I started Life At Thirtysomething in February 2010 because I felt like it was just going to be a big year for me. First and foremost, I was turning the dirty thirty, so I felt that was reason enough for me to create a space online where I could whine about getting old. In addition to turning 30, I wanted to blog about events, vacations, and my general perspective on life that I of course thought would be wildly funny – at least in my own mind. And you know what, 2010 didn’t turn out to just be a big year for me, it turned into my favorite year ever! So I thought it would be appropriate to do a little rundown of what makes the last 365 days my best year to-date.
You may recall, I was making a big deal about turning 30, or more specifically, leaving my 20s at the beginning of the year. I felt like this monumental birthday meant I had to grow up and act my age – whatever that means. Was life going to get boring now? Well, no. In fact, quite the opposite – it got way more fun! I ended up having a month long b-day celebration that started with my husband surprising me and flying me to Palm Springs to see one of my fave singers, Adam Lambert, perform live in concert! Then, my girlfriends and I took a 30th b-day trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for 4 days of fun in the sun. Too bad it actually was more like fun in the rain, but either way, we had a blast. And to round out the month-long celebration, the husb and I drove down to Hermosa Beach near L.A. to stay with friends and had a fun weekend bar hoping in Hollywood. This was def the way you want to start out your 30s!
Then in April, after 3 months of training, my friend Melissa and I completed a 65 mile bike marathon. Believe me, this felt like such a huge accomplishment. When originally considering this feat, I couldn’t imagine being on my bike for 5 to 6 hours straight. But through this journey, I realized that with a little hard work and dedication, anything is possible if you set your mind to it. That’s a really powerful realization and I’m SO glad we stuck with it and met the challenge head on. My majorly sore ass and numb feet as a result of the event were just casualties of war.
I enjoyed the summer laying by the pool at our new gym, taking another super fun trip to Hermosa Beach over 4th of July weekend (where I earned the Top 3 Hangover of all time), and going to yet another Adam Lambert concert.
Starting in August, I began training for a November half marathon with my husband Jeff and my friend Melissa. Actually, this was Melissa getting back at me for making her do the bike marathon with me, so I had no choice but to do this with her. And so I wasn’t the only one in my house suffering the relentless training schedule, I forced Jeff to do it with us too! This was yet another major feat for me because I kind of HATE running. And there I was, running and working out 6 days a week to prepare for this nightmare race. Luckily, on the day of the half, which was set in beautiful Paso Robles, California wine country, we enjoyed 70 degree weather and blue skies. Amazingly, I felt great throughout the race and ended up running the whole time with the exception of walking through water stops and the occasional hill because THERE WAS SO MANY FREAKING HILLS! (Oops, sorry for the shouty caps.) My time came in at 2 hours and 19 minutes – 4 minutes ahead of Jeff, I should add!
Then over Thanksgiving Jeff and I met his brother and wife in New Orleans for a few days of fun, followed by a day in Baton Rouge stalking Twilight stars filming Breaking Dawn, and ending the week lounging in Gulf Shores, Alabama for turkey day. It was at this time that I found out that I was pregnant. As you’ve seen in my blog “Nursing a hangover with a positive EPT test (oops!),” this was quite the surprise! It took me a few weeks to adjust to the news and move into the excitement phase, but I’m definitely there now and am so appreciative to be able to have this experience.
So as I look back at the last year of turning 30, taking fun vacations, concerts, athletic challenges, and becoming preggers, I can officially say that 2010 has been my favorite year ever. If you would’ve told me that life really begins at 30 I would’ve scoffed at you and thought that’s only what people in their 30s say to make themselves feel better! But it’s so true, at least for me. And yes, saying this does make me feel better!
Looking ahead, *raising my Shirley Temple in the air* here’s to a fabulous 2011 with even more fun times, character building challenges, and happy blessings. I can already think of one big blessing that will be arriving in July of 2011, so I can’t imagine this next year being any less memorable!
Happy New Year to you all and hoping that 2011 proves to be your best.year.ever!