30 Before 30 - Month 1

Well, the first month of my year-long mission is already gone. I think I'm making good progress on the list, and I've had fun doing it!

I kicked off the year right by tacking item 21 - a spa day - in honor of my birthday! I took the day off of work (which is a personal rule for my birthday), and scheduled an hour long massage and hour long pedicure of myself...ahhhhh. I hadn't had a massage since our wedding (almost 5 years ago), and I think my last pedicure was 3 years. It was time that this mama took some time for herself!

To start the day off, I had lunch with my mom at one of my favorite restaurants - P.F. Chang's. The meal and company were both wonderful! It was fun to dine with my mom as she remembered the day 29 years ago! It's crazy to think that Linnea and I will do the same some day!

Just next door from the restaurant was the spa. First up was my massage. The masseuse talked to me about my desired focus areas - upper back and legs (especially since I had just run a half marathon!). She asked if I was interested in upgrading to a hot stone massage. Initially I said no. But we started the massage and I found that I was mad at myself. Wasn't the WHOLE POINT of this thing to learn how to let myself live a little??! So I gathered up my courage (you may laugh, but it really took courage for me) and interrupted the massage to ask if it was too late to upgrade. "Not at all!" the masseuse said, and immediately brought out the stones. It was wonderful! I'm glad I upgraded. I didn't really know what to expect - I thought that she would just put stones on various areas, and that would be it...but she actually uses them to do the massage! It felt great. The pedicure came after the massage. It was pretty good...although more soaking and less massage than I would have hoped for. It came time to choose the polish, which is something that I always struggle with - I'm so stinkin' indecisive! But this choice was easy...right away I saw gold polish. Although it wouldn't usually be something I would choose I thought it would be perfect for my golden birthday! :-) Item 21 was a success - check!

I thought that my list tackling would end there for the day, but I was wrong! Shortly after I got home, and Linnea and Jeromy got home, my in-laws unexpectedly came over - unexpectedly to me, at least! Jeromy had something up his sleeve. I thought we were just going to have a quiet dinner at home. But shortly after my in-laws arrived, Jeromy and I headed out for a surprise date. When we arrived I realized he had done good - we were at a hibachi restaurant! Item 3! Dinner was awesome. Our chef was great...he really played it up, and was very nice to me because he knew it was my birthday. It was very fun to watch him do all the tricks - twirling the silverware, making an onion volcano, and spinning an egg on a spatula...so fun! 2 items down on the first day! Woo hoo!

 On the way to dinner, Jeromy gave me my gift...water balloons. When I opened them he said, "Ohhhhh no...I got the wrong kind??!" I was so confused. He dug a piece of paper out of his pocket. When I opened it, there was a picture of a hot air balloon on it! Jeromy, who is very afraid of heights, is taking me on a hot air balloon ride (item 28)! We don't have it scheduled yet, but I'm so excited!!

Aside from my fun birthday day, there were a couple other items that were crossed off the list. First, I tackled the first movie from the movie list (item 26, movie 5) - Top Gun! It was pretty good. I'm planning on writing reviews for all of the movies I watch, so stay tuned!

Also in June, I made the first month's dinner on my own (item 4). I made Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Milanese. I always get nervous when I cook that I'll screw something up, which is why I don't cook very often, and consequently why it made the list. The chicken turned out really tasty! Chef Jeromy approved too...the only thing we would change is to season it a bit more, since it was a bit bland. I kept the rest of the meal easy and simple...mashed potatoes and apples. Success!

Finally, on a beautiful Friday near the end of the month I enjoyed item 2 - buying food from a good truck. Two of my work friends and I went to Hola Arepa, a yummy Mexican food truck that parks close to our building. They specialize in arepas, which is a Mexican sandwich type thing. After a bit of a wait, we had our food in hands. Again, I worked hard to let myself splurge. I paid extra to get chips and guacamole, and an Arnie Palmer with their specialty lemonade. It was delicious! With so many more food trucks downtown, I might need to try more!

Also near the end of the month, Jeromy and I bought a Groupon for our hot air balloon ride, and I registered for my mud run!

The most interesting part of this month is realizing that I don't need the list... at least I hope to not need it. Let me explain... I find myself thinking of things that I wish were on the list. I've told Jeromy, "Ahhh! I wish I would have put such and such on there." Jeromy wisely points out, "You can just do that. It doesn't have to be on the list." Of course it doesn't! Hopefully having this project will really help me realize this...and just do the things I want to do...without needing it on a list.

Stay tuned for more updates!