30 Before 30

Turning 30 is a BIG deal. And not one that I was even remotely looking forward to. In the spirit of embracing the next decade in my life, I decided to spend the 30 days before my birthday accomplishing 30 goals (some significant, some not). Originally, I planned on doing 30 major things in the one year before turning 30, but time slipped away and I modified my goals. So here's a list of what I accomplished leading up to my 30th Birthday.

30 before 30 in 30 days....

(in no particular order)

#1 Make a calendar to accomplish all my goals
 
#2 Read my scriptures every day

#3 Eat a vegetable every day

#4 Print out Okcanna's baptism picture and write her a letter to go with it

#5 Do a long run every Saturday

#6 Download my Oma interviews from last summer
Last summer, I spent a few days with my Oma in Germany. I brought along a digital voice recorder and was able to capture a few hours of stories from Oma. Now, as she has passed on, those recordings are even more meaningful.

#7 Organize and clean my desk

#8 Purge 10 items of clothing
 

#9 Style my hair differently

I know it may not look different, but my hair is stick straight, so these curls and waves took time and effort!

#10 Get a pedicure
 

#11 Get a manicure (yep, split those up)
 

#12 Visit the Dairy Godmother (a raved about custard place not far from my house)
 

#13 Visit my sisters in Washington and Oregon
 

#14 Create a surprise for Mike
Dinner and a movie...can't go wrong. I made the dinner below and presented him with Rudy as a prep for our trip to Notre Dame for the BYU-Notre Dame football game.

#15 Try a new recipe

I went to the trusty source of pinterest to try this dish out!  http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/09/crispy-southwest-chicken-wraps.html

#16 Buy a new piece of jewelry
 

#17 Read a book
 
My friend Liz gave me this book to read, Stargirl. She told me it was a quick, but a good read. And she was right!

#18 Memorize a scripture
Ether 12:27 "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

#19 Take a yoga class
Lucky for me, my roommate Ally is a master yoga instructor. She was kind enough to host a free yoga night for me and a few others the night before my birthday. 

#20 Try a new restaurant


#21 Make a new dessert

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles anyone?? So good!

#22 Visit a new monument/memorial

Einstein Memorial in DC, off the beaten path. Mike took me here on a Sunday evening so I could check off one of my goals. Unique and interesting memorial, definitely worth a stop, especially if you are a scientist.

#23 Attend the Temple

#24 Reach my financial savings goal
I did it!!! I am debt free and reached my savings goal. 

#25 Write in Journal
 I managed to get at least one entry in...October 17, 2012, the last day of my youth....

#26 Print some digital pictures

#27 Do something from my youth
Not sure if others would count this, but I sure do! I stayed up until 2am a few nights in a row!! For those that live with me, they know I'm not much of a late nighter, 12am comes and I turn into a pumpkin, so this was a big deal. All my late nights happened while I was in Washington/Oregon with my sisters. Sisters can talk!!!

#28 Do something crafty
Crafts do not come easily to me. In addition to lacking all creative skills, I also have very little artistic vision. For my first "craft experience" (since high school YW projects), I ventured into JoAnn Fabrics and purchased some fabric to recover a travel pillow I have. I haven't sewn anything yet, but going into the fabric store and successfully coming out with fabric and thread is a big step!

#29 Finish summer blogs
See previous blog post

#30 Set Goals for Year 30
I'll make some more goals as the new year approaches (in a few weeks), but I did write down a few for my 30th year.