Birthday Give-away
July 20, 2012
Today is my 50th birthday. It is very hard to me to not be real, so I am going to be real with you. I am NOT happy about turning 50!!! I have been grumbling about it for a couple of years. I just do not know how I got here :-O I mean I still feel like I am 16 and hardly recognize the woman I see in the mirror. Now I realize I am lucky to be 50. I am even sure one day I would love to be 50 again. I also realize this is a new season in my life with it's own set of blessings. I have talked and talked to myself but if I am honest, in my heart I do not like it. I feel invisible. I am sure I am the only one who feels this way but this blog is a picture book of my life and I want to remember how I felt today, warts and all.
The picture above is me on my first birthday. I love this picture because of the sour look on my face and my father pointing out the cake. I like to think it is me turning up my nose to the pre-packeaged, too sweet snowball. A foodie in the making!!!! As I celebrate today I would like to offer a copy of The Vintage Tea Party Book, a charming British tea book (or if you do not own Wren Bay you would like to win a copy) to you readers who always brighten my day. I will pick a winner on July 25.
Thank you for listening to my bratty whine. I am sure one day down the road I will read this post and give myself a good talking to but today is a bittersweet day for me and that is how I feel in my heart!
I felt exactly the same way in May when I turned 50! Hope all is well and you're getting used to the 5-0! Found you via Networked Blogs! Have a wonderful day!
Posted by: Deanna | July 26, 2012 at 07:45 AM
Clarice, HAPPIEST of BIRTHDAYS!! I have to say, I really did like the picture of you...reminds me of my pic on my blog of my birthday last Thanksgiving...I guess my mother decided a pumpkin pie would suffice...to this day, I am NOT A FAN!
Hope you did something FUN!!
Posted by: patty | July 24, 2012 at 12:22 AM
Happy belated birthday to you...stay sweet always....
Posted by: jeyanthi | July 24, 2012 at 12:12 AM
Giving a gift away on your own birthday?! You are sweet and not a bit whiny. I haven't blogged in ages, but I blogged about my birthday and Wren Bay today. What a weird coincidence. May it cheer you up a little. Happy Birthday!
Posted by: Eve | July 23, 2012 at 07:45 PM
Love you!! Happy Birthday Sweet Pea!
Posted by: Gumbo Lily | July 23, 2012 at 06:42 PM
Happy Birthday! I will be 50 next year and have already been contemplating what that means to me. I've decided to age gracefully and embrace each day. That's what my grandmother does and she is approaching her 89th birthday!
Posted by: Kris | July 23, 2012 at 09:09 AM
Dear Clarice, Happy Birthday!!
I am chasing on your heels, and am kept "young" by my 8 yr old! ( Actually I blame him for all my grey hairs!!) And love him to bits, along with his brother and sister. Please don't enter me for the draw, as I am lucky enough to have both these books already.
I know your lovely family will have given you a very special day. So Happy Birthday again and Many Happy Returns. Gill xxx
Posted by: Gill | July 23, 2012 at 02:12 AM
Happy Birthday!
Thank you for the giveaway.
Hugs
Posted by: Jorgelina | July 22, 2012 at 12:04 PM
I loved my 50th birthday - a heart shaped diamond was what made it a wonderful day. Now I wonder what 70 will bring.
Posted by: Nanc Nielsen | July 22, 2012 at 11:13 AM
I hope you had a FANTASTIC birthday! I know it sounds cliche, but age is just a number. If you feel 16, that is just AWESOME! :) I know I will react the same way, too. You have a beautiful family and such talent - those are things to be treasured. Here's to next year's special day! xoxo
Posted by: Theresa | July 22, 2012 at 10:55 AM
Happy Birthday! Mine is next Saturday, it just didn't seem possible it was time for another one. ;)
I didn't mind turning 40 but 50 took some getting used to. But then again, I cried through my 30th birthday.
There must be something about those change of decades...
However, having made one too many trips to the hospital due to a chronic illness, I am also happy to have another year each birthday.
The book looks charming but I wouldn't expect anything less from you. :)
Posted by: Brenda@Coffeeteabooksandme | July 22, 2012 at 06:31 AM
I'm a FB friend and I don't know how I've never found your blog, shame on me!! I love it here, will follow you here too and I'd love to win that book, my Mum was from England so this would be sweet to win!!!
Posted by: Sue Neitzel | July 22, 2012 at 05:55 AM
I love your website, I had so much fun reading Wren Bay and I hope you had a very merry and happy birthday, despite not being happy about the number. As Anne of Green Gables would say: You are only as old as you are in your heart!
Posted by: Jenn B | July 22, 2012 at 12:16 AM
Happy Birthday Clarice! The 50's are the bomb! Just embrace it, You're only as old as you feel. I'll be 59 this year. Now, 60, that's something to whine about ;) I's love to win the book. Thank you, Mona @ [email protected]
Posted by: Mona | July 21, 2012 at 10:57 PM
I'm a frequent reader but haven't commented before . . . found your blog back when Tasha Tudor died and I was searching around for other people who were saddened. I turned 50 last year, and was excited to become invisible - like another commenter upstream said, free-er to be who we wish. Then halfway into my 50th year, I got a cancer diagnosis. Made my 51st birthday a couple of weeks ago an unabated joy to achieve, for sure! Enjoy each blessed moment of this life (but enjoy a wallow in a whine for a bit, for sure!)
Posted by: Kimberly | July 21, 2012 at 08:36 PM
Sigh. I felt rather...off...this year turning 40. I think it is ok and it is better to be honest about it. :)
I've not seen this tea book before-how intriguing! I love tea. Wish you come come over for a cuppa and I'd bake you a lovely all-natural cake and decorate it with fresh flowers.
Posted by: kimberly | July 21, 2012 at 04:01 PM
Oh Clarice, My dear friend...please..rejoice, you have been given so many great years and many more to come!!
I would love to be entered into your birthday give away! Blessings to you!
Posted by: Dianntha | July 21, 2012 at 02:18 PM
I loved my 40's and adored my 50's.
My 60's are very sweet.I also think young.
I still live my life the very same way I always have and will until the good Lord calls me home!!!
Love your giveaway, Dottie
Posted by: Dottie | July 21, 2012 at 11:21 AM
Many, many Happy Returns of the Day, dear Clarice!
I love your honesty. It is strange to have been on the earth so long and not to feel it. I remember my grandmother telling me (this was when she was in her '80s and I was in college) that she got such a shock each morning when she looked in the bathroom mirror and saw "that old lady" staring back...she still felt 21, even with an amputated leg and walker. : )
Wishing a lovely day, week, month...
Posted by: Lesley Austin | July 21, 2012 at 11:12 AM
Happy Birthday! Yes...numbers can get you down; but in reality, it's all about feeling and thinking young!! I adore the picture with you and your dad...and your "sour" face! ha. I have enjoyed Wren Bay and put a copy of it in my B&B the other day; guests are enjoying it too...I am crossing my fingers on the LOVELY vintage tea book...would be a perfect addition to the tearoom book shelves! Have a great birthday month!
Donna Hardin
Posted by: Donna Hardin | July 21, 2012 at 04:51 AM
Happy 50th Clarice. Even though you are not too happy about turning 50, just maybe you will have a wonderfully blessed year and in a years time you will look back with a different perspective. I have just over 2 yrs to go before I turn 50, so I'm not sure how I will handle it.
Posted by: Angela | July 20, 2012 at 11:54 PM
Happy Birthday Clarice...best wishes to you!
Blessings!
~Nadine
Posted by: Nadine | July 20, 2012 at 08:27 PM
Enjoy the bittersweet! I love you!
Despite my foodieness I love snowballs...or rather the idea of them. Happy unbirthday!
Posted by: wmargalis | July 20, 2012 at 08:20 PM
Happy Birthday Clarice! Turning 50 beats the alternative (in some ways)!
Susan in Texas
Posted by: Susan in Texas | July 20, 2012 at 08:11 PM
Clarice,
Happy Birthday to you! After all, it is your birthday and you can cry if you want to.
I would love a chance to win your book, it would sure brighten my day.
Fondly, Jackie in CNY
Posted by: Jackie Gagen | July 20, 2012 at 07:34 PM
Clarice! I will be 50 next year! That seems impossible! But I know I wouldn't be the mother to my children or married to my husband for nearly 25 years if I was still 24 years old! LOL!
It will take adjustments, but think of it this way - you are only half way through your life! That is what I like to think about!
Again, I wish you happy birthday!
Oh, and if I win the book give away, I'll go for the British book since I already own and adore Wren!
Deanna
Posted by: Deanna | July 20, 2012 at 07:33 PM
Dear Clarice,
Have a beautiful birthday!
Thank you for the giveaway.
SIncerely,
Ann
Posted by: Ann | July 20, 2012 at 07:10 PM
Dearest Clarice,
I know how hard today was for you but I want you to know that you are not alone...
And that you are a blessing to so many and we want you around for another 50 years!
Happy Birthday sweet friend!
Posted by: Kelley | July 20, 2012 at 06:45 PM
Dear Clarice,
Whine away, dear one! When the emotional dust has settled, I'm sure you will come out stronger and more creative and spunky. :)
I'd love to enter your giveaway; tea is just the thing for a hard day, isn't it?
Love,
Marqueta
Posted by: Marqueta | July 20, 2012 at 06:25 PM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARICE.
Here's to the next 50!!
Have a great birthday week.
Posted by: Janice | July 20, 2012 at 06:13 PM
Happy birthday Clarice. Being 50 is not so bad. It sure beats the alternative! Take joy in all the wisdom you have accumulated in those years and look forward to the next 50.
Posted by: Nancy Crockett | July 20, 2012 at 04:30 PM
Well Mrs. Story Book Woods.
I'm here to tell you, I know exactly how you feel!
I'm going to be 53!
I too feel like a young-in and in fact never imagined I'd even ever get this old! Ha!
Just remember we are blessed to still be here on earth and healthy and much wiser.
God has a purpose for us still. That's a good thing. Love you and wish you the bestest of a day birdie blue! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Posted by: jill | July 20, 2012 at 01:01 PM
Well, you know how I feel! I've left you birthday wishes all over the place today because I cherish you and I want you to be happy! You WILL get over this, if I have to take you by the hand and drag you into happiness! It's ok to have your feelings and it's ok to be sad, but 50 is a turning point and a good one, so just PLEASE give it a chance.
Love love love, Linda Lou
PS...you can only be a brat today, then it's OVER!!! LOL
Posted by: Linda Colantino | July 20, 2012 at 09:45 AM
Happy Birthday. Hope it is a great one.
Posted by: Erin Parker | July 20, 2012 at 09:31 AM
(((Clarisse))), I hope you have a happy birthday -- even though you are not feeling very happy about it. I am turning 56 this year (seems like I just turned 50 so I don't know where the years go!) I hear you on the invisible thing. It is really annoying. A nice thing about the "invisible" thing - is that you can really do your own thing and nobody questions you! You can let your freak flag fly -- or not, or do it intermittently -- and it's all good. Really, in so many ways it is very freeing to be "invisible" to people that simply do not matter! Because you are never invisible to your family, your friends, and the people whose souls you are intertwined with.
Posted by: Diana | July 20, 2012 at 09:07 AM
Happy Birthday Clarice! Hope you have a stupendous day!
Posted by: Manuela@A Cultivated Nest | July 20, 2012 at 08:50 AM
Happy Birthday Clarice!!!! You know Ive already told you about the 50s being really good BUT you are entitled to whine. Your just beginning this time so its unknown and scary lol. But I so understand what your feeling. One more little thing tho that might perk you up. Women our age are not invisible. I became single just before I hit 50 and I found men of all ages really loved an older woman, and yes I went out with a couple.
I asked one tho why he liked older women........seems we do have an advantage over the younger ones. He told me older women know what they want, they dont play games. So cherish all the things that brought you to this day, they are what make you one hot cougar mama :)
Posted by: Pat | July 20, 2012 at 08:32 AM
Happy (dancing) birthday! The best is yet to come, Clarice. Savor 50! And enjoy a wonderful, wonderful birthday MONTH!
And please, enter me in your delightful drawing!
Love,
LaTeaDah
Posted by: lateadah | July 20, 2012 at 08:07 AM
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY Clarice. I know just how you feel -- and I think it's ok to not be happy about it. How DID we get here??? Sadly, not much we can do about it -- just try to enjoy the ride!
Posted by: Thimbleanna | July 20, 2012 at 06:11 AM
Happy birthday Clarice! Once you get past today - and your feelings about the number - embrace your 50's - I have found them to be the best!
Posted by: Tracy | July 20, 2012 at 05:54 AM
Happy Birthday! Hope you can celebrate with one of the beautiful tea parties from the book to cheer yourself up. That book is gorgeous! I turn 40 this year. I hate decade birthdays!
Posted by: Jennifer | July 20, 2012 at 05:53 AM
Feeling your pain! It's only the beginning...
Posted by: Nancy | July 20, 2012 at 05:06 AM