What??...I'm one year older??...When did THAT happen??

Who would have thought that on my 41st birthday I would be excited to do laundry??? I got a new washer and dryer. Unfortunately, they didn't fit....we had to take off the molding on two walls....FINALLY they squeezed in. Phew!!!

After looking at the pictures taken on my birthday...2 things were a total shock to me. 1.....I've gained weight! 2....I look like I'm in my 40's...I don't even look like me!!!! Well, I've had a great 41 years. I LOVED all the phone calls, treats, lunch dates, and cards. I've got amazing family and friends!! Thank you!!!!

Lately, birthdays have caused me to reflect on my life.....one sign that I am DEFINITELY getting older. I toyed with the idea that it would be fun to tell 41 things that I've discovered about myself through the years....(joke!) But, since I've been tagged a couple of times and have unknowingly avoided them.....I'll make up for it now with my "older person" musings. Here's 10 things I've learned about myself.....I'll work up to the 41 things another year :) Hope you don't fall asleep before you finish reading this novel!

1. I LOVE McDonald's cheeseburgers. These are just the small and plain cheeseburgers with oozing ketchup and onions (I always ask for no pickels). It is a gross and disgusting thing to many people. But, I just love them for some reason. I know they're unhealthy for me so I don't eat them all the time..but..it seems at least once a month I find myself sucked right into the drive-thru line and I uncontrollably lean out the window to say, "Yes, I'll have a cheeseburger and a diet coke please." If I'm really feeling good (and not on my life-style change), I'll go for the cheeseburger happy meal....better yet....the 2 cheesburger meal! "I'm lovin it!!" :)

2. I LOVE the mountains. I can hike up a mountain, find a rock to sit on, and then stay there for HOURS! There is no other scenery that is better to me. I love the smell and sounds of the mountains as well. Going into the mountains is like going to a spa retreat for me. I come back so relaxed and happy. I secretly check jobs and houses in Utah on a monthly basis for Bob. I really miss my Utah mountains!!

3. I am brutally honest and LOVE to stand on a soap-box every once in a while. I have tried and tried to keep my mouth shut but my chest will start to hurt and my eyes will water up if I don't say what I think needs to be said. One of my biggest "I need to say something" is when my hubby or anyone else wears floods. I will tell them they look stupid. Although, through the years, I have learned more tact (for everyone else but Bob)....but, I will usually come up with some kind of sarcastic or joking comment....hoping the person gets a clue. I do not know why this issue is so important to me. Maybe I need therapy :) Bob has learned to just ignore me. He'll wear his floods all he wants.....until he gets sick of me bugging him about them....then he huffs an puffs and tells me I need to just get over it. (but I can't). I always have to be sharing my opinion....odd isn't it? I wonder.......?????

4. I am a closet hip-hop dancer. I LOVE to play the hip-hop music and pop my hips up and down and all around. I absolutely love dancing and I've got a good beat....if I say so myself - ha! I would totally be a dirty-dancer if I was younger and skinnier :) Ok...enough about that.

5. I am extremely shy when it comes to groups larger than one. It stresses me out so much I always get a headache. I try to avoid ward activities like a plague. When I am feeling really uncomfortable, I usually go way over-board by being super loud and talking non-stop. I LOVE to sit at home by myself or just be with my husband and kids. If I ever tell anyone that I am shy, they always say, "no-way! - you shy!?!?" I then don't really have anything else to say. Oh well. Ha!

6. I LOVE people. They fascinate me. I love to sit and watch them. There are very few people who I absolutely cannot stand. I think everyone is amazing and I have no problems finding their good qualities (as well as their faults...of course....but in order to stand them, I need to find their good qualities...right?). I suppose this general "liking people" must radiate somehow because I can't go anywhere without someone starting up a casual conversation with me as if they've known me for years. Bob just stares in amazement and laughs. I can just be sitting there minding my business on a bus, in the grocery line, at a basketball game, etc. and inevitably, someone will start up a conversation with me. And, they won't ever talk to Bob....crack me up! I didn't even notice this phenomena until Bob pointed it out to me after being married for a few years.

7. I LOVE chocolate!! Anything chocolate!! Any kind of chocolate!! I don't even care how rich it is...I never get sick! I can have chocoalte in the morning for breakfast, at lunch, and for dinner. I am so excited that they are finding that chocolate can have some health benefits!!! I have embraced that knowledge and have factored it into my "healthy life-style change"

8. I LOVE dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner. It is true. I love to have leftover pizza, spagetti, potatoes, etc for breakfast. If there is a chocolate cake or cookies around....I'll snarf those down as well. Then, for dinner, I usually like scrambled eggs, pancakes and french toast. I am also known to slurp down some cereal for dinner.

9. I LOVE change. I can't stand to be doing the same thing or be in the same place year after year. Many people find comfort in consistency but I find extreme discomfort. I am constantly finding something to change around the house, looking for new places to possibly move to, looking for items to buy that would make something better, a new job for Bob, etc. Lucky for me the only thing I don't want to change is my husband and kids. I would die a million deaths if I ever had to be without them!!! But, the unlucky thing is that some things that I would die a million deaths TO change...like my weight....just keep holding on.

10. Finally.....I LOVE to laugh! I laugh at everything.....even when people fall down. Everything is just so hilarious to me. I laugh and laugh all day. I even laugh when noone is around. I laugh outloud when I'm reading my email, reading a card in Hallmark, watching TV by myself....you name it, I'll laugh. I also am famous for laughing so hard, I start to cry and I can't breath....yes, even peed my pants once. I even laugh when I'm suppose to be quiet and reverent... laughed uncontrollably during the sacrament, in the temple (even got my mom going one time). I don't know why I think so many things are funny. Life is just hilarious to me. And....Bob's perfect for me because he makes me laugh ALL the time. If you know Bob, you know he's constantly saying something hilarious! Nate's not too far behind.....that boy always has us in stitches. Just perfectly hilarious!

Well there you have it. 10 of my life-long discoveries. With all my weird ways, I'll take me as I am. I've had a great life. I've had wonderful friends. My family is outstanding. I have soooo many wonderful memories. I hope to be around for another 41 years!