30 Before Thirty ENDS!

So I may not have completed all adventures in my 30 before Thirty list...oops!  Even so, this isn't going to stop me from completing them, thus the reason I now am working on my 30 before Thirty ENDS list! 

As for an update these are the few items I have completed and the ones I still have left to complete.

1. Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey
2. See a Bear in the wild - I am giving this a half strike since I technically did not see one!
3. Skydive
4. Leave a $100 tip to a deserving waiter/waitress
5. Take a dance class
6. Take an art class
7. Be brave...Go Dark!!!
8. Travel Internationally to somewhere that's not Canada (it's been 3 years)
9. Get a real Christmas Tree
10. Replace all IKEA furniture
11. Try 30 new foods - I only have two more foods to eat off my original list seen here
12. Go to a UT Football Game
13. Find a Fabulous LBD
14. Cook through a cookbook (Gluten is my Bitch: April Peveteaux)
15. Get a Palm Reading
16. Be able to do the splits again
17. Build a Bear!
18. Learn to drive a stick shift
19. Bake a cake
20. Write and mail 30 letters
21. Watch all 6 Star Wars in a row
22. Ride a Segway
23. Go Paintballing
24. Change the oil in my car
25. Skinny dip in the ocean
26. Go to an Opera
27. Sew a quilt - well finish it to be exact
28. Run a race
29. Blog my 30 Before 30 List, with pictures detailing each adventure
30. Celebrate my last night of my 20s in style!  - Or by jumping out of an airplane!

 

Amanda & April

By far my favorite thing that I have accomplished on my 30 Before Thirty list was cooking my way through a cookbook.  Who wouldn't want to make yummy healthy(ish) foods, while singing and dancing in the kitchen and drinking wine? I became very close with Elvis Costello many nights while cooking. 

I had originally anticipated cooking my way through The Healthy Gluten-Free Life by Tammy Credicott, but once I bought the cookbook mid December I came to the realization that there was no humanly possible way for me to cook 200 recipes in 180 days.  I began the hunt for a new, smaller cookbook that I wanted to cook through when I stumbled upon Gluten is My Bitch by April Peveteaux. 

I've been mostly gluten free and dairy free for a little over two years now.  When I read the description of Gluten is My Bitch I wondered "where was this when I stopped eating gluten?" Both humorous and informative this book is a must read for the gluten free and non-gluten free.  The recipes are all delicious and range from southern comfort food to paleo.   



Gluten Free Beignets

 

Gluten Free German Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

 



Of course I somehow managed to only take pictures of the baked goods. The recipes to these baked delights can all be found in the Gluten is My Bitch cookbook, which everyone should go buy, or I have linked to the Gluten is My Bitch blog for two of them.   Make sure to check out Gluten is My Bitch for other delicious gluten free recipes.

Maybe in true Julie & Julia fashion I will take on a Julia Child cookbook next, or maybe just wait for April's next book!

No Such Thing as a Perfectly Good Airplane!

How does one celebrate their thirtieth birthday?  They jump out of an airplane of course! Instead of going out with style as I originally wanted, I went out with bang...or jump!

This was probably the most exhilarating experience I have ever had.  I am at a loss for words on how to explain the experience, all in all it was the greatest and most liberating rush.  It wasn't quite the "roller coaster drop" feeling I thought it would be, it was more of supported float which gave me the sense of flight.  Here is that loss of words again.

I am extremely grateful that I have a great friend that went with me and got to experience this as well.  How many people do you know that would jump out of an airplane with you? So maybe we are a little crazy, but then again who isn't? If George Bush Sr. can do it at 90 years old than anyone can.  I may need to keep up the tradition as Bush has and jump every 5 years on our birthday hereafter, since we are kindred birthday spirits and all!

And just remember "there is no such thing as a perfectly good airplane!"

Not made in Sweden

I feel so grown up, I no longer own any furniture from Ikea!  The last piece of furniture that I was working on replacing was our media cabinet.  While on the hunt for a replacement I had to fall in love with Pottery Barn's Andover Media Cabinet, but at $1200 it was a little unrealistic to me.  I began to search Craigslist for a new media cabinet but come to find out, most of those are from Ikea as well, or the dimensions wouldn't fit under our TV.  So I started to look for ones that I could refurbish, that was until Trevor decided we were going to build one!  I ended up finding on Ana White's website building instructions for the exact same Pottery Barn media cabinet I wanted (project instructions here). SCORE! 

I did not take many pictures through the work stages of the project, but here is the completed garage phase of our new media cabinet.  Archie decided to photobomb the picture.

Apparently my fur kids want to be seen! And I need to learn not to take pictures at night with my iPhone! I am so excited to no longer own any particle board, falling apart, cheap furniture! So long Ikea!

Keeping Up With My Correspondence

It makes me sad to think that letter writing is becoming a dying art form in our modern technology age.  I can recall being a young kid lying on my bed and writing letters to my best friends and family; letting them know all about school, dance classes, and how my summer was going.  It's sad to think that we as adults are so busy in life that we can't take a few minutes out of our day to take pen to paper and just let someone know we are thinking of them or love them. 

In writing each letter to someone I felt their sense of joy they would get when they saw a hand written letter in the mail, in the shuffle of bills and junk mail.  To me there are a handful of moments in life that bring sheer joy, things like a warm towel or hot chocolate on a cold day or getting a hand written letter in the mail.  In my quest to write thirty letters to friends and family I was originally hoping to make other people feel special, but what I did was make myself feel loved when I realized I have so many friends and family to be able to write letters to.

After sending out my 30 letters I realized this is something I don't want to do just once because I put it on a list of things to accomplish, this is something I want to keep up.  Because who doesn't love feeling special!

 

 

 



My First 5k

When I was first thinking of things to add on my 30 Before Thirty list, running a 5k was not something I would have added.  Honestly, I do not know how it made it through the chopping block and my original edits. After purchasing a treadmill in January (which was purchased for incline walking for me and Trevor's running needs) and registering for The Color Run, I knew I needed to start running, or rather attempt running. 

I decided to start "training," if that's what you really want to call it, by reading blogs and Couch to 5K programs.  I attempted to follow a weekly running schedule, but that didn't really happen either.  I was just a girl running every few days in my home gym, or here's that word again "attempting" to trail run (which never really worked in my favor, but I least I never ran into a tree). 

I've never called myself a runner, I was on the track team in 8th grade for maybe 2 days.  This just proves how much I have run in my life.  My general rule of thumb was that the only reason for running was if you were being chased, and how often am I being chased...never...so why run?

The day of the race I kept looking around thinking to myself if these other people with as much "training" as me could do it than so could I.  I quickly learned once actually running the course that more than half of the people there walked instead of ran.  I don't know my final time, but I RAN my first 5K, and got powdered paint thrown on my at the same time, so it's a win-win for me!

 

 

Our best "Grrr" Faces!

 

 

 

How I Roll

With a car enthused mechanic father I should have learned to drive a manual transmission car long ago, but I didn't.  I've understood the concept for years, but I have never put a manual transmission car into motion.  Trevor tried to teach me years ago in a parking lot but after stalling the car a few times I gave up.  I was determined to drive one this time around instead of giving up.  While in Vermont for my sister-in-law's graduation, Trevor took me out and showed me the ropes...again.  This time I didn't give up after I stalled the car twice, I kept going! Go me!

 

 

 

 

 

LBD

Did I really tell myself to go shopping? Why yes I did! Everyone should have the essential "Little Black Dress" in their closet, but somehow for years I did not.  For some reason now all the dresses I am falling in love with are black, go figure right? I was so excited when I found this dress; it is the perfect fit and style that I wanted and it manages to suit every occasion. I recently wore it to the Opera.  Now I am on the hunt for a LRD (Little Red Dress)!

I can do the splits!

After a lot of stretching and flexibility I did it, I did the splits again!  I had to stretch really far to the back of my pantry to fetch the chocolate syrup and I had to be flexible to the fact that I don't own banana split bowls, that everyday owns will have to work.  

What was going through my mind when I decided to add this to my list?  I don't think that anyone over the age of thirty is capable of doing the splits.  Well maybe Betsy Johnson, kudos to you Betsy!  Doing the splits is just no longer in the cards for me, and I am completely fine with that.  So I did the other splits, the only ones I know how to, the delicious banana kind that is!

 

 

 

Look how talented I am.  That's me doing the splits again! The Hubs also has some mad talent as well, look at those picture taking skills!

 

 

 

 

The Elixir of Love

Last night's experience was truly magical.  Whenever you are able to lose yourself in music there is a feeling of some kind of magic within you.  I went to my first Opera last night!

Donizetti's The Elixir of Love was Austin Lyric Opera's season finale this weekend.  I feel is was the perfect Opera for me to be introduced to; it was none other than a romantic comedy love triangle!  It featured a fun cast of characters, gorgeous music, and many memorable moments.  The orchestra was sparkling and the golden tones of the performers were breath taking, especially those of Rene Barbera (Nemorino).  I can now say I have a guilty pleasure for Opera! I can't wait until next season!

 

 

Pay It Forward

You don't need to change someone's life to make their day a little brighter! This weekend I decided to "Pay it Forward" and leave a deserving server a $100 tip. 

The act of paying it forward is fun to do every once and while.  Sure it cost me $100 this time, but the thrill of doing something nice and unexpected for an unsuspecting stranger is a great way to show others that there is still kindness in this world and that people are still generous out there.  I think we could all use a little unexpected kindness every once in a awhile. 

Here are some other simple ways to show acts of kindness to pay it forward today...

 - Put a quarter in a meter that's about to expire
 - Buy a meal for a homeless person (or give him/her your leftovers from a restaurant)
 - Offer to do pro bono work
 - Mentor someone
 - Make a donation
 - When leaving a foreign country give your left over currency to a local
 - Tip street musicians
 - Let someone cut in front of you in line
 - Hold a door open
 - Smile at strangers
 - Spend time with the elderly
 - Spend time with children
 - Give up your seat for someone in need
 - Give blood
 - Volunteer
 - Show respect equally to all

They see me rollin'

You know you want to do it too.  Every time you see the mall cop riding around on one, you secretly want to ride it too.  When you see one unattended, you know you have a crazy "devil on your shoulder" moment that makes you want to steal it.  The question is though when you want to ride one where do you do it?  Every major city has the Segway Tours, but that just seems embarrassing.  Well I sucked it up, I went on a Segway Tour in my own city.  Luckily the tour was just Trevor and myself, so we told our guide we really didn't need the tour notes, so we just cruised.

We obviously had to stop for good photo ops though.  Like the one above in front of the Capital and the city skyline below. Side note, I love me city!

So the next time you feel like doing something fun and random on a Sunday afternoon, go on a Segway Tour of your own city!  On to our next helmeted adventure!

Lions and Tigers and BEARS, oh my!

I feel guilty about what I have done...I cheated!  I realized that with only two months to go before the big 3-0 there was one thing on my list that seemed a little unrealistic at this point.  Where exactly am I going to see a bear in the wild, I live in Texas.  I was unlucky in Arkansas about seeing a black bear and the next trip I am going on is Vermont in May, so I have my fingers crossed.  Just in case though I went to go see Disney Nature's Bears last night.  It was a great way to celebrate Earth Day.

 



About the film, Bears follows a mother bear named Sky and her two cubs, Scout and Amber, through their adventures and struggles of the cubs' first year in the Alaskan wilderness.  The film is narrated by John C. Reilly, who brings humor and "aww" to his narration.

 

The film shows the struggles of life in the wilderness along with all the threats that bears cope with on a daily basis.  The harsh realities of the life of a bear are very well counter acted with the humor, "aww," and antics of bears.

 

 

I appreciate that this film was educational and honest about the struggles bears face to survive, but not traumatizing.  Disney did a great job at managing to portray the realities and brutality along with the beauty of nature.

 

Alongside the bears captivating my heart, the cinematography of this film was breath taking.  The nature and landscaping plays an additional character of the film.  It makes me want to plan my next trip to Alaska so I can bask in the beauty of the great outdoors, and go see a bear obviously.

 

 

So even if I didn't get to see a bear in the wild, this film satisfied my need, at least temporarily!  Also, a portion of the ticket sales from this film will go to the National Park Foundation.  I highly recommend going to see this film.