36. I’m not picky about food. I think that’s one of the fastest ways to rob yourself of pleasure in life. The more you’re willing to try, the more awesomeness you will discover.

35. The things that drove me nuts about my appearance at 18 are non-issues at 36. But I found more things, of course.

34. I don’t trust people who have no regrets. You can say you don’t dwell on what you might have done differently, but to never acknowledge your mistakes or missteps? That’s a good way to rob yourself of about a million lessons in life.

33. For the record, I do have regrets. They are the things that remind me where I have yet to grow, or where I need to seize opportunities. I don’t carry them around in my purse, but I know they’re there.

32. I have to admire my parents for knowing what they wanted out of love at 20 and 23 years of age, or at least being willing to wait out the evolution of the love they knew back then. Me at 20? 23? Hell, 30? I had no clue.

31. The part (or parts) of me that has only gotten better with age? My eyes. Lines and all.

30. I didn’t have an editor for my writing until my 30s. And though I’ve been writing since I was able to hold a crayon or a pen in my chubby little hand, I like doing it much more now that I’ve been told consistently what’s wrong with it.

29. I still don’t like spiders (though I know they have an important role in the eco-system, yadda yadda), ham, clowns, butterflies, most kinds of cake, wearing shoes or buying bathing suits. I don’t foresee these things changing anytime soon.

28. I still love the ocean (any ocean will do), coffee, flip flops, giant sunglasses, cooking overly detailed dinners, and pedicures.

27. I’ve become more like my parents with age, and then again, less. The things about me that used to be alike have shifted, and new mirrors have emerged.

26. I sleep better in a moving car than anywhere else.

25. I used to be quite taken with “inspiring” quotes. Then I decided only Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain and Dorothy Parker were worth quoting. There are a few exceptions, but I love a good giggle more than I like being “inspired” now. Bear that in mind if you feel the need to quote things at me.

24. The older I get, the more minimalist my taste in decorating gets, and the more flashy my taste in jewelry. Both somehow make life more expensive.

23. My friends with big houses and expensive cars and notable degrees and fabulous bodies argue with their spouses/get their feelings hurt/fuss about the future/worry about what they haven’t done/get bored and restless just as much as the ones without any of that stuff. The ones that are happiest, without fail, are the ones who are quickest to laugh.

22. Nothing looks better with overhead lighting. Especially 36 year olds.

21. For a while there, if something tragic was going to happen in a year, news-wise, it happened on my birthday. Then that stopped. I like to think it was because I stopped watching the news.

20. After throwing about a million of them, I can honestly say the key to having a fantastic party is all about the music, the food, and inviting someone who will make you laugh in the kitchen.

19. In the first part of my 30s, I learned a lot from losing things that were important to me. Now I’m learning from the important things that are coming into my life. I would think the former would be harder, but really? It depends on the day.

18. Things that will always annoy me: people who don’t tip; people who go to all inclusive resorts in poverty stricken countries and think they’ve experienced “the culture”; women who consistently put their bodies down or talk about calorie counts at restaurants; hypochondriacs; people who hit “reply all” without thinking; people who go into extreme debt to maintain a “lifestyle”; and people who feel they are being persecuted on the Internet when they’re actually just mad at everyone else.

17. I do my best thinking in the shower.

16. The first children I babysat are now having children. If anything was going to make me feel old, THAT WOULD BE IT.

15. You don’t need to understand your family to love them.

14. You do, however, need to try.

13. I like cooking more than I like baking. I prefer to use recipes as guidelines, not rulebooks.

12. At this point, I have more freckles than I have brain cells. And while I continue to accrue freckles, my brain is headed for disaster.

11. I still have a much bigger fear of disappointing other people than disappointing myself. People tell me the reverse should be true, but I’ve never quite managed to get there. When I disappoint myself, it’s easy enough to either forget about it, or try again later. But the feeling that you didn’t live up to someone’s expectations is like catching a medicine ball with your chest.

10. I will always prefer a window seat on airplanes. And open windows. Just not on airplanes.

9. It took me a long time to figure out that “no” is still an answer to prayer — just not the one I wanted. And that it’s okay to ask again. And again.

8. A lack of consistency is my consistent flaw. I suck at developing routines and habits and systems for my own day-to-day life. I’d say this is going to change, but why set myself up for failure? Let’s just call it “creative living” and move on.

7. I don’t know if I’ll ever “not care” that someone doesn’t like me — but one day I’ll figure out that I can’t necessarily change it. I’m mostly there. I think.

6. If it seems like I keep learning the same lessons over and over — or not quite learning them, and having to get kicked in the ass again and again — well, you’re right. And? I know there are eighty different quotes people use to describe that as “failure” or whatever, but WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT QUOTES??

5. I am going to be a wicked stepmother. I mean that in the Boston sense of the word.

4. I don’t know if I will ever be a great sleeper, but I can say with great confidence that I am a master at sleeping in.

3. In my years working at summer camp, I learned: how to cook for large groups of people and still have the food taste amazing; how to make children stop crying; how to motivate volunteers; how to spot an idiot man from 30 paces and take 30 paces in the opposite direction; how to get my ideas across in as few words as possible; how to make people feel included in an activity they’re scared to try; how to evade a swarm of bees without getting stung; how to survive on coffee and Twix bars; how to avoid leg amputation; and how to love people who are nothing like me. In short? EVERYTHING.

2. Things that are hard to get out of: debt; the backseat of a sports car; tents; tights; turtlenecks; awkward discussions at parties; email chains; and meetings. Things that are easy to get into: the spirit at live sports events; swimming pools; flip flops; laughing fits; and trouble.

1. I love being in love. I don’t think I’d cherish it as much as I do if it hadn’t taken so damn long to happen. That said, BOY THAT TOOK A LONG TIME TO HAPPEN.

Here’s to another 36 years of random.