For the past 30 days, I have been working on a “30 before 30”
project: Try, experience, or do one new thing every day for the 30 days leading
up to my 30th birthday. This
is what I’ve been up to over the past month!
Friday July 6 – Took a yoga class. Almost everyone I know besides me has taken
yoga classes many times over, but this was actually my first one! I felt like I looked pretty dumb and
inflexible, and the time seemed to go much slower than it usually does with
classes at the gym. But, I certainly can
see the benefits of practicing it long-term, so I may give it another try.
Saturday July 7 – Went canoeing on Lake Calhoun. This was really fun. It was the first sub-90 degree day in at
least a week, and absolutely beautiful, so I headed off to Lake Calhoun with
two friends to rent a canoe. I’d been
canoeing before, but never on the Minneapolis chain of lakes. I love so many things about Minneapolis, but one
thing that is REALLY unique is that you can be right in the middle of the city,
yet feel completely surrounded by wilderness.
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| One of my thank-you notes |
Monday July 9 – Rode a Nice Ride bike. So, the truth is, I hadn’t been on any kind
of bike (except a stationary one) for about 20 years. So riding a bike at all was pretty much a
“new thing”. Renting Nice Rides was more
or less just because neither Ben nor I own a functional bike. We went out around Calhoun on a beautiful
night. I was a little shaky at first,
but after a while I really liked it!
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| Holding the cherry! |
Tuesday July 10 – Went to the Walker Sculputer Garden and
took a picture “holding the cherry” of the cherry spoon statue. Okay, full disclosure: my original plan was to
take a picture CLIMBING on the cherry spoon. But a few things were working
against that plan: 1. My own guilt about
the idea of climbing on art. 2. The closed-circuit security system. 3. The pond
beneath the spoon. So, this was more of
a second choice activity. But the
picture turned out pretty cool and it was fun to spend time with a friend in
the sculpture garden.
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| Losing Powerball tix |
Wednesday July 11 – Bought two Powerball tickets. At 9:59, I watched the Powerball drawing with
a friend. Unfortunately, beginners luck
did not strike this time, and I ended up $4 poorer instead of 80,000,000
richer!
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| Chocolate facials! |
Friday July 13 – Visited a new city. Ben and I flew in to Ann Arbor Michigan to
celebrate the wedding of a close friend of mine. This is a great little town and I have been
wanting to visit for several years now- so glad that I finally did!
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| Cigars and whiskey with Alicia |
Saturday July 14 – Smoked a cigar and drank whiskey. This was Ben and my 5 year wedding
anniversary, and the day before the wedding of one of my BFFs. So, the 4 of us celebrated with cigars (first
time EVER smoking one) and whiskey (first time drinking an entire whiskey
drink… I liked it a lot more than I thought).
It was super fun to spend time celebrating with one of our favorite
couples.
Sunday July 15 – Acted as a witness for a marriage. I had the honor of signing the marriage
license as a witness at the wedding of one of my closest friends. It really was a privilege to play this unique
role in the life of a very special couple.
Monday July 16 – Ran a mile barefoot, in 100 degrees. Today’s adventure was SUPPOSED to be
paddleboarding, but the watercrafts weren’t being rented because of wind. So, my friends and I went to the beach, and I
took the opportunity to try barefoot running along Calhoun – something I’ve
wanted to try for a while. I went about
a mile, which was more than enough in 100+ degrees! I’d definitely be open to doing it again.
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| The ingredients for root beer |
Wednesday July 18 – Went to the Aquatennial Torchlight
Parade. This parade is supposed to be
one of the best in the state.
Personally, I thought it was a bit overrated. Highly dominated by princesses and marching
bands. But it was a beautiful night and I was with great friends, so it was
well worth it!
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| On the Foshay Observation deck |
Friday July 20 – CLASSIFIED! (Aren’t all the funnest things??)
Saturday July 21 – Went paddleboarding on the Minneapolis
chain of lakes. Paddleboards are like a
cross between surfboarding and kayaking.
I was afraid that I would fall off, but it actually was really easy and
fun. All four of us got the hang of it
right away, and it was a great way to spend a summer afternoon!
Sunday July 22 – Celebrated a 90th birthday. Today was my grandpa’s 90th
birthday, so I went out for dinner with him and many of my extended family
members to celebrate. I’ve never known
someone who is 90 years old before. My
grandpa has lived an incredible life and is still active and full of energy and
talent. I’m proud to be part of his
family!
Monday July 23 – Gave food to a homeless person. I’ve seen countless people on the street who
clearly are in need. Never before have I
stopped to try to fill that need. I’d
purchased a subway gift card, and today, instead of turning a blind eye, I said
hello and gave him the card. I hope that
tonight he has a full belly.
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| Making gnocchi! |
Tuesday July 24 – Made homemade gnocchi. One of the things I am infamous for is my inability to cook. “Making dinner”, to me, means putting some frozen stir fry in a pan and heating it up. Conversely, my favorite friend is incredibly talented at many creative things, including cooking delicious homemade meals. So, tonight we made our own gnocchi. It took a full two hours from start to finish, but it was delicious!!
Wednesday July 25 – Got a psychic reading. This was a bit of a bust. My psychic didn’t really hone in on my primary personality traits or the characteristics of my relationships, and stated a few things which were blatantly inaccurate… making it difficult to trust the other parts of the reading. I’m still glad I gave it a try, but probably won’t be going back to her any time soon!
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| Jumping! |
Thursday July 26 - Went to a trampoline park. A group of us went to Sky Zone in Plymouth to
bounce on their 3-dimensional trampolines.
We were the oldest people there, besides those who were there with their
children, but we didn’t care. It was a
ton of fun.
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| Shooting a gun! In a dress! |
Friday July 27 – Shot a gun.
I went with three girl friends and my husband to Bill’s Gun Range in
Robbinsdale. I was incredibly nervous,
but after I got the hang of it, it was
actually pretty fun. One of those things
that I am glad to have done, but probably will never do again!
Saturday July 28 – Mowed a lawn. So, I’m a little bit of a princess, and I’d
never mowed a lawn in my life until today.
I figured it was about time. I
didn’t like it one little bit, and I didn’t do a very good job. But it DID make me develop a new appreciation
for the way Ben keeps our lawn looking like a bed of green carpet!
Sunday July 29 – Went tubing down the Cannon River. My initial goal was to tube down the Apple
River (which is where Ben picked up a life-threatening communicable disease on
his bachelor party 5 years ago… so who WOULDN’T want to do that again?!), but
opted for the less-disgusting Cannon River.
Ten hours and many shenanigans later, I got home and immediately
crashed.
Monday July 30 – CENSORED!!
Tuesday July 31 – Fasted.
I was on a water and juice diet from 6 pm yesterday until about 5:15
today (at which time someone offered me a cookie, and who am I to turn down a
cookie?!). I didn’t really get hungry
until around lunch time, but it also wasn’t a particularly meaningful
experience, as it wasn’t part of a spiritual practice or anything.
Wednesday August 1 – Had my eyebrows waxed. I’ve never really needed to do it because my
hair is so light, but I figured it was worth trying. Results one hour later: a little red!
Thursday August 2 -
Went through a coffee shop drive-thru and paid for the person behind me. The cashier was a little confused, but I’m
pretty sure it worked out. Hopefully the
recipient of free coffee had a good start to his or her day!
Friday August 3 – Ate sushi. I really don't like sea food of any kind, so I put this one off until the end. But I felt like I really should try it because I never had and so many people rave about how delicious it is. The only one I could force myself to put in my mouth was a veggie role, which I'm not sure even technically counts.
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| Celebrating 30! |
