So close! And yet...

30 things was actually pretty hard to achieve this year...especially since I left about 75% of those things for the last three months of my 20's.  That being said, I'm actually really proud of the things that I did accomplish.  I had so much fun this year doing a bunch of those things that I keep saying "someday" about.  But I did fail to accomplish EVERYTHING.  And here is why...

1.  Run a race-  I hate running.  Like really, really hate it.  I put this on the list for motivation.  My Dad ran the Chicago Marathon last year and runs races all the time, so I was hoping that maybe a little of that would rub off on me.  But nope.  No running.  No races. I hate it.

2. Get a tatoo- NOPE. No. No way.  What was I thinking?  Not only am I afraid of needles, but I have trouble committing to a polish color at the nail salon.  In what world would I be able to commit to a picture on my body FOREVER and have it inserted into my skin with a needle over and over again!  Nope. No. No way.

3. Buy one really great piece of art- I have been looking all year. Searching for that piece that I HAVE to have.  And I found it.  In New York City.  As we walked out of the Met, there were a bunch of street artists with NY skylines and touristy stuff, except for one little stand that had a ton of really dark and grim abstract paintings, except for one that was soooo beautiful and vibrant that I instantly LOVED it.  It was one of those works of art that I could have looked at for the rest of my life.  But the timing was awful.  The logistics just got me.  We still had a whole day of activities so I would have had to carry it around all day, I don't know how I would have gotten in on the plane, so I would have had to pay to ship it, plus I had to negotiate the price way down which just made me feel so guilty.  So I talked myself out of it.  And now I keep comparing everything else I see to that painting and I can't get it out of my head. So that's my sad story about that.

4. Be able to do 5 pull ups- Ha. Hahahahhahahahaha. Ohhhhh...ha.

5. Write a Song on the Piano- I just didn't wanna.  It never happened, and in all honesty, I didn't really try.  But if you are patient, then maybe this year.  Maybe.

6. Learn how to play poker- I don't quite remember why I put this on the list. For some reason I think it would be a good life skill to have.  I don't have to be brilliant at it, but at least knowing the rules and what a flush is would be nice.  But crazily enough, this year I didn't find myself in some sort of life and death situation where I needed the life skill of poker.  So I guess I'll be ok.

Bring it Next Decade

Yesterday was my Birthday, and what could have been a day of mourning for the passing of my twenties, was actually a huge welcome celebration for my thirties.  That's right...Bring it next decade! 

                             

My morning was laid back with church, cupcakes, and lots of balloons.  The afternoon however, was pretty crazy and intense, because I went SKYDIVING!

Skydiving has been on my to-do list for years and it finally happened.  

This Chick was a good enough friend to come with me!

We drove 90 minutes to the middle of nowhere, signed in, took a short class, and an hour later we were hopping on our plane.

The "Getting Ready" area

Since it was my birthday, I got to do something pretty special.  I got to FLY THE AIRPLANE!!!

That's right!  I sat in the co-pilot seat, the pilot let go and gave me complete control for quite a while actually.  I'll admit, it wasn't the smoothest ride but it was SUCH an amazing feeling.  I couldn't believe that I got to experience what it felt like to be in control of a plane!  I took us from 6,000 ft in the air to 13,000.  And then it was our turn to jump.  

I'm pretty sure this picture was taken after Diana exclaimed that she hated me ;)

You have to lean your head back for the fall....

and there she goooooes

Bye Diana.

My turn!

The feeling right before you jump out of a plane is sort of weird.  It's a combination of excitement and disbelief.  Like, "Is this really my life right now?" 

AHHHHHHHHHH!

Hey there!

My mouth was open the whole time from laughing/smiling/screaming...I'm so glad I didn't swallow a bug!

 What I really loved about this place was that I got to be (sorta) in control.  I pulled the parachute and even got to fly us around under the canopy.  I steered and did all the tricks!

I couldn't stop looking down, it was so pretty

But looking at the horizon will take your breath away.

Even though I was the last to jump, Diana landed after me.  She landed, got her parachute off, and we ran and hugged each other!  Best time ever.

Seriously, you guys gotta try it!  Everyone.  Everyone go skydiving right now!!!

After that rush, we had the whole car ride home to calm down.  Then I face timed with my family, ate some more cupcakes, and called it a successful day. 

Seriously, aren't they the best!

My favorite!

 Good start Thirties...good start.

P.S.  Wanna take a look at all the cool stuff I got to do this year?  I almost finished my 30 things list! I'm giving myself my "birthday month" to finish up a few things.  I'm almost there!

 P.P.S Okay, you guys get one picture of what most of the pictures turned out like.  When you are traveling at 120 miles per hour, it's hard to keep your cheeks in check. ;)

And that's all I have to say about that

Not So Much With the Greatest of Ease

Everyday, I take Winston for a walk through the park to the lake, and on that little walk, we pass this.

A flying trapeze.
And we pause to watch people fly through the air and I think, "I could probably do that.  It doesn't look that hard."

So I finally signed up to put my strength and ego to the test. 

And it didn't go so well.

The instruction on the very first night went something like this:

"Tonight, you are going to jump off of the platform, hook your legs on the bar, look as far back as possible, arch your back, tuck your legs, then flip off of the bar.  Later someone will catch you.  Listen to the instructor yelling at you.  But don't think about it."

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Did you get that last part?  Yeah, me neither.  I'm a thinker.  An overthinker.  So my first few times were a little rough.  I was anticipating the instructions being yelled, so usually I would let go too soon.  And timing is EVERYTHING!

Not even close on this try

I was pretty much the least graceful person ever, getting my foot caught in the rope and stuck on the bar and falling on my head quite a lot.

Look, I'm FLYING!

I mean FALLING

But after a few tries, I started getting the hang of it.  I'm no circus performer, but the tricks were successful at least!  I just have trouble with the being caught part. 

I took three classes and have one left.  But I'm kind of hooked now.  It's all super addicting: the rush of jumping, the challenge of making your body do things 30 feet in the air, and that final feeling of accomplishment, even when you fail.  I'll for sure be back next summer.

The ONE time I made the catch!

One day left to accomplish 7 more things.  Will it happen!? 

Master Chef

Guys, I have mastered a little something I like to call...chicken.

Okay, so maybe it's not the most complicated thing to cook.  But when I burn toast and make mushy mac and cheese, it's a HUGE deal. 

I made Chicken Florentine.  Well, sorta chicken Florentine.  Here is the recipe if you are so inclined.  I however change a few things.

First of all...why would anyone use frozen spinach when you could use fresh spinach.  Second of all...why would anyone use fresh spinach when you can use pasta.   Any type of pasta will do, but I prefer angel hair.

So, I follow this recipe, but I add mushrooms, because they are yummy.  I put the spinach on the side,  like in salad form, and then put the chicken over angel hair pasta.  And IT'S GOOD! Especially because the sauce is what cooks the chicken, so it's super tender and juicy.

Except, mine turns out brown, not white.  So it's not that appealing when you look at it.    

            

And mine..

            

         

Picture on Pinterest

But it certainly is tasty!  And that's what counts.  CHECK!

Die Hard Fans

I saw my first baseball game my sophomore year in high school.  I went on a band trip to Chicago and one of the events was taking in a game at Wrigley Field. What I remember about that game is the freezing cold rain and flirting with boys. 

Seriously, that's all.

I saw my second baseball game on Monday night.  It was quite a different experience.  It was hot and muggy, I went with my best friend, and I did my best to actually be invested in the game and the team.  That ended up not being too hard because when you are surrounded by people who care SO much, it's easy to care too.  

I bought this hat just for this occasion and even had my nails painted in Cubs colors!

Also, it's easy to care when the game goes 13 innings and you have been there for 5+ hours! 

That's right, we were there for the WHOLE game; from the first pitch to the winning point. Did I want the cubs to win or just want the game to end so I could go home?  I don't even know. 

What really matters is that we got out of there with plenty of time to sleep and be ready for the rest of our week...oh wait, we left the field at 12:20...AM!

This picture was taken four and half hours into the game.  

I'm getting old.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Six out of a Bazillion

Yes, on that mighty big list I put "visit each Chicago Museum" which I now realize is insane.  There are too many, but I did hit up the big ones!  Including....

The Museum of Contemporary Art
Just a nice little stroll through some of the strangest things.  I didn't take any pics, because it's more about experiences than the paintings or pictures.  It was sort of draining to tell you the truth, because it's a lot sad or disturbing stuff.

The Art Institute
I love this place.  I was here so long ago and need to keep going back because it's huge and so amazing.  Here is Sunday in the Park with George painting. You can't tell from the picture, but it's HUGE.

The Field Museum
I came here on a college trip, but this time was way better.  Especially since there is an exhibit called Women of Vision with the work of female photographers from the national geographic.  The exhibit had their work displayed with explanations and also their stories.  And dinosaurs are cool too.

This is SUE, the largest and most complete dinosaur on Earth.  She was found in South Dakota.   How cool is that?

The Chicago History Museum
This cute little museum is all about Chicago.  The Chicago fire, politicians, and even the history of sports.  It gives you a good idea of what Chicago used to be like before the big fire.

I brought this little tyrant Evan.  They have a children's section and we played in the hot dog for a long time! 

SoDak...so relevant.

The Nature Museum
This little museum is a kids dream, and a babysitters paradise.

The Children's Museum
This place is fun for both kids and adults.  It's easy to spend a whole afternoon here.

So six museums out of, like, a bazillion. Not bad.

For the Joy of it

So I don't like to not be good at something, which is why there will not be any picture or videos attached in this post.  You do not get to witness me being the most awful hip hop dancer ever!  You just don't.

Ok, the truth is is that I wasn't that bad. For four weeks, I took hip hop classes at the Joffrey.  I was in the most basic course offered and usually I could keep up.   Not perform, just get the moves right.  Whether they were on the right beat is questionable. It's true what they say, if you don't use it, you lose it!  I haven't danced in a LONG time.  I mean, I haven't even taken any type of dance cardio classes at the gym in a few years, so as for actual choreography...well, its been a while.

Classes moved quickly with a 15 minute warm up, 30 minutes to learn new choreography, and then 15 minutes of performing it.  The class was treated like a really laid back audition.  Every class was a brand new dance,  and I got "called back" at every one except for the last class.

I decided to do this for a few reasons, one of which was to meet people.  That was a little tough, becasue rarely the same people showed up for class.  The other reason I did this was to, duh duh duh...HAVE FUN!  Whaaaaattt????  I know.  I was going to do some sort of performance art just for the pure joy of it.

And that is what I did.  It was so nice to do something because I enjoyed it and not because someone was making me.  It was wonderful not worrying about the outcome or if anybody liked it.  And it was so liberating just making a fool out of myself without the fear of judgment or rejection. Nothing to lose was the name of the game, and it was nice.  I am going to try to take that attitude with me during performances and auditions.  Because why am I doing any of this if not for the joy of it?

Concrete Jungle Where Dreams are Made

Settle in.  Grab some popcorn and maybe a glass of wine...because this is my long ass blog about NEW YORK CITY!

   

I don't know how I have gone my entire life without visiting New York.  But as my 30's approach, I figured it was time to stop thinking, "Maybe next year" and just do it!

So Diana and I bought our tickets and reserved an Airbnb for my first trip to NYC!  

Diana found us some New York Passes at a disount price, which allowed us into a ton of attractions for free and most of the time we got to skip the line.  And we crammed as much as possible into three and a half days!

First ride on the subway...so far so good.  

After arriving in the big city and getting settled in at our (super sketchy) airbnb, we headed to Red Roosters to eat the best chicken sandwich of my life.  

I seriously didn't know chicken could taste like that.

Then we headed to Times Square!

And I can quite honestly say this might be my least favorite place in the whole world. Don't go. DON'T DO IT!  You will get squished by the crowd of stupid people who keep taking pictures, walking the wrong way, and don't know their way around. (Whether I fall into this category is beside the point.)  And you will get other human sweat on you. Not your own...other people's!  I repeat. DON'T GO!  
Unless you want to see a Broadway play, then you are pretty much stuck walking through Time's Square no matter what. So yeah, we were there like everyday getting tickets for our shows. 

I had to take a bow on Broadway!

The first night we went to Matilda which was so cute!  

It's nice traveling with this chick because we entertain ourselves so well during long waits.

The next morning, we headed out early to stand in line for rush tickets to the color purple!  We missed it by about five people, but decided to splurge a little and got tickets anyway.  

And it was so worth it!

Except can someone explain the significance of the wall of chairs?  It looks cool and I get the function of using the ones on the bottom for everything from sitting to weapons...but a whole wall of chairs.  We couldn't figure it out.  What are we missing?  

Anyway, after snagging those tickets we headed to Madam Tussauds to pick up our NY passes. And while we were there, we hung out with some celebs.

I helped Steven direct a scene, fought some ghosts with Melissa, sung a tune with Whitney (miracles do happen) and got to touch JLo's butt.  No Biggie.

Then we went to this exhibit called "The Body" which was so interesting that neither of us took any pictures. But here is one from the internet.

It's an exhibit of people who donated their bodies to science and their bones, muscles, and organs are on display in a ton of different positions.  My explanation isn't doing it justice by any means, but we both loved it. 

Then we went to MOMA!

And saw a lot of really cool and weird art.

How does that make you feel?

Name that Artist!

My favorite.  I super love it a lot a lot a lot. 

A little Monet.

Okay, it was a HUGE Monet

And of course this totally insignificant piece of art...

Ugh...a photo of a painting is just the WORST! ;)

Then we headed to the top of the rock to get a different view of NYC

It was super duper pretty!

After that, I wanted to see the skating rink in Rockefeller Center.  But it's August.


So we hung around that area, took a walk by Radio City Music Hall, and then ended the night at The Color Purple.

The next morning we woke up sorta kinda early, ran to get our tickets to Fun Home, then hopped over to the Met.  

Now you could easily spend a whole weekend in this museum.  It's so huge.  But we decided to limit our time to two and a half hours. Totally enough time, right?

 Oh! Sorry, these I are just pictures of my closet.  I have no idea how these got on here!

Van Gogh himself ladies and gents!

Oh Hayyy Jackson, I love seeing you again.

Then we zoomed through the Guggenheim 

And last, we headed to the 9/11 memorial and museum.  I wasn't sure if this was something that I wanted to do.  Our trip was so fun, I didn't feel like getting too serious about life. 

But it was Beautiful.  It was touching and respectful and I learned so much about that day.  I want to go back to spend more time there someday.

 Then we caught a cab and half rode half RAN through the streets of New York to catch Fun Home!  Which was so, so good!  Like, every play should be done in the round.  And someday I will work at Circle in the Square Theatre.

Sunday we woke up to catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.  I love myself a good ferry ride and this one didn't disappoint.  No matter where you look, there is a pretty view!  And here are some pictures of my pretty view. 

Then we headed to Central Park to meet up with our friend, Micaela!

I haven't seen her since her wedding two years ago! So it was great to hang with her for the rest of the day.  

Turtles in the pond

Oh no biggie.  Just a few guys casually walking around with huge snakes.

 

 Photo Credit for this beautiful picture goes to Diana Coates

Later that night, we checked out Washington park.  

I took a little dip in the fountain!  The cold water felt so good.

After hanging out there, we all went out for some yummy New York pizza.  Then Diana and I had one last stop for the day! 

 
The Empire State building!

Night pictures never turn out very well.  But trust me, it was a great view.  And I'm so glad that we went at midnight because we didn't have to wait in line at all!  

 

Our last morning, we woke up early enough to do one more thing!  We walked across the Brooklyn bridge.  

And that was the only time I stepped out of Manhattan.  Yep, we did all that stuff and I never even visited another borough.  

We had to hustle to catch our flight.  The epic story of catching our plane back could be a whole post in and of itself. But just know that we are awesome and still made it back to Chicago.  Home sweet home.  For now ;)

Whew!  Did you make it through that whole post.  Kudos.  Give yourself a pat on the back, because woah!