I didn't think 35 was that old until this weekend.

I thought 35 was the new 25 or something equally fabulous.  When I was 25 I was a lot lighter, newly married and the world was my oyster.  Now that I am 35, I am heavier, a DECADE into being married and truth be told, I don't really care for oysters.  So there.  However, I never really felt my age.  Any time anyone asked me how old I was or what year I was born in, I would respond but in this sorta out of body detached kind of way.  In my mind, my mom is 35.  I am still dewy skinned and rosy cheeked.  (Just because it's from exertion doesn't matter!)

So this weekend I did two things that showed me how "not young" I am.

1) I played Kinect with a few family members and a few strangers.  Not only was it exhausting but it was a real kick in the pants too.  Mainly because I was the only one that exposed herself during the game.  Yes, I jumped up with such excitement that my shirt nearly went over my head.  Luckily, it stopped just before the bra.  And while all of this seems like a micro-second faux pas, what I haven't yet told you is that the Kinect TAKES PICTURES OF YOU WHILE PLAYING.  So at the end of the game it flashed the picture on the giant TV screen for everyone to see.  One woman laughed so hard I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.  I guess that really has more to do with my pride than my not being so young anymore but my shoulder did really hurt this morning.

2) I danced with my daughter and nearly ruptured her spleen and almost broke my arm.  Even typing is making my elbow throb.  This was a double whammy of old age.  No balance and no resilience.  I fell over backwards because of the balance issue.  I landed on my poor little daughter.  And because I am no longer a child whose bones haven't even finished fusing, I will probably feel this injury for DAYS to come.  My back hurts, my arm is partially numb and it took me a full minute to get up off the floor.

I feel like I have skipped being my mother and gone straight onto being my grandmother.  This sucks to no end and I am going to do something about it.  What, exactly, remains to be seen.  So wish me luck and send some Ben-Gay my way.  Address it to the nursing home.  Thanks.

The next chapter...

Long time no blog Amanda.  Geez what gives?  Well, I have gone back to work.  I cannot say in one blog post how much I love my job.  It is part time, meaning I still take my kids to school and pick them up every afternoon.  I work for an organization that is very dear to my heart.  I work with people that I love and respect.  Plus I have a sunny little office that is a slice of organizational heaven.  That is the upside.

The downside is that I have little time for my bloggin' and craftin'.  I have, however, set up a great new crafting station in my house.  I was severely impeding my family's ability to have dinner because our kitchen table was covered with glitter and paper scraps.  My motivation for getting a desk just for me was this:

This is the YourStory thermal book binder and laminator. Word.  I have laminated everything but the cat since getting this thing.  I have not bound any books yet, mainly because I have been trying to get some pages together that are "book worthy".  What really grabbed my attention about this gadget was a demo I saw on some PBS craft show.  The woman had taken her child's hand written/drawn story and bound it.  It was adorable and a true keepsake.  Avery and Alden have come up with some real beauties in the story department.  I can't wait to start my own library.

Oh and I finally broke down and got a printer.  It was a whopping $39 and I have already used almost all the ink that came with it.  Uh, did I mention we got it two days ago?  I am completely ashamed but I have been saving up printables for 6 months just for this occasion.  And since I don't do anything half assed, I started printing everything the minute my husband finished installing it.  Now I have more note cards than I know what to do with.  I also have a copy of Avery's hand and a pony named Friday.  (She waited until I was taking a shower to sneak those in).

I know you will be waiting on pins and needles for my next post.  I will try for the sake of your bottom end not to wait so long until the next post!