28 and counting...

Birthdays have always been a time of reflection for me. During childhood I always felt excited about hitting that next milestone. I vividly remember how excited I was to turn 10 and hit the DOUBLE DIGITS. I turn 28 this week and I think I have finally hit that place where my heels are starting to drag in the dirt a little as I cry out "wait, wait. I am not ready yet!" I think it is worse because of Nick. He is a year older and therefore I feel like I have lost a year of my life just by association. I am going to have a really hard time when he turns 30, I think. Anyway... in the spirit of reflection I decided to do a quick snapshot of who I am at the ripe old age of soon to be 28.

Favorite books- I have been a pretty voracious reader this year. I have talked about before my "reading with intention" and I have been pretty proud of my literary accomplishments in the last three years. This year, I already have 27 (and two halves) books under my belt. My favorite books are (in no particular order and as I remember them)
1. North and South
2. Anne of Green Gables (the series because the pressure of choosing is really too much)
3. The Raging Quiet
4. Lonesome Dove
5. The Road

My favorite things to do-
1. Sleep
2. Eat chocolate
3. Bake (not exclusively) chocolate
4. Read
5. Ride/ spend any amount of time on or near horses
6. Walk/hike with my family

What I am obsessed with right now-
Surprisingly, I am not really obsessed with anything right now.  There are plenty of things that I could easily slip into if I allowed myself, but I am trying to be more controlled.

My bucket list-
1. Live in a foreign country
2. own property and have horses, chickens, pigs and cows
3. Raise lovely, God-loving, independent, wise, confident, intelligent, happy children
4. Go to South America again and THIS time visit Antartica
5. Swim with sharks

My ideal birthday-
Waking up fully rested and spending the day in a forest field somewhere riding with my family. Eating a picnic lunch somewhere with amazing food that I didn't have to prepare or even think of. sigh. That sounds lovely. I just read a book that had a magic tablecloth in it (yes, it was a children's book) and if you said to it "tablecloth, please set thyself" it would magically fill with wonderful food. That is a great idea.

Hmm. I can't really think of anything about myself at this stage of my life. I have been very happily married for 8 years. I have three little girls that that make me laugh, cry and scream in frustration (often within seconds of each other). I definitely have few complaints about my life right now (I'd rather not be quite so exhausted all the time) and have a great life so far.