35 Things (Happy Birthday to Me)

1. Today is my birthday.
2. I am 35 years old.
3. I think birthdays that are multiples of five are a bigger deal than others.
4. I was hoping to go on a trip for my 35th birthday. Alas, my suitcase remains empty in its dark little corner of the basement.
5. My destination of choice would have been Prince Edward Island.
6. Prince Edward Island is the setting of my favorite movies Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea.
7. When I was in high school, I watched these two Anne movies on loop while getting ready for school in the morning.
8. Although I adore the Anne movies, L. M. Montgomery did not write my favorite book. My two favorite books are Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre.
9. Or the entire Harry Potter series.
10. So what am I doing for my 35th birthday? I'm going to enjoy a romantic dinner with Dan at a restaurant on the riverfront.
11. By "romantic" I mean adult-only.
12. I am thrilled by the prospect of eating a delicious meal prepared by someone other than myself. And not having to wash dishes.
13. Although I'll still probably have to wash dishes because we're having our parents over for cake and ice cream afterward.
14. Dan ordered me a champagne and strawberry torte.
    
15. I love strawberries.
16. Correction: I love, love, LOVE strawberries. Once, when visiting my grandparents while they were wintering in Arizona, I ate so many strawberries, I gave myself hives.
17. And I kept eating them anyway. #committed
18. Growing up, my family traveled to Arizona each year to stay with my grandparents during our spring break.
19. One of my favorite traditions was driving to Cave Creek and drinking sarsaparilla out of a mason jar at The Satisfied Frog.
20. I just Googled The Satisfied Frog and found out that the rightful owners, who kept the restaurant family-friendly enough for my family and my very conservative grandparents, basically had the restaurant stolen from them! The new version of the restaurant is raunchy and cold. Well, that's really sad.
21. Time for some chocolate... in the form of a peanut butter chocolate chip Larabar.
22. Is that Whole30? I kind of want to try eating Whole30, but I'm not sure I'd make it.
23. Truth: I also have a fear of eliminating gluten from my diet. I'm afraid I'll give myself a gluten intolerance by avoiding it completely for too long.
24. Everything in moderation, yo. Who says "yo" anymore?
25. Me. With a sideways peace sign to boot. Who says "to boot?" Me. I could do this all day, people.
26. The only person who asked me what I wanted for my birthday was my mom. I told her I couldn't really think of anything, but I thought of a lot of things later. Here are a few: a gift certificate for a massage, this Loft cardigan in winter white, and maybe this Bluetooth stereo headset, although I'm not 100% sure how it works.
27. I just signed up for a book club within our homeschooling community. I voted for Victoria by Daisy Goodwin as our first read.
28. I'm actually not sure I have time to participate in a book club.
29. Do you know what I really need? I need some strong, authoritative, and downright scary person to follow me around at all times and say, "No, Kristin! You cannot sign up for that. No, you cannot coordinate that. You cannot commit to that. You do not have the time or mental bandwidth for that! Step away from the sign-up sheet. Just. Say. NO." #thedream
30. You'd think I'd have this figured out by the age of 35, but I don't.
31. During my 35th year, I hope to return to (mostly) uninterrupted nights of sleep (Theodorbs is almost ONE!), wake up earlier, spend more time in God's Word, and exercise more regularly.
32. I also want to be a better wife to my wonderful hubby.
33. And I want to start dating my kids.
34. I know that sounds crazy since I am a homeschooling mom and am with my kids pretty much 24/7, but they are all completely different little people when I get them one-on-one. They're always pretty great, I think, but that one-on-one time is priceless.
35. Speaking of priceless, I know that today my mom is going to tell me a story that begins, "It was a unseasonably warm fall day. It was the latest that Grandpa had ever picked raspberries..." It ends with her holding a tiny pink bundle she and my dad named Kristin Ann.

P.S. I did another birthday post last year documenting what I was doing on the 34th minute of every hour. Read that one here.