#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.