A New Decade

Hello, long lost blog friends.  It's me.  Do you remember me?  Here's a recent photo just in case you have forgotten about me.  I wouldn't blame you, after all.  It's been almost six months.

Lots of things have happened in the last six months.  Most importantly, I started playing around with hot rollers (see above).  Okay, that's probably not the most important thing.  I don't really know what the most important thing is, but all I can say is ... you know you go too long without logging onto Blogger when every time you log in, the format has changed.  I must say that I am LOVING this new Blogger.  Nicely done, Google!

Anyway.  Today, I turn 30.  Another decade down.  It feels weird ... yet exciting.  I love birthdays, and I have never shied away from aging.  Seeing a new decade (you know, the one that starts with a 3) is definitely going to be an adjustment, but it's not one I'm unhappy about.  Every year of my life thus far has brought joy, new adventures, new experiences, and new friends.

These last ten years have been good to me.  I graduated from college, earned my graduate degree, moved to Virginia, got a job, quit that job, met the love of my life, got another job, became a puppy parent to Oscar, got another job, moved from Virginia to Indiana, got married, got a new job, said goodbye to my husband for a year and dealt with deployment, welcomed him home again (which remains one of the best days of my life), got ANOTHER new job (definitely the best yet), and ... bam.  All of a sudden, ten years have passed.

I'm not exactly where I thought I would be at 30.  If you would have asked me ten years ago what my life would be like now, I would have guessed that I would be happily married (check), have a house (nope) and a couple of kids (nope, unless you count the furry one with a tail), and feel settled (nope).

The happily married thing, I've had down for over three years now.  But the rest has proven to be a bit of a challenge.  We don't have a house, because we're not really settled.  Our future is very up in the air right now, and we're not quite sure where we'll be a year from now.  Our journey to become parents has been filled with challenges, heartache, and loss instead of joy and excitement, and this is something I'm struggling with every day.  I'm really hoping that the stars align for us soon, that 2012 is our year for so many things.

That being said, I'm happy.  I have Matt.

I have my sweet friends and family.  I have the best dog a gal could ask for.

Overall?  Life is good.  Life is great.  I may not be where I thought I'd be, but I remain content and optimistic that the future holds good things for our little family.

Now.  My goal for this year?  Smile more with my mouth open.  :)

My 30th birthday plans are to go to work, have a fantastic dinner with Matt (I'm thinking sushi ... our go-to special occasion pick), and snuggle.  I'm throwing myself a 30th birthday party next week, and I'm having tons of fun with some planning and decorating and crafting.  I'm hereby considering February my Birthday Month - why celebrate a day when you can have a whole month?! - and will ring in 30 with style!

So, hey everyone.  Not sure if I'll be back for real or not ... but know that I'm here, I'm alive, I'm on Twitter, and I'm keeping up with your lives ... I'm just not so great at commenting these days.  xxoo