26 years and counting...

Did you know 26 is the only number between a square and a cube.

Today I turn 26. Yesterday I was evaluating my life up to this point to realize what I have done. I was getting somewhat disappointed with the things that I HAVEN'T done. So, in turn, I decided to make a list for today of 26 things I am grateful for in my life.

1. to have a testimony of and to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
2. the blessings of the Atonement and for the sacrifice Jesus Christ gave me.
3. to be an American and to live in a country that for the most part gives me this freedom.
4. to be married and sealed for eternity to a man who loves me, shares my goals and ideals, and makes me laugh every second of the day.
5. to be an Auntie!
6. my family and the support they give me.
7. friends who keep in touch.
8. a healthy body (for the most part), and the for the plentiful food and water available to me.
9. to have graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Exercise Science, minor in Marriage Family Human Development (go Cougs).
10. to have a job (especially in this economy) that I love.
11. a warm apartment to live in, with a soft bed to sleep in.
12. to be able to communicate with family and friends.
13. to have traveled outside the United States to 5 countries, with plans for more.
14. for living and surviving daily in New York City.
15. to have survived moving throughout my entire life.
16. to have survived the many car crashes my old Toya and I have been in.
17. to have experienced the beach on both coasts and in the gulf.
18. to have experienced snowboarding east and west of the Rocky Mountains.
19. to have experienced cultures of "the south", "the west", "the west coast", and the "east coast"
20. memories of Lyle and our dating life in Utah.
21. good leaders of the church who influenced my life.
22. turning points in my life that helped me grow.
23. job experiences I have been given to help me learn how to work hard.
24. boyfriends who helped me figure out what kind of a guy I DIDN'T want to marry.
25. vacations from work & school!
26. shoes, ice cream, and warm sunshine!

Here are 26 more things I hope to accomplish this year:
1. learn adobe creative suites!
2. finish making my blog books
3. run a 1/2 marathon
4. save save save money!
5. enjoy more sites in NYC (preferably free)
6. have more people visit us in NYC
7. become an auntie AGAIN and perfect this role
8. go to the beach at least 5 times this summer
9. eat more vegetables!
10. learn to cook at least 5 more dishes (that we eat regularly)
11. learn how to cook & purchase fish better
12. finish my sad list of books that I have started and not completed
13. find the best cupcake in new york
14. cook more salads
15. buy a digital SLR camera
16. learn how to take better pictures
17. buy less soft drinks!
18. drink more water!
19. figure out how to get our apartment warmer next winter
20. have a better attitude about next winter
21. buy a winter hat for next winter
22. Sit in the sun and read anytime I can
23. practice the piano before church every week
24. see another musical
25. visit the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
26. run in Central Park as much as possible

There, now I feel better. I am a lucky lady.