28.

See a concert.

         

          First off to clear up any confusion. I have been to a concert, and yes it was more recent than seeing "Sesame Street Live" when I was little. I just wanted to see another. So it went on the list. I know I have the opportunity to see just about anything in the cities, but I rarely take the chance.

          I have no idea how this whole idea of "Let's go to Fargo and see Miranda Lambert" came about but whoa, it was a good one. It was much better than just seeing a concert. It was a mini-vacation from the city life. And goodness knows, I am not a city girl!

          The boy (yes, that is his official name) and I decided that taking a trip out to Fargo would be awesome for the following reasons:

                    1. Seeing a concert      

                    2. Both experiencing our first COUNTRY concert

                    3. Seeing his {beautiful and sweet} sister

          The last one was the best part, naturally. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met. She had an awesome evening planned for us. First we got to see a bit of downtown Fargo, including a trip to the yarn store! And we had a super yummy dinner at, "Juanos" an authentic Mexican restaurant. My favorite part of dinner was when the boy's sister told him what to order, and he complied. Then we were dropped off at the concert. Talk about being an awesome host!

           Concert highlights included:   

                    1. The amount of trench coats worn by men.

                    2. The amount of mini skirts worn by women.

                    3. Oh and yes the performance.

Speaking of the performance here are links to my two favorite songs by her...

          The first being a song that will always remind me of my awesome childhood and the home my parents created for my brother and me.

          The second being a song I had heard on the radio and did not quite understand until the concert.

          I promise there was lots of fun songs. And I loved Miranda's comments about being a redneck. 

          

14.

Eat Sushi

       Following up my totally lame accomplishment is one I enjoyed immensely! My friends Hannah and Andrew are concerned (in a good way) about my list. Andrew came up with the idea last night that Hannah (and Ronan, her cute baby) and I should have a sushi lunch date today! This is why I need a list people....When she texted me I almost said, "No." No reason why. Just because it is my natural reaction. But I then quickly changed my thinking and got extremely excited.

          Hannah and I ate a sushi lunch today at "Crave" in the Mall of America. Side note: When did this big city life become my normal?

          Hannah helped me figure out how to order in hopes of trying a nice variety. Here is where a picture of our lunch would be awesome. Sorry, forgot the camera again!

1. Sea Bass (Suzuki): hand pressed sushi, a slice of fish served over rice

2. Caterpillar: spicy tuna, smelt roe, cucumber, mango, avocado, sweet sauce

3. Crunchy Roll (cooked): shrimp tempura, avocado, spicy mayo, sweet sauce

          And needless to say, don't worry I still had some "Nicole moments"... I insisted on eating the whole meal with chopsticks. Therefore I cut nothing up and had a difficult time managing to eat and not look like a fool. There was a lot of laughs over lunch. And that was the best part of all. As for my review....Why in the world did it take me 28 years to embrace this amazing food??? 


*All of the photos were found thanks to Google Images*

29.

Do dishes everyday for a month

       This is one is pretty disgusting to admit. I LOATHE doing dishes. I would rather do laundry, clean the bathroom, or vacuum before doing dishes. I live alone so there is no one here to hold me accountable. Therefore, I needed to hold myself accountable. I had started this back in October but then burnt my hand so that was an actual legit reason not to mess with hot water.

          But I did the dishes every single day starting November 28th. I must admit it was mostly guilt that propelled me to wash dishes at 11 p.m. at night. And there was a few nights I made dinner for "the boy" and his motto is if I cook, he cleans. So I did get some help. BUT, I am proud to say that even though the month is over I am still completing this daunting task daily. Until I fall off the train (and that will happen). Though hopefully not literally because this month I will be taking a train ride!!!

10.

Take a Community Ed Class.

          I love to learn. I am teacher, so naturally I think learning is pretty important. Beyond that I like to learn new things. I rarely do the same project twice as it holds no interest to do something I have done before.

          That said I love the Community Ed Catalog when it comes in the mail. I like to see what other people want to teach. And sometimes I question if there is a true demand for some of those hobbies. Naturally, I am interested in the more obscure options.

          My friend Ann is actually the one who lit the fire under my butt to cross this one off the list. She invited me over to her place one night. We sat down and looked through the catalog. She already had an account with Community Ed so I joined her family list on the website and she signed us up for the class.

          We chose "Candy Bouquets"! For real, that is an actual class. Who knew! On the way to class we stopped by the gas station for some refreshments. The cashier was not impressed by our undertaking. Little did he know our creations would be this amazing!

          My creation is the one on the left. Thanks Ann for kicking me into gear. I had a great time listening to the other women in the class. It reminded me that even though I live in the cities I am still part of a community.