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 - I have, like, a plan and stuff...
2. Finish writing a book - I've got a little over 40,000 words, but probalby another 20,000 to go.
3. Fix the front of my house - so it looks like someone lives there - It may or may not look like someone who needs new siding lives there. 
4. Get a working craft area set up - I got my craft supplies out of my bedroom closet, but my system isn't exactly working for me.
5. Make sure my closet is filled with only things I love and look great in - Uh, not so much
6. Paint the kitchen and cabinets - I painted the living room...
7. Make a will - And then there's the guilt of not getting this one done.
8. Rebuild my emergency fund - Yeah, more guilt - also intensified by the fact that I finished none of the first seven. Next year, I'm totally front-loading with things I think I can get done.
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, May - Shopping Night, June - Special Movie Night, July - School Prep Night - Okay, so I missed October and November, but this was pretty good I think
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, May - Library and dinner, June - Special Movie Night, July - Dinner out and puzzles at home - Same as above. At least I'm fair.
11. Track what I read - Done. Although I make no promises that I missed nothing. It seems like there should be more there.
12. Dance - I'm calling this one done. I don't know that I can give it a date, but I've danced 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, May: Tell the Wolves I'm Home, June: Gone Girl, July: To Kill a Mockingbird - Not terrible. 
14. Learn to knit - Found a teacher
15. Knit a scarf to prove that I can - Yeah, not so much. 
16. Clean the basement - I cleaned probably 1/8th of the Basement. If that. I've really got to do this though.
17. Make art - Done. I made sillhouettes of the girls.
18. Go to a concert - No. I won tickets for Brynna and I to see the Jonas Brothers, but thankfully, we got sick.
19. Learn to bake bread - not from a can - I've made two loaves. They were good. I'm not sure why I haven't made more.
20. Have a girls' event - No.
21. Have a house that makes me furiously happy - No. Working on it, though.
22. Finalize my divorce - September 12, 2012
23. Make my bedroom MY BEDROOM - Working on it.
24. Lose 50 lbs. - Nope.
25.Finish redecorating the Living Room - um... Maybe not gonna finish
26. Keep the kind of house people can drop by - better, but still not there.
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, June: FAIL, July: Neil Gaiman signing. I'm calling this one good even though I missed two months, because frankly, I'm pretty sure I missed all the months last year. Improvement counts for something.
30. Cook more at home - define more...
31. Sleep late as much as possible - Every other weekend, I sleep until no more sleep can be had. I seriously am rocking this one.
32. Listen to music and quit believing that nothing good has been produced since I graduated college - Yes. Although the 90's was still the golden age for music.
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.