30 before 30: Final Report

September 24, 2015 marked the beginning of my third decade, and December 31, 2015 was my self-imposed deadline for wrapping up my 30 before 30 list. While this list was created to be a fun motivational tool, I have analyzed the results nearly to death in a detailed accounting below, following a few ruminations on the experience as a whole.

• Slightly better than resolutions? Making this list was more fun than making resolutions, and having two years to cross things off gave me more time to accomplish some of the bigger tasks.
• One and done.  If I make a similar list again (40 before 40?) I will focus on more "one and done" type accomplishments, which made crossing things off and moving on to the next thing a lot easier and more fun.
• Categories. I liked having the different categories for the items in my list, something that I plan to carry over to my resolutions/goals for 2016.

Blog - 2.5/4 
1. Edit labels  12/2014

2. Participate in a link up (edited 12/2015) - Without the 'Currently' link up at the beginning of each month, I would have barely blogged at all the past 6 months. I am grateful for the inspiration and easy-to-follow prompts each month that have kept this blog afloat.

3. Aim for more professional appearance -  What does this mean? A classic example of the importance of setting specific, measurable goals!

4. Post 1X/week (edited 1/2015) - 2014=29/52; 2015=19/52; 48/104 - If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! This one is going to make another appearance as part of my goals for 2016.

Cooking - 2.75/5
5. Make a soufflé

6. Bake bread from scratch - 4/2014; Chocolate Almond Swirl

7. Host non-potluck dinner party - I have come to realize that this rather challenging when you don't have an eat-in kitchen. I'm adding "dining area" to the ever-growing list of wants for our next living space.

8. Try 5 new/unusual foods - 7/5; This was one of the funnest things on the list, and apart from the seitan, I would eat all of them again!

• 10/2014 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 12/2014 dragon fruit 
• 3/2015 seitan 
• 6/2015 chia seeds
• 10/2015 rabbit bolognese
• 11/2015 sunchokes 
• 12/2015 celeriac 

9. New recipe 1X/week - 2014=33/52; 2015=45/52; 78/104. All in all, I am really impressed with this one. It's hard for me to even think about remembering all 78 recipes, probably half of which are worth repeating. We got a big boost at the end of 2015 by trying Blue Apron - three new recipes a week!  

Fitness- 3.4/5
10. Run color/electric race - 5/2014, Rainbow Rush "5K"

11. Run a 10K - 3/2015, St. Patrick's Day 10K

12. Train & run 10 miles or half marathon

13. Try new activity - 6/2015, 6 AM Bootcamp class

14. Yoga 1X/week - 2014=33/52; 2015=12/52; 45/104

Personal Growth - 4/6
15. Study and take JLPT - For someone with a Japanese husband, my command of the Japanese language is pathetic. Unfortunately, it's something that I haven't made a priority and honestly have trouble seeing where it fits in with all of the other goals I have.

16. Complete 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - I read "You Are a Badass" instead. Good advice delivered with a dose of humor. 

17. Attend 2  professional conferences - 3/2014, National Women's Bicycle Bicycling Forum, 10/2014, Safe Routes to School National Partnership Regional Meeting

18. Find & commit to a regular volunteer opportunity - Spring 2014, Girl Scout Troop 788 Cookie Manager/Volunteer

19. Read 12 non-fiction books - 12/12 - Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices, Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Bikenomics, Blink, At Home, The Rolodex Network Builder, Walkable City; How to Win Friends and Influence People, Hidden Power, Lost Washington, District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington DC; You are a Badass

20. Donate blood  - 7/2014

Relationships - 3.5/4
21. Plan wedding - Joined Pinterest 11/2014; planned and executed wedding weekend including civil ceremony, segway tour, happy hour and brunch 10/23-25/2-15.

22. Get married - Engaged 8/29/2014; Fiance visa paperwork filed 10/2014; Notice of Action 6/3/2015; Fiance visa approved 8/2015; married 10/23/2015!!!

23. Live in same time zone - As of 9/2015

24. Write letter 1X/week - 2014=37/52; 2015=18/52; 55/104. Not included in the counts: approximately 50 holiday cards and all the thank you notes from the wedding. After having this goal on the books for the past couple of years, I won't be including it in 2016. I will still make an effort to write, but I've found keeping track of the letters I send really isn't that meaningful.

Travel - 3/6
25. Go camping - Not owning any camping gear has been a bit of a hurdle for this one, but now that Keizo is here, and somewhat obsessed with REI, I have high hopes for this one in 2016.

26. Beach vacation - 8/2015; My first trip to the Outer Banks did not disappoint, and was a fantastic way to forget about work for a few days. I'd like to make a beach trip every year for my mental health.

27. New York City - 7/2015; I believe this was the hottest weekend of the year and I was still hobbling around in a knee brace, but I had a grand time exploring NYC's enviable public places, eating everything in sight and catching up with my hostess with the mostest, Margot.

28. Utah - Both sets of friends that lived in Utah when I made this list have since moved, moving the state down in my list of top destinations.

29. Renew passport (edited 6/2015) - 8/2015; yet to be used for travel.

30. New or repeat passport stamp (not Japan) - With a new passport, any and all stamps count! However, I am concerned that I haven't added a new country since Spain in 2010.

Total = 19.5/30