Another Year Down, This One's Just Beginning

I celebrated my champagne birthday this past Saturday and I can truly say that I celebrated. I'm so happy about it I'm nearly delirious. 

For the past few years I've dreaded my birthday. I hated it. It was the worst time of the year, right at the start of my favorite season. 

I guess it's normal, women hate their birthdays because they're getting older? That wasn't my problem. I was competing against my "ideal" self and where I thought I should be by now. Married, kids, dog, house, picket fence. I was married, sure, but I didn't have the rest of it. I was in my mid-twenties and I hadn't accomplished nearly any of my life goals. I was way behind my mom and some of my friends. What was I doing wrong? Why could these people have the things I wanted so badly? Didn't I deserve them? It wasn't fair.

It took me a while, but I've worked through the vast majority of those feelings and questions. So much so, that I could enjoy my life and what I have accomplished.

I realized that in the course of my life, I want children. I'm almost positive Ryan and I will have them in about five years, when I'm 31-32. I want to own a house but I don't need to buy one in the next year. We'll save for the one of our dreams. If it doesn't have that picket fence, we'll build one. As for the dog, well, I'll enjoy being just us two for now. It's nice to be able to drop everything at a moment's notice and go do something. 

In this past year, I've focused on what makes me happy. Making my marriage stronger. Baking when the mood strikes. Cycling nearly a thousand miles. Running. I freaking run! Committing to run the first 5k of my life by November. Committing to do five triathlons next year. And working on my relationship with my mom. 

For the first time, in my most recent years, I'm so happy about my life and where it's going. I look forward to each and every sunrise. For the first time, I realize that I'm a work in progress. I'm not defined by one outcome or one experience. I'm this winding, roving road that's headed into a pretty spectacular sunset. 

In Real Life

Sometimes it's hard to remember that bloggers have jobs out in the real world. Especially for blogs that focus on crafts, music, food, or fun stuff. But alas, it happens. For me it's pretty much because Ryan's a full-time student and although he brings home a good salary (for a grad student) it's not enough for me to just lounge around and be a full-time stay at home wife. A girl can dream though.

So during that day, I stare at a computer. Looking at spreadsheets. Upon spreadsheets. Upon spreadsheets. It's weird. Sometimes I'll create these huge, magnificent, elaborate spreadsheets and I'd take a step back and think, "Damn, that's sexy." Seriously, I feel like I need my head examined.

I am lucky though. I was fortunate to get my foot in the door at a major company. Even more fortunate to move to a "smaller" although still large global company right down the road. I count my blessings that I moved into a new role in June, just one year after joining the company, and get to work with our plants around the world consolidating the financials for our operations function. 

In my new role, I've been fortunate to experience more of the "what we do" and "if this then this" side versus the controllership side. Yesterday, one of my awesome coworkers took the time to teach a handful of us our process from rock to sticky stuff.

That's random if you don't know where I work. I work at a silicone and advanced material business, where our materials are in everything. Beauty products, car paint, medical tubing? We're in that. Materials in every single manned US space flight? We're in that. The sole of the boot that first graced the moon? We're in that.

we start with this (silicon metal)...

My company doesn't have many direct to consumer products but we do have one very visible one. You've probably even used it. We made caulk. The stuff that goes around pretty much everything. We make it. I've seen it being put into the tubes. THAT is a pretty cool process. Very much like a bottling line at a soda or beer company. 

...and end up with this.

The group of people I get to work with a first class and I can't wait to see how the next few years will turn out for the business. Here's hoping!

Are you ever proud of weird work-related accomplishments? What makes you proud to work where you work?

This is my life?

Sometimes I sit back and wonder when my life changed. Maybe while I was busy sleeping...but right now, it's pretty damn good. 

My mom turned fifty-one today and we're going for pedicures tomorrow.

Ryan and I biked ten and a half miles then "ran" two, the beginning of our training for a duathlon and eventual triathlons. 

And then tonight, standing in the kitchen eating a snack after all that, he randomly bursted into song. I joined in and we sang the entire Spongebob Squarepants theme song. 

Sometimes I can only look back, smile, and feel so incredibly blessed.