I want to go<\/span><\/div>\n
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29.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>My children are almost done pulling away<\/span><\/div>\n
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30.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Diapers are a thing of the past<\/span><\/div>\n
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31.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Diapers are too far in the future to fret over<\/span><\/div>\n
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32.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 is sappy<\/span><\/div>\n
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33.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 comes with memories in all shapes<\/span><\/div>\n
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34.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 comes with memories in all sizes<\/span><\/div>\n
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35.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 comes with memories in all colors<\/span><\/div>\n
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36.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 comes with a bona fide<\/i> excuse for repeating myself<\/span><\/div>\n
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37.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 still smells good<\/span><\/div>\n
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38.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>My children are starting to repeat things I told them<\/span><\/div>\n
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39.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>My children are that much closer to thanking me<\/span><\/div>\n
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40.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>#3 & 4 mean I have more money to buy my favorite perfumes<\/span><\/div>\n
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41.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>There\u2019s a remedy for everything<\/span><\/div>\n
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42.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 is silly<\/span><\/div>\n
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43.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Spare parts are justified<\/span><\/div>\n
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44.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 means finding <\/span>three pair of glasses on my head<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
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45.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 has a sense a humor<\/span><\/div>\n
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46.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>I remember sweating to<\/i> Night Fever, not because of<\/i> it<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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47.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>I can retire in fifteen years<\/span><\/div>\n
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48.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>50 is fabulous<\/span><\/div>\n
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49.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>I have something in common with people like Brad Pitt and Helen Hunt<\/span><\/div>\n
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50.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>I still remember when and once upon a time\u2026unless I forget, in which case I still have the words to rewrite my story\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
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And here are those 50 sentimental, serious, and silly gifts that help make turning 50 such a splendid event!<\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n
I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! (Be sure to check out each one so you don’t miss a single laugh!)<\/span><\/div>\n
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Is it a food puree filter? Or a kidney stone sieve?<\/span><\/div>\n
No, LOOK, it\u2019s a sink drain screen!<\/span><\/div>\n
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I laughed so hard at this one I almost wet myself\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n

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\ufeff<\/div>\n
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As if all this weren\u2019t enough to make me feel special, after eight long days on the road, the last in the Soon-to-be-50 series of cards my mother\u2019s been sending finally arrived.<\/span><\/div>\n

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On my birthday!<\/span><\/div>\n

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Thanks for the many happy memories, Mom!<\/span><\/div>\n
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Happy New Year, Journeyers!<\/span><\/div>\n
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Wishing you a Moment, or two or six, to feed your happy in the coming week!<\/span><\/div>\n
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Soon\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\ufeff<\/div>\n
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\ufeff<\/div>\n
\ufeff<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

December 30, 2013. Was an equally extraordinary and ordinary day\u2026I turned 50! After months of build up (begin here, if you\u2019ve missed the excitement) that included a weekly birthday announcement from my mother, my half century celebration officially began. And the answer to that million dollar question, \u201cSo, how\u2019s it feel to be 50? (or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[316,317,106,63,320,497],"class_list":["post-379493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-happyhappens","tag-finding-happiness-in-your-day","tag-joy","tag-parenting","tag-random-happiness","tag-turning-50"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/50s-Gift-Box.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}