-Ashley Montegu
"Nothing is more honourable than a grateful heart."
-Seneca
"Love wholeheartedly, be surprised give thanks and praise- then discover the fullness of your life."
-Brother David Steindl-Rast
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| I am so GRATEFUL that my hubby, Brian and daughter, Jana, through a SURPRISE party for me to help me CELEBRATE my Birthday and new decade of life! It was held on Saturday at The Spadina Freehouse Restaurant… and was an evening of fun, friendship and celebrations! |
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| To kick off the big "SIX OH" CELEBRATIONS… earlier on my birthday… out of town guests… Linda and Dennis came from Lanigan and Mike from Regina for my party. Linda and I had our very first STARBUCKS in my sixties, too! teehe |
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| I was happy that both my brothers were able to attend my party very briefly. I got a selfie with Bro Brian … but missed snapping Bob and wife Arleen before they had to leave for another party as well. Nephew Jeff came with 60 suckers in a styrophone ball and a sign that said "60 SUCKS!" Nephew Brad and his wife, Janelle stayed until they were off to another commitment, too. I was GRATEFUL to have them there celebrating with me! |
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| There were many different groups of people to photograph… Here was the table with Jana and Nels… Brian and Mike… and others too later! |
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| I tried hard to make the rounds to visit a bit with all guests… I was happy my cousins, Bev and Gwen could be there, and friends… Dennis and Linda... as well as neighbours, Floyd, Heather and Cheryl seen here. Such good neighbours they are too! |
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| Sisters-in-law, Bev and Brenda (Brenda's hubby Mark missed being in this picture, but was also there !) as well good friends… Alex and Robin and Nichole and Sammy all were there, too! So many fun family and friends!!! |
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| More buddies… Joanne(who ended up capturing many photos for me at the party, too!)… Brenda… my good dancer buddy and studio owner of BSOBAD… Melissa… Jana's store partner at SWANK SHOE LOUNGE… Vanessa… my longest time Diane Will Dance Studio client/staff member, and good friend. |
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| More great friends… Cathy, Kellie, Brenda (also there... but not in photo… hubbies… Vince, Vern and Darren) Gerry, Joan, Jacquie, Bob… and Vern... Vern was also our chauffeur for the night! |
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| Some more awesome friends… Judy, Dan, Robin, Alex, Trona… as well as Steve, Cindy and Vern… missing from this group was Ross… but he was there, too! |
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| Anyone who know me, knows that I love a crafted card! Trona did an amazing job of crafting one of me… the pictures don't do it justice ...this is the cover and inside of her's for me … she rocks at crafting cards… thanks Trona! |
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| My nephew Jeff was there briefly… and made the rounds… here with Brian and Gwen… Even our waitress Shannon is a gal I taught years ago… she was awesome! Friends Vern and Gerry & Joan and Jacquie struck up a new friendships, too. |
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| How about these fancy cupcakes? Who doesn't love cake!? I do not recall ever having so many birthday cards on my table as there are now … and not one single duplicate either!!! I received so many thoughtful, heartfelt gifts as well… including this beautiful jewelry from my family a bracelet engraved with family names & a ring with the word LOVE on it with little pink diamonds… all so special. I also got this big framed photo of Brian's birthday celebration in October at the Montreal Canadian s hockey game with son Colin (another cherished celebration!) from our good friends, Mike and Lynne, who went on that holiday with us. I was truly spoiled and want to extend my gratitude for all the gifts… so thoughtful and generous ...too many to post here! |
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| Friday Jana and I did our kick off to our birthdays with our annual mother/daughter mani-pedi-lunch bond. Nels and Brian joined us at Earl's for lunch… we had fun and of course a happy hour to celebrate our HAPPY BIRTHDAYS! |
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| Yesterday SURPRISE CELEBRATIONS continued! Jana's friend, Melissa hosted a brunch for her and some of her family and friends at The Willows Restaurant. Seen here are Jana's friends… Melissa and Shelane, as well as my grandkids, Mariah and Beau and Shelane's boy, Braxton. |
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| I didn't get all party friends in photos… but managed to get some with the grandkids as well as their uncle Jens who happened to be visiting from Edmonton this weekend. |
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| Celebrations really started early last week… Brian and I joined friends Vern and Ella for a sushi supper at Sushiro Monday night. Tuesday I took Ella to the airport to give her the send off on a wee holiday she was going on. Wednesday I was treated to a pre birthday lunch with good dance buddy, Brenda at Moxies. So I was celebrating every day last week!!! |
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| Thursday we hosted a very impromptu supper with friends, Jacquie, Bob and Vern. Jacquie fell and broke 2 toes last week, so we thought we'd offer some support by having a supper here. Brian cooked a delicious meal… I am always so grateful for him and all he does for me and our friends and family alike! SURPRISE… Thanks for popping by my "60th Birthday Celebration" edition of my blog! As you can see… I have been celebrating for a week now…and really, I truly do like to turn every day into a celebration! Last Monday Jana and Brian decided to create a SURPRISE birthday event for me on Facebook inviting guests they could find there that they thought might like to come! Brian had my name on his list… so accidentally invited me too… SURPRISE! Although the event was not entirely a surprise to me… many parts of it were. I chose to not look at the event… that way I could be surprised by who came. I was very SURPRISED at all the LOVE that was shared there… 45 people in total… (some missing from my above photos)… but I tried to capture as many people as I could… thanks to the others who snapped photos along the way, too! With this being the start to a new decade for me… this birthday seemed more grand than previous birthdays… not just in the larger number I turned… but in the size of the celebration. I was thrilled with all who came and was grateful for how celebrated I did feel. I was delighted we had out of town friends… Linda and Dennis, as well as, Mike joining us for the birthday fun. And Mike even stayed for Jana's birthday breakfast the following day getting full value for his "surprise birthday" event!!! hehehe Mike's wife and my good buddy, Lynne, would have been along for the party, had she not been in Vancouver for a baby shower event for her daughter, Carly. I was to have gone to the baby shower, too… but could not be at both celebrations at once! I'm sure that was a fun party too! January is always a full month of celebrating for us… not only do we celebrate the start of a new year … we celebrate 3 out of our 4 immediate family member's birthdays. Mine on the 10th, Jana's on the 11th and then Colin's on the 18th. Later in the month my sister-in-law, Brenda has a birthday, too. I also grew up with many January birthday friends… we called ourselves the CBC which stood for "CAPRICORN BIRTHDAY CLUB"! Even though it is a cold month to be born, lots of celebrations help to keep our spirits warm and bright! I saw on Facebook last week someone posted that birthdays ending in ZERO… need to celebrate for the full month… so if that is the case… my celebrating has only just begun! We enjoyed a nice phone call from son, Colin , who will celebrate his 36th birthday this coming Sunday. I am always grateful he remembers to call on all of our birthdays. I will call him on his as well to wish him all the BEST on his Birthday too! My grandson had his first day of hockey school on the weekend, and loved it. I also took Mariah to her dance lessons last week… I am so glad she can carry on the family tradition following in her mom and grandma's footsteps by dancing! So many traditions can carry on for generations!!! As the beat goes on… I will close in saying… THANK YOU to all who pop by to read my blog. I want to extend gratitude with those who share so much in my life as well. I am forever GRATEFUL with the life I have, and feel loved and CELEBRATED! On that note… here is my rhyme of the day! It's fun to get together and to CELEBRATE. Especially with people , who make me feel so great! Whether it's a birthday or just another day, Living in the moment, is always the best way. Feeling grateful for whatever life brings , For all of the people and so many things. Enjoying celebrations in every decade, And all of the memories … as they are made! |
Loved spending time with you....and celebrating your wonderful life...cheers to another 60!
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