The Mother of All Birthdays

To Me!!!

Let me just start by saying that 50 is a large number. That means OLD. So I have been pretty much dreading this birthday.

But, as birthdays go, every time my birthday lands on a Friday the 13th, it is an awesome birthday. (For example, I turned 16 years old on Friday, January 13, 1978, and it was a memorable day, even all these years later!)

So here's how the birthday worked out this year:

The above picture is of the kitchen table when I got up in the morning, complete with the traditional "You are special" plate and red roses from my sweetie. I ate fresh fruit, juice, and a blueberry muffin. I think eating is a definite Gamboa birthday tradition.




I got dressed and left for work. I was given a ride to work by the handsome guy pictured on the left.
Who wouldn't have a great birthday if they started it out with him?



And to make things even better, I was met by the lovely Lisa D. with a box full of birthday donuts!
Yum!!
And wonderful co-workers and cute little people. Here's the proof:

       Aren't they pretty? Left to right is Olga, Lisa D., me, Mary, and Paula. Thank you, Yvette, for taking the picture!

And here's one group of reasons that I go to my great job, even on my birthday:

After work, which was only three hours later, my sweet husband picked me up. He had a schedule, and he wouldn't share it. So the birthday was a day full of surprises, adventure, and fun. Let me show you...

Here's the first stop:
















Yes!! We went horseback riding! This was what I wanted for my birthday! Ok, well, I really wanted a pony, but that hasn't happened for any of the previous 49 birthdays, so I just wanted to ride a horse....and I got what I wanted!

My horse was named Faith, and she had 3 rules:

1. She has to be the last horse because she'll kick anyone or any other horse that walks behind her. She doesn't like anyone touching her backside. Not so bad for me, but not good for whoever's behind her. So we were in the back, which gave me a great view of the back of Hector's horse.
2. She likes to eat a lot. So she would try to just stop and nibble on any little plants along the way. My job was to keep her walking along without stopping for snacks on the trail. It wasn't that hard to do.
3. She's slow; meaning, she walks slowly. But as it turns out, this wasn't such a bad thing because she would suddenly realize that she was far behind, so she would trot and we would catch up. This made the ride more fun!

As it turns out, Faith and I have lots in common, now that I'm 50 and all.

Anyway, it was a perfect day for horseback riding. Here's a picture of the view from Bonnelli Park, and my sweet ride, Faith:














After an hour of peaceful, relaxing, pure joy on the back of a horse, we left. All that riding had given us quite an appetite, so Hector took me to one of my favorite restaurants, where we had yummy lettuce wraps, fried rice, and my most FAVORITE dessert in the whole wide world:

P. F. Chang's Flourless Chocolate Dome. So Yummy! (with a capital "Y")

Here's us at the restaurant, along with the treat of all treats:
















       I honestly think I could eat 10 of those little chocolate pleasures in one sitting. (Except that it would definitely catch up with me when I tried to put my jeans on later.)

So as we were eating lunch, Hector kept track of the time and told the waiter that we sort of had to hurry. Where to? He wouldn't say.

At just the right time, we left the restaurant, drove a few blocks, and ended up here:

A Couples Massage!

Oh heavenly day!

Did you know that in the bathroom at Massage Envy there is soap, lotion, and mouthwash for your own personal use? I didn't know that, but here's the proof. (Read closely, the one on the far right is mouthwash. Maybe it's a hint!)

The room was lovely, with soft lighting and relaxing music. My masseuse was Stephanie, and she definitely had magic hands. Here's a glimpse of the room, and our masseuses offering us drinks of water afterwards: (Stephanie is on the right.)

Pure bliss!

After an hour that went by waaayyyyy too quickly, we were off to somewhere else, but Hector wouldn't say where.
So far, turning 50 was feeling great!

We ended up back in Upland at one of our favorite nail places: Theory Nail Salon.
I will admit, by this time, I am loving this birthday.

I got a gel manicure and pedicure, and Hector got a pedicure in the spot right next to me. I really think getting a pedicure in the chair right next to your hubby is a wonderfully bonding experience.
He wouldn't let me take his picture, but here's me getting pampered as well as a shot of my pretty toes:














Horses, delicious food, and pampering.....what could make this even better?

A Starbucks venti Hot Chocolate with one extra pump of chocolate, that's what!

For some reason, we needed to use up a little more time before going to our next destination, so we did a little shopping. Shopping too? All of my favorite things in one amazing day.

As you can see, it's a small bag. Ok, I'll be honest. It's a nightgown. I mean, Hector deserved a gift too. (For my children who are reading this and have the sudden urge to retch, my apologies.)

Finally, it was time for dinner. (I told you birthdays mean lots of food around here.) But since we were both hardly hungry, we just had an appetizer, soup and salad. We ate at one of the best restaurants in Upland. Have you been to Spaggi's? It's delicious. And thank you to my good friend and boss, Susan Frenkel, for the gift certificate to Spaggi's. It was truly enjoyed!

Here we are at the table, and here is a delicious appetizer. It's called a tomato-cheese puff or something like that. Cute star on top! And so, so yummy!














What a glorious day! Thank you to my amazing, darling husband for his intense planning. If today was indicative of the rest of my 50s, it's going to be a wonderful decade.
I love you, Hector Gamboa.

But wait! There's more! The biggest surprise of my entire life came a little later...