I kind of forgot about this blog for a while...

But then I just remembered! So, one final update to wrap up.

The last item that was actually completed before my birthday was visiting the Harry Potter theme park. It was pretty amazing.

So that was completed 10/3/10. I did see the Pacific Ocean for Thanksgiving, but that was after my birthday. And, in the several months since then, I haven't completed any of the other things on my list.

I think that what I learned most from this is that two years might be a little far in the future for me to set goals. A lot can change in 2 years. I probably could have made all 30 of these things happen with a huge effort, but by the end I just didn't really care that much. I did do some amazing stuff, though, and I made some great memories.

Perhaps not quite...

There are definitely a few more things on the list that I will get accomplished. I'm going to go ahead and count Valley of the Dolls, which was done some time ago--I just didn't get any pictures so I never did an entry.

Of the 14 items left on the list, I think I can accomplish the following:

-Cook 10 things from Mastering the Art of French Cooking - This really just needs a dedicated weekend. My weekends are pretty booked up, but I may try for 10/16 or 11/6. I might even try to knock out a couple tomorrow.

-Deface stop signs with stickers - I have pretty much everything I need to do this, I just need to actually do it.

-See the Pacific Ocean - This is actually going to happen at Thanksgiving, which is technically AFTER 30, but I am going to make it by the end of the year. So, this one is a definite "no" in terms of the project, but I am going to do it.

-Close a bar - See aforementioned weekends that might be free for this.

-Read Mists of Avalon - Surely I have time to squeeze this in during the next month. I might start today.

-Parasail - It's iffy, but there may be an opportunity for this during our Disney vacation. It's just kind of expensive.

-Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - next weekend!

-Make a YouTube video - Again, this could probably be done at any time. I wanted to do a montage of pictures from this project, but since it won't be completed, I may do something else.

If I accomplish all of the ones above that I think I can do, I will have completed 23 of 30. Not stellar, but more than 2/3 done, and I will have done some cool things. And the stuff I didn't get done--some of it I don't really care about doing anymore (see: pilates). The point of this project was to stretch a bit, and to do some neat things I hadn't tried before. While I'm sad that it won't be completed, because I like crossing things off of a list, I am very pleased with the experiences I've had in the last two years. That said, I don't think I will try a 40 before 40.

The end?

You may have noticed that this blog hasn't been updated in a while. I'm afraid my focus on this project has...slipped somewhat. Maybe it was a bad idea to think that I could predict things that I would still want to do two years in the future. I have three and a half months left and I'm pretty sure there's no way I'm going to get everything on the list done. I may try to accomplish a few more, but things are very different now and I have new priorities that I couldn't have foreseen two years ago. I did have a blast doing the things I've already done, and I'm happy that I crossed some of them off my list. So perhaps stay tuned for a few more updates, but maybe not. Thanks for reading!

#5, Go to the ballet

Since the first time I saw A Chorus Line, I've always wanted to go to the ballet. There's something so magical about the precision and perfection of the movement. I've been to a few amateur recitals, but never actually gone to a professional production. Fortunately, now that we live in a larger metropolitan area, there are many cultural opportunities available--including the ballet!

Rick and I attended a local ballet performance last night (Saturday, April 24). I couldn't take any pictures of the actual show, of course, but I got a few pictures.

It was a lovely performance by some very talented dancers. There were two more modern pieces, and a scene from Romeo and Juliet, as well as a large piece from Giselle. The costumes were gorgeous and the music was lovely. I'm very glad that I made this one of my goals!

On another item, we have booked our trip to Orlando to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter--which will open in June. I can't believe I only have about 7 months left to get all of these things done!

#6, Cook 10 things from Mastering the Art of French Cooking (3/10)

Hooray! Two more recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking were accomplished on April 11th. My friend Libby again assisted, and both dishes came out pretty good.

We cooked gratin de pommes de terre aux anchois (kind of a potato and egg quiche with anchovies) and concombres au beurre (baked cucumbers). Libby bought me my very own copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking for Christmas, so I don't have to check it out of the library anymore!

The gratin started with diced potatoes and cooked onions.

Then it was time to add the anchovies. Yummy!

The cucumbers got heavy whipping cream poured over them, and then sprinkled with parsley. Here are both dishes before we put them in the oven.

A close-up of the cucumbers, post-cooking.

Yummy French cooking!

We're hoping to accomplish 2 more recipes this weekend--hopefully desserts!

#3, Take a trip with my mom and #21, Visit Rennes le Chateau

These were two of the larger and more expensive goals on my list, and I'm so happy I was able to complete them this month. I'm glad my mom was willing to combine the two.

Our trip started out in Barcelona. This is me on Las Ramblas.

And this is my mom in front of the Sagrada Familia.

After three days in Barcelona, we took the train to France. We spent several days in gorgeous Carcassonne.

Because it is about an hour's drive away, we were able to rent a car and drive to Rennes le Chateau.

While I was not feeling well that day (I had a bit of a sinus infection) and it was pretty cold outside, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

I had a great time just hanging out in Rennes le Chateau.

I think that my mom also had a fun trip. The day trip to Rennes le Chateau was completed on March 4 and the trip with my mom concluded on March 6. That means I've completed 15 items and I'm halfway done! I'm a little behind schedule, but I completed 4 of those in the past month, so if i can just keep that speed up I will finish!

#4, Spend a full day at a spa and #16 Get a manicure

I always intended for these two items to go together (although it was always possible that I would get a manicure separately first). For my birthday this year, my parents got me a lovely large gift certificate for a local spa and today was the big spa day. I got the following treatments:

-Mango glow exfoliating scrub

-60 minute Swedish massage

-Eyebrow grooming

-Manicure

-Pedicure

-Aromatherapy wrap

I didn't actually take my camera with me, but here's a picture of the outside of the spa that someone else took:

(Note: It was not snowing today, although it was really, really cold.)

I thought that having a camera around might make some folks nervous, especially in the dressing room, so I settled for before and after pictures of my hands and feet.

So, here's the manicure:

Before

After

And the pedicure:

Before

After

It's too bad I scraped my toe up the other day--otherwise all my toes would look just perfect! I really like the dark red polish. I couldn't commit to a red or pink for my fingers, so I ended up with the silver and it's growing on me.

I was at the spa from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, which I think qualifies as an entire day. So, that's two goals accomplished today, February 25th!

Tomorrow I leave on my trip with my mom and next week I will visit Rennes le Chateau! So that will be 4 goals accomplished in two weeks. I might just make all of my goals yet.

Making progress

I am still making progress on the list! It just seems to get further and further between updates. But rest assured that this project is still on-going.

Here are a few new items:

-We missed The Nutcracker, so I will have to attend the ballet some other time. The season here starts in the spring, so there should be opportunities.

-I have finished reading Valley of the Dolls, and should be posting an update soon.

-In less than a month I am leaving for the trip with my mom! I am so excited. I will return with lots of pictures of Rennes le Chateau.

-For my birthday, my parents gave me a pretty large gift certificate for a local spa, so now I just need to make an appointment for my spa day, and I can do that anytime!

-My friend Kelly invited me to get a manicure next week. One of my New Year's resolutions was to resolve this nail biting problem this year, and I've been doing a pretty good job! So, I think I'm ready for my first manicure.

-My friend Libby gave me both volumes of Mastering the Art of French Cooking for Christmas! So now those are close at hand. And since I'm trying to diet from French Women Don't Get Fat this year, I think I will definitely be trying a few more recipes.

-Goal X (which is a super secret goal, thus the letter) is looking less and less likely. But I will try my hardest to do everything on the list.

So at this point, I've completed 11 and I have 19 to go. I think I will get at least 4 completed in the next month, which will bring me to the halfway point. Here is when I plan to complete the rest of my items:

1. Skydiving - There's a local company that will do a tandem jump for me--I'm thinking about the summer.

2. Project X - Probably not happening.

3. Take a trip with my mom - Will be finished on 3/6.

4. Spend a full day at the spa - I might do this before our trip, but I haven't set a date yet.

5. Go to the ballet - It looks like the local company will be performing Giselle in April.

6. Cook 10 things - I hope to make some progress on this soon.

8. Take a pilates class - Lots of the Parks and Recreation departments in this area seem to offer these, so it shouldn't be too tough to find one to take this summer.

9. Go to Canada - This will have to wait until it gets a little warmer.

10. Deface stop signs with stickers - I have the stickers and I'm ready to do this whenever. Again, it would be nice to wait for weather that's a bit warmer.

11. Protest something - No definite plans for this, but I will likely be in Washington, D.C. in June, and surely there will be something to protest at that time.

13. See the Pacific Ocean - This one is going to be tricky. I might have to content myself with the glimpses I got when we were in San Francisco.

14. Close a bar - This can happen whenever, wherever. With just a little bit of planning, of course.

16. Get a manicure - This week! Maybe Thursday.

17. Read Mists of Avalon - I'm thinking about taking this one on Rick's eReader on my trip next month.

18. Learn to knit - I've started this one (and I have pictures!). Just need more practice. I'd like to have a scarf (or at least a potholder) to show at the end.

19. Parasail - I'm hoping we can do this one on our trip to Florida for Harry Potter.

21. Visit Rennes le Chateau - Planned for 3/4!

29. Harry Potter Theme Park - Looks like this will be opening in Spring 2010! Hooray! We will likely wait and go in the fall, when school is back in session.

30. You Tube video - I really want to do one of all of my various adventures with this project, so this will be towards the end.

So, those are my plans. This has turned into a lot longer of a post than I expected. I haven't completely given up on any of my goals, so let's see what I can get accomplished this year!

#25, Chess coaster

I can't believe it's been almost two months since my last update! Time seems to fly in the fall when we get close to the holidays.

I did turn 29 on November 14th and I can't believe a year has gone by so fast! I know this next one will probably go even more quickly, and I'll be 30 before I know it. I need to get moving on my list of 30 things!

So, without further ado, I give you the chess coaster.

I am a big fan of the web comic xkcd. I think Randall Munroe is a genius and he makes me laugh three times a week at least. The chess coaster was inspired by this strip, which pretty much explains the whole idea:

Ever since I first saw this comic, I was determined to try this. Several other people have had the same inspiration, so I knew it could be done. When we went on a trip to Worlds of Fun with our friends Andy and Kelly, my moment finally arrived.

First, we had to prepare.

The shiny surface of the chessboard did create a few problems, but we managed to get an appropriate number of pieces attached. The chessboard we purchased was a folding one (which was about the only way we could figure out to do it), so it fit nicely in my bag.

We did have one moment of worry. While we were discussing in line the placement of the cameras that would snap our photo, and the possible placement of security cameras, a teen standing in line with us informed us that they would totally confiscate your cell phone if they saw you using it on the ride. This did make me a little nervous, as it was early in the day, and we didn't want to get thrown out of the park. But a little adrenaline makes everything more fun! In the end, my nervousness was unfounded and we were not confronted by park personnel. However, the picture did not work out as planned.

As you can see, Rick is doing a great job of the appropriate hand to the chin pose. I, however, had my hand down trying to steady the board, and we didn't hold it nearly high enough. Alas, in my efforts to get the board back into my bag before park employees could discover our scheme, most of the chess pieces fell off and the board tore. So, we were unable to make a second attempt. However, I did do the chess coaster and it was a great time! This task was completed on October 3, 2009.

Incremental update

Just checking in! I've been meaning to post--I've completed the chess coaster and started working on learning to knit. I have pictures of both and I will update soon with them.

Here's some other progress:

#3 & #21 - I decided to combine these two and am planning a trip with my mom to Rennes le Chateau! Our plane tickets are booked--we will be leaving for Barcelona in late February and then driving over to the south of France. I'm super excited about finally getting to see this place!

#29 - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park is coming right along, and is scheduled to open in the spring. I still think we'll try to take this trip next fall.

#5 - We can buy our tickets to the Nutcracker next week. I'm so excited about seeing this ballet--it seems like a perfect Christmastime outing.

While I don't think that I will have 15 items completed by the time my birthday comes around next month, I do feel like I've gotten a good start. I probably should be getting back to Mastering the Art of French Cooking sometime soon, though.

#23, Dragon*Con

I've always wanted to go to some kind of pop culture convention and, by all accounts, Dragon*Con is one of the geekiest and most awesome. So, I wanted to make attending Dragon*Con one of my goals for this project. Dragon*Con is always held in Atlanta over Labor Day weekend, and we made it this year! We had SO much fun, and I think this could definitely be something that we do again.

Here are a few pictures from our fantastic weekend.

The first night we stayed with some friend in the Marriott, which is a really cool hotel. Here's a shot from the 16th floor down to the Atrium level.

This was taken Thursday night--there were far more people wandering in that area on Friday and Saturday nights.

While we decided to drive, and therefore didn't need to take Atlanta's famous MARTA trains, we did get a few pictures on one of the longest escalators in the country (at the MARTA Peachtree station).

This was one seriously long escalator, and I rode up and down it 3 times.

One of the most popular features of Dragon*Con weekend is the Saturday morning parade. This is an opportunity for everyone to get dressed up in their coolest costumes and strut their stuff on the streets of downtown Atlanta. We watched the parade from our hotel room and I didn't get any pictures while it was going on, but I did manage to get a shot with one of the floats.

(For those of you who may not recognize it, that's the Trojan rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.)

Of course, Dragon*Con attendees are amazing costumers, and getting dressed up is part of the fun! Rick and I put together costumes from the television show Firefly (tragically canceled by Fox after only one season). Here's a shot of Rick dressed as Mal, and I'm costumed as Kaylee.

Looking at and taking pictures of other people's costumes is also a lot of fun! We saw some wonderful craftsmanship, creativity, and attention to detail in SO many costumes over the weekend. I took way too many pictures to post here, but I did want to add one of my favorite costume shots.

(Yes, those are sexy Disney princesses fawning over Edward Cullen from Twilight.)

In short, we had a really great time, attended some fabulous panels, saw many famous people, and generally had a full weekend of geeking out. Since Dragon*Con officially ends on Labor Day, this goal was accomplished on September 7th. And I wouldn't be too shocked if we turned up at Dragon*Con again next year.

#26, Milk a cow

The Iowa State Fair is an event of epic proportions that contains many varied opportunities for learning and exploration. And beer. And some of the least healthy food you'll ever eat.

While the Fair is not my favorite annual event, I wanted to go this year because of the opportunity to milk a cow! The Iowa State University Dairy Science Club was sponsoring an exhibit where you could pay $2.00 and try your hand at milking.

While this exhibit was clearly aimed at children, I wasn't embarrassed. Much. Until the milking guy laughed at me.

Actually, he was very nice and helpful. And the cow was lovely and soft and didn't seem to mind at all that about a jillion kids were lined up to pull on her.

Afterwards, I rewarded myself with Fair food on a stick, dipped in chocolate.

So, number 26 was completed today, August 22nd. And I've completed 8.5 out of 30 goals. We are definitely going to Dragon*Con in less than 2 weeks, and I can't wait! The only problem will be picking the best pictures to post when I get back. We will possibly be driving down to Worlds of Fun in September or October, where I could do chess coaster.

I don't know if I will get 15 of my 30 goals completed by my birthday this year, but I think I'm doing okay. I have about 15 months to go and 21.5 goals to complete. Getting there!

#6, Cook 10 things from Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1/10)

Ever since I read Julie & Julia (soon to be released as a major motion picture!), I've thought about the idea of cooking my way through Mastering the Art of French cooking. Ultimately, I decided that doing all of it would be too much, and as a vegetarian, I can't eat most of it anyway. But I did want to try my hand at a few things, so I thought cooking 10 recipes would be a good addition to this project.

First up is Potage Parmentier (Potato and Leek soup). This is the first recipe in the soup section of volume 1.

Here's the recipe (we halved it since there were only 2 of us):

Ingredients

1 lb potato, peeled and diced
3 cups leeks, thinly sliced (white and tender green parts only)
2 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
4-6 tablespoons whipping cream or 2-3 tablespoons softened butter
2-3 tablespoons minced parsley or chives

Directions

Simmer vegetables, water and salt together, partially covered, 40-50 minutes until vegetables are tender. Mash the vegetables in the soup with a fork, or puree in blender. Correct seasoning. Off heat and just before serving, stir in cream or butter by spoonfuls. Pour into a tureen or soup cups and decorate with the herbs.

Pretty simple, right? But I thought starting simple was a good idea. We started with fresh ingredients from the local farmer's market.

My friend Libby was on hand again to help out.

The lovely finished product:

This was probably the tastiest recipe I've made for this project. I think the next one I might tackle is the mayonnaise recipe. 9 more to go!

#7, Go to a drive-in movie

Again, it's been quite a while between updates, but I finally have something new to report. Last night we went to a drive-in movie! The theater was showing a double feature--Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and My Sister's Keeper. Because the first movie didn't start until dusk (around 9:00 p.m.) and the theater was about 30 minutes from home, we didn't stay for the second show. But we had a great time! Here are a few pictures:

Our friends Andy and Kelly joined us for the show.

We took Rick's convertible, but ended up putting the top up for the movie because there was so much ambient noise.

The theater was pretty cool--they had a classic sequence for the intermission, and even had some of the original speakers that still worked!

There were definitely pros and cons to the drive-in. We were in a car that was pretty low to the ground, and, as you can see from the pictures, there were a lot of very tall trucks and mini-vans with their back door propped open. This made it difficut to find a good spot to park. We arrived about an hour before the movie started, and found pretty good spots, only to have latecomers park in front of us and obstruct our view. I did enjoy having the sound in the car with us, and the seats were very comfortable. We were also allowed to bring in our own snacks. I think if we decided to go again, we would do it in the fall and get there even earlier.

So, my goal of seeing a drive-in movie was completed on July 25th. I'm falling a little bit behind, and need to accomplish a few more things this summer to stay on track. We do have an amusement park visit scheduled in the next couple of weeks, so I may attempt the chess coaster.

#27, Read something by the Marquis de Sade

This one is a little bit different than others, as I actually finished reading 120 Days of Sodom on January 30th.  However, I hadn't posted because I didn't get any pictures while I was actually reading it.  So, these pictures are a bit staged.  Rest assured, dear reader, that these are actual faces that I made while reading this book.  It was seriously gross.  (Thanks again to the super patient Libby for the book loan!)

The book in question:

Me reading this dreadful, dreadful book:

While I'm not sure I will ever entirely forget some of the incredibly graphic scenes in this book, at least I'm not actively thinking about them any more.  And I am very, very glad that I did not let Libby talk me into watching the movie.  *shudder*

In other 30 before 30 news, I was very saddened to learn that Glarkware has stopped carrying the stop sign stickers that I wanted to use for #10.  I was able to find some similar ones on Cafe Press, but I'm disappointed that I didn't get to buy the originals before they were discontinued.

Next up will probably be the drive-in movie.  Although the weather is lovely--almost makes me want to just take off and drive to Canada!

#28, Send a message in a bottle

Sorry that it's been a while between updates--there's been a lot of crazy stuff going on, including moving and changing jobs.

But, we did make the anticipated trip to San Francisco this month, so I had a chance to accomplish another list item!  This one was finished on April 19th.

This was one that I had to be a bit sneaky about. I prepared everything before we left. A few months ago I won a lot of tiny bottles on eBay that I was planning to use to make jewelry. One of these worked perfectly for my message bottle. Here you can see how tiny it is.

And here's a shot with the message inside.

I sealed the top with candle wax and then submerged it in the sink--it was pretty water tight!

Here's what the message says:

Someone out there loves you, and thinks you don't even know they exist. Pay attention to the people in your life. Now is the time to say what you forgot to say. There is beauty all around you. Life is beautiful.

Rick described that message as "very high school" and I tend to agree with him. But I was just rambling a bit and wanted to get something in there about love and life that might make someone smile if they found it. Also, part of the point of this whole project is indulging in immaturity, right?

I decided that the best place to send it from was the ferry that we took out to Alcatraz. Since the ferry was full of people, I had to be a bit sneaky about it, and we couldn't take pictures of me actually dropping it. But we did get a picture right after.

So, I let my tiny little bottle go in the San Francisco Bay. I have no idea if it even has a chance of being found--probably will wash up underneath one of the piers. But it's been sent!

The other goal I hoped to accomplish while in San Francisco was to check off #13 (See the Pacific Ocean).  Alas, we never really saw anything but the Bay, and I'm pretty sure that doesn't count.  So, I'll have to find another time to see the ocean.