It's my birthday...and I'll blog if I want to...

I can't believe it has been a whole year since I started this blog! Happy Birthday to me...and my blog!

I have to say this has very proven to be the BEST year of my entire life...in so many ways.

From making the initial choice to start this journey and put my life out there for all to see...experiencing my daughter go through Kindergarten...getting stuck in a funk which I would later learn would be the key to me turning my entire life around...getting a dog...learning how to be brutally but lovingly honest...learning to truly see and count my blessings...dealing with an extremely brief 'fling' gone 'bad'...rediscovering who I am and being able to reconnect with that...exploring a new way of traveling through life that feels more natural and comfortable and is much more enjoyable and fun...remembering how to respect and honor myself and my emotions...being reminded and inspired to live my best life by dealing with the loss of a loved one...falling madly and unconditionally in love with myself and life even if I'm a little crazy or maybe especially because I'm a little bit crazy...reconnecting with my faith...learning to love and not judge and always strive to be the best me I can be...and finally learning that true stength is found in vulnerability...whew...

And those are just the overarching lessons...inside each one are many small yet impactful lessons that have truly transformed me in a way I would have never thought possible when I started this journey one year ago. And yet...with all that change I know its only the beginning. I know that all I have done is clear out a lot of the cobwebs that were blocking my path...and now with all the cobwebs cleared...and my path wide open and laid out in front of me...I can begin to travel down that path with a steadfast clarity about who I am and who I'm not...what I want and what I dont...what I'm willing to compromise on and what I'm not...and complete confidence in my ability to navigate it all. And I can take that journey with an openness I've never had before to let it all in...knowing that it all has a purpose and I will always be the better for it.

Today I'm celebrating my 37th birthday but in many ways I feel like my life is just beginning. Today I step out...born again...and ready...to take on another year...with a me that seems to be new and born again each and every day...

I can hardly wait to see what experiences are before me...and the lessons they will teach me...and the ways that they will transform me... And I plan to smile and laugh as much as I can along the way.

Thanks so much for taking this ride with me...and I hope you stick around for the rest of it.

Much love...

Vanessa...in progress. (VIP)