29 Years in Review and Plans For My 30th

Life is good. It really is, even when it's not. Ha ha that may not make sense to you but it makes perfect sense to me. I have never wanted for food. Or a bed to sleep in. Or clothes to wear. I have never felt true hunger. I have always had a roof over my head. I am so fortunate for that. That makes life good. Of course it's not easy, good and easy are two different things. I have had many trials and tribulations, but that doesn't make life bad. It makes me a stronger, wiser person.

My 20s were a crazy whirlwind.

I traveled around the world.

Lived in 2 countries and 2 states. Moved 6 times.

I got engaged.

I got married.

Had an emergency appendectomy while 24 weeks pregnant with my oldest.

Had 3 amazing kids.

Took some college courses.

Was a part of 2 Walker Women Wild Weekends.

Performed in 4 musicals.

Went to Disneyland 3 times.

Had super fun birthday parties.

Dabbled at many different hobbies.

Gained family and lost loved ones. Made new friendships and lost touch with others.

But it was amazing! And stressful. And tiring. And hard. And fun. And full of joy. And sadness. And craziness!

I am turning 30 this year (and I don't look a day over 20! I age well). The 30s are not something to dread, but to look forward to, and I am excited to turn 30. Turning 30 is something to be celebrated! Those of you who know me really well know I love a good birthday party. So my 30th shouldn't be any different.

I got the idea to celebrate my 30th birthday all year from a friend of mine. She wanted to go into her 30's with a positive attitude, celebrating it not dreading it. So she picked 30 things she wanted to do (physical improvement, adventure, mental well-being, and relationship building) during her 30th year and then blogged about it to keep record for herself and to share it with others.

I loved being a part of that and it inspired me to do the same. So during 2016, my 30th year, I am going to hopefully accomplish the list of 30 things I have come up with. And I plan to blog about it also to remember the amazing year I am going to have and to share it with others.

Here is the list I have come up:

1. Get in the best shape of my life
2. Run Ragnar Cape Cod
3. Run a half marathon
4. Go on a big hike in UT
5. Run a mile in under 9.5 minutes
6. Go camping more
7. Wild Walker Women Weekend
8. Visit a Texas Rodeo/Ride in a hot air balloon (we'll see which one costs less!)
9. Go somewhere I have never been
10. Go to Disneyland for my birthday
11. See Pentatonix in concert
12. Touch both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans
13. Make my bed every day
14. Write everyday
15. Learn to shoot a gun
16. Read one book a month
17. Pamper myself once a week
18. Hone my kitchen skills
19. Learn Dutch
20. Start an Etsy shop
21. Start a memory jar of one awesome thing that happened every day
22. Renew my passport
23. Daily dance party
24. Discover who I am
25. Do more service
26. Write my loved ones every month
27. Send out family update once a week
28. Record an album with Branson
29. Kid Day Wednesday (no chores, just playing with the kids)
30. Go on a date with hubby once a week

A few of these need some tweaking but there we have it folks. Things to celebrate my 30th and make my life more full of joy and make me a better person. Here is to an incredible year!

Kate

Pintrest Win--Sandwich Bread

I am a novice when it comes bread making. I have a tried and true Basic French Bread recipe from my mom which is delicious, but I wanted to start branching out and try new recipes. Of course I have pinned many bread recipes on Pinterest, but many of the recipes are too complicated for me. I needed to find an easy or not-too-complicated recipe.

I don't have a bread machine. I imagine that if I did, it would be really easy to make bread. I do, however, have a KitchenAid mixer so that makes bread making a lot easier.  After searching and searching Pinterest I found the recipe that I wanted to try out: Classic American Sandwich bread from Smells Like Home.  Click on the link for the recipe.

When I make food that I have never made before I like to study the recipe. I will read through it several times before starting.  I think I read this recipe 4 times before deciding to get my hands dirty.  I don't have a bread pan so I borrowed from a friend. I ended up with a nice stone bread pan from Pampered Chef.

The instructions were very well written and easy to follow. There is a lot going on in the recipe, like letting the bread rise several different times, but it wasn't too time consuming. I would spend a few minutes on it and then leave it and do other things.  The recipe took about 3 hours total including the baking time.

The loaf rising for the second time.

Fresh out of the oven. It smelled so good!

Waiting for it to cool down.

I couldn't wait. I cut a slice before it had cooled all the way.

I put some Strawberry jelly on it. Delish!

This bread was so good! I was so pleased that the loaf turned out almost like the pictures in the recipe. It sliced so nicely. I was able to do thin slices.  Both my kids had 2 slices each. That is saying a lot because my son is a picky eater.

The loaf only lasted us 2 days. I had several pieces yesterday and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.  I made another loaf today. I can smell it right now as it sits on the cooling rack. Mmmhmmmm.

This recipe is going into my recipe book of things to make often. I definitely recommend this recipe!