Time for my second quarterly 30 Before 30 Progress report! Once again, a whole lot of stuff in progress, not a lot actually completed. Pretty much the story of my life. You can see my entire 30 Before 30 list here, and my first report here. Each check-in will only touch on what has been completed in the last three months and the items that are currently in progress. Onward!
2) Climb to the top of the Eiffel tower, eat macarons at the Laduree on Rue Royale, stroll through the Louvre, see the water lilies at Giverny. In short—go to France. (In Progress)
See #3.
3) Travel to at least five new countries. (In Progress)
I got to check off three countries in December on our Mediterranean cruise with our stops in Spain, Greece and Malta (we also went to Italy, but I couldn't count it since I'd already been there for our honeymoon in 2008). Fingers crossed, by my next check in, I'll be able to count the last two as completed! We're about a month and a half away from our attempt at a military flight over to Germany, France, and Austria. Please, please, please...
5) Run a 10K. (Complete)
I was so excited to check this off the list in April when I ran the Cooper River Bridge 10K, and I had so much fun, I'm even thinking about running another one in October!
10) Suck the head. No, not like THAT! Like this. (Complete)
Crawfish in the lowcountry! We went to the Cajun Fest at the James Island County Park in April, and I finally got the chance to channel my inner Cajun and suck the juices out of the head of the crawfish. Honestly, I left it a bit late and there wasn't much juice still in there, but you know, I'm counting it because I put a dang crawfish head in my mouth.
14) Volunteer. (Complete)
I haven't been able to do it much lately, but I've been volunteering as a tour guide in a historic home downtown, and I'm hoping to get back into it a bit more regularly next month.
15) Organize all of our digital photos in scrapbooks or albums. (In Progress)
I've gotten through 2006 & 2007, bits of 2008 and 2009 and still have all of 2010 and 2011 to go.
16) Learn how to sew and make a piece of clothing that I’m proud to wear in public. (In Progress)
Well, I know how to sew. I've given up that horrid "Easy Five Minute Skirt" and I think I'm just going to find an easy pattern for a skirt and give that a go. Any recommendations for pattern brands or even a specific pattern? I've never made anything from a pattern, but I figure it has to be easier than making your own.
22) Finish 75% of the books in the top 100 of the Greatest Books List that I haven’t already read. (In Progress)
I really need to pick some shorter books. Since the last check-in I've finished Lord of the Rings, The Stranger, and The Catcher in the Rye. Now I'm slogging my way through Ulysses.
25) Attempt surfing. Not the net—the waves! (In Progress)
A couple of weeks ago, I bought a Groupon for Colby and I to take a 2 hour private surfing lesson, now we just have to find a time where Colby is in town and it isn't 400 degrees outside!
26) Do a cleanse, maybe this one? (In Progress)
I don't think I'm going to do Blueprint just because of the cost, but a friend recently had great success with a lemon juice/broth/tea cleanse so I think I'll give that one a try when Colby is out of town in July.
So, there we go! 18 months left to finish the rest. I'm not at the panicking stage yet, but um... I still have a lot left to do!
Wow! Way to go, Angela!! I just finished the Blueprint Cleanse and it was AWESOME. I totally recommend it. And definitely worth the cost--if you think about it, it's only $10 per bottle of juice. And as far as patterns go, definitely avoid Vogue or any vintage patterns for your first attempt--they're really difficult to understand. Mccall's makes pretty easy to understand patterns.
Posted by: Brittany | June 27, 2011 at 06:46 PM
I've used this tutorial for making a skirt - I've made several with it and it's pretty easy! I've been sewing for a long time, so if you have questions let me know!
Posted by: Stevie | June 27, 2011 at 10:36 PM
I can't wait to hear about surfing lessons when that happens! I secretly want to learn, but I don't swim very well and don't like being knocked around by waves.
I took sewing lessons several years ago, and the instructor said that many patterns "set you up to fail"--that it's better to read the whole thing through and decide the order for yourself. But yeah, start with the patterns that people (like Brittany and Stevie) actually recommend.
Posted by: Kate P | June 28, 2011 at 12:57 AM
oh check you out, making so much progress nicely done! i love the scrapbooking idea. i've been trying to catch up on photos for a while too and have slowly been making them into books. it's just so fun once it's done, haha.
Posted by: katelin | June 28, 2011 at 12:58 AM
Ooooh, it's a lot more than that with shipping! Maybe down the road I'll give it a try, but for now I'm going with cheap, haha ;) Thanks for the pattern tips!
Posted by: Angela Noelle | June 28, 2011 at 05:51 PM
Oh no, the link didn't post!
Posted by: Angela Noelle | June 28, 2011 at 05:51 PM
I've heard the same about patterns, I'm definitely a bit nervous!
Posted by: Angela Noelle | June 28, 2011 at 05:52 PM
I agree! I love having them in print rather than just sitting on my computer :)
Posted by: Angela Noelle | June 28, 2011 at 05:52 PM
You're reading Ulysses! I admire you so much more -- and I already admired you a lot!
Posted by: A Super Girl | June 28, 2011 at 09:39 PM
Way to go, lady! You're knocking these out left and right... And I love that one of them was to suck the head (of a crawfish.) Ha. I don't know if I could ever do that, even though Winston's entire family keeps telling me that's where the good spices are.
Posted by: Erin @ The Speckled Palate | June 29, 2011 at 09:33 PM
You have done so much, the surfing thing sounds super fun! I just can't see how it is humanly possible to balance on a board! I could not suck the head! I don't even like the taste of crawfish, although I feel like I should like it being from the South and all ;)
Posted by: Brittany E. | July 01, 2011 at 12:19 PM
You have some cool things completed and in the works!
Posted by: Thoughts Appear | July 06, 2011 at 02:58 PM
Haha!! I wish I admired that damn book more... it's a draaaaaag.
Posted by: Angela Noelle | July 07, 2011 at 05:53 PM
I was so scared to do it! But I didn't really get anything except some juice and spices--no brain chunks or anything, haha!
Posted by: Angela Noelle | July 07, 2011 at 05:54 PM
Oh man, I loooove crawfish! I don't think headsucking will be a regular occurrence though ;)
Posted by: Angela Noelle | July 07, 2011 at 05:54 PM
Thanks! It's been really fun!
Posted by: Angela Noelle | July 07, 2011 at 05:55 PM