Dear 2010

Dear 2010,

I have to say that I'm happy to say goodbye to you.

You were a year filled with pain and change.  Wisdom teeth and root canals.  It feels like I spent the year fixing things.  My teeth being the least of these things and some things can't be fixed.

We came home and that was a long road.  It was easy to pull up those roots because they didn't grow in Utah.  In fact we got home just in time to replant them....where they belong.

Turning 40...major turning point.

Oh sweet clarity....I see things more clearly now and I'm excited about the future.

Lessons learned and unlimited joy....in 990 square feet.

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better (wo)man.
Benjamin Franklin

 I want you to live in a house that makes you believe one day you can get it.  That's why I'm gonna make sure you never see your Daddy stop dreaming because if you stop dreaming...you're just sleeping. 

Jimmy from Raising Hope 

In an effort to take care of 2010 business....here is my 12 SKILL from October (I'm a little behind) I painted a picture.  

I'm working on November....at least I bought knitting needles and yarn.

On Turning 40...

Vince Vaughn. Uma Thurman. Heather Graham.  Matt Damon.  Tiny Fey.  Claudia Schiffer. Kelly Ripa. Leah Remini.  Kirk Cameron.  Padma Lakshmi.  Mini Driver. Queen Latifah. Jamie Kennedy. Deborah Gibson.  All of these people turn 40 this year.

Seize The Day!

I feel like turning 40 (my birthday is Saturday) should be a be a big event or a turning point or a moment when I have complete clarity.  I might be expecting too much from it.  The last 10 years have been good to me.  Three weeks before I turned 30 I completely changed my life.  Left my husband and started a new life.

And here I am again...starting over it seems.  I still have the same husband but our lives just took a new turn and it feels like a fresh start and a new beginning.

The question is...what am I going to do with this fresh start?

It would appear that I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.  So many of my dreams that I never thought would come true have...married to a great guy, kids....being a stay at home mom.  It feels like I don't have the right to ask for more than that.

Do I?


If this is the half way point of my life...what am I going to do with the rest of it?

The truth is that I'm very happy with my life.  There is very little that I'd like to change (besides not living in this apartment), although I'd like to be healthier and more active...and I'm working on that.  Last year, I made a list of 39 things to do before I turned 40 and I got 19 of those things done.

This year I decided that there are things I want to learn.....and each month I will tackle a new skill.

September ~ Learn about football and the players on the Denver Broncos.

October~  Learn to paint

November ~ Learn to knit

December ~ Learn to make Sushi

January ~ Learn to bake with yeast....bread, cinnamon rolls, pretzels.

February ~ Learn to make French Macaroons.

March ~ Learn to make pasta.  eye roll

April ~ Learn to play poker. iKeith thinks I should learn to play BlackJack because Poker is a game of skill.  PAY ATTENTION! PA-LESE!  I said I wanted to learn SKILLS!

May ~ Learn to climb a rock wall.  iKeith said I'd need to lose 40 pounds to climb a wall. 

June ~ Learn to run...complete Couch to 5K and run a 5K race. eye roll

July ~ Learn to Can...veggies and jam.  why?

August ~ Learn to dance with iKeith.  iKeith will not take lessons with me so I'll be asking Robert to take them with me.

EDITED: I shared this list with iKeith tonight and he rolled his eyes at many of my skills that I want to acquire....so I'm adding his comments.