Day 365: Happy 50 Years to Me

50 ROBYNISMS

Pink is my signature color

When listening to Gospel Music I cry because I’m so moved

I’m obsessed with cocktail napkins & you having one under your drink

I light candles every night in my house even if it’s just me home alone

I say intentions for the day ahead every morning when I wake up

I drink gallons of water a day

I won most Vivacious in High School, Brian won most Understanding, they still hold true

I get anxiety going to Costco

I would have my hair styled everyday if I could afford to

I have worn the same fragrance for 25 years, Tiffany

My favorite designer is Coco Chanel

I’m obsessed with your beverage being served in the correct stemware

The more bling & glitz, the better

My favorite sport is of course Baseball

I hold a Master’s Degree in Broadcast Management from Pepperdine University

I expect a lot, because I give a lot

Fine is never acceptable, you should aim for outstanding

I drink vodka martinis up, cold and with olives

I believe in equal rights for all

I would die for my children

I hosted my own public affairs television show at the age of 27

I wish we could all be foster parents

I’m passionate about more women in public office

. I cry watching the news

I believe being graceful is always in style

I believe intelligence is sexy

I was born a blonde & believe we do have more fun

Peonies are my favorite flowers

I adore my big & blended family & feel blessed to have them in my life

I love my children to the moon & the stars & back again

I believe motherhood is a job, and the best one to hold

I love drinking champagne anytime of the day or night

I miss my mom Suzanne everyday

I believe we can all do better

I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without my partner Brian

I love to travel, but always miss home

I believe in Sisterhood

My daily beverages include coffee, water, vodka & wine

I am passionate about food

I love to dress up

I love to soak in a swimming pool with a cocktail

I’m too old to drink cheap wine & it must be chilled

I’m blessed to have a circle of friends who enrich my life

I’m grateful for my beautiful home built my builder hubby

I have no regrets about running for office, except maybe that I didn’t win

I feel like a winner in life because I at least tried

It has been a colorful 50 years

I have a long to do list for the next 50

I hope you will all be with me on the journey

I’m at peace, but not finished

Day 364: On the Eve of One Year

Wow, I can't believe tonight is the eve of ONE year since I launched my Birthday Blog! One year of sharing my life from the most mundane activities or thoughts, to the extravagant & outrageous. It's been a fabulous journey to chronicle my daily life.

The beauty of this Blog is that I now I have a living diary full of animation and color and it makes me so happy. I set this goal and stuck to it and now I can review everything I did, felt, and experienced from my 49th Birthday celebration in New York until tonight.

Many of you have asked if I was going to continue posting about my life and the answer is YES! I want to keep this living, open book alive. Writing daily gives me an outlet to reflect, share, grow, explore and give shout outs to special people in my life.

I set many goals on my 49th Birthday ... to launch a daily blog, to run a marathon, to get healthy & fit, to be strong, to help women run for office, to attend as many of my boy's baseball games as possible, and I have accomplished all of this.

WOW! it feels amazing!

Day 362: 50 for 50 ... What A Night

What a very special evening it was. I was honored at the 50 for 50 event! The Los Angeles Westside chapter of the National Women's Political Caucus hosted an energetic event to help me usher in my 5oth Birthday while also raising money for an important cause.

I was so very touched and moved by the terrific accolades and thoughtful remarks bestowed upon me. What a fabulous surprise to have so many respected and admired elected leaders attend to honor me! Joining us was Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell, West Hollywood Councilwoman Abbe Land, and former NWPC-California President Celeste Weingardt.

I am honored by their words, leadership and friendship. I was equally honored by my friends, colleagues, and family who joined me tonight!

I felt supported, loved and very special to be recognized by my peers for my commitment to seeing more women elected into office. I live with great passion to this cause and it is my absolute joy to work with talented women to ensure they are victorious.

I want to give a special shout out of gratitude to all my NWPC sisters especially Jane Hasler Henick, Lindsay Bubar, Betsy Johnson, and Rebecca Simon for working hard to make tonight's event a success.

Day 361: Beautiful Beach Day

Had a fabulous beach run today with gal pal Melody Roset! We ran our favorite course along Pacific Coast Highway and even pushed ourselves to run up Temescal Canyon!

Well it really wasn't a push for Melody, but it was for me! Ouch! Have you ever run up that incline? Let me tell you... you want a good looking booty for your bikini this summer, then get your hide over to the Palisades and up that route. It felt GREAT! A wonderful challenge!

And then I was rewarded and treated by Melody to a delicious lunch at Back on the Beach! One of my FAVORITE spots along the coast! We sipped wine (don't tell anyone) and shared a delicious salad & sandwich. It was a perfect way to kick start my birthday week! Thank you dear Melody for working my ass so hard then treating me to a priceless lunch on the beach!

Day 360: Birthday Festivities

Wow, I cannot believe I am days away from the Big 5-0! Can't believe I've been writing my Birthday BLOG for 360 days either! Double snaps for me, that's for sure! This is a big week for me with all types of birthday festivities on the calendar!

On Thursday, we have our 50 for 50 celebration! My board sisters of the National Women's Political Caucus are hosting a 50 for 50 party... a $50 contribution in honor of my 50 years! Pretty cool if you ask me!

I'm honored to be honored! It's taken a lot of effort to produce the event, but the end result will be a healthy PAC account for us to share with our endorsed women candidates! And all while we kick start the 50 Birthday festivities.

I hope you'll be there on Thursday to support NWPC & me!

Day 359: Really ... A Cavity?

Went to the dentist today for my bi-yearly teeth cleaning appointment. Always an activity I look forward to, not! Oh well, it's all part of the maintenance which I write about frequently.

Keeping the teeth clean, polished and germ free is just what ya got to do to stay healthy. Of course I needed a set of x-rays, I swear every time I visit that office I'm paying for more then just the teeth cleaning.

Anyway the dentist says I have the beginnings of a cavity. Really? How does a woman, days away from turning 50, have a cavity! Oh the joy's of maintenance!

Day 358: 7 Days to 50

Wow! Hard to believe we are closing in on one year since I launched my Birthday Blog! Oh my goodness one week from today I will be 50 years old and will have BLOGGED faithfully daily for an entire year.... wow!! Yippee for me! Kudos to me! Snaps for me for sure!!!

What an accomplishment to set goals and see them through to fruition. Not only did I keep my commitment to BLOG daily, but to also train tirelessly to run my first Marathon, which I completed as well. And to enter my 50s healthy & happy! Wow again for me. Snaps again for me!!!

I can not impress upon you all enough how important it is that we set goals for ourselves. For us personally, for our career, families, relationships and do whatever we can to keep those commitments and see them through till completion... it's been a wonderful year from 49 to almost 50 ... hard to believe I was in New York one year ago plotting my strategy to BLOG and to run a marathon ... and PUFF one year later and I can check those items off my TO DO list... feels great!

Day 357: Powerful Women

Powerful day! A room full of energetic women!

I spoke at the West Hollywood Women's Leadership Conference this morning and stayed to soak up some of the terrific speakers throughout the day.

Pictured here with me is Genevieve Morrill President & CEO of the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and one of our terrific lunchtime panelists. So enjoyed her remarks!

I was hired to kick off the morning session and get the attendees energized for the day ahead of them. I believe I succeeded in making all participants feel comfortable and good about their choice to spend their Saturday at the Conference!

These are some of my remarks which I shared with attendees:
We are all works-in-progress no matter what age or stage of life we are in. Continuing to learn and grow is healthy and vital to staying current and fresh. Sometimes a new idea can aid us in viewing our work, our family, or community from a different lens. We are never finished; we should always aspire to be better, stronger, and more purposeful.

Later in the afternoon I supported my NWPC sisters Lindsay Bubar & Betsy Johnson as they led a workshop on How to Get Elected or Appointed to Office.

Pictured here is me attending the workshop and sharing a funny antidote from my campaign trails!

There's something very powerful & invigorating when you spend the day in the company of talented, strong and passionate women... all sharing their ideas, thoughts and energy. I applaud the organizers of the conference and hope that all who attended enjoyed their day!

Go Women Power!

Day 356: My Beautiful BEARCAT

For those of you who don't care for baseball or reading about my son's accomplishments, skip this post! Because this is all about the college boy! 5 minute interview about his OUTSTANDING season!

Today's a GREAT day to be a Mama of a BEARCAT!

Athletics: Bearcat Sports Network Video Archive | Willamette University

www.willamette.edu

Day 355: Aries Baseball Mom's

I adore my baseball Mom's. That's right, my baseball mom's. These are the women I spend HOURS with in the stands. Schmoozing about our son's; tracking the game activities; gossiping a bit about anything; I mean the games can run over two hours, some three times a week so seriously, you have to have some bonds to chat the hours away!

I had lunch with a baseball mom today to celebrate our shared Aries Birthday's. Too fun to talk about our boy's, their talents, their weaknesses, what the future could be for them... I'm grateful for these ladies.

Can you imagine if you didn't bond with your baseball gals how long these game could be! Today was another game, thank goodness a victory for our Palisades Team. Life is sweet.

Day 354: The Gift of More Numbers

Okay people I need your help! I need to get my Followers number up to 100 in the next 11 days!

I've posted about this before... I know there are many of you who are sneakers on to my site, or checking it out, but you are not registering as a follower and it's killing me!

In order for me to use my BLOG to advance my goals I need you to let the world know that you follow my musings! So please register as a follower... shout it from the roof tops... tell your friends to sign up too!

I really want to make this goal of 100 Followers by my 50th Birthday on April 17 ... help me reach this goal ... it's the BEST Birthday present you could give me!

Day 353: Have You Registered Yet?

Have you signed up yet to attend the West Hollywood Women's Leadership Conference this Saturday? I hope you have!

I've been hired to kick-off the conference during the morning session beginning at 9 a.m. I'll be getting attendees pumped up for the day that awaits them, and incorporating a few activities to get the audience participating. The conference has terrific speakers to lead wonderful workshops on everything from building your brand, increasing your public relations knowledge, to how to run for public office.

To learn more about the conference & to register visit:
www.WEHO.org/WLC

I hope to see you Saturday morning!

Day 352: Exercise, Politics & Motherhood

Started the day with a very intense workout - The Bar Method! If you have not tried these classes yet, I HIGHLY recommend you check them out! Very intense, specific body sculpting! I must have done 40 push-ups and my back muscles are feeling the effects of such a workout! Wow! Yikes...

Then it was off to meet with Board of Equalization Member Betty Yee along with some of my National Women's Political Caucus sisters. Betty is eying the State Controller's seat for the year 2014. Crazy to think that to run a state wide campaign in California you have to begin laying your groundwork so many years in advance. But that's the way it's done, especially if you are serious and want to garner as much support as possible. Betty is on target on all the issues I care about... check her out if you get the chance and I'm sure I'll be spreading her candidacy more with you over the next few years!

Then it was off to the hand specialist to have Spencer checked again. Spencer was hit on his left hand by a pitch and it cracked his bone! Can you believe it, cracked his bone in his hand! He's been in a brace for two weeks and not able to play ball. Doc said he is recovering & healing and can get back to practices later this week. Thank goodness there's no permanent damage.

Then we headed to Santa Monica Seafood to pick up fresh fish for dinner... oh my goodness, I'm exhausted. Too many activities on the agenda, too much to pay attention to ...

I'm off to bed now.

Day 351: The Morning After

Yikes, I can't remember the last time hubby Brian and I stayed out until 3 a.m.! Oh my gosh! Wow did we have fun! We attended a friends' 50th Birthday party at a magnificent and new beautiful restaurant in West Hollywood... Fig & Olive! It was scrumptious & elegant!

We had so much fun visiting with guests, eating a delicious meal, and it was a special treat because our two teenage boys Harrison & Spencer were also invited! They were all dressed up looking very dapper & handsome and it was nice to be out on a Saturday night with them!

When the party was winding down we were invited to join my friend and her family in a limo ride for some late night cocktails! Oh my goodness, we rode around in a disco lit Hummer limo! I was cracking up! It's been years since Brian and I had so much fun dancing along with stropping lights & blaring music! We hit a few hot spots for cocktails and ended arriving home at 3 in the morning.

Oh my gosh is all I can say!

Day 350: More Maintenance

My routine has now become so extensive and involved that it takes me two days to get my act together to be presentable! Damn when did this all happen?

We are attending a friend's 50th Birthday party tonight so it's off to the hair salon for perfect curls with a slight up-do, it's off to the manicure shop for cuticle cutting and fresh nail polish, it's off to the cosmetic counter for fresh new sparkling lip gloss... sometimes I'm more exhausted prepping for the party, then I am from attending our soirees (ha-ha).

No one ever said getting older would be easy, but damn this is a battle. I feel like I'm at war with my bulge, gray hair and everything else in between!

Well, don't you worry I'm going to WIN this battle if it kills me!

Day 349: Maintenance

Wow, it's a lot of work to maintain this face & body of mine! It's hair color, new weaves, tinting eyebrows, new moisturizers & cosmetics... just keeping up with everything can be overwhelming! And the more years that are piled on, the more work this maintaining becomes.

I mean it used to be that the expression "keeping up with the Jones'" meant you had to achieve and strive for everything everyone else has! Well that's just nonsense, the only thing I'm keeping up with is myself!

And it takes a lot of time, effort, resources, and energy! I'm exhausted with just getting myself ready for the weekend (ha-ha).

Manicure & pedicure, blow-dry, eyelash extensions, hair color, shopping, accessorizing.... when did it become such a struggle to just maintain!

Day 348: Beach Walking with Gal Pal Jill

Ah, what a glorious way to kick start your day! I was back at the beach this morning, this time not to run, but to power walk with gal pal Jill. Oh, what a glorious morning!

We walked at least 6 miles and then rewarded ourselves with a yummy breakfast at Back on the Beach! Talk about feeling like being on vacation in your own city!

We marveled at all the babies and mommies playing at the Annenberg Park right next to the restaurant. We reminisced about when our now college and high school aged children, were that young and scrumptious. Part of us felt a yearning to go back to those days of cuddles and cuteness, while the other part rejoiced in a life lived full and now an opportunity to take a walk and not have the demand of babies. Although we both agreed, raising teenagers and college aged children might not be as physically demanding, but it certainly tests your parenting skills mentally!

Jill and I met when we were 13 years old, the same age we met Brian Simon too. We both turn 50 in the next few weeks. Wow! So many years, so many memories. As we sat on the beach watching youth in front of us, we reflected on life, marriage, parenting, careers, friendships, vacations, death ... and of course what we vision for the next chapter, the next 50 years of our life.

It was a beautiful morning and I felt blessed to share it with with my dear, special friend Jill. Take stock folks in what you have, friendships are a gift, make sure you nurture them.