It’s My Birthday and My Warts-And-All To-Dream List for My New Year!

So, today, I am another year older, which really doesn’t bother me much. If you ask me, I’ll tell you flat-out how old I am (45) and we can marvel together that I’ve lasted this long. Take that, March of Time! LOL

Today, I will probably be incredibly self-indulgent (as opposed to any other day, right?) My morning will be pretty much the same. It always starts with my favorite people…

I will wake up The Girl Child (half-hidden there on the left) in time for her to make a mad dash for the bus. I will stick my head into The Big Brother’s room with a time check. (That’s BB on the right.) Then, I will wage war with The Little Brother (the goofball dead center) until he gains some semblance of consciousness and shuffles his way off to his college, as well. (BB is easy. One morning call and he wakes up. LB is a a daily war of strategy and attrition. You have to get near enough that he will hear you, but stay far enough away that he doesn’t unconsciously kick you in his vain attempt to avoid getting up.)

I will babysit the two little neighborhood girls who crack me up almost every morning and make sure they get on the school bus in time. After breakfast, we watch bizarre cartoons or play Mario Party. Incidentally, that’s an excellent way to start your day. You have the whole day to be a grown-up. An hour or so of beating the snot out of your opponent’s avatar is good for the inner child.

But then, I will wear jammie pants and Uggs all day, because I can and they are stretchy, so I can eat popcorn on the bed til I’m stuffed and watch old movies on the hidden TV The Hubster bought for me. I have scheduled some blog stuff, but if I have sudden inspiration, I might work on a project or write (probably not). I will snack on Halloween candy. I will play with my dogs.

But, at some point, I will also indulge my yearly day-dreaming session. I will think about what I want to accomplish before I turn 46. Projects, goals, improvements, habits to make, and habits to break. I don’t do this at New Year’s. For me, New Year’s is about friends and family and we have a tradition for that. Personal goals come with my own personal holiday. And, this year, with my discovery of Pinterest, I have my visuals already in place to play with!
So, here is my Pinterested To-Dream List for my 45th year!

1) I want to be a travelling vendor and sell the stuff I find and make. There. I said it out loud. I never want a brick-and-mortar store – just a trailer of my own, that I fix up, and use to travel around to festivals like the gypsy I am! I found that picture there on the interwebs and put my business name on it, just so I could see what I’m working for. I want to sell my finds and my creations, but I also want to promote and sell the fabulous works of some creative friends of mine! I want to have the space to showcase their wares, as well. That’s a really important aspect to me.

2) I have found that I really love blogging and I want to see SSC grow! I don’t need to be the powerhouse of the industry, but I would certainly like to be a bit player and make it an extension of my Shona Skye business. I want to grow it and be really good at it, too. I don’t want to be a hack. I want to try to emulate the other bloggers I admire, but in my own way and my own voice. Big Goal? To attend a blog conference!

3) I want to try to figure out how to build relationships with other bloggers. I only know one in real life, but not well. While I’m great in a social setting, with people I know, I’m very bad at breaking into groups that are new to me. I mean, do you just email people out of the blue?! How will they know I’m not some random creep? Right now, I have NO idea how all these bloggers got to know each other, so I’m studying everything I can read on the interwebs, because that’s what I am at heart – a student. I’m the dorky, geeky, new kid at school right now.

4) When I was in college, I studied photography and loved it. It was back in the days of chemicals and darkrooms. When we first got married, and were flat broke, I sold all my equipment. I had a baby and no time anyway. Now, everything in photography has changed and I want to get back into it. That’s my camera that The Hubster bought me and I want to get back into art photography!

5) I also want to learn how to knit. I can sew pretty darn good, but I never learned to knit. If someone casts on for me, I can make an endless, one color scarf until I can find someone to cast off for me. I mean, what if I have grandkids someday and I can’t knit them a sweater? I will be the laughingstock of the nursing home!

6) I have an entire Pinterest board on Organization and it’s going to be a major focus for my 45th year. In some areas, I’m pretty organized – kids’ schedules, most of my house, etc. But, finances could be better organized and living completely debt-free is a dream of mine.

7) The Hubster lost over 100lbs. during the last year and even I got in on the act and almost got back down to my fighting weight. But this year, I really want to quit smoking. I’m afraid of weight-gain and of the constant battle with craving a cigarette. If I can overcome this one, I doubt there is much else I couldn’t overcome.

I have lots of fun stuff I want to do (like beat The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword on the Wii and catch up on the Assassin’s Creed series on PS3). I want to watch all of Boardwalk Empire and The Walking Dead. I want to build another bathroom in my house. I have a million different projects I want to make. And I want to be a good parent to my nearly adult children, which requires me to get better at recognizing when they need a supportive fellow adult and when they need the expertise of a mom.

But these are my big personal goals. I’ve always told my kids, I was Kristy before I was ever Mom. And Mom without Kristy isn’t much fun. So, today is Kristy’s Day. And that’s OK.

How do you celebrate you on your birthday?

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