30 before 30: Final Review

When I made my 30 before 30 list just after my 29th birthday, I wasn't sure exactly how much progress I would be able to make on it in just one year's time.  Roughly a month after my 30th birthday, I must admit I am super proud of all the items I was able to mark off the list.  I am a firm believer in writing goals down and telling others about them being two of the most vital pieces to actually achieving them.  I think my progress on the list is a great example.  I really enjoyed pushing myself on some of these items.  And I loved putting together the monthly recaps for the items that were recurring from month to month.  I loved it so much that I wanted to do one last final review of each item...mostly as a reflection for myself to be honest!  So...here we go!

1 - read 12 books: 1) The Water Giver 2) Breaking Back 3) Four Perfect Pebbles 4) Gone Girl 5) Eat, Pray, Love 6) The Time Keeper 7) Semi-Sweet 8) Mind Gym 9) Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead 10) Before Ever After 11) A Friend Like Henry 12) 102 Minutes

2 - attend football games in (at least) 2 new stadiums: 1) Ravens (9.27.12) 2) Panthers (11.11.12) 3) Falcons (11.29.12)

3 - complete Year 2 (done March 2013) and Year 3 scrapbooks (layout done June 2013)

*I haven't technically finished this one, but most of the work is done!

4 - prepare (at least) 10 new dinner meals: 1) sliders and tator tots 2) ham and sweet potatoes 3) grilled cheese and soup 4) loaded baked potatoes 5) cheeseburger pasta 6) penne alla vodka with chicken and broccoli 7) roast beef and carrots in crock pot 8) turkey bacon pizza 9) french toast 10) pumpkin alfredo ravioli

5 - don't eat at any fast food restaurants for 30 straight days (done 10.11.12 to 11.9.12)

6 - go to (at least) 6 broadway shows: 1) War Horse (July 2012) 2) Grace (Nov 2012) 3) Annie (March 2013) 4) Lucky Guy (April 2013) 5) The Call (May 2013) 6) Cinderella (June 2013)

7 - send one letter a month to friends/family

8 - visit England with Chris (might happen in the fall, but at least have reservations by July)

*We leave TONIGHT!!  So excited for the adventure!!

9 - read through the entire Bible

*This one was a MAJOR fail.  I started and had great intentions, but I did not follow through.  It is also on my bucket list so I will continue to work on making this one a reality.

10 - complete a couple's study with Chris (began The 5 Love Languages study in Spring 2013)

 *We are only about halfway through the book so far.  June and July were super busy travel months for us, but we plan to finish it soon.

11 - sort through clothes/shoes and make donation (done Aug 2012)

12 - blog more frequently - participate in more challenges, giveaways, etc.

13 - be able to comfortably run an 11-min mile at a 10k event

*This one was also a MAJOR fail.  Somehow instead of getting faster, I think I have gotten slower...boo :(  Regardless, I am still running so I guess it isn't a total loss.

14 - run (at least) one half marathon (signed up for one, but it got cancelled...boo!)

*To be honest, I was pretty upset about this one.  I looked far and wide to find a half marathon that fit with my travel schedule for this summer and was pumped when I found one in Pittsburgh - where we have lots of friends.  I was so bummed when it got canceled.

15 - visit friends in Chicago

16 - visit friends in DC

17 - plan a really interesting/exciting/fun way to celebrate turning 30

18 - purchase (or receive as a gift!!!) Spanish Rosetta Stone and begin a journey to fluency

19 - give Brinley a unique 1st birthday gift

20 - work on being more assertive and confronting issues/people when I feel I've been wronged

21 - set 3 goals each month and work diligently to accomplish them

22 - sign up for improv classes

*So Chris and I attended a one day class in August, but I am still planning to do a 6-8 week classes...sometime soon.

23 - watch all the Best Picture nominees prior to the Oscars: Reviews - Part 1 and Part 2 and My Picks

24 - FaceTime with Brinley (at least) twice a month - hope her parents are on board :)

25 - make better use of Twitter (follow me - @alhadventures)

26 - explore (at least) 6 new places/areas in NYC - 1) West 4th Street area 2) downtown courthouse area 3) Williamsburg (Brooklyn Brewery) 4) Dumbo (Smorgasburg) 5) Brooklyn Botanical Garden 6) Greenwich Village (Barrow Street Theater)

27 - plan (at least) one fun date night each month

28 - try (at least) 6 new foods: 1) meatloaf 2) asparagus and artichoke ricotta ravioli 3) homemade cranberry sauce 4) salad 5) split pea soup 6) white pizza

29 - join Instagram (done August 2012 - username: alhadventures)

30 - enjoy (at least) one girls' night each month

Andrea :)

Book #12 - 102 Minutes

Happy Friday!! Hope you all have fun plans for the weekend! I am excited to be reviewing the final book in my 30 before 30 list...especially since I really enjoyed reading it!

Intially, I wasn't sure what to expect from 102 Minutes, but from the first page of the book, I was hooked! The book covers the 102 minutes between when the World Trade Towers were struck by planes to their untimate fall. I have watched documentaries and read stories before about individuals that overslept that day and were late to work or that headed down just before the crash, but this book really takes things to a different level. There are plenty of stories about survivors as well as those that fell victim to this terrorist act, but at the same time there are unbelievable facts about the building and how it was built. Was it up to code exactly? Would that have made a difference in the number of lives lost? There is also much insight into the relationship (or maybe lack thereof) between the NY police force and fire department. Lots of unfortuate disconnects between those two groups. Overall, it was an incredible view into those completely unreal 102 minutes. The book was written in a way that makes you want to believe it is fiction. Things like the countdown of time with start of each chapter made it difficult to remember that this was real life for so many people. Truly an eye opening account of the events inside those towers. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that has an interest in the day that forever changed our nation.

I'll leave you with some pictures from one of my visits to the 9/11 Memorial.

Andrea :)

Book #11 - A Friend Like Henry

Happy Friday!!  Hope everyone had a great week!  Mine was fabulous because I turned 30 smack dab in the middle of it!  Looking forward to more celebrations this weekend before I recap all the fun for you!  But today, I want to tell you about a book that is one of the most insightful and moving I have read in quite some time!

I love autobiographies...and this one is certainly no exception!  The author, Nuala Gardner, chronicles her efforts and exhaustion with raising an autistic son.  The book is mostly centered on her son, Dale, and how the friendship of a golden retriever, Henry, at a very young age had a profound impact on his development, but the book also focuses on Nuala's personal struggles and victories as well.  Not only does she and her husband, Jaime, have an autistic son, but they are trying to overcome secondary infertility for much of the book as well.  That being said, this wasn't an easy read, but it was a remarkable story particularly if you have exposure to people in your own life in similar situations.

I enjoyed so many things about this book, but particularly her writing style.  She gave so many details and examples that you thought you were right there with her trying to teach Dale the lessons yourself.  I also loved that it chronicled multiple struggles - Dale's autism, infertility issues, and the difficulties of aging parents as well.  It really provided a true picture of the whole spectrum of her adult life...and it wasn't all upbeat and happy either.  It was very honest and insightful.  I also enjoyed the section in the back of the book with Dale's adult reflections on the various stories that his mom wrote about from his childhood and youth throughout the book.  Those reflections along with a reading group guide with questions proved to be a perfect way to end the book.

I would suggest reading this book to anyone...especially if you have an interest in psychology or autism.  It is one of the best I have read!  Let me know your thoughts if you check it out!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Andrea :)

30 before 30 - Month Twelve Recap

Yay for being 30!!

write letter to family or friend

This month I decided to write a letter to each member of my immediate family.  The four of them are such very special people to me!  I just wanted to let them know how much I love them and how happy I am that we are a family!

3 monthly goals

1) Execute the National 7-on-7 Tournament and Lineman Challenge.

Done.  And done extremely well.  Quite proud of how smooth and efficiently things ran this year!  YAY!

2) Have fun celebrating my birthday in Kentucky with my best friend and family!
Done.  Birthdays in Kentucky are always great :)  Recap to come soon!!

3) Start my marathon training program.

Done.  And realizing everyday just how difficult this whole running a marathon thing is going to be, but I'm gonna keep on truckin along.

facetimes with Brinley

We had a short facetime in the airport on July 4th before Chris and I headed off to Chicago.  Mom and Dad were up at Jordan and Jen's house so they were chasing her around.  It was pretty brief, but she was showing me her toys and taking things off her shelf to show me.  She is getting to be such a big girl now!!

Since we spent a handful of days together in mid-July, we didn't end up doing a second facetime.  But I did get to have a fun facetime with little Landon when he was still in the hospital and right after I got back from being home for a few days.  He's so little that he didn't really do much besides sleep and squirm around, but it was still fun to see him.  He's a little doll!

Date NightChris and I had a fun date night in Chicago when we went to see The Second City improv show.  You can read about our trip to Chicago here.  

Girls' Night
For girls' night this month, we were supposed to go see one of the Bryant Park movies - for free - but it rained.  So we met at my apartment for a catch up session instead.  Reba even made some yummy pre-birthday fudge for us!  Strawberry Shortcake flavored, too!  DELCIOUS!  She shared the recipe over on her blog which you can find here.

I marked 3 items off the list.

Full 30 Before 30 Review to Come SOON!

1 - read 12 books: 1) The Water Giver 2) Breaking Back 3) Four Perfect Pebbles 4) Gone Girl 5) Eat, Pray, Love 6) The Time Keeper 7) Semi-Sweet 8) Mind Gym 9) Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead 10) Before Ever After 11) A Friend Like Henry 12) 102 Minutes

4 - prepare (at least) 10 new dinner meals: 1) sliders and tator tots 2) ham and sweet potatoes 3) grilled cheese and soup 4) loaded baked potatoes 5) cheeseburger pasta 6) penne alla vodka with chicken and broccoli 7) roast beef and carrots in crock pot 8) turkey bacon pizza 9) french toast 10) pumpkin alfredo ravioli

22 - sign up for improv classes (one day class in August...still planning to do a 6-8 week classes sometime)

Andrea :)

Book #10 - Before Ever After

Before Ever After was sent to me via a book swap with Ashlee over at A Step in the Right Direction. I was so excited to participate in that swap...and I'm so glad I did because this was an awesome book!  I really liked it!  I had a little trouble getting into it, but once I got past the first couple of chapters...I was totally hooked!!  I could not put it down! 

The story is told mostly from Shelly's point of view.  Her husband, Max, was tragically killed around their 5th wedding anniversary.  Max's grandson finds Shelly a few months after his passing to alert her to some interesting information about Max.  This news finds Shelly reminiscing about the very beginning of her courtship with Max which happens to have occurred on one of Max's famous off the beaten path tours.  The stories Shelly recounts from cities all over Europe are fantastic and really draw you into the book.  It was especially fun to read for a travel fanatic and history buff like myself.  I loved reading the stories about ancient times in each city.  And of course, the love story was wonderful as well.

I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys romance, history, and/or mystery.  It has a little bit of all three mixed in there.  It's also a very quick read!  Let me know your thoughts if you have a chance to check it out!

Andrea :)

Cinderella

A couple weeks ago my friend, Mary, and I went to see Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella for our annual birthday show!  Mary's birthday is actually today - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY!! - but we both have a lot going on this July so we broke out our party shoes a little early this year!!

We had a great time catching up and watching the fabulous show!  The costumes were amazing and the story lines were really funny!  I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going into it.  I mean, I knew the story of Cinderella, but I wasn't sure how it would be portrayed on stage.  I was very impressed!  There was a tad bit of difference in the story line from what I remember of the animated version I watched growing up, but overall it remained the same.  And seriously, it was funny.  Like laugh out loud funny.  Songs were great, dances and dresses were fun, and the characters were believable! We really enjoyed it!! 

Mary was the first friend I made when I moved to New York City back in the summer of 2007.  We didn't know one another when we celebrated our birthdays that year, but we became fast friends that fall!  This is our 5th birthday show together now - Lion King (2008), The Little Mermaid (2009), South Pacific (2010), *visited Paris where Mary was living in 2011*, War Horse (2012), and now Cinderella (2013).  WOW!!  We have made some wonderful memories over the years for sure!!  What a blessing to have such a great friend and so many exciting times to look back on over the years!!

Andrea :)

O's Game + Washington DC

This Weekend, I marked an item off my 30 before 30 list and had a lot of fun in the process!!  We spent the weekend in the Washington DC area with friends!  SO fun!

On Friday, I ended up on the longest bus ride ever when some crazy rain and threats of flooding delayed me arriving to the DC area by about two hours.  Boo for that...but it all worked out well even though we barely made it in time for the happy hour at the British Embassy.

 
We spent the evening socializing with friends over dinner at Capital City Brewing Company and a quick stop for froyo afterward!  YUM!

 
On Saturday, Chris and I drove out to York, Pennsylvania, to visit one of his college roommates, Josh, and his cute little family!  We had a fun time being entertained by Josh's two little ones and even got to have lunch at Chick-fil-A!  Unfortunately, I failed to get a picture...and I was super bummed as I realized it about 10 minutes after we got on the road back.

That night we went to Camden Yards to watch the O's and the Yankees.  Turned out to be a pretty lopsided game, but it was fun to be at the ball park!

 
On Sunday, we slept in a little and then went for brunch at Miss Shirley's in Annapolis - SO GOOD!!  There was a bit of a wait when we arrived so we looked around a little beforehand.  They had the cutest birds all over the place!

After brunch, we ventured out to Georgetown for a little cupcake fun before we left town.  We started out at Baked and Wired.  I tried the Strawberry there as that flavor has become my favorite these days.  I thought it was good, but my cake was a bit dry.  The icing was perfect and just the right amount.  These cupcakes were huge, too!  I did try a bite of my friend's chocolate one and it was much more moist.  Overall, I enjoyed it!

Next we ventured to the crazy popular Georgetown Cupcakes.  We stood in line for about 30 minutes which isn't terrible, but definitely more than I would prefer to wait!  I decided to try two different types here because I wanted to compare the strawberry, but I also wanted to try something different - carrot cake!  Both were tasty!  These were much smaller than the ones at Baked and Wired, but more than made up for the size with the mound of icing on top.  The cake of both was super moist and very good, but I had to scrape off nearly all the icing because it was just too much!  I loved the cute little fondant toppers on them, too.

After I got my cupcake fix, we ventured down to the river and hung out there for a bit.  Then we headed back into DC to grab dinner before we left for NYC on the bus.  The ride back was equally as dreadful, but I'm glad we went on the adventure!  It was a lot of fun!!
 

With our lovely hostess and fun tour guides - Noli and Rachel!

  

How was your weekend?

Andrea :)

Book #9 - Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Our women's network at the office chose this book for our first book club meeting so I decided to join in the fun and read it.  To be honest, I had seen an interview with Sheryl Sandberg previously that had peaked my curiosity, but I just hadn't made the time to check it out before.  This was also the first full book I read on my kindle.  As a side note, I enjoyed reading from the kindle more than I thought!  Definitely going to be doing more of that in the future!

I had some mixed feelings about Lean In.  She included lots of personal examples and stories along with a multitude of facts and stats from various studies and research.  The only problem is that her field isn't exactly like everyone else's field so many of the personal examples didn't fully translate to other fields of work.  I did like her chapter on sitting at the table.  I agree that sitting at the table is very important.  It speaks volumes without saying a thing.  The other chapter I really enjoyed reading was titled "Don't Leave Before You Leave".  She was explaining that often women get ahead of themselves and rather than focusing on their career and potential advancements they may think ahead to having a family and not take advantage of current opportunities because of what they see for themselves in the future.  This is a tough one.  I won't say that I have ever past up an opportunity or stunted my advancement in the company due to being too future oriented, but I do think A LOT about adjustments that would need to be made in my current situation when I get to the point of having a family.  That being said, this chapter was truly insightful and beneficial for me.

At our book club, some of my colleagues brought up great points about how Sheryl seems to be insistent upon success being equal to a top leadership position in a company.  Our group addressed the fact that some women (and men) feel success is middle management.  That is the ideal goal for them.  It was the collective feeling that Lean In pushed women to feel like only the top leadership positions were worthy accomplishments. 

Overall, I thought the book was good.  There were plenty of interesting viewpoints and ideas to think about.  I didn't love the writing style, but I did enjoy the material that was presented.  I'll have to check out her TED talk because I have a feeling I will like her better as a speaker than a writer. 

Have you read Lean In?  What did you think?

Andrea :)

30 before 30 - Month Eleven Recap

write letter to family or friend

This month I sent a card to Christopher.  We had a stretch of about three weeks where we weren't able to see one another due to work trips and some other pre-scheduled events on weekends.  Those stretches are always particularly difficult so I sent him a card while I was away on my business trip this past weekend just to let him know that I missed him.  We are looking forward to these long distance days coming to an end soon, but in the meantime I like to remind him of how much I love him and appreciate him even though I'm not able to see him everyday!

3 monthly goals

1) Layout the Year 3 Scrapbook.
Done.  It is all ready to be put together now.  Who knows when I'll have a chance to start doing that, but at least I have it all ready when the time comes!

2) Book travel for London/Bulgaria trip.

Done.  Sorta.  We have the Bulgaria part booked.  We are still working on finalizing the dates from NYC to England, but that should be happening in the next week :)

3) Set the plans for my 30th Birthday celebration.
Done.  SOOOOO super excited about this adventure!  I'll keep a secret for now, but I'll just say the tickets are officially reserved!  Looking forward to the celebration in just ONE more short month!!

facetimes with Brinley

We had a fun facetime in late May where I was able to see Brinley climb up on the couch for the first time!  She is getting into everything these days!  She sure keeps her parents busy!!  I just love watching her play with her toys.  She is super quick now.  She was too cute toward the end of the call when she just crawled over to her bedroom door and started to wimper.  Guess she was ready for bed!

I was also able to facetime with Brinley toward the middle of June.  She was on the move!! She is walking everywhere now.  Jordan can barely keep her in the screen sometimes!  It was fun to see her so active.  Toward the end of the call she started playing with her laundry.  She was too funny holding things up under her chin and trying to pull them over her head.  She is a cutie!  Looking forward to seeing her next month when we visit right after her little brother arrives!  Can't wait!! 

Date Night

Chris and I managed to work in a date night at the very beginning of June. We went to see Colin Quinn in his performance of Unconstitutional at a small theater in Greenwich Village which we followed up with a nice Italian dinner.  So fun!

Girls' Night

Unfortunately, this just did not happen for June.  Total bummer, but we were all in and out of town and just busy with all the craziness that summer brings in NYC.  Hopefully, we'll work it out for next month...at the very least we'll hopefully get together to celebrate my upcoming milestone birthday :)

I marked 7 items off the list!!

3 - complete Year 2 (done March 2013) and Year 3 scrapbooks (layout done June 2013)
*As mentioned above, Year 3 is not fully complete...but at least half of the battle is laying out each page so it's getting marked off the list!

6 - go to (at least) 6 broadway shows: 1) War Horse (July 2012) 2) Grace (Nov 2012) 3) Annie (March 2013) 4) Lucky Guy (April 2013) 5) The Call (May 2013) 6) Cinderella (June 2013)

8 - visit England with Chris (might happen in the fall, but at least have reservations by July)
*Again...as mentioned above, the trip is essentially booked.  We have flights from England to Bulgaria...and obviously, we will be going to England to catch those flights :)

15 - visit friends in Chicago
*Plane tickets booked for 4th of July weekend!  Pumped!!

16 - visit friends in DC
*Headed there on Friday.  Can't wait to tell you all about the fun we had next week!!

17 - plan a really interesting/exciting/fun way to celebrate turning 30
*As mentioned above, the celebration is certainly interesting, exciting, and fun...I'll also add unique and well recieved by my friends to the list as well!

26 - explore (at least) 6 new places/areas in NYC - 1) West 4th Street area 2) downtown courthouse area 3) Williamsburg (Brooklyn Brewery) 4) Dumbo (Smorgasburg) 5) Brooklyn Botanical Garden 6) Greenwich Village (Barrow Street Theater)

I feel safe in saying there was some real progress made on the 30 before 30 list this month!  There are a few more items in the final stages, too.  I anticipate getting those knocked out before my birthday next month! 

The final countdown is ON. 

Andrea :)

Book #8 - Mind Gym

Happy Friday!!  It's been awhile since I linked up for Book Club Friday, but I am excited to review Mind Gym by Gary Mack for you today.

I enjoyed this book even though it took me a very long time to get through it.  One of the reasons for that is because the chapters are broken down in a way that doesn't make it absolutely necessary to read them in chronological order.  This is the kind of book you can truly scan the table of contents, pick an interesting topic, and read all about it.  I like that because it makes it very handy to refer to in the future.  The book is broken down into four major sections.  

Welcome to the Inner Game focuses on mind games we play with ourselves, being mentally tough, and being responsible for your attitude since it is one of the few things you actually can control.

Living the Dream covers maintaining focus in general -  putting yourself in the right places and situations, working hard even if progress doesn't happen quickly, and possessing desire, dedication, determination, and discipline (the four D's).

Mind-Set for Success teaches that attitude is everything.  These chapters emphasize being in the now, using fear as an ally, and the power of believing in yourself.

In the Zone emphasized inner excellence along with preparing and performing in a manner that leaves you with nothing to regret when it is all said and done.  This section also shared various paradoxes of performance.

This book was the perfect read as I begin to ramp up for my marathon training.  Athletics (and particularly running) is mostly mental.  Of course, there are some physical aspects to it, but much of it is all in your head.  The overarching premise of Mind Gym was to exercise your thoughts as they relate to your physical activity.  The author wanted to give you a means of building your very own mind gym.  The ideas were very well presented with each chapter ending in a question or action item for the reader.  I would definitely encourage any athlete to check it out!

Andrea :)

30 before 30 - Month Ten Recap

 write letter to family or friend

This month I sent a letter to a friend I have know since elementary school - Michelle!!  I remember sitting with Michelle, Julia, and Lindsey at lunch all through elementary school.  Michelle and I remained good friends through middle school and high school as well.  One thing I always remember is going to school on Friday dying to talk to Michelle about *F*R*I*E*N*D*S* - we LOVE(D) that show!!  We weren't in as close contact during the right after college years, but we were fortunate enough to reconnect when she and her husband moved to Pittsburgh recently!  It just so happens that I frequent Pittsburgh due to having lots of friends there now through Chris and somehow always managing to get sent there for work.  We've had fun catching up a few times there and a couple times in NYC.  The best part about it all is that we have always been able to just pick right back up where we left off.  I love that!

3 monthly goals

1) Find a roommate for the summer.
Done.  I found one for mid-June to mid-July. Ideally, I was hoping to have someone for June-August, but as it turns out I think this will be best.

2) Layout Year 3 scrapbook.
 Not Done.  I do have all the pieces just ran out of space and time to get it all put together this month.  Maybe next month though!

3) Run at least three times a week.
Sort of Done. I started out strong with this one, but this last week I have really fallen off the wagon.  Planning to get back out there next week though!!

facetimes with Brinley

I spent a few days hanging out with little Miss Brinley in person at the beginning of this month so we only actually did one facetime, but I'm ok with that because playing and laughing in person was amazing!!  You can check out the post I did about her 1st birthday here.

During the facetime earlier this week, I got to see Brinley do something really cool - walk!!  She did that for the first time over the weekend so I was pumped to be able to watch her via facetime on Monday night.  She was so energetic and seemed much more steady on her feet already!  She also was doing these funny little spinning moves while she was sitting on the floor and was all over the places and getting into everything as usual.  She is such a precious little busy girl.

Date Night

Chris and I had date day out in Brooklyn at the end of April.  We spent the afternoon at Smorgasburg in Dumbo, Brooklyn.  

 

It was such a fun time! Smorgasburg is an all-food market.  Basically, we roamed booth to booth looking for different and exciting dishes to try out.  We found lots of fun stuff from pigs in a blanket to teriyaki balls - our favorite of the day!

We also enjoyed some sweet potato tots.  And who can forget dessert - a huge ice cream sandwich and made to order smores!

Girls' Night

This month we went to a fun little spot in midtown to catch up!  They even gave us free popcorn!  Yay!  It was great to catch up with everyone especially since we all have very busy summers ahead of us!!  We all have some fun trips on the horizon, too!  It was great, as always, to get together with these lovely ladies. 

I marked 1 item off the list!!

19 - give Brinley a unique 1st birthday gift (check out the post here)

There are a few others that are getting close to being done!  And I'm also resolving myself to the fact that there will be a few items that come down to the wire and a few that will end up being carried over into my 30th year, but I'm ok with all of that because I have really made some awesome strides on the list so far!  Check out the 30 before 30 tab to see my progress on the full list.

Andrea :)