Onward and Upward

Hooray for new years and new beginnings. I love Christmas, but it's always sort of a relief when it's over...even though we in Minnesota descend into the deep, gray freeze of January.

I was going to use a photo of a champagne toast like "Here's to the the new year!" but then I found this one from my birthday, when my team at work surprised me with DQ cupcakes and presented them in the shape of a K and I thought that was such a sweet memory that it made sense to include it in this post.

We celebrated this new year in the desert. It snowed. In the Mojave Desert.

Yes, I'm sure that's happened before, I just don't know what the chances were that it would happen to us. I'm not taking it as a sign of anything other than maybe that there are a lot of strange experiences to be had and you can't plan for all of them.

This event prompted me start thinking about what I've been jokingly referring to as my "Secret 40 by 40 list" - like the secret menu at Starbucks. Basically a list of cool shit that I ended up doing that wasn't on my 40 by 40 list, but I wish they had been.

It's not a super long list, but so far I've got:

1. Experience snow in the desert
2. Sing onstage with Tanya Donelly
3. Audition for Wheel of Fortune
4. Rescue a dog
5. Trade my minivan in for an electric car
6. Meet Matt Lauer and appear on the Today Show (in the crowd)
7. Win a progressive on a slot machine 

That's all been within the last 14 months (if I take the dog off, it's 12), so I'm sure I'm leaving out lots of other interesting experiences, but it's still fun to write it all down. 

Someday I will be old and unable to remember anything, so it's important not only to get out and experience everything, but to document the hell out of it. Life can be really hard, so you have to take the fun/amazing/once-in-a-lifetime moments when they come. 

Here's to a new year full of new experiences!

Happy Place

I could write an entire blog about Las Vegas. Like, my every single thought and obsession about that place. The joy I feel when hearing the slot machines, the thrill I get when I see the Strip all lit up at night...my time traveling fantasies of being there during the Rat Pack era.

I'm not sure who would actually want to read that blog, but I think I'd enjoy writing it.

Anyway, I am returning to my happy place tomorrow! I even bought a new dress last minute, which I always say I'm not going to do, but here's where we're having dinner:

Now tell me you wouldn't need a new dress to eat there...that's what I thought.

I promise to return full of inspiration and ideas for the new year ahead.

Eating Thanksgiving Dinner in a Fancy Restaurant

I was thankful for a great many things this Thanksgiving, including my boys, my husband, my dog, the health of all of our families, and the fact that we live a pretty great life. But a special note of gratitude went out to my 40 by 40 list for motivating me to do things that I want to do and might not have gotten around to doing otherwise, including...

#16 Eat Thanksgiving dinner in a fancy restaurant

Check!

We hosted our traditional pumpkin pancake brunch in the morning, which assuaged my guilt at choosing a fancy restaurant over my in-laws this year.

I went a fairly traditional route with the fancy restaurant. Kincaid's is exactly the type of place you would picture when you imagine eating Thanksgiving dinner out. No molecular gastronomy or nouveau cuisine, just a straight up turkey dinner.

It was fun. It honestly wasn't all that different from eating out any other day of the year except that it had maybe more of a festive feel. Of course I love being waited on and the food was great (even though I really don't like turkey much), but what I learned from the experience is that really we should go out and order fancy food, not turkey. In my mind, I wanted to go have the classic Thanksgiving meal prepared by a chef, but I think what I really want is to eat a fancy meal instead of having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I'll file that away for the next time I have the opportunity to dine out on Thanksgiving.

Ok, so now I'm at the halfway point: 20/40. It took me nearly 5.5 years to get here and now I'll finish the other half of the list in just 2.5 years. I can do this!

Movies!

I decided to show the boys Son-in-Law today because I remembered that it's a Thanksgiving movie AND it's one of the elite few films that I will purposely watch more than once. As a rule, I don't love seeing movies I've already seen. Even movies that I might really like, I don't often want to see again.

This has prompted me to make a list of this select group of films so that I can remember what I need to make them watch...as you will see, they are mostly random and obscure (and I'm sure many would argue that they aren't all very good), so I am worried that if I don't force my children to consume them, they will go through life without knowing they exist. That would be a shame.

Here goes...

Movies I'd Watch Repeatedly (excluding Muppets)

Hackers
Sneakers
Wonder Boys
Get Shorty
Long Kiss Goodnight
Heathers
Home for the Holidays
Midnight Madness
13 Going On 30
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Breakfast Club
Pump Up the Volume
Point Break
Son-in-Law

I'm sure that's not all-inclusive, but it's what I can think of right now. It's fairly obvious that many of those probably relate to key periods of my life more than having cinematic value, but that's ok. Also, obviously they are not all appropriate for 11 year olds, so I'll have to file several of them away for a few more years. But tonight...bring on Son-in-Law!

40 by 40 Progress Check

I thought it was a good time to give a progress report on my 40 by 40 list. I'm really excited because I think I'm going to cross several things off the list in the next few months!

Ok, so for the record, I've only crossed off 16 of my 40 so far and I have just over 2.5 years left. BUT, here's what's in the works:

#16 - Eat Thanksgiving dinner in a fancy restaurant. This one is happening this Thanksgiving! In my mind it was going to be a fancy restaurant out of town, but it's actually maybe more exciting to go to a local fancy restaurant because we can still do our family pumpkin pancake brunch and then hit the restaurant for dinner.

#9 - Pastry Bootcamp at the CIA is booked for February!

#13 - See the glaciers in Alaska and #20 Take a cruise...these two birds will be killed with one stone because I'm scoping an Alaskan cruise for our next family vacation. (pricier than I thought, but it sounds amazing)

#37 - See the Grand Canyon...I think I'm going to take a helicopter tour the next time we're in Vegas because I can't get excited about planning a whole trip around it. However, I've never been in a helicopter, so we can add that to the list of cool things I should have put on my 40 by 40 list but didn't, but did them anyway.

So you see, that's 5 more things in the next 4 months, which puts me at 21/40, which is at least more than halfway done, which seems slightly less overwhelming. I could knock out the ones that don't require travel or anything particularly difficult (e.g. Cook a lobster) but I'm sort of saving those I think so some of my list still seems easily achievable. Ah, psychology.

Behind the Wheel

On Wednesday my husband and I auditioned for Wheel of Fortune. Yep, the real one. Life is weird.

It could have been my chance to complete #21 on my 40 by 40 list, but alas, it was not meant to be. (Well, one could argue that just getting the audition is winning a contest, but I am not that one.)

I realize I just spoiled the ending, but I thought it only fair to get the not being chosen part out of the way first, so we can focus on the experience of auditioning.

Ok, so if you visit the Wheel of Fortune site, you can learn about audition opportunities and that whole process, so I'll cut to chase and say that you have to apply with a video (unless you hunt down the Wheelmobile, which seems horrific). I like Wheel of Fortune - I love the slots - but it's not an affection on-par with The Price is Right. Still, being on the show sounded pretty awesome.

However, I didn't really want to make a video and probably would not have, were it not for my coworker, who shares my love of games and game shows and was an enthusiastic participant. Also, my other coworker shot and edited the video. I have awesome coworkers.

The video was silly and fun and it apparently showcased my ability to yell out letters better than my coworker because sadly, I got an audition and she didn't. (And that is a total bummer, so I'm hoping they're just saving her for the next round.)

Ok, so when I got the invitation to audition, it said they're shooting a special series of shows for parents with kids, so I should bring my spouse. Lucky for me, my spouse enables my love of game shows and agreed to come even though this was in no way his dream.

So we show up at the specified hotel ballroom at the specified time and find 50 other people there for the same purpose. They take attendance, show us a special audition video with Pat and Vanna and then run us through a drill where we all yell letters at the appropriate volume. Then we're off and playing in this weird audition format where you wait for your name to called, stand up and pretend you're actually on the show for one turn, and then sit and wait to be called again.

Awkward is the word I would use to describe the experience. And stressful. And counter to my nature. (Ok, so 6 words.) As I was sitting there listening for our names, I was asking myself Am I having fun or do I hate this?

First of all, when placed in a room full of strangers, I tend to hope not to be called upon. In this case, I needed to be called upon in order to actually be considered for the show.

Second, the professional casting team was full of instructions: Smile, get excited, interact with your spouse, take turns speaking, enunciate, project, don't take too long, don't forget to buy vowels, act like you're on the show....it was a lot.

We got called on 3 times and even though I was having trouble even remembering my name, we solved a puzzle! THE GREAT OZ HAS SPOKEN! It was a great puzzle to solve and it won us a Wheel of Fortune hat and a tote bag. Score.

After about an hour of that, it was time for the written test. And if we'd been in the running up until then, I can assure you that my test score is what got us eliminated.

You get 5 minutes to solve a sheet of word puzzles that are just like on the show except that you only get a few of the letters, which means you might have something that looks like this (times 20):
"Thing"

G _ _ _ _
_ _   _ _ _ _ R

At first I thought I would get zero, so I guess ultimately solving 5 in 5 minutes is an accomplishment.

While they graded our tests, we watched a highlight reel from the 4000th episode retrospective. Then they came back and told us that if our names were called, we got to move on to the next round, and if not, well thanks for coming.

Our names were not called. Cue sad trombone.

Ah, well. It was still a once-in-a-lifetime experience and it gives me a lot more sympathy for those poor contestants who can't seem to solve even the most obvious puzzles.

Guess I need to find another contest to win...

Mapping and Plotting

Having less than 3 years until I turn 40 has put a new sense of urgency on my 40 by 40 list. I have a habit of not always finishing things and there's just no way I'm not finishing this one.

I actually sat down and mapped out the rest of my 40 by 40 list travel so that I can make sure it all really happens. Plotting it all out is pretty fun, altho I'm a little worried that I may be working against #18 in trying to accomplish all the rest. Maybe my 50 by 50 list can include some more fiscally responsible options.

My latest exciting news is that I'm registered for Pastry Bootcamp (that's #9)! That is one of the larger undertakings on my list, so it feels awesome to know that I'm really making it happen...I just have to wait until February. Maybe I will be so inspired by bootcamp that I will change careers and pursue of the dream of making dessert all day...ok, the dream is really to eat dessert all day, which may be in direct conflict with any aspirations to make a living selling desserts.

Being surrounded by that stuff all day just sounds amazing.

Let's hope I figure out how to turn what I learn at bootcamp into something that makes me at least as happy as the image search for "French Pastry." Sky's the limit.