Day 19: Friendships & Birthday's

Tonight Brian and I dined with dear friend's Lori & Steve Soll in honor of my big 5-0 birthday. What a lovely evening we shared.

The Soll's have been friends for more than 20 years... we have shared births, deaths, holidays, baseball and everything else life throws you, together!

There have been some beautiful memories made between our families. We have shared heartaches, challenges, illnesses, but in the end tonight was just a glorious celebration of life and health!

Thank you to the Soll's for honoring me and for being such wonderful friends.

Day 17: Birthday Friendship

The Birthday celebrations continue... oh my gosh I'm going to be huge with all the luncheons, dinner's and cocktails being showered upon me for my 50th Birthday! Whew!

It's been so fun and I feel so grateful to have such wonderful people in my life that want to shower me with affection (and food & drink!).

Pictured here with me is gal pal Nancy Ross out on one of my Birthday celebrations!

Truly the greatest gift in life, other then your health, is the company you keep. The people you choose to spend your time with, share your lives with, and celebrate milestones together.

It's been one festive event after another and I thank you all for reaching out to me to spend time with me, honor me and celebrate how fabulous 50 can be! I'm feeling so good today!

Day 7: Survived 50 for One Week

Well I survived my first week as a 50 year old woman! And what a week it has been! I've spent wonderful times with friends celebrating this milestone birthday and I feel as if the celebration just keeps goin' ...

Pictured here are gal pals Stacy Bell, me, and Lissa Solomon before we went out to celebrate! Don't we look fabulous & 50!

Most of my lovely lady gal pals are turning the big 5-0 either this year or in the next one or two so we are all facing the same issues of dealing with age, what we want out of the next 50 years for ourselves, our families, and who we want to spend our precious time with. No doubt this makes for some lively & truthful conversations.

I'm in a place where really I don't want to take bullshit anymore nor be in the company of people who are toxic. So this is my new mantra... I'm tired of being nice when you have offended me so I'm not going to pretend it's okay that you have disappointed me.

As I said in one of my Robynisms, I Expect A Lot Because I Give A Lot...

It's a new decade and I'm choosing my company much more wisely!

Day 5: Re-Grouping Day

Wow, what a whirlwind it has been these past 7 days! The Birthday festivities kicked-off with the 50 for 50 event, hosted by NWPC in honor of my 50th Birthday.

Pictured here is me blowing out my birthday candle at the 50 for 50 reception! Fabulous evening!

It's been a week full of festivities to celebrate turning 50, including a get-away to San Diego for the boy's baseball tournament... and now we are finally home and re-grouping!

Started the day with a great well needed workout! Yikes I've got to get back on track with my running after a hiatus this past week. As I have written, I am going to attempt to run another marathon so I can have a more successful race and hopefully in dry weather!

So today was about a lot of housekeeping ... laundry, marketing, work, blogging, and re-grouping!

Whew it's exhausting having all this fun!

Day 1: New Year

Wow, today I woke up and it's the first day of my 50th year! Still reeling from the past week and all the birthday celebrations!

The festivities kicked off with the NWPC 50 for 50 event! If you missed this exciting evening, then it was your loss.

Pictured here are two of my most favorite women! Eka Ninuea, me, and Rebecca Sanchez. These ladies are not only big time gal pals, and business owners of Salon Dione, but they make sure my locks are always looking great!

I am so touched by all the accolades and words of accommodation from so many elected officials and community leaders. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, always a supporter of NWPC and of mentoring women to run for office, attended despite her challenging schedule as Secretary of State and as a candidate for US Congress.

She is a good friend to women and to ensuring that we have more women in office. If you live in her district, please support her for her bid for Congress.

My Assembly member Holly Mitchell attended and honored me with her generous words and I am proud to have supported her.

West Hollywood City Councilwoman Abbe Land, one of my favorite women leaders, attended and shared such an adorable tribute to me! It was precious, and so is she.

Former NWPC-California President Celeste Weingardt drove all the way from Ventura County to be with me tonight and to shower me with love & support.

I felt very special and blessed tonight. And I feel as if my Birthday had purpose... By using my 50th Birthday to raise money for our Political Action Committee I am ensuring that we have the resources to support our endorsed women candidates. What a cool way to usher in the next 50 years!

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 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 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 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 346: Please Follow Me

Greetings my devoted BLOG supporters! Hard to believe that I am closing in on one year of daily posting on my Birthday BLOG... a project I began, April 17, 2010 and have been faithful with through now.

I love having an outlet to share thoughts, musings, opinions, sarcasm, love, anger... and everything in between! I love writing about my family, especially my sons, and I love writing about my wonderful friends and the very active life I lead. Sometimes I will go back and read posts, and even I am impressed with how much I juggle!

So here's the dealio ... many of you visit this site, because you tell me you have read a particular post, but you are not signed up as a follower. Here's my challenge... I want to have 100 followers (minimum) by my 50th Birthday on April 17.

Can you help me achieve this very simple goal by becoming a follower if you are not already and then share my BLOG with your contacts and invite them to sign up to follow me. It sure would make me happy...

Day 332: 50 for 50 ... Are you Attending?

Do you like me? Do you like to support women running for office? Do you like to socialize with cool people? Do you like a swanky venue? How about good food & drinks, do you like them?

Well my dear, if you have answered YES to these questions then I better see you on Thursday, April 14th for the 50 for 50 Celebration!

You say, what is the 50 for 50 Event? Well, my lovelies, it is a chance to raise a little dough for my favorite political organization, National Women's Political Caucus, while also celebrating my milestone 5-0!

So for 50 bucks you can be a champ while also having fun ushering in 50 more years for me! Not a bad deal I say! And if you are feeling flush you can even consider sponsoring the event for a little more contribution!

Click the link below for all the lovely details... Hope to see your smiling & supportive faces on April 14 !

http://www.punchbowl.com/parties/1889442-national-women-s-political-caucus-la-westside-present-s-50-for-50

Day 319: 23 Miles...

Whew! Today was the last long distance run before race day on March 20th. Just 18 days away now till the LA Marathon. Hard to believe I have been training for one year for this race! We ran 23 miles today! And I felt great when we finished... so I'd say I'm ready! Months ago I couldn't even imagine running 20 miles, let alone going over that to 23 miles.

It's been a very long, and strenuous challenge. I am tired and sore on a daily basis. I have experienced incredible almost debilitating pain in my feet, lower back and tush area. Excruciating pain to the point where I questioned what the hell was I doing.

But I made a commitment. A personal challenge to usher in my 50th year of life with a physical goal, and I'm sticking to it. The goal and victory is so close now. Just need to continue being healthy, have no injuries and continue training so I'm as fit as possible on race day. It has not been easy, but I know crossing the finish line will be filled with sweetness (and relief that it is over!).

Day 307: More 50 Celebrations

This is the year that most of my dearest friends are celebrating their 50th Birthday's! It's so fun that we are all reaching this milestone together, and it's especially cool to have so many reasons to get together & celebrate.

Today we honored gal pal Ruthie Bailey. Talk about the original party, fun girl, she's a rock star in this department! And she's a blondie too, which in my book makes her even more special!

Remember when I wrote about the holiday cookie exchange party I attended back in December (post #244) well this was Ruthie's party! I met Ruthie through her wonderful husband Chip Bailey, who hired me at the Century City Chamber of Commerce a few years ago. I adore Chip and then when I met the wifey, I knew these were very special people. Of the three people I asked to write a letter of recommendation on my behalf when I applied to law school, Chip was one of those folks... that's how much respect I have for him.

Like us Simon's, the Bailey's have three children, have been married more than 20 years, love to party, laugh, work hard, and are devoted to their family like Brian and I. You never have a boring time when in the company of these friends. So it was an absolute pleasure to lunch with Ruthie today and celebrate her!

Happy 50th my friend!

Day 301: Three Hundred Days

Hard to believe I started this Birthday Blog project 300 days ago! Today I've blogged 301 days! Wow. As I have said before, there are very few tasks we accomplish daily... hopefully brushing our teeth, kissing our children, eating & sleeping, but everything else is hard to make happen everyday.

It's been a terrific project, posting daily about life's musings... I've thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and hope you are all enjoying the journey with me. Can't believe I have 65 days till the big 5-0!

Day 300: Special Friend & Gucci Shoes

Today I celebrated the 50th Birthday of one of my favorite, oldest, and dearest friends! Tina Stein Segel, was my boss at KMIR-TV in Palm Springs many years ago.

Tina hired me as a general assignment reporter and then gave me the chance of a lifetime to host my own public affairs program, Robyn Ritter Reports. One of the BEST jobs and times in my life! We had a GREAT crew and we worked hard and partied hard. Ah, to be in my 20s again. No children and only focused on my career. It was heavenly!

Then life happened. We both married, both had three children, all teenagers now. She and her adorable husband Dave Segel moved to London where they lived up until two years ago when they moved back to the United States, to Brentwood!

Tina is one of those gals that if life were not so complicated & full, we'd hang out much more! I adore this woman. Her spirit, her values her devotion to her children and her family. Like me she has parents, sisters, always a lot going on. She never stops!

So here we are both turning the big 5-0 two months apart from one another. And after so many years, can you believe that we showed up for our lunch date today BOTH in the SAME Gucci shoes... mine in beige, hers in black. What are the odds of that? I bought these shoes almost 4 years ago when hubby Brian and I travelled to Paris for our 20th wedding anniversary. But there Tina and I sat with our matching shoes ... so many years have gone by, yet we are still so connected and so much alike.

It was a GREAT way to kick start all the 50 birthday celebrations! With a dear friend, and in Gucci shoes!