Happy Birthday to Me!

Today's my 30th birthday. I think my 30s are going to be a very good decade. Not that my 20s weren't. I've been reflecting a lot on what I've done and what I would like to do. So, here's a couple lists (I love lists in case you haven't noticed), about my 20s, 30s, and 2010.

In my 20s, I:

• got engaged and married
• finished my BS and MS degrees
• bought 3 houses and sold 2 of them
• moved 9 times (9 times!!)
• had 2 kids
• several jobs that I hated and finally one that I love

My 20s were good to me, but very busy. I spent a lot of my 20s taking care of babies and small children. Since Will is almost 7 and in 1st grade and Kaity is almost 5 and starting kindergarten, they are finally almost self-sufficient. We're entering a new phase of our lives that I'm really looking forward to. I'm settled in a good job and we've moved for what is hopefully our last time for a very long time. My 20s felt like we were constantly in transition - moving, adjusting to a new member of the family, learning a new job, etc. I finally feel like we've hit a place in our lives that we can start looking forward rather than just treading water all the time.

So, in my 30s I have a couple big goals for myself.

• I'd like to travel out of the country, but I'll start with visiting a bunch of the US.
• Get my national accreditation in public relations
• Maybe start on my PhD (that's a big maybe - I waffle on this one a lot)
• Possibly start my own business. I love working at UF, but times change and I think it would be pretty cool to work for myself.
• Finish Dave Ramsey's financial peace baby steps (meaning totally debt free and contributing to stuff that's important to us - church, retirement, education, etc)

I'm sure there are more, but this is good for now. It seems really crazy to think, but by the time I'm 40, John and I will have been married almost 20 years and have kids almost ready to graduate from high school. That seems so far off, but time seems to move so fast that it'll be here before I know it.

For now, I'll settle with sharing my 2010 goals.

• Complete Dave Ramsey baby step #2 - get rid of debt except for car and house
• Start attending our Bible study group more regularly.
• Help John finish the 2+ miles of fence for the farm.
• Get fit. Or at least more active.
• Go on one family vacation this year.
• Start (and finish!) one new sewing project a month
• Try five new crochet patterns
• Plant two new flower beds
• Play with Annie, the pony, at least once a week
• Restart my garden (This one could be hard. My garden needs a LOT of help and retrofitting.)
• Build a chicken coop. I'm getting chicks in February so this one is especially important.
• Replace the carpet with wood laminant (if we can get out of debt first).
• Redo Will's room with something more appropriate for a 7-year-old (bunk bed and desk).

So, that's my life in lists. I'd love to hear your thoughts about them. Happy birthday to me!