I intended to write this post a year ago. I was so full of pizazz over turning 30…and then I got distracted by something shiny.

So instead of having a dry, dull 31st birthday tomorrow, I decided to kick off my original 30′s plan with a list of 31 things to accomplish this year! Some are borrowed from my list of 101 in 1001, and others are new interests and goals that don’t fall into that

1. Learn to use my sewing machine
2. Set up a sewing area in my house
3. Sew kitchen curtains
4. Create a new garden plot for vegetables behind the shed
5. Build 2 or 3 raised perennial beds
6. Plant our hydrangea and night bark trees
7. Make dill pickles and carrots
8. Give homemade Christmas gifts
9. Take the bugz berry picking at Happy Acres U-pick
10. Take the whole family back to the Calgary Zoo and Heritage park this summer
11. Spend a month actually following my girls celiac diet, instead of cheating
12. Having my wedding rings soldered now that the set is complete
13. Go to the whisky bar with Leith
14. Buy an acoustic guitar and keep learning
15. Finish the Okanagan marathon this fall
16. Bring home lots of Okanagan wine from the marathon trip
17. Spend a blissful week in Mexico this winter!
18. Go scuba diving
19. Build a sand castle on the beach
20. Spent an exorbitant amount of money on a bottle of funky wine. Drink it NOW.
21. Have Leith show me how to change the oil in a vehicle and change a tire on my car
22. Have an acreage party tweet up
23. Learn to ride a motorcycle…in a very controlled setting
24. Have a “YES” day
25. Find a really, really, REALLY good gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe. For real.
26. Send a handwritten letter
27. Use the rest of my Bikram 20-pass before it expires!
28. Buy houseplants…possibly keep alive
29. Buy myself something extravagant without guilt
30. Eat a freaky flavour of ice cream, like dill pickle
31. Go to the roller derby…hell, maybe even go roller skating!!!

30 was the year of growth, and healing. It was the biggest roller coaster of my life, and I wouldn’t trade my experiences for the world. The past year shaped me into the woman I am today: strong, confidant, beautiful, healthy, happy, loved, loving, and damn proud of myself.

It’s a pretty good platform from which to leap into 31.