Feelin' Great at 28!

For many people birthdays are something that makes them cringe. They cower at the mention of another year gone by, refusing to acknowledge the milestone in hope of pretending that the day will never pass and their bodies will magically stay youthful and healthy. Personally, I love birthdays. Not only are they the perfect reason to open a few beers and sit by a bonfire with some friends, but birthdays represent the past year’s struggles which were over come, lessons learned, loves lived and lost, and remind us about the magic of life.

Today I turned 29. It’s the last year of my twenty’s and my 28th year was a great one. I have learned much, smiled often, laughed more, and have never felt better. It hasn’t always been easy and I’ve had to work hard; however, it’s been a great ride with many more to come. Listed below are my favourite things of year 28. They may not mean much to anyone else, but they sure mean alot to me.

Top 28 of 28 (in no particular order)
1. Became a Certified Coach Practitioner.
2. Got a new job as a Job Developer (and I love it).
3. Saw three of my best friends get married to their perfect match.
4. Learned that many men may never learn how to close a drawer or cupboard; however, in the end, it doesn’t really matter. Now, I just close the darn things and I’m much happier.
5. Began to study another certificate program at the College (and only have two classes left).
6. Learned that cutting the grass isn’t so scary after all (and it’s kind of fun to drive the John Deere).
7. Discovered that sometimes people are mean just because they are mean people, and there’s nothing you can do about it except accept it, smile, and move on.
8. Learned how to drive a snow machine (and even took a few jumps).
9. Cut my hair short for the first time since I was four.
10. Sprained my ankle for the first time ever and learned the proper way to double ride a snow machine (at the same time!)
11. For the first time I lost a friend because her life was taken at the hands of another human being.
12. Lived part-time in Elliot Lake for six weeks.
13. Took a photography course with Mike.
14. Relinquished ownership of camera to Mike (for good reason).
15. Learned a little bit about who my real friends are.
16. Was given the cutest Jack Russell Terrier named Bailey Girl, had her for 8 months and then she passed away unexpectedly for an unknown reason. We buried her in my backyard and now her grave has beautiful wild flowers growing on it which I didn’t plant and were never in the area before.
17. Caught the biggest Small Mouth Bass of my life while I was fishing alone and didn’t have a camera. I released her back into the lake so that she could have many more little babies for me to catch and release in the future.
18. Went to my first Nascar Race, drank too much beer, had my arm signed by a race car driver, was on Speed TV and saw way too many boobies (in turn, learned why men love the sport so much).
19. Had my car hit three times in random hit and runs. Learned that some people just suck and that it’s only a car, things could be worse.
20. Through Mike a surprise birthday party with full band set-up and 40 people. Because of that I had my first noise complaint made to the police ever. Luckily my sister was the 911 operator at the police station so she called me instead.
21. Planted my first vegetable garden.
22. Learned how to pickle. Everything.
23. Started writing a novel.
24. My sister Sandra got engaged (and is happier then I’ve ever seen her).
25. Tried Sushi for the first (and last) time.
26. Discovered my new favourite television show, “Deadliest Catch” on the Discovery Channel.
27. Wrote and produced my first television commercial.
28. Learned to drive a standard car.

Favourite Music of the Year
Viva La Vie – Cold Play
The Climb – Miley Cyrus
Chicken Fried – Zach Brown Band
Love – Sugarland

On a side note, it's my triplet sister's birthday's as well. Happy birthday to Heather and Sandra. I wouldn't trade birthday's with anybody in the world.

xo