You Say It's Your Birthday!

Which is CRAZY. Because it's MY birthday!

I act like my birthday is New Year's (well, they're very close together, so I can get away with it). Not in the "Drunken brawl and smooching at midnight aspect" (although ... heehee ... there have been times ...) but in the "making resolutions" way. Instead of thinking, "Well, in 2011 I'd like to do the following" I think of it more as "In my 35th year, I would like to do these things."

I've always done this, but a few years ago, an excellent doctor told me that she wanted me to make a bucket list -- she wanted me to SEE that I had things I was still excited about and wanted to do (I was in bad shape. She's a genius... it was a really brilliant move on her part, because first? I'm so OCD that I was excited about making a list, period. I love lists... yes, I have issues).

I made the list... and then I went through it twice, adding, changing, colour-coding. It took the better part of a Saturday, but it was a thing of beauty. Cross referenced. Annotated. Neatly organized.

Achievable.

That's the thing about making a birthday resolution rather than a New Year's resolution, I think. NO ONE sticks with a New Year's resolution... it's chic to make them and equally as chic to break them. A birthday resolution is more -- serious, perhaps? It's as though I'm making a plan to DO something to set this year apart, to make it remarkable... and I'm making the promise to myself, rather than just a general resolution.

It's a present. From me to me.

So what are my resolutions for the big 35?

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. The blogging. Every day.

2. I've been talking new tattoo for ... like, three years. This year. THIS IS THE YEAR! (What do I want? I need to decide by ... erm. March)

3. In my 35th year, I will THINK before I speak. Who knows? Maybe it will catch on :)

4. I'm going to try for healthier living in all ways... which means I'm going to have to let go of some things and take on some new things. I didn't say I would succeed ... just that I'd try.

... and that's it. I'm not going to change the world, per say. I'm just going to change mine, just a little bit. I'll let you know how it goes.