Another year over, and a new one just begun

( look at the handsome man I conned into marrying me.

I get to look at that face forever.)

So, it's my birthday. When I thought about the fact that i'm 28, it hit me that I'm more than twice the age of the girls I teach. Then, I thought about how it's weird to be worrying that I'm twice someone's age, and then I wanted to think about shiny things instead.

I have a tendency to go into a bit of a pre-birthday funk. It's not about aging; you can fight a good fight, but another birthday will find you every 365 days (except for a guy I dated in college whose birthday is on February 29th. He was almost five when we met.) The funk is about expectations I have for myself, if they're reasonable, if they're being met. The nice thing about the funk is that it passes- Looking forward to what the next year brings helps. With that, I give you:

Rae's top ten for 28

1. Get more rooms organized and maybe painted so it feels less 'new home' and more 'lived in.'
2. Open an Etsy Shop.
3. Focus on shopping and eating more locally.
4. Do more with this blog
5. Become financially proactive rather than reactive.
6. Grow our own food in a box garden
7. Read three books a month- my reading has really suffered this year.
8. Improve my time managements skills.
9. Sing More.
10. Expand my crafting repertoire- try print making, more cake decorating and improved sewing.