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50 before 50

November 28th, 2009 Kristi Leave a comment Go to comments

 stellas-3rd-birthday-0011

This is my husband and I — see goal no. 5

I have been gunshy to put pictures of my children online, but I think it is OK to put a pic of my husband up now. Here he is, although now I think he’s lost about 30 pounds since this picture was taken about a year ago  – he always is handsome to me, though. I especially like this shot of us.

50 Before 50

I first heard about this concept by Andi at Misadventures by Andi who listed 40 things to do before 40, but alas, I had already passed that milestone. Then, I saw Tine at The Red Geranium is doing 30 before 30. So here is my version. By the way, I don’t think I will, or will want to, actually list 50 things, but here area a few of my top goals: 

 

1. Become fluent in at least one other language, probably Spanish
2. Live in Europe for a time
3. Become a successful freelance writer or author
4. Raise healthy, happy children (this is my no. 1 goal)
5. Do my part to maintain a healthy, happy marriage (same thing , no. 1 goal)
6. Keep fit (learn yoga, continue walking, up it to a mandatory daily walk)
7. Become completely debt free
8. Become a chess master
9. Learn a martial art form
10. Have a photo exhibition
11. Learn to ballroom dance

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  1. Daily Connoisseur
    November 28th, 2009 at 12:14 | #1
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    You and your husband are both absolutely gorgeous! All of those goals are highly achievable and I believe when you write your intentions down they are that much easier to accomplish… good luck! xo

  2. Stephanie
    November 28th, 2009 at 15:00 | #2
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    What a great idea to have a list of goals like this. It’s inspiring just reading your list!

  3. tish jett
    November 28th, 2009 at 17:42 | #3
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    Well, aren’t you two the beautiful couple. I suspect you’ll realize your intentions/dreams.

  4. Nancy
    November 28th, 2009 at 22:45 | #4
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    What a great picture! You look gorgeous and very happy. May God shine on your marriage and bless your household.

  5. Fiona
    November 29th, 2009 at 03:13 | #5
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    Lovely photo. You both look very content and happy! And I bet your kids are gorgeous having you two as parents. Love your list too.

  6. Tine
    November 29th, 2009 at 11:03 | #6
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    Gorgeous photo! I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

  7. Marsi
    November 29th, 2009 at 16:06 | #7
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    You are a great-looking couple! Nice to see your husband so I can, you know, put a face to the name of the person who hates all of your shoes! ;o)

  8. Jackie
    November 30th, 2009 at 13:44 | #8
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    That’s a lovely photo of you and your husband! I’m over 50, so I’d have to do a 60 before 60 ;o)

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What is it about those Italian women? You know the ones I’m talking about: beautiful, sexy, dressed to the nines just to take the kids to the park. They have a certain something that is indefinable. It is in the way they dress, the way they prepare their meals, the way they spend their leisure time.

It is because they know the importance of la bella figura. Roughly translated from Italian, it means putting you best foot forward in everything you do. It means cutting a beautiful figura. The opposite of la bella figura is la brutta figura, which is what someone might say about the falling down drunken guy at the party or the super tackily dressed woman at church. It means ugly figure.

La bella figura is much more than your appearance. It goes much deeper than that. It is about how you act. It is about how you treat others. It is about how you care for yourself, your home and your family. Living a life in line with la bella figura doesn’t take money. In fact, it is more about how to have class without a lot of money.

Someone who exudes la bella figura will have clean, pressed clothes and be well groomed. They will not be rude or sloppy. Their fingernails will be impeccably groomed. Their hair shiny and clean and their shoes will be polished. They will not have stray threads hanging from their suit hems. They will not be driving a car in need of the car wash.

La bella figura means driving that 15 year old car and meticulously cleaning it and caring for it. It means keeping your belongings in good repair. It means taking time to clean your house and not cluttering it up with meaningless objects.

When you focus all your spare energy, time and money on the things that bring you the most amount of pleasure, then you are truly living a life in line with la bella figura. The best part about it is that you don’t have to be Italian to do so. You just have to think like an Italian.

Italian children are raised to present la bella figura in whatever they do. From the time they are small and are groomed perfectly to attend church or school, they know that appearances count. They count because it is the first thing people judge about you. That first impression does matter. Appearances are also important because when you take the time to look nice, you are showing that you care about yourself. When you care enough to look good, it shows you have good healthy self esteem. Nothing is more attractive than self confidence.

In addition, dressing nice also shows respect for others. If you invite people over for dinner and greet them in flip flops, baggy sweats and a stained shirt, it is really disrespectful to them. The same if you dress sloppy to go to church or even to the market. By dressing nicely and being well groomed, you show respect for everyone in your world.

Having la bella figura means presenting yourself in the best light possible in all your interactions.