#13 See Someone New in Concert

Nothing beats live music.  But when I go to a concert I usually find myself seeing the same people over and over again (ie Kelly Clarkson).  The reason I keep seeing the same people time and time again is because they are good shows!  But the whole idea of this blog is to branch and and do things that I have always wanted to do or have been putting off!

My friend Jennifer asked me a couple of months ago if I would be interested in seeing Brad Paisley in concert at the Midstate Fair.  I love country music and have always wanted to see Brad so I said yes in a heartbeat!  Jen got us great tickets, we were half way back center on the floor.  Easton Corbin and The Band Perry were the opening acts.  They were fabulous and a concert in themselves, but Brad.  Brad puts on one hell of a show.  It was nonstop action; all his best songs!  The best part was that half way through the show Brad ran into the crowd and jumped up on this box that was four rows in front of us!  He preformed two songs there and it was so crazy that he was that close to us!  Oh and now could I forget...Carrie Underwood came out to perform "Remind Me" with Brad!  Such an amazing and unforgettable show!!  Thanks Jen for making #13 come true!

Easton Corbin

The Band Perry

Trust me...that's Carrie

#25 Visit the Peter Pan Statue

I have always loved the story of Peter Pan (that is probably obvious if you just look at this blog)!  What kid wouldn't?  The idea of never growing up and having an adventure everyday is every kids' dream!  The thing is that most kids do grow up and that is great.  But the sad thing is that when they grow up they forget that it is okay to still have an imagination and to still have fun.  So that is where I differ from most kids.  I "grew up" but not completely!  When we were planning our trip to the UK Ashley asked me what I wanted to do and see.  I told her that I the only thing we HAD to do was visit the Peter Pan statue at Kensington Gardens.  When I visited a couple of years ago with my sister I didn't get the opportunity and I was sad that we didn't.  So I'm glad that I made it this trip!

#1 Sew Something

*This post is a bit late (as I completed the task on June 13th) but because what I was making was a surprise for a friend I couldn't blog about it until she got the present!*

I wouldn't consider myself a crafty person.  I just don't have that gene.  But I am always coming up with ideas, especially for awesome Halloween costumes, that I want to make.  The job always falls to my mama to make what I have envisioned.  So when doing a 30 list what better item to put on then sew something (notice that it was the first idea that I came up with)!

My friend Ashley (who is pretty amazing with a sewing machine) gave me the perfect opportunity to complete #1.  We were leaving for the UK in a couple of weeks and we had planned to spend the first week with our friend Maggie.  We wanted to bring her little gifts to thank her for letting us take over her house!  Ashley found this pattern for a super cute apron.  Since we are all BIG Dr. Who fans we decided to change it a bit and morph it into a Tardis!

Ashley walked me through the basics of the sewing machine and then put me to work.  I was a bit nervous that I would ruin it and we would have to start all over, but Ashley is a good teacher and was very patient with me and it started to look like a Tardis apron!  I let Ashley do the more complicated parts but I am very proud at how it turned out!   

#14 Do something EPIC at school

I may be bias but I work at one of the BEST places with the BEST coworkers!  Alice C. Stelle is a great school with such a supportive staff and we all get along really well.  They also put up with my crazy antics daily!  Last year when I receive my pink slip for like the 100th time, I was tired of being sad and upset about it.  So I created a bucket list of everything that I had to do before I could possible have to leave Stelle forever :(  And my fabulous staff went along with it and helped me complete it.  From doing a science experiment to helping at the crosswalk and being the voice of the morning announcements they helped turn the stressful time into fun!

So when I started to put together this 30 before 30 list I knew that I wanted to include my work family into my celebration of my last year in my 20s!  And what better way to do that then do the most epic and exciting thing that Stelle has ever seen?  The only question was...what could that possibly be?  Since my birthday is in May I didn't see this item getting done before the end of the school year...Then I talked to my friend Lisa.  Lisa is my yearbook counterpart at A.E. Wright middle school.  We were talking about the end of the year slideshows that we have to put on for our schools when she said that she was going to try to get some of her guy teachers to pretend to be the boy band One Direction and make a music video.  For those of you who aren't a teenage girl or don't work at a middle school One Direction is like the *Nsync or Backstreet Boys of the time and SUPER popular (but don't tell the girls that...they like to think this whole boy band thing is something they discovered)!  I knew this was something that had to be done at Stelle as well and with Lisa's blessing I set out to recruit the guys.




Remember how I said that I have the best coworkers?  They guys all signed on without me having to do much convincing and what started out as "I'll just come to your classroom and film you singing a couple lines at your desk" quickly turned into much more!  They guys soon took over and before I knew it we were going to do it all at lunch in the MPR after Renaissance Faire.  There would be a green screen to make it look like we were at the ocean like the actual music video and we would have to be in costume.

We filmed the whole thing in 45 minutes on May 16th and then came the hard part...keeping it a secret from the kids until June 8th when the 8th graders would be the first to see it.  And I have to say how proud I am of everyone...It was a total surprise to EVERYONE!!!  Even my yearbook students.  After the 30 minute slideshow ended the 8th graders were cheering and then came the surprise.  I started with a bunch of slides to try to quiet the students down from the cheering so they could hear the surprise.  It was so cute to see the students interacting with the slides.  One said, "are you ready?" and the whole 8th grade class yelled..."Yes!"  Then the music video started and it was so funny, the students really didn't know how to react.  This is the first time in the history of these slideshows that we have done anything like this.  They went from not knowing what was going on to laughter and cheers.  At the end of the video I have never heard cheers as loud as I did then.  I am so proud that we pulled it off and the response from the students was priceless.  All the guys and myself were having students come up to us telling us how cool it was and what a surprise it was.  In the words of one student, "That, Ms. Dickinson, was EPIC!"  Mission Accomplished!!


*As of now we are not putting the video up online.  But...they guys are thinking about it and if they all decide that it is okay, I'll put the video up!  For now here is the video of the student's reactions!!  Enjoy!

#12 Catch up with old friends

This past weekend I completed the first thing on my 20s bucket list, #12: Catch up with old friends.  I have always been lucky when it has come to friends.  Throughout my life I have always been surround by amazing people.   When I started to put my bucket list together I knew that a must was catching up people I don’t get to see that often.  Yes Facebook is wonderful with letting us peak in on certain events in each others lives but nothing beats a face to face hang out time! 

I received an email from a Cal Poly friend a little bit ago saying that she would be in So Cal for work.  Michele and I met in the dorms our freshman year and quickly became close friends.  After college she moved around a lot even spending several years living in Spain before moving to NYC where she currently lives and works.  I was so excited to get her email and that I was going to get to see her when she came into town.  We made plans to meet at our friend Amy’s house.  Amy, I’m pretty sure, was my first true friend at Poly.  We bonded over TV (would you expect anything less from me?)  Amy, I’m proud to say, recently became a mama to a beautiful baby girl.  So it was kind of perfect that Michele came in to town this past weekend.  We were all going to be able to catch up and see baby Audrey!

It truly is amazing how so much time can go by (in the case with Michele 2 ½ years) and how as soon as you get together with good friends it is like nothing has changed!  I think that is a sign of a great friendship, that even time can’t ruin it!  The three of us just sat around chatting and catching up on each others lives over a lovely brunch!  After brunch Mash and I drove to Santa Monica and went on an Urban Hike then ate a late lunch before parting ways. 

2 for 1 happy hour

I couldn’t have asked for a better Sunday.  Although this item is completed and crossed off the list I think this is one that I’m going to try a lot more over this year!      

PS- As soon as I get pictures from Amy of the three of us with baby Audrey I'll add those!  

And so it begins...

I'm not sure when it happened but somehow I have turned 29!!!  It is truly hard to believe that in a short 364 days I will officially be in my 30s. And I know that I'm not the only one who finds that fact hard to believe.  Ask anyone and they will tell you how young they think I am.  I get it all the time; getting carded for R-rated movies, being told that I look like one of the students, asking if I need a kids menu; not a day goes by that I don't have to prove my age.  And yes, I do look young but I think a big part of it is that I have never really acted my age.  I am your typical 90s kid, wanting the impossible, to never grow up and just have fun.  Yes...I have Peter Pan Syndrome!  Well, if I am being honest, I really am more of a Wendy; wanting adventure but knowing that there are responsibilities to be had and a whole grown up life waiting for me.  But that grown up life doesn't start for another 364 days in my eyes.  So this next year will be dedicated to living life to it's fullest and enjoying the last year of my 20s.  I have created a list (no not a 30 before 30 list).  Think of it like a 20s Bucket List.  Things that I have been putting off either because of time or because of fear.  Things that I have really always wanted to do but have always found and excuse not to accomplish them.  And that is what this blog is all about...enjoying 29 and finding Neverland, and hopefully in the process, finding me!  So feel free to check in every now and then to see how the adventure is coming, because really, "To live will be an awfully big adventure!"