~Friday, April 23, 2010

The final countdown

On the twenty-fourth day of April in the year of our Lord 2011, I will be turning 30. 3-0. A new decade that is supposed to be filled with responsibility and knowing thyself. As the anonymous commenters love to note, I am neither of those things.

I have spent the last week compiling my list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30:

30. Paint a piece of pottery
29. Not kill a house plant
28. Knit a sweater
27. Go an entire day of work without surfing the Internet
26. Bet on a winning horse
25. Take a dance class
24. Shoot a gun
23. Send a message in a bottle
22. Stop biting my nails
21. Visit Texas
20. Learn to change a tire
19. Stop therapy
18. Make 1,000 paper cranes
17. Have a professional picture taken of me and my dog
16. Make an indulgent purchase
15. Run a 5k (for real)
14. Go down a zip line
13. Put 10% of paycheck into savings
12. Swim with dolphins
11. Learn to spin yarn
10. Try a new cocktail every month
9. Find a fitness activity I enjoy (obviously not running)
8. Raft down the Oconee river
7. Drop 2 pants sizes
6. Perform a favor for a stanger
5. Make spaghetti sauce from scratch
4. Do a successful cartwheel
3. Buy a new dress
2. Attend a craft show and sell a piece of knitting
1. Meet Kristin

Some of these will make me a better/more interesting person. Some I've always wanted to do. Some I stole off of the Internet. All of them, I believe, are realistically obtainable—even that damn 5k attempt #2. Can you help me with any of these? Do you have a list of your own?

39 comments:

DL White said...

You should start the cranes like... yesterday. Did that once for a project. It uhm. Took a while.......

Great list!!!

Sarah said...

I already did the math: it's 2.7 a day. What I'm concerned about is the amount of paper it's going to require.

DL White said...

I think origami paper is relatively inexpensive. Very thin. You don't want to make 1000 cranes out of regular paper. : |

Fannie said...

Hahah, I obviously can't help you with number 22 .. because I was bitting my nails while reading your post. lol, I am nothing if not klassy.

But I am willing to help you with numbers 18 (show me how and I will make a 100 for you :P), 16 + 3 (Come visit me and we will go shopping like crazy !) and finally, my favorite one : Number 10 !! We will need a few cocktails after that long shopping day, we'll drink a few months' worth of different cocktails ;)

Great list ! Good luck with everything :)

Dawn said...

My list is "100 Things to Do Before I Die" so I assume (hope!) that I have plenty of time, since I've only done a handful... and the list was made, um, about 15 years ago. EEK!

Anyway, I can help you with the spaghetti sauce in a small way. Here's a "secret" family recipe that just ROCKS!

1 - 1.25 lbs. ground beef
1 10 oz. tin tomato soup
1 7.5 oz. tin tomato sauce
1 5.5 oz. tin tomato paste
1 jar chili sauce (key!)
2 pinches cayenne pepper
4 pinches Italian Seasoning (that what it says on the spice jar)
1 bay leaf
Green pepper, mushrooms, onions if you want

Put some oil in a pot and brown the veggies. Do this in the same pot as you're going to make the sauce in.

Move veggies to the side of the pot and throw in the ground beef.

Brown the beef, breaking it up into small pieces. Then mix the beef with the veggies.

Lower heat to between low and medium, more on the low side.

Add to the pot: the soup, sauce, paste, and chili sauce. Mix it all up!

Add the Italian Seasoning and the bay leaf.

Simmer for an hour, stirring every 5-10 minutes.

Put the lid on the pot so that the bottom of the pot doesn't burn.

Simmer for another hour, but keep lifting the lid to stir every 5 or 10 minutes.

Ta da!

Dawn said...

WAIT! I forgot an important part! REMOVE THE BAY LEAF BEFORE SERVING!!!!!!!!

Breeza said...

Very cool list! 30 isn't as scary as I thought it was going to be.

DL White said...

Now I can't freaking get this song out of my head, synthesizer included.

Sarah said...

Dawn, my mom used to cook with bay leaves and my brother and I used to claim we "won" if the bay leaf ended up in our plates!

Curvy, it's in mine too. Did you know they didn't speak English and sang the song phonetically? I bet you did.

SuvvyGirl said...

All wonderfully simple and feesible. I like them!! Looks a bit like the buket list I"ve started for myself. Although maybe I'll make mine a by 30 list too, seems a bit less morbid. And as for house plants try an airplane plant. I kill everything else I touch but I do great with airplane plants and it's cool cause they have babies too. I currently have 21 baby plants that are rooting in water here at work.

DL White said...

"Did you know they didn't speak English and sang the song phonetically? I bet you did."

I did not know this.... I am so happy to have met a fellow Cliff Claven! :p

Anonymous said...

I can help you with the cocktails one.... I have a book somewhere...if I ever manage to unpack my boxes. I'll send you recipes so sometimes you can make em and sometimes you can have em made for you.

Happy birthday for tomorrow Xx

Syd said...

Hmm, I feel like the 30s aren't THAT different, yet. I just feel like you are less inclined to deal with the bullshit you would deal with in your 20s (at least that's how it is in my case). Like..I dunno, between relationships/work - I feel like you just come more into your own and are less willing to compromise.

That said - I should do some of those things on the list. Dropping a pants size would be helpful.

twononblondes said...

I have been working professionally for a solid 6 years and have yet to go a whole day without playing on the internet. Somehow people have not caught on to this and even gave me my own office. Suckers.

If you ever come to Texas though I will give you a place to stay. In a totally non-creepy non-stalker way of course.

Delicieux said...

21. I live in Texas :) and I'll be in ATL again around Sept/Oct for a week. Perhaps we can meet up for a drink - and then you could come visit!
22. It took me 2 years after a life long of nail-biting to quit. I started with acrylic nails for about a year and a half and when I decided to stop with that, I got a manicure, then went to the nail shop to get them to paint them every week. My nails looked great - and made them solid enough to grow on their own. So, maybe you could go get your nails done over and over until you get out of the habit??
14. Go here: http://www.ziplinerider.com/Georgia_Ziplines.html

That's all i've got!

Tex In The City said...

I have a list on Day Zero (dot) com and those cranes are a bitch. lol

Try a Singapore Sling! It's my favorite gin drink :-)

Dude, if you come to Texas please, please, pretty please come to Houston!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Sarah - you must be 29 today yes?

Gretta James said...

I had a list of things to do before I was 40 and my computer died and I lost it. However, I managed to tick quite a few off - I even snogged a pilot and that was on my to do list. I was pretty impressed with myself.

Yours is good, but you need more minxy stuff on there for sure.

Gretta x

Unknown said...

The cool thing about turning 30? Saturn Return!

The Saturn Return is an astrological phenomenon that occurs at the ages of 27-30, 58-60, and finally from 86-88, coinciding with the time it takes the planet Saturn to make one orbit around the sun. It is believed by astrologers that as Saturn "returns" to the degree in which it occupied at the time of birth—approximately every 29.5 years—a person crosses over a major threshold and into the next stage of life. With the first Saturn Return, a person leaves youth behind and enters adulthood. With the second Return, maturity. And the third and usually final Return, a person enters wise old age.

The first Saturn Return is famous because it represents the first test of character and the structures a person has built their life upon. According to traditions, should these structures be unsound, or if a person is living out of touch with his or her true values, the Saturn Return will be a time of upheaval and limitations as Saturn forces him or her to jettison old concepts and worn out patterns of living. It is not uncommon for relationships and jobs to end during this time of life restructuring and reevaluation.

But the Saturn Return is not all about painful endings. During this time astrologers note that goals are consolidated and people tend to gain a better vision of where they are going in life. There are added responsibilities and a person may reap the rewards from his or her hard work. Many major life milestones seem to happen around the ages of 29 and 30. This is why astrologers believe that the thirtieth birthday is such a major rite of passage because it marks the true beginning of adulthood, self-evaluation, independence, ambition, and self-actualization.

The planet Saturn represents many archetypes, such as Father Time, the Grim Reaper and his scythe, Chronos, and the Lord of Karma. It is the ruler of limitations, fears, seriousness, responsibilities, burdens, and lessons. While those concepts may come across as negative, Saturn also astrologically rules over civilization, government, structures, harvests, prestige, maturity, and order.

Happy 30th Birthday!

Sarah said...

Yep, today is my 29th birthday!

J said...

Great list! You should add a visit to Canada to it :P.

Happy birthday!

AndyD said...

Fitness wise, I would seriously look into weight lifting. There's a common misconception that you are going to get bulky if you lift heavy, but it couldn't be further from the truth.

If you want to drop those pant sizes, I highly recommend it.

Breeza said...

Happy Birthday! You share it with my brother who is 35. Now that's old!

kristin said...

YOU JUST MADE MY DAY! i can def make #1 happen!! love you birthday girl! and awesome list! i actually could probably help you out with more than 1, 5k included! :)

kristin said...

oh yea.. and my favorite zip line is in costa rica. DO IT.

Emma said...

Oh man, I remember my "Before I turn 30" list. I was going to leave for Europe on my 29th and bum around for a year, then return to the states ready for "adulthood."

I'm 33 now, and I'm neither a world traveler, nor do I consider myself an adult.

Happy Birthday!

Bathwater said...

That is some list. Can't wait to see the before 40 list.

D said...

9. Find a fitness activity I enjoy (obviously not running)

for this one I suggest spin class! i'm a big fan, it's such a great workout!

http://damnthose3littlewords.blogspot.com/

nicole said...

happy birthday =)
yesterday was my mother in law's birthday too, so know that we celebrated for ya ;) hehe

nuttycow said...

I could probably help you with the cocktail tasting :)

Arwen said...

Those sound GREAT!

Arwen said...

PS Happy Birthday!

Eleni Zoe said...

These sound awesome. I should totally make a list too.

Happy Birthday for tomorrow fellow April girl! :)

dont eat the token said...

I liked your list! I'm excited to say I've done almost half of it (mostly!). Gun - check. Thanks to my boyfriend and his redneck family. I shot a mountain X-P

For the craft show find another crafter that you can share a booth with. Takes the pressure off, you have a buddy to spend the day with you, costs less. Now just knit some shit!

For fitness I personally love bicycling. Run your errands this way :)

For the 1000 cranes, I think it's a project best to share with friends. It's not cheating, I promise.

If you come to MN I'll give you a free portait shoot for you and your pup!

dont eat the token said...

Oh and to keep a houseplant alive? Get a succulent. Mother-in-laws-tongue is the best! You only water a bit every week or so. They don't care if you forget for a few extra days!

Lpeg said...

Happy Belated Birthday - your list sounds awesome!!

Anonymous said...

I can show you how to change a tire. I'm local so let's meet for a drink and I will show you!

Paige Jennifer said...

Awesome list, girly. And happy belated birthday!

By the way, I'm coming to town for Memorial Day weekend and was going to propose a drink. Curvy and Trinity are obviously included. And listen, you can both try a new cocktail and make us some silly cranes at the same time! Let me know.

Angela said...

I know a man who just grew more irresponsible as his thirties went on, and he plans on having that continue. (He'll be 37 on Friday.)

Happy birthday for next Sunday. :) I'm just here looking for a few ideas for my 36 in 36 list. (I'm not ready to face a list for the big 4-0. I wasn't ready for the big 3-6.)

 

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