Today is my birthday.


I am now one year closer to a decade change.


I am not going to mention which decade I am going to enter next year (if I don't talk about it maybe it won't happen), but if you care to formulate a guess using the number of children and years I have been married, you can probably figure it out.

I have been struggling with my next birthday. I have tried to put various spins on it including denial and looking at age group results in the bracket up for races that I want to participate in. My thought was that if I had to go up an age group, maybe I'll go up in results as well. Sadly, my new group is as fast, if not faster than the one I am leaving. (Don't those women have jobs or something else to keep from training?)

My newest strategy involves trying to reflect upon my current decade, as I have one more year in it, and celebrate all of the things that have happened to me during that time.

My list is topped off by the addition of my four wonderful, beautiful, smart, almost always (well sometimes, maybe) well behaved children.

We moved to Wisconsin where we have made friends that will undoubtedly last us a lifetime.

I have had the ability (privilege) of being a stay at home mom where I can witness many milestones and moments from the life of my kids that I would have missed if I had continued working.

We have had the opportunity to take vacations and spend time with long time family friends creating many fond memories for ourselves and our children -- a present that will last them forever.

I became involved in endurance sports (marathons and triathlons) and as a result I have met many great people and am in the better shape now than in the beginning of the decade.

Although my list is currently only up to five, I think that it is good start. I am planning on dwelling on the positive and celebrating what I have accomplished rather than rue a decade change. I think my new approach is much healthier than denial and drowning my sorrows in a bagful of Swedish Fish, Jelly Bellies, chocolate chips, or all three (kind of an unhealthy trail mix).

KITCHEN UPDATE!!

I currently have NO kitchen. As you notice in the pictures, I have a refrigerator and a stove. My kitchen counter is a old door (which is the color of the cabinets prior to me painting them green) and saw horses. No dishwasher. No sink. So far, no problem. We are using as much paper products as possible and I wash dishes in the bathroom sink.

All of my new kitchen cabinets are stacked in order in my garage. My new refrigerator in my living room and my new range, micro hood, and dishwasher are in the other half of the garage. Installation weekend is the Friday after Thanksgiving --

Who needs big sale savings when I am going to get my KITCHEN partially back?

(We have to reuse the old counter top until the new counter top is measured and installed)

Woo Hoo!!! Let the carpentry begin.