30-by-30 How’d I do?
No Friday Favs today because it’s my birthday! Today is the big 3-0! I did a great job on my list and am proud of how far I made it. I’d like to thank everyone who helped me make it as far as I did. Throughout the year, many of my readers, friends, and family members asked me how I was doing on my list and how they could help. I couldn’t have done it without you guys!
Cooking/Baking:
Bagels– done!Marshmallows– done!- Molten Lava Cakes
French Macarons– done and done!Cheesecake– done!Indian Meal (chicken tikka masala and naan)– done!Sushi– Hubby and I are going to a sushi making class tomorrow as part of my birthday celebration!Continue to bake for a good cause– done! – I started up my Operation Baking Gals effort again, donated baked goods to Ashlee’s virtual bake sale, and Cara and I kicked off the Bloggers Bake for Hope virtual bake salePrepare three new foods(1: Kale in the Massaged Kale Salad, 2: Figs in the Fig, Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onion Crostini and Homemade Fig Newtons, 3: Beets in the Roasted Beet Hummus) – done!
Health/Fitness:
- Get to my goal weight – This one didn’t happen…
Work out on a regular basis– I’m crossing this off the list, but it’s an ongoing process. Hubby and I made a rule that we’re “grounded” from technology (that means no blogging for me!) if we haven’t had some sort of physical activity in the last 48 hours. It’s been working really well. The one night I was grounded, I caught up on some magazine reading and went to bed early.Complete theAvon Walk for Breast Cancer– done!
Boston/Travel:
Visit at least 3 new cities(1: San Francisco, CA, 2: Hershey, PA, 3: Destin, FL 4: Portland, ME)Pack a picnic dinner and see a movie on the Esplanade– done!Go to the beach! (can you believe Hubby and I haven’t had a beach day since we moved to Boston 3 years ago)– done!Go to the Cranberry Festival in October– done!Take a spontanious trip with girlfriends – My good friends K and L planned a spontaneous trip for us. Well, it was spontaneous for me, but they knew what was going to happen. It was a lot of fun! Thanks again girls!
Relationships:
Talk to younger siblings (A and L) on a regular basis– done!Plan/host a girls night (in or out)– done!Eat lunch with my coworkers at least once a week– done!Meet my friend’s babies in the Midwest– done!Babysit/Spoil my new nephew as much as I can– done!Send birthday cards to my siblings, parents, and nephew– done!Plan a date-day with Hubby– done!
Other:
Take a cooking class– done!- Read the photography books my dad got me – started, but not completed…
- Finish all the nearly-complete kitchen projects – started, but not completed. Do house projects ever get done?!?
- Fully de-clutter our place – started, but it’s an ongoing battle to keep our tiny condo clutter-free
Volunteer for something at least four timesPlan a Boston area food blogger event– while Cupcake Camp wasn’t a bloggers only event, I did help plan that and it was a great success! We raised over $2300 for Lovin’ Spoonfuls! And I planned an ice cream party at my house for a few bloggers. Not a huge event, but it counts!






I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 






I love list and the satisfaction I get from drawing a line through an item on it! Sometimes I’ll add an item that I’ve accomplished that was on it just to mark through it! I’m weird like that! 🙂
Thanks for visiting my blog and the nice comment! You’ve got some great stuff here. I still want to try the chocolate dipped meringues. Oh, and your right the must try list….out of CONTROL! 🙂
~ingrid
Oops, I meant lists and added an item that WASN’T on the list! I’m a dork! I need to proof read before I hit publish!
~ingrid
I have to admit that I do the same thing about adding things to the list that I’ve already done just so I can then cross it off. Hubby jokes that I should always start my lists with “write this list” just so I can immediately mark something off.
I love your list, I need to read my D40 manual as well.
Jen, you now have less than 2 weeks till your birthday.
At work yesterday, our VP suggested we need to delegate more, and if we delegate things, the unimportant things will fall off the table.
Trying to help. Delegate your reading to Lnz. She loves to read and gets bored when she reads a book for the 3rd or 4th time. Give her a book to read for you and then have her explain the book…you would accomplish multiple things at once, keep Lnz from getting bored, spend quality time listening to her, and accomplish something on your list by delegating.
good luck,
Dad