I’ve told  you about the end of my birthday week plus…here’s how the beginning started…we travel back to April 4, 2008…the day before my 50th birthday:

A good friend invited me for lunch for my birthday a few weeks ago as last year we seemed to have missed both our birthdays. We met when our daughters were in preschool around age 2 (they are 15 and nearly 15 now and while they have gone different directions, Susan and I stay connected though life has gotten more hectic). 

Anyway, it turned out to be a surprise luncheon with 18 other friends at Buca di Beppo restaurant. I was beyond stunned…and touched. And if that wasn’t enough, they all brought presents! I have Tanqueray and Magellan gins, wine, bath products, gift cards, and lots of other wonderful gifts I need to go back through to remember. And the best thing is a poster of 50 Reasons to Celebrate Lisa…put together like a scrapbook with entries from everyone. I will cherish that gift the most and how special all these lovely ladies made me feel.

Here’s a pic of me, my friends Susan and Kris (co-conspirators in the planning), and Deb (my friend and founder of the Melonhead Foundation).

Next up: The Trip to Tucson that Wasn’t (Or How My Husband and Family Pulled Off the Surprise of the Half-Century).