30 Reasons I'm glad to be 30: Part 2

My birthday itself was a lovely day. Josh and I spent all morning decorating our place and then we went out to dinner with my family. We came home and had the most decadent cupcakes from Stephanie's Bakery (passion vanilla cake with raspberry filling, buttercream icing and fresh raspberries on top, all vegan of course!), Sofia champagne and homemade bruschetta with heirloom tomatoes and fresh herbs. I've received some fantastic gifts, but most of all I've really just enjoyed spending time with all of the people I love the most in my life.

Here's 11-20 of 30 Reasons I'm glad to be 30.

11. I'm wise enough to know that I'm still naive. In other words, I know enough to know that I still don't know enough, haha. I will always be open to learning new things and I'm certainly not so egocentric to think that I know everything.

12. I've embraced my introversion. I've always been an introvert. I specifically remember when I was in elementary school and the other kids were playing together at recess, I was happily sitting alone under a tree reading (most likely a faerie tale). It's not that I didn't have friends or didn't enjoy playing with them, I was just happier being somewhere with my own imagination. This introversion is sometimes thought of by others as me being anti-social, that something must be wrong with me. Some people are introverts, some are extroverts. I am an introvert and I'm happy to be one, thank you very much!

13. I'm too old for mini skirts, thank goodness. I've always dressed a little "reserved" and mini skirts (a wardrobe staple for California girls in their 20's) kind of look ridiculous to me most of the time. Now that I'm 30, my knee length skirts and dresses simply look appropriate for my age instead of reserved.

14. I'm happy not having children. Sure I may be 30 and married and the conventional thing to do now would be to have children. However, I'm not ready to have kids yet and I hardly think mere age and marital status is a good reason to procreate. I'm still finding my way in the world and having a child is something I'm still not ready for. When, and if, the time is right I'll know, but the time's not right yet... Mom and Dad.

15. While I may not yet have a house, I know I'm on my way. I want nothing more right now than to have my own little house with hardwood floors and a sweet little yard where I can grow my own food and Lily and Misha can run around. I can finally see this in the near future and when the day comes, I'll simply explode with joy. Old dirt road... mushaboom, mushaboom.

16. I've learned how to see and appreciate unconventional beauty. It's no secret that the media bombards us with images of unattainable (and digitally altered) perfection as the standard of beauty. As a teenage girl I, and most others, was very susceptible to this. I have learned that there is no true standard of beauty. It's all about perception and if we open our minds to all kinds of beauty we can easily see beauty everywhere.

17. I've overcome a lot of my shyness. Oh my, when I was younger I was so very shy. I had a hard time asking for help from strangers without fumbling over my words. I guess shyness is something that simply fades with age because I never made a conscious effort to improve, it just happened, thankfully.

18. I couldn't be more pleased with my matured taste-buds. When I was younger, there were certain foods which I now love that I just couldn't stand such as onions, pickles, olives etc. I don't know when it happened, but I now love all of these and I can't even think of any foods that I don't like. With the exception of meat, dairy, eggs and other non-vegan foods.

19. I am on my way to learning time management. Anyone who knows me knows that I am always late, to almost everything. Well, I've got news for all of you. I've been on time more and more often. I'm not going to say anymore on the matter, just in case these words come back to haunt me one day when I'm running a half hour late.

20. I can make a garden anywhere. As you know from number 15, I don't live in a house. I live in a condo on the second floor and my only space for gardening is a 20' x 8' patio, yet I have turned this small space into my own sweet little garden with a bistro table, garden lights and potted plants galore. I have houseplants and orchids a'plenty growing inside and I know, a true gardener can find space to garden anywhere.