43 and counting....

Today I am 43 years old.  In the spirit of having a long list to commemorate each of the last 43 years, and to show that you can still teach an old dog new tricks, here are the 43 (mostly) new things I experienced during the last 366 days, in no particular order.

1. Chickens! I've wanted chickens since I was 14yrs old and the dream became reality this past July.  Now about those goats....
2. Rabbits.  Well, rabbit, at the moment.  We're still waiting for rabbit #2 to be old enough to come home with us.
3. Living with half electricity.  Yes, it was fun to have no dryer or oven/stove for a month.  And have random outlets/light switches work.  NOT! That needs to never. happen. again.
4. Knitting mittens! Yep, my first mittens, the piggies for Stella's bday.
5. Owning a netbook.  Tiny laptops FTW!
6. Meeting TheBloggess, one of my favorites :)
7. Visiting the arcade in Manitou Springs
8. Getting a new dog, our 2011 family Christmas gift, Tonks
9. Read 48 books
10. Another leap year!
11. New quasi-school location.
12. A new seasonal job (helping a friend pack boxes at the holidays)
13. A new permanent job (taking pics of houses for insurance companies) that works way better with my schedule
14. Quitting an old job.  Goodbye to the Miramont.  It wasn't a bad job, but its hours were understandably inflexible.
15. Started a new 4H club with the girls.  The one we chose has a dance team for Stella, which was the main reason we chose it, but also because of the meeting time.  So far, so good.
16. Met Stan the rabbit man and acquired nest boxes, etc for the bunnies.
17. Left the NCHA leadership role to someone else.  Actually, many someone elses - they now are a non-profit with a board, of which I am not a member.
18. Led a Brownie Troop.
19. Left Girl Scouts altogether.  I love GS in theory, in practice, it's tough to coordinate and organize and we have enough on our plate.
20. Kept this blog rolling for a YEAR.  Last November was when I decided I wanted to make it a real journal and I've kept on going.  First blog that I've really stuck with.
21. Started teaching my 5th year of OWL
22. Had Buckhorn not at Buckhorn.  Our church retreat was impacted by our fires this past summer so we moved it, temporarily, to the YMCA.  How we managed to pull that off, I'm not sure.  Well, I think I do know - a lot of work by my cohorts and myself.  
23. Got a new roof on our house
24. Paid a record $3000 to fix my car.  What a PITA that was!
25. Used my cellphone more than I ever have, including now having a monthly plan.  What in the world is happening to me?!
26. In the words of the infamous Stephen Colbert, I saw "America...[elect] its first black president for an historic first second time."
27. Started my first ever dollhouse.  A haunted dollhouse.  It is so cool.
28. Didn't decorate for Halloween.  Seriously, I don't think I've ever NOT decorated for Halloween before.  It was amid the 1/2 power time so I just wasn't in the mood.
29. Lost my driver's license for the first time ever.  Thankfully, it was a renewal year anyway.
30. First identity theft.  The bank called to see if I was in Texas buying multiple cars worth of gas.  Nope.  
31. For a short time, worked 3 jobs at once plus got ready for the holidays (poorly)
32. Got Stella's meds figured out
33. Had Sandis start on her own meds.
34. Made a living succulent wreath
35. Had living grass easter baskets
36. Watched all of Lost
37. Only cut my bangs, therefore I have long (for me) hair
38. Had 2 kiddos with chicken pox and the flu.  I only got the flu because I did the CP as a kid.
39. Saw the full solar eclipse (not my first, but my first since I was 9 yrs old!)
40. Went on my first Girl Scout campout - which was aborted after one night due to snow!
41. Had 5 dogs in my house for a week.
42. Learned how to take care of horses (while their family is away.)
43. Joined the Harry Potter Knitting House Cup as a Hufflepuff (even though I am always a Ravenclaw when sorted)

Whew! I didn't think I could make it to 43 and not only did I, but I had a couple other minor ones I could have added.  How awesome is that?

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