24. Pay off my student loans

As of April 2015 (still a long way to go!): 

20. Learn (the rudimentary basics of) another language

10. Do a volunteer vacation.

39. Visit a new continent (South America)

My Inca Trail permit is purchased! Now I should probably buy the plane ticket ... 

3. Complete a detox

First Attempt (January 2015): I tried Acme Farms and Kitchen's 30 Day Challenge (similar to Whole30). I didn't mean to do it for the whole 30 days anyway, but I ended up getting bronchitis so I only did it for a week. It was a good first attempt. 

40. Visit Forty National Parks

1. Haleakala (Hawaii, 2/16/15) 

16. Invest in meaningful relationships

Make the effort to be present: 

Send Christmas cards: 

29. Read forty books that I should read in my lifetime

 

A Civil Action
A Room of One’s Own
Alice in Wonderland
Arabian Nights
As I Lay Dying
Bhagavad Gita
Bleak House
Brothers Karamazov
Don Quixote
Feminine Mystique
Gideon’s Trumpet
Guns, Germs and Steel
Hamlet
Lord of the Rings trilogy
Making of the Atomic Bomb
The Master and Margarita
Moby Dick
Neuromancer
On Liberty
On The road
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Orthodoxy
Scarlet Letter
Streetcar Named Desire
The Color Purple
The Crucible
The Iliad / The Odyssey
The Prophet
The Silent Spring
The Stranger
The Trial
The World’s Religions
Things Fall Apart
Ulysses
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Undaunted Courage
Utopia
Walden
Wealth of Nations
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

38. Try new things

- mountain biking

- paddle boarding 

- surfing 

- downhill skiing

1. Bike RSVP

http://www.cascade.org/ride-major-rides/rsvp

15. Hike the West Coast Trail

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_Trail

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/pacificrim/activ/activ6a.aspx

32. See more live performances

 

For example:

- see a concert at a winery

- see a show at the Gorge

- see a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival

- see a laser light show at a dam

- see an airshow

- see cirque de soleil

13. Fill my McMenimans passport

6. Cook every recipe in the Modern Baker cookbook

I. Quick Breads

a. Fennel Fig & Almond Bread

b. Chocolate Spice Bread

c. Whole Wheat Current Bread

d. Date Walnut Bread

e. Whole Grain Apple Raisin Bread

f. Spicy Jalapeño Cornbread

g. Pecorino & Pepper Biscuits

h. Real Welsh Scones

i. Ginger Scones with Almond Topping

j. Butterscotch Scones

k. Triple Chocolate Scones

l. Blueberry Crumb Muffins

m. Irish Soda Bread Muffins

n. Cocoa Banana Muffins

o. Sweet Rusks for Dunking

II. Breads 

a. Armenian "Barbary" Bread

b. Turkish Flatbread

c. Pita Bread 

d. Fougasse: Pierced French Flatbread

e. Crisp Cornmeal Flatbread

f. Instant Sandwich Bread

g. French Bread for Baguettes & Other Loaves

h. Pain de Campagne

i. Semolina Sesame Bread

j. Pain de Seigle: French Rye Bread

k. Seven Grain & Seed Bread

l. Prosciutto Bread

m. Elegant Dinner Rolls

n. Rosemary Olive Knots

o. Cornetti: Olive-Oil Rolls from Bologna

III. Yeast-Risen Specialties

a. Quick Brioche Braid

b. Marbled Chocolate Brioche Loaf

c. Cinnamon Raisin Breakfast Ring

d. Chocolate Babka Loaf

e. Kouing Amman: Breton Butter & Sugar Pastry 

f. Ginger-Scented Panettone

g. Bakery Crumb Buns

h. Pecan Stickiest Buns

i. One-Step Croissants

j. Grissini: Classic Italian Breadsticks

k. Cornmeal Buttermilk Waffles

l. Dough to Thick-Crusted Pizza & for Focaccia

m. Sfincione: Palermo Focaccia

n. Focaccia alla Baresa: Apulian Onion, Anchovy, & Olive Focaccia

o. Nonna's Pizza

p. Filled Ham & Cheese Focaccia

IV. Savory Tarts & Pies

a. Rich Pie Dough for Savory Pies & Tarts

b. Olive-Oil Dough for Savory Pies & Tarts

c. No-Roll Flaky Dough

d. Corn Pudding Tart

e. Ham & Egg Tart

f. Roasted Pepper & Goat Cheese Tart

g. Swiss Onion Tart

h. Gruyere, Scallion, & Walnut Tart

i. Tomato & Cantal Tart

j. Shrimp & Toasted Pumpkinseed Tart

k. Curried Fish Pie

l. Ligurian Savoy Cabbage Pie

m. Zucchini & Ricotta Pie

n. Pizza Chiena: Neapolitan Meat & Cheese Pie

o. Chicken Pie with Biscuit Topping

V. Sweet Tarts & Pies

a. Sweet Tart Dough

b. Chocolate Nut Dough

c. Press-in Cookie Dough

d. Parisian Fruit Tarts

e. Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

f. Mango & Rice Tart

g. Banana Walnut Tart

h. Lemony-Cheese Tart with Sour-Cream Glaze

i. Pumpkin Pecan Buttermilk Tart with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

j. Bourbon-Scented Pecan Tart

k. Roman Almond & Pine Nut Tart

l. Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Tart

m. Breton Apple Pie

n. Maida's Big Apple Pie

o. Sour-Cream Apple Pie

p. Blueberry Crumble Pie

q. Neapolitan Easter Pie

r. Raspberry Almond Tartlets

s. Lemon Lime Tartlets

t. Chocolate Caramel Pecan Tartlets

VI. Puff Pastries

a. Instant Puff Pastry

b. Baked Puff Pastry Layer

c. Molded Choclate Filled Napoleons

d. Raspberry Mille-Feuille

e. Feuillettes with Berries & Cream

f. Deep-Dish Peach Pie with Woven Lattice Crust

g. Pineapple Tarte Tatin

h. Apricot & Almond Strudel

i. Swiss Walnut Crescents

j. Danish Cheese Pockets

k. Perfect Elephant Ears

l. Carmelized Onion Tart with Gorgonzola

m. Spinach & Feta Turnovers

n. Smoked Salmon Mille-Feuilles

o. Salt & Pepper Straws

VII. Cakes

a. Perfect Pound Cake

b. Lemon Ginger Pound Cake 

c. Rum-Scented Marble Cake

d. Viennese Raisin Coffee Cake

e. Sour Cream Coffee Cake

f. Blackberry Jam Cake

g. Orange-Scented Olive Oil Cake

h. Blueberry Crumb Cake

i. Real Strawberry Shortcake 

j. Classic Genoise

k. Yellow Cake Layers

l. Perfect Birthday Cake

m. Raspberry Cream Cake

n. Whipped Cream Layer Cake

o. Banana Rum Coconut Layer Cake

p. Triple Chocolate Cake

q. Devil's Food Cake with Fluffy White Icing

r. Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake

s. Heirloom Chocolate Cake

t. Cinnamon-Scented Baked Chocolate Mousse Cake

u. Molten Center Chocolate Cakes

v. Individual French Hazelnut Cakes

w. Golden Cupcakes

x. Incredibly Moist Chocolate Cupcakes

y. Individual New York Cheesecakes

7. Create things I am proud of

4. Complete all the hikes in the Day Hiking North Cascades book

22. Look, feel and be beautiful

10/23 : You'd think by my 30s, I would have this down. I should know how to fix my hair, apply my makeup and have some sense of my own personal style ... Instead I can pretty much make myself look presentable in most situations. So you know, that's something. But I think we can do better.

One thing I rarely do is wear jewelry, so I've been trying to expand my repertoire in that arena. Here are my first could attempts: 

Sparkly earrings:

A fancy necklace:

This Nordic Princess is Back and Ready for More Adventuring!

About six years ago, this blog went dormant.  Maybe it was because I was starting a new job, settling in to a new city, making new friends and generally trying to figure this whole 'life as an adult' thing out (which is harder than people make it seem, by the way).  Or maybe it was just because I'm really good at thinking up ideas and less good at follow-through.  Whatever the reason, there have been many undocumented adventures over the last six years.  Thankfully, there are even more adventures to come! 

Specifically, I am in the process of fine-tuning my 'Forty Before Forty' list.  I love lists.  I love planning new adventures.  I love pushing myself just a little bit beyond my comfort zone.  I love the satisfaction of checking things off.  (Unfortunately, I don't love it as much when it comes actual practical activities like household chores, but whatever.)

The list itself will be posted in the next couple days, as soon as I get it just right.

Welcome back!  Hope you're ready for more adventures!

     

Nooksack Nordic Ski Club

I realized long ago that many of the things I like to do are predominately enjoyed by individuals over the age of 50. I don't know why this is. I don't think of myself as boring...well, maybe I do, but not in an old person way. One of the things I really love to do is cross-country skiing. Most people my age seem to prefer the adrenaline rush of downhill skiing, but I'm more into the peaceful, rhythmic motion of the flats. Skiing, however, is one thing that I would prefer to not do alone...I have been known to go on a quick trip by myself, but somehow between the driving in the snow and the wandering out into freezing cold wilderness, it has crossed my mind that independence is not ideal. So I figured I would join a club, where I could meet other people with similar interests. Not surprisingly, when I showed up at the monthly meeting of the Nooksack Nordic Ski Club, I was the youngest person there...by a lot. It turns out there are a number of great nordic trails in the area, so I'll probably be trying to take advantage of them, but there don't appear to be many other young people that are also looking for cross-country ski partners.

Welcome to Bellingham.

So, I've been living in Bellingham for about a month now. Two issues have presented themselves, which are somewhat intertwined: one, I don't have very many friends here, and two, I haven't found my favorite places and my favorite things to do...you know, the ones that make a place feel like home. I have made an executive decision that I need to address that. And I figured there might be other people in the same boat. They aren't likely to find my blog, but they really aren't likely to find it if I didn't post it. So here we are.