Mom + me.
About two weeks ago my body sent out the memo that this birthday was approaching and automatically sent twenty new grey hairs. I know other women have gone grey gracefully and happily but it was a bit of a hit for me.
For awhile I thought I wanted a big party. Get a cover band, string up twinkly lights, buy a keg. But today was mostly normal. Flowers and cards and a bottle of wine from my husband and kids. Breakfast with my college chaplain. And then lots of errands, chicken nuggets for lunch, made a few phone calls, changed a few dirty diapers. So thirty-five has come with a couple of streamers taped up by L and ended with KFC for supper with my parents.
Nice and simple.
A few years ago I did a list of thirty-one things I wanted to do in my thirty-first year. (You can read the list here, and it's follow-up of how unimpressive I was here.) I wanted to do it again, with four more this year. So here it is:
Thirty-Five Things
1 - Read my Bible every day.
2 - Attend Adoration regularly.
3 - Forgive the slights and insults.
4 - Publish a book.
5 - Potty train my 3 year old.
6 - Eat more fresh veggies.
7 - Go on walks.
8 - Pull the weeds under the pine tree.
9 - Stain the benches that sit outside.
10 - Paint the bedroom.
11 - Transplant the ornamental grass.
12 - Weed the side yard and lay down mulch.
13 - Read more novels (one a month?)
14 - Pay it forward.
15 - Sleep.
16 - Vacuum twice a week for allergy-suffers' sakes.
17 - Stain the playset.
18 - Write more letters.
19 - Bake more bread.
20 - Mop once a week, as opposed to once a month... if.
21 - Attend a conference.
22 - Figure out what's going with my ears reacting to all my earrings.
23 - Have at least five speaking gigs.
24 - Lose the same 45lbs I wanted to lose four years ago.
25 - Make sure Resa knows here letters, numbers, shapes, colors, prayers, address, and how to write her first and last name.
26 - Let the kids bake more.
27 - Help Ben with his reading.
28 - Take L to confession once a month.
29 - Line dry the sheets.
30 - Wash the sheets once a week.
31 - Spend more time with my grandparents.
32 - Organize the pictures and save to discs or whatever.
33 - Help JF with his speech.
34 - Drink more water.
35 - Learn to make caramels.
In regards to #22, my MIL taught me that if you dip the posts of your earrings in bacitracin before putting them in your ears in the morning, you can wear any type of earring without reacting to the metal - even super cheap ones!
ReplyDeleteYou can also coat them with clear nail polish to act as a barrier. Old theatre trick.
DeleteI am 42, and your list makes me want to die. SCALE BACK. ;)
ReplyDeleteI can't wear earrings anymore either, doesn't matter what they're made of! My MIL says they itch because my holes have gotten too small and I need to jam some of those thick starter earrings through the holes and wear those for a few weeks... Instead I just haven't worn earrings in a year ;)
ReplyDeleteI can't wear earrings anymore either, doesn't matter what they're made of! My MIL says they itch because my holes have gotten too small and I need to jam some of those thick starter earrings through the holes and wear those for a few weeks... Instead I just haven't worn earrings in a year ;)
ReplyDeleteMy ears developed a major sensitivity as well. It happened during a pregnancy and never went away. I only have one pair I can wear now. Even the surgical steel, or a high carat gold doesn't work. Just this one pair. It's frustrating, but I just go with it. If I try to wear a different pair, the reaction starts almost immediately. Good luck on figuring it out. If you do, please share!
ReplyDeleteHappy belated birthday! I think the list is great, and a lot of it seems doable, at least in some capacity. Even if you do 10 things well, 10 things so-so, and 15 things not at all, you have still made a positive difference! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday! What a list! There are some pretty lofty goals in there. Even if you accomplish just a handful (potty training, grandparent visiting, caramel making) it will be a successful year. :)
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago I saw a beautiful woman who was probably in her late twenties/early thirties and her hair was mostly gray. But it looked gorgeous. Gave me hope.
Happy (now belated) birthday, Bonnie! My one tip for anything caramel-related: have a bowl of ice water handy for potential burns (not to get graphic but, hot sugar sticks to your skin and just keeps burning - yipes!) On an unrelated note, I hope you're getting credit for all of the crazy things I have had to purchase on Amazon lately - I'm religious (ha!) about clicking through from your blog which gives me the added bonus of checking your blog at the same time. win, win! - nancyo
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Bonnie! These are great goals! I think the goal for one novel a month is really good.
ReplyDeleteA thought on #34, since a year ago I decided to drink more water: I recommend keeping a water bottle with you, it makes it lots easier to drink water! When I first began drinking more water, I committed myself to drinking a full (20 oz) bottle before I would allow myself to drink my morning coffee or tea. It was a struggle when I REALLY wanted my caffeine, but it was such an uplifting way to start out my day on a good, hydrated note, and it was a good way to learn sacrifice and discipline. In fact, in one year I went from not drinking any water to drinking around a gallon of water a day! (I had to buy a bigger bottle-40 oz.-just so I wouldn't have to refill as often haha)