Plus Five

Gah, now I sound old even in the fake terms I use to describe it on this blog. Having to explain to a 10-year old I was "two times fifteen plus five" didn't improve my mood about it either.
I begin to see why adults say birthdays don't matter. When I was younger I thought they were being modest or dwelling too much on the age thing. It's more a matter of time. Who has enough to spare? I was running around all day with errands and getting stuff ready for church tomorrow and returning mail to and collecting mail from neighbors since our postman can't seem to get it right. I nearly forgot what day it was. Besides, I'll always be 24 in my head.
Still it can be a good time to reflect on one's life and accomplishments.
These are the highlights of my last twelve months:

• Opened a business with my parents. THAT's been an adventure.


• Learned to drive a fork lift.


• Celebrated 10 YEARS of marriage with a romantic get-away.


• Got my thumb cut open to fix the tendonitis. It appears to have worked. I can bend my thumb with no problems anymore AND I don't have a scar at all which I had not expected.


• Had three, 3! new nephews born into the family. There's going to be some testosterone flying when they all reach teenager-dome at the same time.


• Traded in my Saturn for a convertible!


• Improved my skills with my new knives so I don't cut my fingers anymore.


• My blackberry vines blossomed, got cut by accident and grew out again. We actually harvested some.


• Saw Celtic Thunder live in concert.


• We had our house tented for termites and didn't lose a single cat to the process.


• Learned the importance of proper attire when leaving the house.


• I found the swimsuit I thought I had lost four years ago.


• My second youngest brother left on his mission.


• Tarzan's father came for a very memorable week.


• Celebrated four years of blogging. I can't tell if I'm getting better or worse.


• Had and am still having formatting issues with the blog engine.


• I totally flaked on the second contest of the blog. Maybe we can make that up in the coming weeks. There was only two entries so they'll likely both win. I'm easy like that.


• Canned a few dozen bottles of applesauce and pie filling.


• Spent a lot of time commuting back and forth between my house and my parents' house.


• Replaced our water heater, right before it broke and flooded the laundry room.


• Almost got called to serve on the jury for a death penalty case.


• Started working for Tarzan's Aunt Richie.


• Attended QC's college graduation in Salt Lake City.


• Walked on the bottom of the ocean.


• Attended the county fair.


• Of the class I was helping teach for the Academic Decathlon team at Tarzan's high school, one of the kids won a medal at the regional competition. It was a proud moment for her, for me and for the school.

Is that a longer list than I've made for other birthdays? I forgot I did most of that in the last year. I suppose it could explain why I can't remember April.

This is me, 35.