34 Things

Why yes, yes I am.

Well, Friday, I turned 34 years old. Someone said on my birthday that birthdays hardly count once you are an adult, and I'm pretty sure that's a million per cent true. All that hoopla and excitement of your childhood is gone. But it seems to me that it's replaced by some similarly great things. Brynna got me a tote bag with an owl that says "Cute and Nerdy." I'm pretty sure this is the first present she's ever bought me that she didn't want for herself. Which is a milestone in and of itself. Yesterday, I was sitting in church with Brynna reading quietly beside me and Mom and Jerry with Maren between them. Uncle D and Morgan were behind me and I felt so complete. The family was all there, all content, all amazing. Every year that passes that I get to keep that is a pretty amazing year.

Last year, I started a new tradition by making a list of 33 Things I wanted to accomplish while I was 33. As most of you know, my world turned upside down this year and while I made a lot of progress, there were also a lot of balls I dropped. This year I hope to do better. If you're paying a lot of attention, you'll probably see a lot of repeats. That's okay, that's life sometimes.

34 Things to Do While I'm 34
1. Build something - like with wood and stuff
2. Finish writing a book
3. Fix the front of my house - so it looks like someone lives there - in progress
4. Get a working craft area set up - in progress
5. Make sure my closet is filled with only things I love and look great in
6. Paint the kitchen and cabinets
7. Make a will
8. Rebuild my emergency fund
9. Do something with just Brynna once a month - August: 1 on 1 library trip, September: Ear piercing outing, December - Christmas lights, January - Harry Potter, February - Church, March - Movies, April - Boat trip
10. Do something with just Maren once a month - August: 1 on 1 library trip, September: garden walks, December - Birthday celebration, January - Movies in bed, February - Garden walks, March - Special library night, April - Night O Jigsaw Puzzles
11. Track what I read
12. Dance - I'm calling this one done. I don't know that I can give it a date, but I've dance more this year than I have in decades, it seems. 
13. Read every book club book - August: The Probable Future, September: Feed, October: FAIL, November: The Graduate, December: No book chosen, January: Divergent, February: Insurgent, March: FAIL, April: FAIL
14. Learn to knit - Found a teacher
15. Knit a scarf to prove that I can
16. Clean the basement - in progress
17. Make art - pictures coming
18. Go to a concert - I should have been more specific
19. Learn to bake bread - not from a can
20. Have a girls' event
21. Have a house that makes me furiously happy
22. Finalize my divorce - September 12, 2012
23. Make my bedroom MY BEDROOM
24. Lose 50 lbs. - 9 down. Wow. That's kinda depressing.
25.Finish redecorating the Living Room - um... Maybe not gonna finish
26. Keep the kind of house people can drop by - better
27. Make 12 of my pins - April 1, 2013
28. Travel with my girls - March 29, 2013
29. Do something I think is fun every month - August: Made a quilt, September: Painted pottery, October: Aiming Low Non Con, November: Thanksgiving Dinner cooking, December: Lots of Christmas things, January: Girls Night Out at The Studio, February: FAIL, March: Disney World, April: Beach, May - Joe Hill signing
30. Cook more at home - define more...
31. Sleep late as much as possible - definite progress
32. Listen to music and quit believing that nothing good has been produced since I graduated college - working on it, Spotify rocks
33. Play with my kids
34. Make a 5 year plan - I think my five year plan is never again to think I should make a five year plan.