35 before 35

In six shorts months I'll be 30 years old....30

And I'm not really sure how I feel about it. Initially I was excited because to me, turning thirity meant that I'd finally be a grown-up, but now I'm not conviced. There are so many things I wanted to do before I turned the big 3-0, but with only six months left I know they're not going to happen.

That's where the list comes in.

As I ring in twenty-ten I realize that I'm not getting any younger, and while I have SOOOOO many things to be thankful for there are still soooo many things I want to do in my life. I started making a 40 before 40 list, but that was just too depressing so instead I'm concentrating on 35. I'm still not done with the list, because 35 things that are feasible and realistic is not an easy undertaking, but I hope to finish it soon.

35 before 35

1. own my own home (again)

2. spend my wedding anniversary on a beach

3. finish my masters degree

4. get THE SHELF

5. put THE SHELF in an office of my own

5. relocate to the South

6. decorate my living room

7. have a real dinner party

8. learn to French braid

9. make Thanksgiving dinner

10. finish that third novel

11. take my kids to Disney World

12. go out on New Years Eve

13. celebrate homecoming at TSU

14. “Would Ya Like it” in the rain

15. Have date night once a week

16. Visit Washington DC

17. have a picnic with wine and cheese

18. wear red lipstick

19. go Up North

20. grow a plant

21. make a cake for a loved one’s birthday

22. restore a piece of furniture

23. attend a Broadway play (does not have to be in NY, although that’s a bonus)

24. get rid of all unnecessary debt

25. eat healthier

26. answer the question, “What’s wrong?” honestly, the first time.

27. institute a new family tradition

28. take a cooking class

29. Find the perfect school for Cameron

30. Learn to let go

31. Invest in great pics of the kids

32.

33.

34.

35.

Fantasy House Hunting

So, if you know me at all, you know that I HATE the house we're currently renting. While it does have its positives, the negatives totally outweigh them. Here's a list:

1) TEENY-TINY BEDROOMS- we have absolutely no space to put all the crap in our room. We can't upgrade our bedroom furniture because the room is the size of a freakin' closet!


2) USELESS SPACE-in other parts of the house. We don't need a dining room or a formal living room so why do we have one? We're laid back, eat at the island, chill in the family room type people. It would be REALLY nice if the extra square footage had been added on to the bedrooms.


3) HIDEOUS circa 1985 BURGUNDY CARPET- I know you've seen it either in person or in pics from the blog and you agree with me. Why someone would actually pay for this color carpet is beyond me. And it makes the rooms look that much smaller! Did I mention we have micro bedrooms?


4) SORBET PEACH WALLS-in the kitchen, dining room, hall way and on the CEILING!!! Stop complaining and paint them you say? No! I will not paint them, I refuse to do anything to this house because I HATE IT HERE!

This is why I am fantasy house hunting.





Here's my new house in my new city where I'm going to get my new job with my new office. Notice the lack of burgundy flooring! There are 4 bedrooms (the boys cannot go another year sharing a room, because I will have to kill one of them), a HUGE yard for the playhouse I am going to force Damon to build. Check out the super porch! Perfect for late southern summer nights drinking sweet tea and laughing at all the people back in Michigan wearing jackets.

I really miss blogging!

So I'm going to TRY to update more. We've just been so busy lately with work, school, grad school, gymnastics, and all the hours I spend watching General Hospital, One Life to Live, and the Young and the Restless (LOL) there's just not enough time in the day!

Anywho...I will be using this winter break to improve my culinary skills, with my first undertaking being collard greens. I'm posting my second batch, because while the first batch was good, this new batch that's going to Damon's fam's house for Christmas dinner is FIYA! They would probably taste even better with smoked turkey leg and I would have used one too, if I hadn't waited till 5 minutes before Kroger locked its doors on Christmas Eve to look for one. Beef Bacon was used instead.



I would post pics of the mac and cheese I made, but I REALLY screwed it up, so it's just not worth it. My next undertaking is candied yams. I'll post pics when I'm done.

And for cute factor here are some recent pics of my tribe.

GQ smooth and NOwhere to go
Running his mouth as usual!
YES, she's still on the bottle...

Evan in the kitchen

Evan loves her new kitchen and so do we! It keeps her out of our real dishwasher, fridge, and cabinets and allows us to cook in piece. Now we're on the prowl for a set of toy food. We found a set that came with 120 pieces...NO. So we're looking for something smaller.

Fun times at the DIA

Friday night Damon and I attended my school's annual Christmas party. This is the first year it was black tie and to say I was excited is a BIG understatement. We haven't been anywhere together where we had to dress up since prom (11 years ago)! The event was at the DIA and we also got to walk around and see all the art as apart of the party! The food was delicious and the company was great, too!

Saturday night Cameron went to his first sleep over all alone! At the gym where he takes gymnastics they held their annual end of the year sleep over. Both Damon and I were really worried that he wouldn't make it through the night, but he did and had a wonderful time participating in open gym, eating pizza, watching movies and eating popcorn. He can't wait till the next one.

On the home front we have been dealing with A LOT of illness this winter (it's not even technically winter yet!). About a month ago all three kids had H1N1, then two weeks later Evan was tested for pneumonia, and then this week they've been battling runny noses and fever!

On the job front the school year is FLYING by and I've applied for a position with my company in the Dirty South for the 2010-2011 school year. Here's the pic of the old capitol building there. Isn't it beauteeful? More details to come. When I know something, you'll know something.

Cameron's new past time

In an effort to give Cameron something that he enjoys, we enrolled him in gymnastics. He expressed interest after some students from the gym came to our school to put on a performance during morning assembly. Last Friday was his first day, and he did...well, he did ok. He didn't follow directions a couple of times, and got into a mini-fight with one of the other boys in his class but other than that it went well. This week's class was amazing! Cameron followed all the directions of his coach (until the ornament making activity), and had a great time. He had the chance to work on the rings, bars, practice back flips, cartwheels, and front flips on the trampoline.



In other news, we have decided to put Cameron through the child study process. We are still having major school and home behavior issues, and are pretty much at a loss. Both Damon and I don't really think that his actions are "normal" 5 year old things, so it's time to call in the experts. We've also scheduled an appointment with his pediatrician to discuss ADHD or an emotional impairment. STRESSFUL!!!

The SPED teacher and the school social worker recommended some booksd that may help us understand and deal with Cam a little better, The Explosive Child and Your Defiant Child