Holy October Batman!

Ohhh ya'll, I have been slacking on my updating!  Here goes:

Costa Rica - WAS AMAZING.  I had such a great experience, ate some amazing food, drank some Imperial (local beer), and met some amazing people.  The week and a half I was there for work, my co-workers treated me so great, especially my dear friend Johanna.  This was only our second time meeting face to face, but we work together frequently on the phone/IM/emails.  She took us on the long trek to Arenal volcano from San Jose and we spent the day at the hot springs which was amazing.  Never got to see the top of the volcano, but I have lots of pictures of it with the clouds :) 

Matt and I's vacation at the end was amazing.  We took an internal flight to the Pacific side of Costa Rica and just laid by the beach and the pool the whole time at our amazing hotel.  I got eaten by mosquitoes while Matt remained untouched, saw howler monkeys, iguanas, and pisotes (which are a raccoon/monkey).

The one thing from my list I didn't do is go zip lining, but I was ok with that with all the other adventures.

Break in the back deck party - completed.  We had 3 couples plus 3 kiddos come over and we did it up right.  Matt made homemade pulled pork sandwiches (even homemade is own BBQ sauce), grilled pineapple, corn on the cob, and lots of drinks.  I tried to make a Bellini recipe off of the Food Network, but as per usual it didn't turn out.  I have had a bad streak of luck with cooking lately, and now it's transferred into drink making.  Matt on the other hand continues to get better and better, I think there's only enough room for one cook in the kitchen.  I do a great job of doing dishes though.

Book an awesome concert - Matt, Jake, his GF Nancy, and I have tix to go see the Red Hot Chili Peppers in November.  While they weren't the first people to pop in my head for #1 concert choice, I think they will put on a great show.

Banks/Vernonia Trail - Well Matt and I both bought new bikes and have rode about 15 miles of the trail but not the whole thing.  We have done some fun bike rides, I think the most I have done so far is about 20 miles so I have a way to go before I'm running with the big dogs.  Here's my new ride:

Something not on my list, didn't think it would ever be on my list, but I started running.  In June, I began doing the couch to 5k training program.  August 22nd my good friend Kristin and I ran my first 5k (her second, she was my inspiration to get started).  Last weekend Gretchen came down and she ran in my second 5k with me, along with my two best homies Kristin and Lisa.  We participated in the Color Run in PDX which they douse you with paint along the course (paint meaning some sort of colored corn starch material).  I ran the whole time in both races which was my goal so I'm pretty proud of myself.  Here's us crossing the finish line:

Oh we had a pretty amazing evening making those tutu's.

Basically what I'm taking from this 30 before 30 list is it is way freaking harder than I thought.  Of course I had some big aspirations, but you have to dream big or else what's the point.  I have about a month and a half to knock some more items off my list, and some things I'm looking forward to:


We're spending Thanksgiving at the beach with my family.  We rented a beach house at Cannon Beach and I'm pretty jazzed about that because we'll be there on my actual 30th bday!!

My friend Gretchen wants to take a little trip beginning of December and I might get to meet her somewhere fantastic, which would be awesome.  I don't know if we'll be going to one of the places on my list, but I don't care, I'm ready to have a girls trip!

May Updates!

I thought I would post a quick update since I haven't really been doing anything on my list lately because I'm preparing for Costa Rica!  I leave on Monday, Matt is meeting me there the following Thursday.  Super excited, and a lot of my list is going to be happening over the summer after I get back so stay tuned :)

One thing that wasn't on my list and I kind of debated about was doing some sort of organized run.  I hate running.  That's why it isn't on the list, but I live in the mecca of people who run marathons and half marathons and Hood to Coast, so I feel a little left out.  After much harassment by my friend Kristin (I kid, she only harassed me like 3 times), I'm going to do a run at the end of September.  Starting small with the 5K, don't want to get too crazy for a run-hater.  I think it will be fun though, my other friend Lisa will be doing it also, and they spray paint you with different colors as you progress on the run.  I am more excited by this aspect than the running.

The other update is my CPA license.  I found out that I have to do some more work experience for one of the required competencies before Intel will accept my application, so it's going to be awhile longer.  I still have a goal to submit my application this year, but I think it will be wishful thinking to get the official license from the Oregon Board in 2012.  It's kind of a complex process, you have to get Intel approval and then Oregon State approval, so there's a lot of red tape and hoops to jump through. 

I'll be sharing some pictures from Costa Rica!!

Stepping up my game!

So this past weekend I went to Seattle to see one of my besties and we had a very productive weekend as it relates to my bucket list. I'm pretty impressed that between our gab sessions we were able to fit in this number of things and I was only there ~48 hours. Here's some highlights:

• First of all, the day before my trip I purchased a new camera to help increase my photo skillz (that's right, with a z). I bought a Canon Rebel T2i and I'm so happy with it. I took some amazing shots while I was in Seattle, Gretch and I took a specific trip to Pike's Market just to take some shots. We had such a blast. I also uploaded a shot of the bubble gum wall for the Chimpsy photo contest. There's some pretty amazing shots there that I'm competing against, but I thought why the hell not? Here's the photos: http://flickr.com/gp/erinrandall/4x257G/


• Gretch is also my partner in crime for trapeze and we now have a tentative date of June 2 for the event.


• We discussed the Portland Bridge Pedal since Gretch also likes to bike, she's totally in as long as she's free that weekend. August 12th Gretch! We talked about the Seattle to Portland bike ride also, this year is sold out, but maybe next year? At least that would give me plenty of time to train because the thought of biking that far makes me exhausted just sitting her.


• We discussed my awesome concert potential. After chuckling about going to see Van Halen and how our high school volleyball coach would sometimes make us listen to it during practices, we determined a concert in The Gorge is the way to go. To clarify, Van Halen has some jams, don't get me wrong. I believe I mentioned in a prior post thatDave Matthews is coming to The Gorge over Labor Day weekend. Even though I don't completely love Dave, I could jam out to some Crash.....into me........because it's at THE GORGE! We also talked about Florence + The Machine which I think would be pretty amazing.


• Gretch and I also talked about CANADA because she was so shocked that I had not been to CANADA when it's like 2 hours from her house. Hoping to plan a trip there next time I go up, she and I may spend a weekend in the beautiful Vancouver B.C.! There's also the Victoria Clipper that you can take out of Seattle which would be pretty fun.

Bucket List - Recap

Since I have pieces of my entire list in different posts I thought it would be a great time to put them all in one post and provide some amendments/updates to the original list:

So, first off is that I think this will have to be a living document (does that translate with you all or is that a term my work over uses?) throughout the year. Because some very exciting news that impacts my list is that I am getting an opportunity to travel to Costa Rica in May for work. Matt is going to meet me for vacation there after work is over, which means we have to cut some of my other travel ideas, but I'm totally ok with that.

Also, I've decided not to put pressure on myself to come up with 30 items just to have 30 things. Otherwise I'll wind up putting things on here that are just fillers, and I want this all to be totally legit!

Here's updates on my existing list:

• See the Grand Canyon - Keeping this on the list, I'm hoping that maybe this fall Matt and I can still manage this trip. I have enough "frequent flyer" rewards to buy one ticket. If I can find a reason to travel to Phoenix for work I can get a free ride on the corporate shuttle and we got ourselves free airfare!
• Go to the Wings and Waves waterpark in McMinnville, OR
• Get my official CPA license (currently my exams are complete, almost there) - My "portfolio of experience" I have to submit at work is currently in the capable hands of my CPA mentor. Current plan is that it will get submitted for the April 30th reviews internally, and I think that means I could have my official license by Fall'12.
• Take a photography class - COMPLETED (although through Groupon I do have one more class available)
• See Crater Lake, OR - I'm going to keep this for now, hopefully this can be combined with a road trip
• See the Painted Hills in Fossil, OR - Also keeping this one since I'm sure with enough time, Matt and I can take a detour some trip down to see my parents in Pendleton.
• Portland bridge pedal 2012 - This totally stays on the list even if I can't afford to upgrade my bike and I have to ride my old crappy one.
• Go to Mt. Hood Ski Bowl - in the summer time
• Go to Tree to Tree Adventure Park
• Keep a Journal - I'm considering my blog my journal, although I was planning originally to keep a separate hand written journal. "When I first found it, I just thought it was a sad, hand written book." Little quote from Bridesmaids there.
• Watch all 2012 best picture Oscar nominees - COMPLETED full of blood, sweat, and tears
• High tea at the Columbia Gorge Hotel
• Trapeze Lessons
• Go floating (in a river with inner tubes and beer)
• Huber's Spanish coffee
• Go horseback riding
• Read a big ass book (Ex. Anna Karenina) - I'm currently reading Steve Jobs' biography, and it's pretty big ass. Although I just googled Anna Karenina and it's 864 pages, so Steve's measly ~550 isn't that huge so I guess that one doesn't quite cut it.
  
• Take a road trip - See above references
• Make a vision board
• Attend a Baha'i Service
• Take a reformer Pilates Class
• Take up a new musical instrument (under consideration are guitar, violin, and turn tables) - I have been debating on this one for awhile. I was looking at the ukelele because it seems less intimidating that a guitar (and less expensive). But where my true passion lies, and Matt is encouraging me to look into, is mixing music. So perhaps "turn tables" isn't necessarily the right word, but some sort of mixing device?
  
• Ride the Banks-Vernonia Trail round trip (includes new Bike purchase for me and my partner in crime Matt). That will be a 42 mile round trip. - Not sure if bike upgrades are still in the budget (besides Costa Rica we are putting in a new deck at our house).
• See an awesome concert - Sasquatch was a potential but way too expensive. I would love to see a concert in the Gorge. I just saw Jon Bon Jovi on Oprah's Master Class and I realized, that would be an awesome concert!

Items that get added:

• Go zip-lining in Costa Rica
• Hike the volcano/check out the hot springs in Costa Rica
• Refresh on my Spanish - I have 3 years under my belt, but it's outdated (although I surprise myself with the number of words/phrases I remember) and I don't converse well. I'm looking into apps on my phone or perhaps some sort of minimal effort courses I can take. Rosetta stone is hella expensive. But I want to get a bit more fluent before I travel to Costa Rica.
• Have a "break in our new deck" party this summer

Items that got cut:

• Visit New York
• Visit Canada - This could potentially happen, but likely winds up on the chopping block due to funding.
  
• Learn Italian (focusing on the Spanish this year due to new travel plans)
  

To sum up, I think I'm going to be pretty busy this summer since most of these items I'll be doing during our nice weather months :)

Photography Lesson #1

Here is a link to the photos I took on my field trip during my first photography class. This is under the Fremont Bridge in Portland (and a fun fact I learned while there, it is the 2nd longest tied arch bridge in the world behind one in China):

http://flickr.com/gp/78066431@N02/3oj3nh/

I took my hand me down camera that my Dad gave us long ago to take pictures with. Turns out it's so old that a lot of the settings that the teacher recommended were not available on the old camera. When I go for class #2, I'll be taking my smaller, but newer digital camera.

Well....I'll be a Monkey's Uncle

When I got the URL for this blog I was amazed that it was available. Thirty before Thirty?? Awesome. It wasn't until like 2 days ago that I realized I mispelled the second thirty as "thrity." No wonder it was available. Apologies to all of you who were directed to a blog with one post about Mother's Day re: the Road to Thirty from 2006.

#29 on my bucket list........learn how to spell.

Oscar viewing party!

With all the work we put into watching the 9 movies (which in my opinion is far too many for the Best Picture category, I think I could have easily weeded out 4 movies to meet a total of 5 to select from), a party was in order. Lisa invited me to her compound for drinks and dinner and Oscar goodness.

On the agenda was tomato/pasta soup for dinner, and I brought Lambic, Champagne with O.J. and strawberries for mimosas, and vegan cupcakes from Whole Foods for dessert (because of my whole lactose thing, vegan cupcakes allow me to still enjoy delicious frosting, but you still can't beat a good cream cheese).

I spent 10 bucks on accessories for our party. I got what I'd like to call a fascinator (like what all the ladies were wearing to Will's and Kate's wedding last year, we're on a first name basis) and a strand of cheap pearls. It's kind of hard to see the fascinator because it's black, but you can kind of see the feathers. Here I am with my Lambic in my old timey champagne glass that I bought because I was watching a lot of Mad Men:





















I personally was a fan of Lisa mixing 80's pink hoops with some pearls:





















Lisa and I also filled out ballots for predictions of who the Academy would pick for the top 6 categories as well as our personal picks. Lisa got 5 out of 6 categories correct, while I came in second place with 4 out of 6 correct picks for the Academy awards. What a great way to wrap up this bucket list item.