Thursday, December 31, 2020

Some Checks off of the List

I find it lucky that my birthday comes in July.  It makes the new year a great time to reassess my goals and take a look at how far I've come on my 50th journey around the sun. 

My 50 Before 50 list, accomplishments checked off:  



Reading is my favorite hobby.  I usually set a goal to read 52 books a year, but I wanted to challenge myself to 50 more books, adding to my #50Before50.  This year, in books:



There were several that I could count as favorites this year. I started to recommend some, but I couldn't narrow it down enough for this blog post.  I'm usually a "fiction" girl, but I like to read from multiple genres (as you can see below).









Another of my favorite things is wine.  I usually stick to the same red every time I drink.  However, I thought it might be fun to try some different vineyards, years, labels, and types of vino.  I'm not quite at "50 different wines"
…yet...
Here's what I've tried so far.  My favorite has been "Tall, Dark Stranger!"  It has a rich, full flavor--I'm not really a wine connoisseur, so wine descriptions are very amateur.


Education and furthering myself is important to me.  It is my belief that one should never stop learning. I decided to refresh my knowledge of Spanish, which I took in high school, but let's be real.  It was high school.  I also got signed up for Master Classes by one of my good friends.  Thus far, I've taken a writing class taught by Margaret Atwood and started a poetry class led by Billy Collins.




There are (as you can see) a lot of things on my list that I've checked off, yet not included my post...and many more still to be completed. One last thing to include here...I made a last minute list of 50+ Holiday/Christmas movies to watch this past season.  I know there are so many more, but here's what I completed:


Here's to a new year
with new and continued goals!

Halfway There

 Halfway to 50

25 or 49 and one half

Six months

And #50before50

is moving along


It’s been a year of

Unmotivated laziness

Anxiety about moving forward

Fear

Doubt

Uncertainty

Insecurity


Distracted by

Social Media

News

Covid

Political arguments

Netflix

Lesson planning

Kindergarten in a pandemic

A growing to-do list that gets longer and longer

causing anxiety

Cycling back and forth

To immobility

And here. I press forward

Day by day

Moment by moment

Finding joy in small things

Getting by the best that I can

Parenting in unknown territory

Grown kids living under the same roof

Wanting them to spread their wings

Knowing times are hard and wanting them to stay little

Conflicting emotions of

Needing them to move

and

Wanting them to stay

Wanting to protect and mother them

Needing to let them

Figure things out on their own

Knowing they are experiencing

2020

In their own ways

And also living one day, one moment

At a time

Teaching in an

“Unprecedented Time”

Desk shields

Face masks

Hand sanitizer

Social distancing

Technology, desperately needed and consistently unreliable

Perpetual changes

Quarantine

Virtual, in-person, hybrid

Nothing is how it should be

Unstable, uncertain, unsettled

ambiguous

And also

Unquestionably, unmistakably, unequivocally

nowhere else I would rather be

“Living the Dream”

Love

at this age

Nearing retirement

Doubting I’ll be able to

When the time comes

Wrestling with

Needing my space and not wanting to be alone

Frustration fighting against contentment

Complacency Struggling with dissatisfaction

Thankfulness twisted together with disappointment

Peace cohabitating with agitation

Side by side

Each of us

Needing, depending on, wanting, loving

each other

also eager for

Solitude, breathing room

This is 50.

Or. Almost 50.

This is halfway there.

25 down

25 to go

49.5

6 months

2020 over

2021 on the way

It’s these little things

The minor goals

Lists of things to do

That bring me small pleasures

Moments of accomplishment

Personal satisfaction

Keeps my mind

My thinking

My contemplation

Positive-leaning

And on the days

That I feel

Adverse

Conflicting

Noxious

Emotions

I can look at my

#50before50 List

And feel a sort of

Grounding

Security

Something to look forward to

Hope for

Halfway there

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

The Countdown Begins #365

Hoy es un dia regular.
Es verdad.
Me levante temprano y leo el Biblia.
Yo bebo el cafe con leche y azucar.

Es mi dia normal.

El tiempo "was rainy."
Voy a Starbucks y tengo desayuno gratis.
Enseno la escuela verano en el computador.
Solamente uno estudiante pero esta bien.
Yo practico espanol porque es en mi lista de cincuenta.

Feliz cumpleanos a mi.
Esta es cuarenta y nueve.

Hoy es un dia regular.




((Snapchat filters))

Saturday, July 25, 2020

Why Not?

Blog: n. (short for Weblog) 
-- a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style; a personal, online journal.
Blogger: n. --One who blogs
Blogging: v. -- adding new material to or regularly update a blog.
Source: Google

I started my
...online journal...
about
...10 years ago...

My
...blog...
 was
all about
my
picture of the day
which usually
centered around
...my kids...
and our daily lives

(If you're interested
in reading
my older stuff...
the links are
along the side
and
at the bottom
of this post)

After my youngest graduated,
I put the blog away
...for awhile...
but
I've decided to

...resurrect it...

in order to
document my

...Countdown to 50...

If you were around
10 years ago
then you know
when I turned
...40...
I made a big deal of it
by creating a 
40 before 40
list
(found here: 40 Before 40 )

It made that
...milestone birthday...
fun for me

so

I decided to do it again.

I've been adding to my list
and also
subtracting from it
for a year or so
...but...
the whole

...pandemic
and
quarantine...

caused me to
really focus on
wanting to set new goals
have fun in life
make memories
and
better myself

so

I really worked on
getting this list written out
because when

Forty - Nine

gets here

...in a few short days...

I want to be ready!

Last night
some of my people

helped me

ring in my
next year
by creating
vision boards

which was
 ...something...
I'd heard of

...people creating them...
to set goals
and
mindsets
for themselves
for a set amount of time

and

I had it on my
50 before 50
list
so what better way to
kick off
a
"Countdown to 50"
than to have a
vision - board - making - party




Here is the
completely
editable
revisable
fluid
and
soon to be
...infamous...
50 Before 50
list
...





Well, there you have it.

I've already started on
a few of these
...and...
as you can see
there aren't many
...big ticket items...
but
a lot of
easily
accomplish-able
things

You are
...welcome...
to join me
either by
following along in my blogging
...or...
accompanying me
in some of my
...quests...

I would love to have you
either way!


Here's to
the big
FIVE-O!