Thirty new experiences in my last year of being in my twenties.
Thirty ways to grow and step a bit outside my comfort zone.
That was my goal on the cusp of turning 29. And here I am, a newly minted 30 y/o, reflecting on the past year. Did I meet my objective? See for yourself:
30. Take care of a house plant. Oh, how sad my peace lily looks. It was supposed to be a low-maintenance, hard-to-kill plant. Note to self: Do not buy plants prior to going on vacation.
29. Learn to invest money. I took a higher-ed. class at East High about how to invest money. I can't say I understood or remember it all, but I'm a little wiser about money. (I really wanted to get a picture of me reenacting High School Musical, but this pic. will have to do.)
28. Make something from the garden. My roommate and I did a really spiffy garden in our backyard this past year. I grew my own basil, so naturally I had to make pesto. I looked up the NYT recipe and concocted some and combined it with a chicken pesto recipe. It was so yummy!
27. Be in front of a green screen. This was really random, but I was always curious about the green screen we had on the main floor at work. So when the multimedia team was looking for someone to dance in front of it as part of a lip sync video, I could not resist.
26. Learn a cool new song on the piano. Still working on this, but I thought it would be cool to actually play one of my favorite songs. And since The Beatles are my fave, I went with a pretty basic version of "Let It Be." (Note this pic. isn't actually the sheet music I downloaded!)
25. See a ballet. I'd never seen a full-length ballet before, so I asked my arts-lover friend to see The Nutcracker with me. In all honesty, I don't know if ballet is my favorite art form. I think I prefer people to talk instead of dance to tell a story. But I feel just a bit classier after the experience.
24. Sew something new. I'm no seamstress, but I thought making a heating pad would be manageable. I just finished sewing this guy up, so hopefully I can put it to good use.
23. Tie dye something. At our family reunion in Florida, my whole family got together to tie dye shirts. I went for a spiral look, and despite the ugly blending of orange and blue creating a brown color, I was fairly pleased with my new Florida shirt.
22. Learn how to use a compass. I figured that if civilization and technology as we know it crashed, I should know how to get around in the wilderness. My BIL lent me his snazzy compass and gave me some basic tips for how to get around.
21. Sing at the conference center. (FYI, this is where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hold their general conferences and listen to general authorities.) I've heard of people singing hymns outside while sessions are going on to ward off the negative spirit protesters bring. I was glad to hang out with church security (who are really cool) and sing as people went by. I spotted only one or two protesters. The only downside was I missed the announcement of the San Juan, Puerto Rico temple!
20. Shoot a paintball gun. I've always been wary of paintball because I hear it hurts to be hit. Yet when I went to Hee Haw Farms in the fall, I saw they had a place where you could hit targets with paintballs. I had to try it!
19. Watch Citizen Kane. People rave about this movie, and it's number one on the American Film Institute's list of greatest movies. So I entered into this black-and-white world for two hours and stayed awake for nearly all of it. I like that it lingered in my mind afterwards and that I now understand the significance of "rosebud."
18. Visit every Utah temple. Okay, so I didn't see every single temple in the state (Monticello and Vernal are pretty out there), but I saw most of them. During all my time in Utah, I either saw from a distance or entered the following temples: Manti, Salt Lake City, Bountiful, Provo, Provo City, Payson, Brigham City, Oquirrh Mountain, Jordan River, Draper, Mt. Timpanogos, Ogden, St. George, Logan, and Cedar City.
17 & 16. Get a manicure and/or pedicure. For my 29th birthday, my sister took me out for pedicures. It was fun to get pampered with a foot bath and leg massage. For my 30th birthday, I went with my friend and got my first manicure, which wasn't as luxurious but I got some pretty nails from the basic package. (Yes, I know it's 30 before 30 but I wasn't technically that age until nine p.m. ;))
15. Get a massage. As a birthday treat to myself last year, I signed up for a full-body massage. I'll admit, it was...strange. And I felt lightheaded afterwards, but apparently that's from toxins leaving your body? I'm glad I did it, but I probably won't repeat it anytime soon!
14. Try online dating. I got on Mutual since that's supposed to be a fairly popular app in Utah. I'm glad I ventured out and tried something new and met different people. No real success stories, but no horror stories either.
13. Make bread from scratch. Every year for Christmas Eve, my family has a biblical dinner. My brother makes some really amazing bread and I got him to show me how he did it. He walked me through it with a KitchenAid, which made it a lot easier, and the end product was delicious.
12. Pay for someone else's bill. For Christmas 2017, I remember my family going to the Festival of Lights in Spanish Fork for free. That was because the car ahead of us paid for us. So I decided to pay it forward and cover the expense of the car behind me. It was a great way to get in the Christmas spirit, even though it was technically after Christmas Day.
11. Go to a rodeo. My brother's family was going to a rodeo one weekend so I tagged along. My SIL grew up in that world and explained to me things like barrel riding and mutton bustin'. I think it helped me understand Western culture a bit better.
10. Learn a new sport. I chose ballet! And yes, it's a sport, especially if you ask my sister's teacher at the YMCA. I now know how much strength and balance goes into ballet. It even reminded me a little of yoga. The ballet teacher told me to stop looking so worried a couple of times. She also commented I had good balance, which I take to be a compliment.
9. See Hamilton. I honestly didn't think this would happen when the show came to SLC. I remember my coworkers and I standing in our virtual line that day and hardly any of us getting actual tickets because they were sold out. But luckily some tickets came through and I was able to join a group of friends going. (It cost me all of my tax return. But Ham-il-ton, people!) It was an unforgettable night of an amazing story combined with top-notch musical and acting talent. I can now appreciate the soundtrack sooo much more.)
8. Get involved in local politics. The Utah election was up and coming, and it came to my attention that I should probably actually vote this year as a responsible citizen. And when I heard that senator candidates Jenny Wilson and Mitt Romney were visiting my work of all places, it seemed like a good time to research the issues. Mitt came on Halloween (Jenny came when I was working from home). I took a pic. with him, cat ears and all. (Can you tell I'm a cat burglar?)
7. Be handy with something electronic. My stereo has been taking up space in my car without producing a single sound for about four years. I've thought about taking it to a car stereo place, but it occurred to me that I could probably do it myself with the stereo I bought a while back. After watching a couple of YouTube videos on repeat, buying tools I ended up not using, and sitting in my garage for hours, I figured out how to install this thing. I also didn't blow up my car, which I consider to be a huge accomplishment.
6. Try modern calligraphy. I've been curious for a long time about this type of art that uses letters and words. I've always loved playing with handwriting, so this was right up my alley. I spotted a how-to book at Barnes and Noble and had a lot of fun playing with my new pens. I can actually see this a new hobby!
5. Try oil painting. I've done acrylic. And watercolor. It was time to do something different. I hear this is a really expensive hobby, so I was relieved there was a cheap kit you can buy from Joann's. It gave step-by-step instruction on how to paint a vase full of fruit. My sister and I did a paint night, and I think mine turned out pretty okay considering it's my first time using this medium.
4. Visit one of Utah's national parks. Despite living in Utah for over a decade, there is still much I haven't explored. My ward went on a trip to Moab in May, and I used this as a chance to visit Arches. It was a pretty simple hike (I think three miles) and the view certainly paid off.
3. Do overnight backpacking. Going to Havasupai was easily the highlight of my summer. It required staying there for four days and carrying our own packs (with the help of some mules we hired). We hiked 10 miles in and another 10 miles out. Oh, and let's not forget about the other 10 miles we hiked to and from different waterfalls and other sites. It was rewarding to train for something and be able to complete it, especially with a bum knee.
2. Donate hair to charity. I was amazed at the positive reaction I got to cutting off eight inches of hair. I remember how much I love having short hair! My stylist was really great about giving me the haircut I wanted. It was also satisfying holding that much hair in my hand before sending it off to Pantene Beautiful Lengths (for women with cancer). P.S. Did you know it takes like three donations to have a wig?
1. Do grad school. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner! I've been wanting to pursue instructional design (not interior or industrial design, folks) for ages. It was so nice my work offered me this program for 75% off tuition. It's been very time consuming, but I'm glad I did it. Crossing my fingers I can make the deadline to walk in August!
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