#15 Learn to Cook/Bake Something New

Let's face it...I am a horrible cook!  Most likely because I don't really eat anything so I have no idea how it is suppose to turn out.  And when it comes to baking I have a few tricks up my sleeves but nothing that impressive.  Everything that I do know how to cook and bake are family recipes like Grandma's mac 'n cheese and of course our holiday candy that we are required to make every year (seriously, I think my friends would hurt me if I didn't make the candy one year).  So I decided that when I completed item #15 I wanted it to be something that was a family recipe and tradition.

Christmas is my favorite time of year because of the traditions both old and new.  One of my traditions is putting White Christmas on and watching it while mom bakes our famous Orange Cookies (and by famous I mean "everyone should know about them and love them but only our family does!").  I usually go in every now and then to help but I have never sat down and made them from start to finish with mom.  This year was going to be different, little did I know that I wasn't going to help mom but instead she was making me make them all by myself!

Our famous Orange Cookie recipe has been passed down from generation to generation for awhile now.  Mom thinks that the recipe is over 100 years old.  But let me clarify something here, when I say recipe what I mean is a list of ingredients.  That is all.  And even the ingredients are iffy. 4-5 cups of flour (mom says it depends on the amount of juice you get from the orange).  Or my favorite for the icing...powder sugar.  That's it nothing else.  Mom says you just know! Who would have guest that my most adventurous post would be "Bake Something."   

I learned that making these cookies is an art and the more I make them the more I will be able to "just know" like mom!  They turned out great and even taste like they are suppose to!  I guess the real test will be on Boxing Day when the fam eats them!

PS~ Quick word of advice...when going to use an electric mixer make sure it isn't on too high!  I learned this the hard way!

#11 Grow Something

There is a comedian that my sister and I like to quote.  I can't remember his name but part of his act is mentioning that he once had a cactus but he killed it, "The desert is officially more nurturing than I am."  My sister and I laugh because no matter how we try we can't keep plants alive!  My mom has an amazing garden so who knows what happened to Kelly and I!

I decided that I was going to conquer my un-green thumb by making one of the items on my list to grow something.  I got some daisy seeds (my favorite flower) a pot, and some soil and set my mind to making this thing grow!  I mean how hard could it be...it wants to be alive right??  WRONG!!  Things started off so well.  One little sprout lead to two and before I knew it I had 6 stems growing!  But as quickly as they popped out of the soil they started to take a turn for the worst.  And before I knew it my hopes and dreams of growing something were completely dead. 

But the goal of this item was to grow something!  And I like to think of myself as an optimist!  I DID grow something!  The item wasn't to grow something and keep it alive!  So technically I succeeded!  Much like when in college and I had to pass intermediate Spanish to graduate!  All I need was a D- and I pulled off a C.  My dad was kind of appalled at a C grade but when all you need is a D- and you get a C you kind of succeed with flying colors!!!!! 

So mark #11 off the list!!  One step closer to completing my 30 before 30!!

The beginning of the end...

#2 Make something from Pinterest

I wasn't born with the crafting gene.  I think it went to everyone in my family but me.  I always have great ideas but never can execute them.  So I really like Pinterest especially when it gives a step by step guide on how to make things.

This month my leadership class is throwing a 6th grade Halloween dance.  I have been collecting ideas via Pinterest since June of things that I could "make" as decorations.  I never told the kids my ideas because I was so afraid that I wasn't going to be able to master them enough that I could teach the kids to make them in mass.  But I found a great craft that was really simple to make but also really fun to make!  The kids and I made puffy paint ghost.  First you draw a ghost on a brown paper bag and then make the eyes and mouth using construction paper.  Next we made the puffy paint using shaving cream and glue.  I can't tell you how much fun the kids had!  It was so messy and squishy.  The kids had fun playing with it before putting it into ghost form.  Once we washed our hands we placed the eyes and mouth onto the ghost and let it dry over night before we cut it out.  The results were really cute and it was fun to see each of the student's personality in their ghost.

The supplies

Ready to mix together

The final project

Since the ghost came out so cool so we let Pinterest inspire us for some of the other decorations!  The kids had a lot of fun making everything and I think it turned out really cute!

Grave yard

Poor guy

By far my favorite!!

All ready for kids!!

We had a great turn out and I think all the students had a great time at the dance! 

PS- This post marks my 15 item completed!!  I'm making progress and really enjoying all the things I have done so far.  I'm really excited about completing the list before my birthday! :)

#14 Build Something

As a kid I loved making things from Legos and blocks.  There is something rewarding in taking little pieces and making something from them.  When I started this blog I wanted to make sure that I would be able to make something new.

Recently my friends, Alison and Kevin, bought a side bar that was going to have to be built.  Kevin recently started grad school so it was going to be a while before he was going to be able to put it together.  I thought this would be the perfect time for me to complete #14 on my list.  So one night after we got home from Kevin's football game, Alison and I set out to accomplish this task.  It took a bit of time but I am really proud of Alison and I for making this awesome wine rack/bar!!

Yevin checking our work :)

The finish product

# 18 Go to a taping of a TV show

Sometimes I forget that I live in LA and all the fun things this town has to offer.  So I rarely take advantage of the opportunities in this town.  My friend Carrie who works at another middle school in my district has a student who's parents are the president of TV Audiences (the people who fill the live audiences for shows).  I told her about number 18 on my list and was excited when she said that she got us tickets to the premiere of Dancing With The Stars All Star season!

Carrie, my friend Alison, and I left work early and drove down to the CBS Studios for the taping.  Since we got the tickets from the president of the company we had VIP tickets.  We walked right past the LONG line out front and walked right in.  We waited for about an hour outside (which was so hot) and then we finally were let in.  We were given the choice of sitting up a couple rows from the floor or right behind the judges.  I wanted to sit up a couple rows so we wouldn't be on TV but Carrie and Alison talked me into the seats behind the judges.  It turned out to be a lot of fun!!  And we were on TV a lot...I mean A LOT!!

It was a really good show.  The dancing was amazing.  The contestants and judges were entertaining.  And we saw a crazy load of celebrities!  My favorite being Jef and Arie from The Bachelorette.  To top of the incredible night we got to stay after for a performance by Justin Bieber that they were pre-recording for the result show the next night.

All in all it was a fabulous night with friends and I owe this completed item all to Carrie!  Thanks Carrie you are awesome!!  

#30 See Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln

It is no secret that I love Abraham Lincoln.  He is kind of my hero and the more I learn about him the more I love him.  Whether it is a documentary, a biography, or a book about him fighting vampires I really can't get enough.  So it is weird that I have never been to see Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland.  I guess I never really felt like dragging anyone there to see a robotic Lincoln talk.  Two summers ago I when visited Walt Disney World I was able to go to the Hall of Presidents and lets just say this history nerd got a little tear eyed.  It was fabulous!!  I knew that I HAD to see Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland.

Last Monday I didn't have school because of the Jewish Holiday Rosh Hashanah.  A coworker was talking about how she wanted to go to Disneyland but didn't have anyone to go with.  I, being one never to turn down an opportunity to visit the happiest place on earth, said I would go if we could visit Great Moments.  She was totally in!

We got to the park when it opened and rode some rides and then when it started to get pretty hot we decided it was time to visit Mr. Lincoln.  When we got there the Liberty Singers were outside in fabulous costumes singing some patriotic songs.  We went inside and the singers did a performance before the doors to the theater opened.  I knew it was going to be great because the singers gave me chills while singing more songs and quoting the Declaration and Constitution.  Disney really knows how to put on a GREAT show!!

Once the theater doors opened we went inside and the show started.  There was a great video package with quotes from some of Lincoln's famous speeches while images of America and the Civil War transported us to that time.  Then the curtains opened and there was Lincoln (in robot form of course)!  It is truly amazing what technology can do!  He moved like any person would do.  Even when he sat at the end of his speech and God Bless America came on his fingers were tapping to the music! 

It was such a great part of the park and I don't think I will be able to visit Disneyland again and not see the show!

#29 Visit the Leonis Adobe Museum

I moved to Calabasas 6 years ago.  Every day since then I have driven pass the Leonis Adobe Museum and wondered about what in the world the Adobe was.  I am fascinated about local history; it's one reason that I became a history teacher.  Not growing up in Calabasas I knew little about the Leonis Adobe or the story behind it.  For 6 years I have said that one day I would go and visit and see what it was all about.

This past weekend we celebrated my mom's birthday.  She said for her birthday that she either wanted to go to the Camarillo Ranch House or the Adobe.  I emailed the Ranch House and they were having a private event on Saturday so with a stroke of luck we were going to Leonis Adobe.  My aunt and uncle joined us for lunch and then we made our way to the Adobe.

Happy Birthday Mama

When we got there it was 97* and surprisingly we weren't the only ones there.  Our tour started with a 10 minute video about Miguel Leonis (The King of Calabasas) and the history of the house.  It is really hard to picture Calabasas as part of the wild west but after the movie and stepping on to the ranch it was a bit easier to picture.  The Adobe grounds featured Leonis' authentic adobe home, ranch yard and corral with livestock, out buildings, wagons and crops. 

We spent about an hour there but had to leave because the temperature had risen to 109* and we just couldn't take any more.  My mom and I are planning on going back because we missed going to the Calabasas Creek Park and seeing the Chumash village and the hanging tree.  

I love my family

Excited for our visit

Underneath the Nancy Tree

#5 Read a Classic

Okay so technically this item was completed in June but I thought that I wanted to do something different so I was waiting to blog about it. 

I read a lot.  Not as much as some of my friends but I really love getting lost in a good story.  Although I read a lot I don't read a lot of classics.  Sure there are the ones that I read like ALL the time (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby) but I don't find myself picking up a classic that is new to me when in need of a new book.  Since May I have been trying to read Pride and Prejudice.  I watched the movie with my friends the Bennings and fell in love with it but to be honest I wasn't liking the book.  I found myself having to reread paragraphs because I was letting my mind wander and not get into the story.

*Side note* My friend and former roomie Jennie is always asking for books to read.  And every time she asks for suggestions she always laughs that I recommend young adult/children books.


When I started this blog I didn't want to change who I am but just do new things.  So while I was trying to read P & P I decided to stick to what I know and what I always suggest to Jennie...I was going to read a classic that fits me.  I picked Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.  Hard to believe but no I have never read it before.  I know the story.  In fact I LOVE the story!!!  I just never read the original story.  I have seen Disney's Alice in Wonderland.  I fell in love with SyFy's mini series Alice and one of my favorite book series is The Looking Glass Wars.  So why is it that I have never read Carroll's Alice?  No idea but I found myself loving it just as much as all of the variations.  Yes it was very weird and different, but I like to think of myself like that.   

I'm still going to try to finish P & P; I heard it gets better.  But for now I'm happy with saying this item is complete with the reading of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

#20 Re-watch My Disney Collection

Third Disney related post :)  Are you starting to get that Disney plays an important role in my life?  I have A LOT of Disney movies!  Most of which are on VHS.  Yes I said VHS.  I don't see the point in replacing them when I still have a working VHS player.  But this was a fun item to complete.  I really forgot how awesome some of the early Disney movies are but are over shadowed by the more popular ones.  I couldn't really take pictures of myself watching each of my Disney movies, so instead I thought I would post my thoughts and things I learned from re-watching my collection as an adult.  And since this is a 30 before 30 blog I thought why not have 30 items on the list!

Lessons/Thoughts from Disney movies

1.  Villains are the best characters (with sidekicks a very close second)
2. 10 years after I had the thought I still want an orange cat named
Todd and a hound dog named Copper
3.  Never be a Disney villain or parent, you will die... usually in a
horrible manner
4.  No matter how many times I watch it, Toy Story 3 always makes me cry
5.  I forgot how much I love Disney classics. A lot of them always get
over shadowed by the more popular movies (ie The Rescuers, The Sword
in the Stone, Robin Hood, Oliver and Company, the list goes on and on)
6.  Ohana means family. Family means no body gets left behind or forgotten
7.  Meet the Robinsons is one of the greatest movies that no one knows about
8.  Carl and Ellie have relationships that we all should aspire for
9.  Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
10.  No matter how small or insignificant the world thinks you are you
can always make a difference
11.  In the end good always triumphs over evil. If it hasn't then it's
not the end
12.  Great cosmic power = Itty bitty living space
13.  Frying pans make excellent weapons
14.  If you are pure of heart tiny animals will help you when you need it
15.  You are braver than you believe, stronger then you seem, and
smarter then you think
16.  Just keep swimming
17.  If you keep believing the dreams that you wish will come true
18.  Nothing is impossible
19.  If you walk the footsteps of a stranger you'll learn things you never knew
20.  Keep moving forward
21.  There is always an adventure out there ready for the taking
22.  Don't throw off the Emperor's groove
23.  Behind every great chef is a rat
24.  In every job there is to be done there is an element of fun
25.  Wall-E has a bigger heart than some humans I know
26.  Disney really shouldn't make sequels...the only time it was
successful was with Toy Story
27.  If you have something really important to do it is best to do it
yourself and not let you minions do it. That way you know it gets
done. Otherwise it will come back up years later and ruin your
plans... Mainly plans for domination.
28.  If Mrs. Potts is Chip's mom, who is Chip's dad?
29.  Want to be a man? Well, you must be swift as the coursing river.
With all the force of a great typhoon.  With all the strength of a
raging fire.  And my personal favorite, mysterious as the dark side of
the moon.
30. Sometimes it's all about body language 

#26 See Starkid Live

It's Sunday.  The last day of summer.  The last 30 before 30 post of the summer.  I have to say this one might be the favorite from the summer!  Although if you don't know who Starkid is you might not be as excited that this happened as I am.  So let's start with the basics ;)

Starkid is a group from the University of Michigan...yes Michigan :( (Go Buckeyes!!!!!!!!!!).  In 2009, while still in school, they produced and preformed A Very Potter Musical. It was a musical adaption of the Potter books meshed together in a hilarious and thought-provoking way.  They put the production online and it was only a matter of time before it went viral.  Since then they have preformed and put online more original pieces of work as well as A Very Potter Sequel and most recently Holy Musical B@tman.

Part of BSE (Best Summer Ever) 2012 Ashely and I decided to make a return visit to Leakycon.  About a couple months before the event we were told that Starkid was going to be doing a stage reading of the third and last installment of the the Potter musicals: A Very Potter 3D: A Very Potter Senior Year.  I can't put into words how excited I was for this!  Even if it was just going to be a stage reading I was going to get to see Starkid live and I couldn't wait.

On the day of the event it was crazy.  They were pulling people in small groups at a time.  I was lucky and ended up being one of the first groups in and got okay seats.  And for those of you who don't know... "Okay is WONDERFUL!!"  But in all seriousness my seats were awesome!  When the show started they informed us that they decided they were going to do the full show...not just a stage reading!  Yes they had scripts in their hands (since they were only all together 3 days before they preformed).  Yes it was 4 1/2 hours long.  Yes it wasn't perfect.  But to me and everyone else in that room it was "All that I love and all that I need."  There were parts that I was laughing so hard it made me cry.  The end was so sweet and thoughtful that I found myself crying real tears.

I don't know how this group of amazing women and men think of shows and music and are able to put it all together in a way that makes you laugh and think.  I also don't know why more people don't know more about them!  So for those of you who have never heard of Starkid or for those of you who love them, check out the video below.  It is the very first scene from A Very Potter Musical.  It is "Totally Awesome!"

Ps- I forgot to tell you!  While at Leakycon I was able to meet them all and get their autographs.  So I was able to add them to my autograph wall in my classroom.  Also on my plane back to LA one of the members of Starkid was on it.  At baggage claim I went up to him just to say thank you for everything they did this weekend.  I don't know why I was so nervous but he was really sweet and didn't make me feel like a loser for approaching him.  And the biggie was that Tom Felton (who plays Draco Malfoy in the real Potter films) was also on my plane.  I wanted to yell out "Did someone say Draco Malfoy?" to him but I didn't...although that would have been a story, no?  

        

#28 Mother/Daughter Date

One of my mama's favorite stories about me is when people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  Of course there was the normal answers (teacher, work for NASA, be a mailman...well normal for me) but the one that always got adults was when I would say, "I want to be Michael Eisner when I grow up!"  I think this always threw people off guard!  I mean really...what kind of answer is that?  But if you think about it from a kid's point of view he had THE COOLEST JOB EVER!!  Yes he was the CEO of the Disney corporation when I was growing up but I didn't know that!  All I knew was that once a week before the start of the The Disney Sunday Movie he would come out and get to play with different Disney characters and then introduce the movie of the week.  Coolest job ever, right?
 

When we heard that the Ronald Regan Presidential Library was going to open a Disney exhibit we were both very excited!  We couldn't wait to go!  My friend Alison's mom is a docent of the Library and suggested that we all go together.  So not only would I get to complete my mother/daughter date I was going to get to have a double mother/daughter date!  And we had so much fun!  We met for lunch then made our way to the Library.  When we entered the exhibit I got that fun feeling that I always get when I enter Disneyland.  It was so cool and magical to see EVERYTHING!  From Walt's office to the books from the opening of Cinderella and Snow White, to the costumes from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, I loved it all!  My only complaint was I wish there was MORE!! 

Although I love my job, a part of me wishes that I could still work for Disney in some aspect!!  Maybe someone out there will find this blog and offer me a job as a voice of a Disney character!  That would be epic!

#7 Clean Out Closet

So I've said this journey is all about things I have always wanted to do, to relive, or have been putting off.  This post is about something that I have been putting off for a long time...cleaning out my closet!  You think it would have happened by now since I have moved EVERY year since 2001, but it hasn't.  So it is funny that 11 years later during a time when for the first time I am not moving that I decide to attack the closet!

It was a hard task and I found myself thinking that I might need that shirt that I haven't worn in 3 years so I should keep it.  But once I started I couldn't stop.  It was awesome!!  Now I have a clean and organized closet and I'm ready for the new school year!!

Before

Before

Before

After

After

After

In all I donated 4 bags of clothes and 1 bag of shoes.  It's a nice feeling to get rid of it and know that it will go to helping someone who needs it.