The year of me.

Last year, my birthday seemed to mark the start of a year of bad juju. I could go into details but there’s no point in reliving the ugliness so let’s just say that it was probably, no, no, it was the worst birthday I’ve ever had.

Unfortunately, my birthday was just the beginning of it all. The day after the birthday mess, I was rear ended by a bus. And although my car and I were okay, it was bizarre and upsetting. Then a few days later my furnace broke and it was like 13 degrees out. And that probably contributed to my developing strep throat the next week, a few days before Christmas. (Sorry to everyone I infected while I was out Christmas shopping that week.)

And then on New Year’s Eve eve, I fell down the steps and sprained my ankle.

And then it was new years and I thought "Okay, great. December was just a bad month. It's all going to be over in the new year…" But then it wasn't.

I'll spare you the litany of bad things that have happened to me this past year but honestly, I’m not exaggerating when I say it was craziness. CRAZINESS.

So to sort of get beyond the juju and move into a new phase of life, this year I marked my birthday by participating in a symbolic ritual that a friend of mine calls “feats of strength.” What is feats of strength? Well for me it was 32 vinyasas on Saturday morning (after being out pretty late the night before). Although my arms felt a little rubbery when feats of strength was over, my insides felt good. It was one of those beautiful days in Boulder, the sun was out, not a cloud in the sky, and the mountains were sparkling in the background as I sipped my smoothie.

Maybe it was the vinyasas or maybe I’m just due for a streak of good luck (my horoscope in the November issue of Teen Vogue said that things were going to be looking up for me this year…) but whatever the cause, my birthday, while not full of pomp and circumstance, was definitely one of the better ones.

Don’t get me wrong, there was a bit of pomp and there was also a bit of circumstance (anyone who’s ever done anything close to 32 vinyasas will know what I’m talking about) but the one thing that was missing was the negative energy that’s plagued my life for the past year and that’s fine by me. How does the saying go? Good riddance to bad rubbish, or something along those lines.

So, a number of you have already heard the unofficial news but I’d like to officially announce that this year is “the year of LeeAnn.” There’s a theme song and everything. I know it’s early and everything but you may want to place your order for the year in review DVD that will be available for purchase this time next year…