#5 - The Schwinn meets Skirt Steak

1. Host mah jongg night.

2. Make jam.  (Done!)

3. Host brunch. (Done!)

4. Go for a picnic. (Done twice!)

5. Go grocery shopping on my bike. (Done!)

6. Finish my year-end photo albums.

7. Take Fred to Lost Lake.

8. Rearrange the backyard.

9. Eat at the Space Needle.

10. Stay in bed all day.  (Done!)

11. <edited for privacy.>

12. Have a really girly slumber party.  (Done!)

13. Play a round of mini-golf. (Done!)

14. Get the craft room sorted and gorgeousified.

15. Go for a weekend in the San Juans. (Done!  Orcas at Memorial Day!)

16. Have an individual date with each NGS.

17. Go for a hike.

18. Plan and cook a week’s worth of dinners.

19. Go to Portland to see old friends.

20. Perfect a signature recipe (one slightly more nutritional than Bundt cake.)

21. Go to the drive-in movies.

22. Get a mani-pedi every month. (Done for Jan, Feb, March, April and May)

23. Go ice skating. (Done!  Colorado with the parentals!)

24. Find the perfect shade of lipstick.

25. Host a big tea party in the back yard.

26. Make a quilt top.

27. Take six dance classes of any kind. (THREE down.  Love the Little Red Hen.)

28. Ride on a Ferris wheel.  (Done!  Puyallup Spring Fair!)

29. Organize our finances and filing system.

        30. Plan an awesome 30^th birthday party.

I crushed #5 last week with the help of my good friend Becca.  Becca is a totally hardcore biker, with an adorable Masi bike named Betsy (she's riding the STP today, woot!  Go Becca.)   So I asked Becca if she would accompany my timid self to the store and back and ensure that I didn't have any biking mishaps.  We set the date, Fred cleaned my bike chain, Becca came over, we decided on shish kabobs for dinner and we set off towards the store.  With the knowledge of a veteran biker, Becca suggested we go to the QFC on 45th, because it is a flat ride there and back.  And it's only 10 blocks away! Bonus.

I learned several things.  One, I am a nervous Nellie in traffic.  And I might never master those hand signal thingies even though I know perfectly well what they are.  Two, my brakes squeeeeeeeeeak!  Like all vintage things, the bike could maybe use a little work.  Three, biking in a dress and leggings is outfit/occasion nirvana.  You are totally comfortable and you look cute.  Bonus.  Fourth and perhaps most importantly I learned that biking to the grocery store is not even remotely hard.  I didn't even come close to breaking a sweat.  And I had fun!  Biking was fun!  Hanging out with Becca was fun!  Using my basket to take my groceries home was fun!  (I have a bike basket that is suuuper functional and adorable (a gift from my wonderful NGS).  It detaches from the bike and has a shoulder strap, so I detached it, swanned around the grocery store, picked up my skirt steak, checked out, put it back on the bike and sallied home.)  So easy!  

So the moral of this 30B30 story is this: if there's something that you want to do, but you suspect it might be hard, enlist a trusty friend and just try it!  You might find yourself surprised. 

 

Me and my trusty Schwinn Racer (a 1964 original, complete with "The Dalles, Oregon" bicycle license on it.)  Thanks to Becca for making #5 a raging success.