48 FABULOUS things about being 48!

Yes indeed, it's May 19th.

I have been celebrating my birthday pretty much daily since May 7th...which is just one more reminder of the amazing--and very blessed--life I am LIVING today. My kids were part of the celebrations too (they treated me to dinner!)...each of them a happy, humorous, hard working (bright, brilliant and beautiful) grown adult. Lucky me.
And me? I have a VERY full day planned. Coffee with a friend, then breakfast with another. Lunch at Club 33 and an afternoon at Disneyland with yet another friend. After that? Basically I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my day--and the rest of every day--singing and dancing and LAUGHING a lot, seeing more of the world, delighting in good meals--and great beers, enjoying long conversations and experiencing GREAT JOY with the genuinely incredibly loving people in my life!
Life is good. It is definitely a HAPPY birthday.

48 great things about being 48...

1. I have outlived Elvis. And John Lennon. And John F. Kennedy. (These guys were SO young when they died!)
2. I know now that I am a pretty good singer. Not so good of a dancer. But I do both anyway. And often. I'd ask that you don't make fun of me. Just join me instead.
3. I like my smile. And to smile. I'm happy and like to make other people happy.
4. The tattoo is fading away after 18 months of treatments. Good riddance.
5. I know exactly the kind of man I am looking for...but I have plenty of things to do til he gets here.
6. I love to write and I'm getting pretty good at it.
7. I'm happy with the junk in the trunk, the straight hair, the tiny little age spot and the boobs. (Especially the boobs.)
8. I have learned to be forgiving, to say I'm sorry and (as far as it depends on me) to live at peace with everyone.
9. My circle of friends has changed over the last 10 years or so. Only those who allow and encourage me to be 100% ME are still around.
10. I know WTF is going on. And I have my SH*T together.
11. I would rather sit and look at the full moon than watch anything on television. The full moon inspires me and, when hanging over the ocean at 5am, brings tears to my eyes--every single time.
12. I have a friends who works at Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium and Petco Park. I haven't had to purchase a baseball ticket in years.
13. I know now, without a doubt, that happiness has nothing to do with money, relationships, possessions or circumstances!
14. I know too that being single, just like being married, has its good days and its bad days. But I certainly seem to have more good days now.
15. I've figured out that there are three steps to making it through any crisis in life: Get up, take a shower, and go to work.
16. I have met Don Sutton, Tommy John, Steve Garvey, Rod Carew, Manny Ramirez, Andre Either and Greg Maddux. Greg actually bought me a drink.
17. There’s no chance for me to become pregnant.
18. I can install a shower head, a water filter and change a headlight. I can balance a checkbook, follow the stock market, hook up my TV, DVD player, and Internet airport. I've run a household, owned a business and make the best manicotti in town. (Hear me roar.)
19. I have owned 8 tracks, 45s, 33s, cassettes, floppy discs, zip drives, CDs, DVDs, VHSs and and iPod/iPads. I delight in and love keeping up with new technology and innovation.
20. I’ve now enjoyed beer in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, France, Prague, Vienna and Budapest. And I've enjoyed a few in the US too.
21. I have an investment guy who will take my call at anytime. And he lets me drive his Porsche.
22. I get Googled and people read my blog. If you Google 'Julie Hibbard', you'll get 1,050,000 results. And I'm the first thing that comes up.
23. My best friends think I'm funny. People at work think I'm hilarious. Life is just funny, folks! And I LOVE to make people laugh.
24. I don't pretend that I like the Monster Truck Rally, Vin Diesel movies or Metallica, with the hopes that a guy will like me more. Independent interests is a beautiful thing. (He will have to at least LIKE baseball tho!)
25. With the amount of years I spent in college, I should have multiple PhDs. I am still SO proud to have my Bachelor's Degree.
26. I have GREAT kids in their late 20s. College grads. They are 100% independent!
27. I am OH SO grateful. I am completely content with what I have and what I am.
28. I have learned to live in the moment. All the worries about the future and all the replaying of the past just distract from enjoying right now. I don't want to miss a single second.
29. I have been constantly employed since I was 14 years old. I love working, being productive and being appreciated for a job well done. I am my best when I'm at work.
30. I have been to the stadiums of the Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Giants, Rockies, A's, Diamondbacks and Yankees. The 'Baseball Tour' is on the list of things to do--right Lu?
31. Living simply, with less 'things' and zero debt makes for more peaceful days and much more restful nights.
32. I can intelligently discuss the stock market, politics, religion and sports. But mostly sports.
33. Going for a walk cures almost anything that ails you. So does blogging.
34. I know from experience now that good things come to those who wait, patience is a virtue, this too shall pass and that it’s never too late to live happily ever after. Never!
35. I have realized that as much as I love to travel, I really love being home.
36. I know now that I will not spend one minute with a man I don’t want to be with. And even less time with a man who doesn’t want to be with me.
37. It’s not that I am happy when I’m thin—it’s that I’m thin when I’m happy.
38 I’d take good conversation over good sex. (The combo would be the ultimate.)
39. I am pretty sure now that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it's just hard to figure out--or admit--what the reason is.
40. I've learned to get in all of my own pictures. Finally.
41. I have a terrific memory. Especially for song lyrics. And dates. And all things high school.
42. I know now that all the time I wondered what people were thinking of me…they weren’t thinking of me at all.
43. I LOVE going out to breakfast, but I prefer to have someone in my home for dinner than go out. So much more comfortable.
44. I am now pretty much the woman that I'd always hoped I'd be.
45. I don't care what anyone says, life is long! It's been great, but it has not gone by fast.
46. Being alone and happy is SO MUCH better than being with someone and being miserable.
47. I know now that taking care of ME is not selfish or egotistical or narcissistic. It is self preservation and self-care and I am worthy of being healthy and happy!
48. Life goes on. You'll live through it. The sun does, indeed, come up the next day!
And, there will come a time when you think everything is finished (actually there will be MANY of these times)...that will be the beginning!

Here's to the NEXT 48 wonderful years
It's just the beginning.