the most excellent 29th birthday ever
hearing well wishes from friends and family birthday breakfast, birthday sushi, and birthday fro-yo spending the night of my birthday relaxing with my little family - and not wanting to be anywhere else my roller skating birthday party eating birthday cupcakes in a parking lot an epic Head and the Heart concert feeling so content with my life sunshine and 40+ degree temperatures finding blue bells on my morning walk friends who deliver Ted Drewes across state linesou making summer travel plans my husband who made our car sparkle like new, helped me have such a special birthday, and reminds me that spending everyday together is "awesome" Usually, I like to be more humble and not announce my birthday here, but I'm excited and happy so I'm just going with it. My 28th year was fantastic in so many ways. I really loved being 28 - I felt happy and comfortable with myself, and I just enjoyed being me. I love that each year I feel a little happier in my own skin and a little bit more confident in who I am. I'm trying something a little different today to commemorate the past year. I've reflected on my year and have put together a list of 28 things I experienced this year. Thanks so much for reading and thanks for all your support and love and friendship this year! When I was 28 I... stood on stone pavement in Bath with my love... travelled to Europe and around the country... fulfilled my dream of going to Paris... savored tasty macarons, fresh fruit, quiches, wine, fish and chips, tea and biscuits, and lots of chocolate... added a great beagle named Diego to our family (just one, not four)... spent many evenings cuddling on the couch watching Star Trek with my hubby and our pups... took dozens and dozens of walks with my beagles... joined a roller derby rec league... surprised myself by how brave and strong I could be... built my confidence, my skating skills, and my leg muscles... ate so many desserts especially macarons (I'm mentioning them twice in this post because I loved them that much this year!)... baked lots of cupcakes, bread, and cookies... made nastutium jelly, ice cream, fresh juice, and popsicles... learned to can tomatoes, to skate backwards, and to knit with round needles... grew lots of tasty vegetables in my community garden plot... worked at a new job, advocating for people with disabilities... led our community garden and helped lots of people grow their own food... rested on the Oregon Coast... took so many pictures and fell in love with photography... enjoyed visits from my sister in law, my family, and friends... explored Milwaukee and found new reasons to love this city... moved to our very own apartment... decorated our new space and made it home... painted lots and lots of canvases with inspiring lyrics... dreamt about my future with Paul and starting a family... loved my family, my friends, my husband, my pups, my apartment, my life, my body, my job, my city, and so many other things... resolved to find good in every day...
hoped for many great adventures and more of what I love in my next year of life! Ah...so thankful for my life - so thankful for this day - and so thankful for all of you! Each month I'll be sharing four simple goals on the blog. You can join along by making your own four simple goals for the month - things that you might not do if you didn't commit to it, but not anything that feels overwhelming or that can't get done in a 28/30/31 day period. You can also use my monthly image (below) on your own blog if you'd like, just link back to here and share a link to your blog below in the comments section so I can check it out! Welcome to the beginning of another new month and another new list of four simple goals. This month (my birthday month!!) I'll be taking it a little easier and making some time for relaxation. I feel no ambivalence for this month, I absolutely love it. April really feels like the month of Spring to me, and even if Spring is a bit delayed this year in Wisconsin, April will still be fantastic. 1. Finish the paintings: I may have a promised a friend way back in October that I would do a painting of birch trees and birds for her. That painting may still be hanging out in my art room (sorry Meghan!). I think six months is long enough to be working on it. Time to get this checked off my to do list.
2. Make time for quiet: Accomplishing goals is great for me - it's a great motivator, it makes me happy, it helps me feel accomplished. But a lot of my goals have me doing more and focusing my energy outside of myself. Keeping busy and being productive helped me get through the worst weather months of the year, but now it has me feeling a little drained. I want to make time this month for focusing energy back inside. 3. Organize the art room: Paul and I rearranged two of our rooms a few weeks ago, and our new art room (and dresser space) is still a mess. I've got canvases and art supplies and laundry and papers scattered everywhere. I straighten it up every weekend, but I have yet to really get it into workable condition. Time to finish this task too. 4. Daily stretching: This connects to goal #2. Stretching, yoga, and pilates all help me feel more centered and more in touch with my body. I want to get my butt on my yoga mat for at least a few minutes every day this month. I love how much better I feel after I do. What are your April goals? I had a lot of fun with yesterday's April Fools Day joke - thanks for bearing with my love of the holiday. Each year I get a bittersweet reminder of the meaning behind April Fools Day. This time of year really does trick you. One warm day has you thinking you're done with the cold and breaking out your swimsuits and sandles, and then bam! Another snow fall hits. One of my friends compared it to opening herself to love after a bad heartbreak. She keeps telling herself she won't be fooled again, but then she just falls back into the same bad habits. Fortunately, there are signs that Spring as arrived even if the weather is really taking its time warming up. Like the weeping willows turning yellow. Did you know they did that this time of year? I just learned that nice little fact from my local ecology center. Other signs of early Spring I love: the blue skies, the break in the frigid temps that actually allow you to take your time outside, watching ice on rivers and lakes break up, hearing birds chirp again, seeing buds popping up, embracing the promise of growth and possibilities. When leaving the art museum over the weekend, my friend and I took our time walking back to our car - enjoying the view of Lake Michigan, the frozen lagoon, the red-winged black birds, the feeling of long awaited sunshine on our faces. It was glorious. And then 30 degree temperatures returned again. April fools!
If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that my husband and I are big beagle lovers. We currently have two beagles - Pedro and Diego - who are basically our babies. With my birthday coming up later this week, Paul surprised me with an early present: four new baby beagle puppies!! I could not be more excited. I had been obsessively watching the new batch of Golden Retriever puppies on explore.org and had hinted to Paul that I really wanted to add another puppy to our family. And Paul being the excellent husband that he is, took those hints to heart and surpassed my wildest dreams by getting me not one but four puppies! Pedro and Diego will be such great big brothers. Our hearts and our apartment are so full right now. April fools.
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