30 by 30 Report: Month 1

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“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”  ~Michelangelo Buonarroti

I can't believe it's already been a month since my birthday.  That means I have only 11 months to go to get my 30 by 30 list complete.  Here's an update on my progress for the first month.

# 1:  Cook 10 new recipes.  (2/10 completed)

That's right kids.  I cooked 2 new recipes.  AND....they were a success!  Woo hoo! 

First up, as you already know, I made an apple pie.  Other than the minor explosion, that was all good!

Second, I cooked spaghetti squash for the first time after reading in Shape magazine that it was a great alternative for pasta.  I've got to admit, I was impressed!  Here's the recipe along with my comments in italics.

Prep:  Wash the squash to remove any dirt.  Chop off the vine end and split lengthwise.  {This sounds easy, but I swear it was like an act of Congress.  Those suckers are hard to cut!}  Gently remove the seeds with a spoon.  {It's like pumpkin innards, which sort of makes me gag, so fair warning.}

Cook:  Lightly season with salt, pepper and olive oil and place cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  {I'll be honest, I don't know what parchment paper is, much less did I have any, so I just used foil.  This could be why I suck at cooking....} Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.  {I think I should have cooked mine a little longer because it was a little crunchy.}  Allow to cool and then scrape out the flesh with a fork.  {This is where it comes ou tall stringy like spaghetti.}

Serve:  Drizle with olive oil and top with chopped herbs and toasted pine nuts, pasta sauce, and a bit of grated cheese.  {Here is my other problem when cooking....I don't read carefully.  I did not read the part about adding pasta sauce and I just ate mine with the olive oil, pine nuts and cheese the first night.  It was good that way too, fyi!}

#7:  Read 24 more books  (2/24 completed).

In November I ready Notre Dame Inspirations and Journey to Peace.  I'll be doing a book report on them next week, so stay tuned for that!

#8:  Send little gifts to my friends once a month.  (1/12 completed).

This is one of my favorite goals.  I love sending little surprises to people in the mail.  For this first month,  I decided to send a little Thanksgiving gift to some of my favorite girls.  I ended up buying Reisen's candy (if you haven't tried it...do it now!) and making little gifts called "The Top 5 Reasons Why I'm Thankful for [insert friend's name]" and on each piece of candy, I wrote something I was thankful for about each girl.  I think the hardest part was narrowing it down to 5 things about each girl. 

#9:  Eat in 10 new restaurants.  (1/10 completed).

I checked this one off when The Twin and Mrs. Texas got some friends together to go to breakfast for my birthday.  I was SO excited when I learned we were going to Tim's Place.  I had read about this restaurant, owned by a great guy named Tim who has downs syndrom (and plays on The Other Twin's Special Olympics basketball team) and I had wante to try it.  It was awesome.  Great food (I had a breakfast burrito and the green chile that it was smothered in was out of this world) and Tim gave us the royal treatment becuase of Coach The Other Twin being there.  Lots of jokes and hugs and attention.

#29:  Bring home a bouquet of flowers once a month.  (1/12 completed).