Blogging My Heart Out & A Card

The fabulous Stephanie Howell pours her heart and soul into her blog posts on a regular basis. This week, she challenged her readers to do the same.

In less than a month, I will turn 50. There. I said it. But saying it doesn't make it seem any more real. Fifty always seemed to be the age of my mother and her friends. But, now that my mother is 80, I guess that's no longer true. Maybe the fact that my mother acts much younger counts for something. Maybe. Maybe the fact that my daughter thinks I should get style advice from Seventeen magazine counts for something. Maybe. Most days, I wake up wondering how 50 got here so fast. But then there are days when I wake up and my body feels every day of it's almost 50 years. And then some!

Turning 40 was no big deal to me. I embraced my 40's. After all, those were the years where I could go out without carrying a Peter Rabbit diaper bag. They were the years where I could run to the store without getting a sitter. In my 40's I became confident enough to stand up for myself and speak my mind. They were they years when I finally realized that reading was something I did for pleasure so I didn't have to finish every book I started. (Sadly it took my 40 years to figure out that last one!)

I remember my co-worker, Elaine, who I met at my first job out of college. I was 22 and she turned 50 just a few short months after I met her. She could never say the word "fifty." Instead she stumbled over the "f" as if she head a speech impediment. It became a running joke and for the weeks leading up to her birthday, we all talked about her turning "f-f-f-f-f-f-fifty"! Now that it's my turn, I am not making any jokes!

I know I should be looking forward to my fifties. After all, these will be the years when our mortgage is paid off, college tuitions are a thing of the past, and an empty nest may mean more time for date nights and scrapping! Yes, I should be looking forward to my 50's. But, for now, I am going to relish in the fact that I still have another 25 days left before I have to check a different box on a survey, be solicited for membership by AARP, or be considered an antique by wikipedia!

If you made it this far, I will quickly share a 5-minute card i made using washi tape from Target and a Papertrey Ink stamp. Here it is:

Three strips of washi tape and a stamped sentiment. It doesn't get any simpler than that. And maybe that's why I should be looking forward to my 50s because they are the years where, just maybe, life gets a little simpler!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Stamper's Select White);

Washi Tape: Target (solid; dot); Bella Blvd. (stripe);

Stamp: Papertrey Ink (Think Big Favorites #2);

Ink: Memento (Black)