Finding Myself

I'm turning 31 in six days. I remember when I was a teenager and even when I was in my early 20s I thought that sounded so old. Funny, I don't feel old now, minus what pregnancy makes me feel like, but I do feel a lot more centered. I'm happy with my life in a way I could never say I was a decade or even half a decade ago. I didn't feel a need to make goals for what I would do before I hit 30 or that kind of thing, but my SIL and a friend both wrote posts in the last couple days about being happy with and  accepting themselves and it made me think on that subject. There are still some things that sometimes I think ought to be different or I ought to feel different about. Maybe I still need to let go of a few of those. But in general I like who I've become and I think it's a good exercise to acknowledge who I am to myself. So in no particular order, 31 things about myself that I'm embracing.

1. I always look on the bright side of any situation. I find little use for feeling bad about things the way they are, so I try to accept them, decide on my response, and move on. I don't like to feel bad, so I choose to find something positive in a situation and focus on that. 
2. I like change. It can come in many different ways, but the unknown adds spice to my life. If nothing is changing around me, I'll change something myself just to enjoy the novelty of newness.
3. I like solving problems. I get so much satisfaction out of fixing something, helping someone out, making something run better, etc. 
4. I have a driving need to create. I used to be a little embarrassed that I liked to do things like cross-stitch and crochet, but I just really do. I'm not much of an artist when it comes to drawing, but I get inspiration from things I see and recreate it or tweak it to how I like it better. 
5. I value education for the sake of education alone and not just what job I can have because of it. I find myself embarrassed at times that I went from finishing my master's degree straight to the child bearing years of my life without working in my field that I enjoy so much. I may never get back to it. Who knows what life will send my way? I don't regret my years in school in the slightest. I'd take more classes if the opportunity presented itself.
6.  I believe life is all about cycles and in this particular cycle in my life I'm a homebody. It takes way too much effort to coordinate everyone to go places. I prefer staying home and I usually stay in my PJs until the afternoon. My dream is to have a wonderful yard to play in someday so we're not stuck between these four walls.
7.  I love to save money. I feel more secure with money in the bank, but I also love having the money there to spend when I'm ready to spend it. No stress money decisions are my favorite. Since we are still not to that elusive having a real job and good income phase, every little bit counts.
8.  I'd rather wait to get something I really want that costs more than buy a cheap thing that isn't as nice.
9.  Any food I can make from scratch without a ton of effort, I will. The extra time it takes is enjoyable for me. I like knowing what goes into my food. The fact that my kids prefer crackers and fruit snacks to real food drives me a little crazy, though I was totally like that as a kid too.
10.  I like to live as natural as I can, within reason. I like the cost savings and the feel of a more simple life. I don't do it to make a statement or try to make others be like me. I just prefer cloth diapering, making my own home products, canning, cooking from scratch, etc. Using things I've created makes me happy.
11.  I can do without any packaged candy or dessert. I adore homemade ones though.
12.  For all the quality food I try to eat, I love Little Caesars pizza. I'd eat it multiple times a week if I didn't feels so bad afterwards.
13.  Exercising centers me and makes my viewpoint of the world around me more positive.
14. I run because it's an outlet for me to be competitive with myself and others around me. I don't have to share it with anyone or need a partner or group to do it.
15. Being in the outdoors makes me feel closer to the spirit. That's a major motivation for me to hike and camp.
16. I hate playing make believe. It bores me to tears. I'd rather read books than most any other activity with my kids. 
17. Any building toy that will keep my kid's attention without me being involved is worth the cost.  
18. I love to read, so much so that I neglect my kids, chores, my husband, etc when I have a good book. Therefore I read much less often than when I was younger and mostly in binges and then resurface to the world when I'm done. I prefer fantasy to any other genre and I will most likely never read another classic.
19. Playing the piano and singing calms me.
20. I love to build furniture. I find the design part is nearly as rewarding as the build itself. 
21. I like my house to be orderly. It doesn't have to be perfectly clean, I just don't like junk everywhere, crumbs on the counter, that kind of a thing.  
22. I love to entertain but I'm not good at initiating it. I love having friends in my home but have never gotten into the habit of inviting them.  
23. I love to talk to friends and family on the phone but a year of phone fundraising makes me cringe to pick up the phone and dial. I text like crazy since it doesn't seem to give me the same feeling.
24. Time to myself is worth its weight in gold. 
25. I've struggled for years to get enough sleep. I've always been a night owl, but my schedule is such that it is easier for me to get up super early to do my work before the kids are up. So I've slowly transitioned to going to be earlier at night and it makes me a much happier person. Someday I hope I won't have to work, and I hope I have more flexibility at that time because I really like to sleep in rather than get up at 5:30. However, I'll stay up late any night to watch old Star Trek episodes with my husband or read a book until the wee hours of the morning.
26. I love researching about new things to try. It's like a little pleasant surprise when I find something I want to start doing and can learn all about it.
27. I only follow current events and politics to the point that it doesn't make me angry. I find I don't fully agree with anyone's viewpoint out there in the popular media, and I prefer not to spend all my time riled up about it.
28. I prefer to be comfortable over looking cute. I like to be both, but I rarely choose discomfort for fashion.
29. I like acquiring things. Not pointless stuff just to have it, but useful things, like a nice set of dishes, or tools for particular projects. It's nice to feel self-sufficient in that way.
30. I dream of owning my own home and all the things that come with that. We're still a few years away from that dream, so I do my best to make our current living arrangements feel permanent rather than living like we're in transition.
31. I do my best to be happy. I've spent enough time in my life feeling depressed. It's awful. I do my best to enjoy the present and hope for good things to follow.