It all started on Friday night at a local comedy night - some up-and-coming comedians at the Breakneck Comedy event were huge hits and some not so much. But the company was great despite the chatterbox amongst us who kept on getting abuse from the host :o)
On Saturday I was collected early morning by my awesome "childhood" friends - the ones who know the depths of my soul and the things that have shaped my character. These girls also hold the greatest secrets and most excruciating "embarrassing moment" stories...all of which cannot be shared because of the repercussions. They know TOO much. These lovely friends took me for a bit of pampering at Jo Malone then lunch at Malmaison then whisked off to our hotel to get ready for the evening. The 9 of us were all staying overnight in 3 adjoining rooms - slumber party heaven. But first we had a date with the Dirty Dancing show which made us laugh, cry, dance and sing at the top of our voices. We all grew up with the Dirty Dancing movie so it held a lot of memories for us. I can honestly say that the show was EPIC in every way - possibly the best show I've been to. What can 9 girls do after such an awesome show? Well, go to an 80's club to reminisce about our partying days of course.
And boy did we party? The climax has to be Deacon Blue's Real Gone Kid - it is common knowledge that the first 2 bars of that song means we have to drop everything and run onto the dance floor and jump, stamp and sing! Our 40 years caught up with us (me in particular) at about 2am and we retired to our hotel for the night.
The Sunday morning surprise from the girls was this gorgeous cake:
I want to thank the girls for making my birthday weekend one of the best ever. I love you guys and appreciate our friendships.
Sunday was supposed to be a chill out day. My mum arrived with Skye in the afternoon and we watched the Dirty Dancing movie then cracked open the wine. It was a special time because my mum has recovered well from a period of illness that had us all a bit worried and tense so double celebrations all round. We had a lovely meal and some wine, met up with my mum's partner and had an earlish night when I said goodbye to my 30s...
Monday 2nd April - my birthday. Oh what a perfect day. My brother, sis-in-law and nephew arrived in the morning and we embarked on a new walk (fresh start to the 40s) which was supposed to take less than an hour but we ended up walking for over 2 hours. A testing time for my mum's health and for Skye's legs too. But we all came out of the walk feeling refreshed and invigorated albeit very hungry. The 2nd time in as many days when I've succumbed to the hungry cries for the ultimate carbs - a pie from the local baker.
The 6 of us went out for a gorgeous meal in the evening when my family presented me with another cake (oh my colleagues at work are going to love all this cake):
I can't express enough how much I've loved every minute of my 40th birthday. My family and friends are awesome. I've received absolutely stunning gifts that I will treasure forever. I have been overwhelmed by the cards, phone calls, texts and Facebook messages so I want to say a massive thank you to you all. You are the best.
