30 Before 30

“Well I’ve got a wonderful idea - we’ll spend the whole day doing things we’ve never done before. We will take turns. First things you’ve never done, then me. But of course, I can’t think of anything I’ve never done before.” - Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany’s

One of my favorite scenes from Breakfast at Tiffany's is when Holly and Paul go around doing things they've never done before - they go to Tiffany's and get a Cracker Jack ring engraved, and then he takes her on her first trip to the public library where she talks him into autographing his book (aww). 

Going to the Rose Bowl was definitely a check mark on the list of things I've never done before. As I continue rushing through my twenties, like many others I have been thinking about those other things that I hope to do before I get "old and boring." Rather than moan about the fact that 30 is fast approaching, I decided to make it fun with a bucket list of sorts. 30 things total, to be done in exactly 632 days. 

Without further ado...

30 Before 30

1. Read 30 books for fun
2. Get a second tattoo
3. Pay off my car payments (early, please)
4. Share a secret with Post Secret
5. Watch a sunrise
6. Run a half marathon
7. Try to be a vegetarian for a month
8. Use my passport
9. Take a classic American road trip
10. Quit my soda addiction
11. Go one month without eating out
12. Plant a garden
13. Pass my comps
14. Propose my dissertation
15. Move in with my man
16. Visit a state I've never been to before (OR, MT, ID, UT, SD, AR, PA, MS, SC, NC, VT, ME, ND, HI, AK) 

17. Go camping
18. Relearn Spanish
19. Get to my ideal weight
20. Find a great hairstylist
21. Be in a flash mob
22. Do a Man vs. Food challenge
23. Connect with a service organization
24. Start and finish a scrapbook

25. Change up my look

26. Host a dinner party

27. Find the perfect pair of jeans

28. Buy myself a really nice piece of jewelry

29. Go to Las Vegas

30. (Sorry friends, this one is top secret)

It may be hard to get these all done, but I'm determined to try. And to have a whole lot of fun along the way (well, with most of them). Here goes!

Well Hello!

I have been noticeably absent from blogging since 2010. Between work, classes, etc., I'm a busy girl!

So what have I been up to?  Well...

In January, I went to the Rose Bowl in sunny Pasadena, CA to cheer on my Badgers. Sadly, it didn't turn out so well for the team, but it was a fantastic vacation that went by much too quickly.

We got to visit the Santa Monica Pier and Muscle Beach, where they held the pep rally for the team.

We also visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.

We rang in the new year with fellow Badger fans.

We saw the Rose Parade. Beautiful, but way too many horses for Rachel.

And of course, we got to see a game in perhaps the most famous stadium in the country.

What a great way to start out the year, right?!

So what else has happened since then? Well, I turned 28. I spent a week volunteering in Appalachia with the students over their spring break (more about that later), and I started perhaps the most challenging course of my academic career - research topics. It's kicking my butt right now, but hopefully by the end, I will have my dissertation proposal fairly complete.

Speaking of, time to get back to reading!

Kitty Picture of the Week

I don't know if they will be snuggling like this for much longer. It's too hot to be touching!