the learning saga

i've been very reflective-selective this year, the big 3-0.
selective of who i'm friends with, who i hang out with, where we go- this is something that i've earned.
more things like that of course, but everyday i am so thankful for my life and grateful to the people who have flitted in and out of it.

reflecting on how things could have been if people never did this makes me all the more thankful.

20 (more)  unrelated things that i've learned about myself:

1. i could care less about awards shows (but yes, i like the dresses)
2. i prefer to live in jeans.
3. swimming makes me really happy.
4. i am very not materialistic, and like to wear the crap out of my favorite clothing pieces.
5. what people say about me and think about me makes me sad that their lives are dull.
6. i make the best tzatziki sauce.
7. my wedding day was not the happiest day of my life- the day i knew i was going to spend the rest of my life with my husband was. having a party to celebrate that fact was nice, but not the be all, end all.
8. if you don't stick up for and stick with your own goals and dreams, you'll look back resenting only yourself. my Momma taught me this when i was little, so I have no reason to look back.
9. if the "important people" in your life don't celebrate your own goals and dreams as you do/with you--then they aren't important.
10. those dreams and goals i'd laid out so many times over have already gone above and beyond, and i'm not even 31 yet!!
11. the people who are happy for things that you are happy about are keepers- the rest will always treat you like an acquaintance for whatever their reasons are. don't try to figure them or their reasons out- it'll waste your time because they don't have reasons.
12. family is everything- and it goes beyond blood.
13. happiness starts within yourself.
14. having a bucket list could be an addiction. (but this is me- so really, any list is an addiction!!)
15. green tea makes me happy.
16. i'm a procrastinator, and it is something i struggle with every day. 
17. i can write more than one book at a time. 
18. i wish i could dedicate more time to illustrating and photography, as i do with writing.
19. after 7 years of preparing 1-3 meals a day, i've gotten a hang of this cooking thing! you can tell by my menu blogs thinning out :)
20. i am thankful for everything everyday. seriously. i whisper thank you all the time.

what have you learned this year?