Last week was a wild 1 that included me celebrating my 5oth birthday and getting the news that I am going to be the principal of the new high school opening up in East Los Angeles this coming August! It has been a whirlwind of celebrations... these pictures are from my birthday celebration on Friday, at Buca di Beppo, in Pasadena. These are my closest friends, my younger brother, Michael, and my husband, Mike, celebrating with me.

A shot of me with my dear husband during dinner. I made the rounds of the table and took pictures of everyone.

My friends George and Peter posing with me!

My friends Maria and Donna strike a pose with me.

Here is a shot of me with Carolyn, whose birthday is the day after mine. Friday night wasn't just about celebrating my birthday; we celebrated (in this order) my birthday, Fred's, and my husband, Mike's birthday. We celebrated a total of 4 February birthdays that night!

Here is a shot of Blanca and her husband, Chuck. Of the entire group, Blanca is my oldest friend. We have been friends for 28 years. When we first met, Blanca was 16 and in 11th grade. I was 22 and was a newlywed and junior in college. Our friendship is something very special and I regard her and my friend, Maria, as family. They are the 2 younger sisters I NEVER had.

Mike and Carolyn, 2 fellow Aquarians celebrating their birthdays too!

My baby brother, Michael, and the most important man in my life: hubby.

A shot of the 2 Michael's ...

Donna gave me these beautiful flowers. I got 50 gorgeous roses in this arrangement. They have found a home in our dining room.

These lovelies came from my best friend, Sergio.

After dinner, all of us came back to our place for cake, champagne, coffee, and hot tea. We toasted to my new job and the 4 February birthdays.

Here's to the 4 of us having birthdays! May the new year be a terrific year for all of us. The last guest left right before 2 a.m. It was an exhausting day, but it was the best birthday I can remember ever having and a lot of it had to do with the very special people who shared my day with me. I LOVE each of them SO much!

Lastly, a shot of the sweet peas that I arranged around the house to get into the spirit and to bring a little of my father and grandmother into our celebration. I ordered 8 bunches of light pink and dark pink sweet peas to put into vases throughout the house to celebrate our birthdays and get into the Valentine's Day spirit. These flowers were my father's, as well as my grandmother's, favorite flower. Each year, in their honor, I plant these flowers from seeds and just watch them take off until they are ready to bloom. Although Dad and Grandmother are not around, this is a way for me to have a little part of them stay with me. On my birthday, I really felt they were right alongside me celebrating...