Celebrating 1/2 century age

Ok, for those who celebrated your 1/2 century mark....well it can be a bike ride, but I mean turning 50 yrs.:

Was the b-day particularily special for you or just like any other birthday? And how did you celebrate?

Mine is next month. Other than the fact I got a free hair blow-dry offer..which I'm still abit flabbergasted and wondering if I will be in town on that day.. :cool::confused: I did receive a collective gift in advance already from siblings, since a sister brought it in person for me when she fly over to visit me for a few days.

I'm turning the big 5-0 next month too! My adopted Cosmic Twin is turning 5-0 about two weeks earlier, so we posted a ride for our bike club. Riding 50 miles over a local climb called Cantelow. When we all reach the top, I'm going to pull out a bottle of sparkling cider, dixie cups, and a snack sized Cliff bar for everyone wrapped in a bit of ribbon and have a bit of the bubbly and 'cake' at the top!

I'm not happy about turning 50, so I gave myself other things to worry about and joined the women's race team. I've never raced in my life. :eek: But I'm certainly distracted from the age factor...:p

Hey, dee are you Aquarius also? :rolleyes:

Who knows it might downpour rain on the b-day in our area, which highly likely or black ice.. this is why I can't even think about planning a bike ride in advance.

By the way, You make some highly unusual jewellery. Very cool.

I've got 11 more months to plan. But I know one thing I'm going to do in the next year, catch up with this whole Web 2.0 thing. Before I turn 50 I will find a social networking site I like, figure it out and make myself a page.

Last night over dinner DH got a call from his 80+ year old mother who was completely dumbfounded trying to manage her telephone and internet service. It made me realize that yes, adjustment DOES get harder as we get older, but keeping up with technology is also at least partly a choice that we make. I've resolved to at least catch up where I know I'm woefully behind right now, and that's in social networking.

I posted this same question last spring and got some terrific ideas from TE'ers. I sifted through the possibilities and ended up doing a week-long bike tour of the Natchez Trace with WomanTours in late April.

The trip wasn't cheap but was worth it. I had a ball spending my 50th birthday with about 20 feisty, friendly, funny women from all over the country, all levels of cycling skill. The 226 miles I logged that week were the most physically challenging thing I'd ever done---including the 50 miles I logged ON my 50th. For me, the trip was a perfect way to celebrate the big milestone. :D

My SO had a milestone birthday earlier this year. We went to Paris (with our bikes) and did all the things on his list that we could while over there. It was great fun and something that we remember fondly and talk about.

It's nice to make something special out of birthdays. Happy Almost Birthday!

I'm planning on leaving the country.

I've been taking french lessons off and on for 6 years, and plan on going to France to take a Bobbin Lace class at one of the lace schools. Hopefully I can rent a bike while I'm there for a little jaunt around the countryside.

My big 5-0 was last year - last December actually.
I didn't make any plans for a trip or anything like that BUT my DH planned a surprise birthday party for me. It was a total surprise - I thought I was going to an engagement party for some friends at a local restaurant. Still amazed at how well he pulled off both the party and the surprise. The party was timed to be about a month before my birthday, so maybe that contributed to the surprise aspect. And, I am often rather oblivious to goings-on around me anyway. :D

As for actually turning 50, I honestly don't think it has/does bother me. Sometimes I am rather startled to realize that I am actually 50, but more in terms of 'how did that happen' and 'where did the time go'.

I, too, have a cosmic twin who turned 50 1 week before I did. A great friend arranged a helicopter ride for the 2 of us over the Pendleton area and took us to lunch. It was something I'll never, ever forget. The helicopter pilot was at our disposal for an hour. We zoomed all over the place and called people from our cell phones to step outside to see us. (It was in 1999 and I can still remember!!!)

I'm "only" turning 40 next month.

I'm getting a new president for my birthday. I hope this one will be MUCH better than the president I got as a baby gift 40 years ago.

Sarah

Our next president is 3 days older than me! Either he's young or I'm old!

Funny you should mention this - I turn 50 in ten months and I've been wondering what to do to commemorate it.

Maybe head north. :)

I'm firmly planning on the second half being better than the first half. Which means a lot of Vitamin I . . . . :p

Turning 40 was such a let down for me that I find myself already looking forward to having a memorable 50. I've got 9 years to plan it, so it had better be spectacular! :p

I did nothing special. Just another day older.

I took a fantastic dive trip to Belize with my sister, a few friends, and several of their friends--8 of us altogether--for a week. It was a blast.

I've taken diving vacations for all of my milestone birthdays so far, and plan to continue as long as I am able.

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Originally Posted by bmccasland

I'm planning on leaving the country.

I've been taking french lessons off and on for 6 years, and plan on going to France to take a Bobbin Lace class at one of the lace schools. Hopefully I can rent a bike while I'm there for a little jaunt around the countryside.

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What part of France? Lace-making is centered in the north near Belgium. It's all good as far as I'm concerned.

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Originally Posted by bmccasland

I'm planning on leaving the country.

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Permanently? :confused:

I love parties with friends and family and decided this year that I am going to quit waiting for my husband/family/friends to throw me a party - I am going to start having my own. I don't think I will regret it. I DO think that I will regret waiting, being disappointed, and feeling sorry for myself. I am a long ways from 50, but it will be an especially fun party!

The one request when I hit the big 50 was no black balloons, over the hill jokes, etc. I think every birthday is a blessing - and I am thankful to have lived this long. But the one thing I got for m fiftieth was my car - a shiny black former FHP patrol car with working spot and pushbumpers, etc. My DH bought it for me since I no longer felt safe driving after our PT Cruiser got hit twice in hit and runs. I get a lot of respect on the road now and enjoy driving my “grocery getter”. Last year he put in window tinting, and a new set of tires for my ride.

Celebrate your day!

We took our closest friends (3 couples) to a very "fancy" restaurant in Boston. The dinner and service was great, but not overbearing. My only regret is that it was about 6 months before we met our cycling friends.
We also went for a weekend in Portland, Maine. We took the train there early on Saturday and spent the day walking and eating. It was eerily warm for the beginning of October; I remember eating outside at lunch. I think I had a massage at the hotel and we used the gym there. We left after brunch on Sunday. Short, but fun.

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Originally Posted by shootingstar

Hey, dee are you Aquarius also? :rolleyes:

Who knows it might downpour rain on the b-day in our area, which highly likely or black ice.. this is why I can't even think about planning a bike ride in advance.

By the way, You make some highly unusual jewellery. Very cool.

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Nope, earlier in Jan, I'm a Capricorn. But I have a Venus and rising in Aquarius! :D I have no idea what the weather will be here but I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Thanks for the compliment! It's what I do while reading cycling forums on the internet....:)

I have a January birthday, too. (11th, same as Richard Nixon and Rush Limbaugh :P) For my 40th I rented a beach house for a week alone. I want to plan something special for my 50th (3 years away), and I don't know what. It WILL be in a warm climate, though!

Karen

First, happy birthday in advance. The emphasis on decade birthdays doesn't resonate with me, but my 50th ended up being special because I got my first kick scooter. This is a life-changing event for an urban-dweller, and at the time (8 years ago) it was unusual for adults to use kick scooters, so the birthday was special accidentally.

I hope you end up with a celebration that suits you perfectly. I recommend being completely self-indulgent for every birthday.

Pam

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Originally Posted by Flybye

I love parties with friends and family and decided this year that I am going to quit waiting for my husband/family/friends to throw me a party - I am going to start having my own. I don't think I will regret it. I DO think that I will regret waiting, being disappointed, and feeling sorry for myself. I am a long ways from 50, but it will be an especially fun party!

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You won't regret conjuring up your own plans for marking your birthday! My own celebrations are always more fun than 'waiting' for others to step up to the plate. For one thing, it allows you to inject whatever meaning into the occasion YOU want. For many years, when I lived in the D.C. area, I used to take my birthday off, pack up a small box of sinfully-rich chocolates, the best strawberries I could get my mitts on, a tiny bottle of champagne and head for the Monocacy Aqueduct, along the Potomac River. A nice long stroll on the C&O Canal was usually the centerpiece of the outing, preceded or followed by the tasty treats. Yum!

Now that I live near the mountains, I take the day off and go for a wonderful long hike with my best (furry) buddy, Sam, and take a picnic lunch along........My 50th this year was the only exception to the rule. Sam had to stay home while I headed to Mississippi with my bike. :)

Some memorable ideas here. Right now, I'm abit on edge...am waiting to see if #1 I was successful for a job that I was interviewed for..or if not, #2 I have simultaneously requested a few days ago, for a ...salary raise for present job. :D:D My Christmas/b-gift present to myself if event #1 does not occur.

Beyond that I still haven't planned/requested for anything else yet.