Day 9: A Starry Safari

At last-minute, we decided to head out to the Starry Safari at the Phoenix Zoo tonight for my 30 Days to 30 Years adventure. We were going to go tomorrow, but my plans for tonight fell through and it seemed like a good idea. It was really cute. The zoo had put up some bounce houses and a climbing wall for the kids and still had a few sections open to explore and see the animals. Unfortunately, we got there a little late so we only got to see a handful of animals... including the outcast elephant (the zoo staff said she is a "bully" and isn't able to sleep inside with the others, that's why she was outside for the kids to see), some sleeping orangutans, some goofy tree swinging monkeys, dizzy camels and a couple of hungry zebras. We brought our neighbor Alyssa with us so after the small journey to see the animals, the kids spent some time in the bounce houses and we headed home. It definitely was a fun way to spend a Friday night with the family. (Side note: I admit the picture I posted is from a different trip to the zoo earlier this year. All of the ones I took tonight were too dark or blurry for posting.)

Day 8: Read to Me

Thus far my 30 Days to 30 Years adventure has centered around new activities and relaxation. But my reasons for doing this aren't entirely selfish. Tonight I switched gears to give back to my community. Through an organization called Hands On Phoenix I had an opportunity to participate in a program called Read to Me at a Phoenix area Salvation Army Homeless Shelter. The crux of the program is for volunteers to come and read to the children who live at the shelter. I was one of five or six volunteers tonight for about eight children. I was paired with a little three year old girl named Lilly. She was the most adorable little thing I've ever met. She wasn't really all that interested in reading, so we colored some pictures, then we practiced skipping down the hallway and then some of the other kids joined us for a game of roll the ball. It was fun to meet the kids. Such bright little stars! It's heartbreaking to think of their family situations and I hope they will be able to overcome these obstacles before them.

Day 7: A Chick Flick with, well, the chicks!

I can't remember the last time I got to go to the movies with "just the girls"... or even to see a chick flick at the theater (and I probably wouldn't even get to see them at home if it wasn't for $1 rentals at RedBox). So tonight, I defied the norms and met up with a group of friends to go see The Proposal with Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock. I had a great time even if the movie was a little predictable. Think of it as Just Friends meets Two Weeks Notice (to keep the movie choices limited to other work done by Reynolds and Bullock). It definitely had a lot of good laughs and there were times when we were all rolling out of our seats. I also appreciate that Sandra Bullock went *almost* naked in the film and that her body was more "normal woman" than movie-star-esque.

Day 6: Arizona Diamondbacks Game

Hunter and I headed to downtown Phoenix this evening for a fun night at Chase Field to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Philadelphia Phillies. We had a good time exploring the stadium. Hunter especially liked the kids arcade area. Our seats were in the "Redhead" section for die hard fans which was really cool. Hunter thought the guy sitting in front of us with completely painted red skin was pretty funny and kept giving him high-fives all night. We also made a cameo on Fox Sports Arizona's coverage of the game (thanks to Daddy!) where Hunter put his souvenir hat (that had previously been filled with popcorn) on his head and hid. Wonder where I can get a tape of that. It might be a fun blackmail piece when he gets a little older.

Day 5: Healthy Shopping Tour

Yesterday's 30 Days to 30 activity ran a little late so, thanks to a strong cup of coffee, I'm just posting this morning. It was a Healthy Shopping Tour put on at the Tempe Whole Foods Store. The host was a local chef/nutritionist, Chef Rachel. You can read more about her at her website: http://thegardenofeatingdiet.com

The purpose of the tour, apparently, was to help people with allergies (most specifically, gluten and diary) shop for healthy foods without those specific ingredients. So while I didn't get a whole lot out of that information since no one in our family has wheat or dairy allergies, I did learn a few things pertaining to Andrew's nut allergies.

As for the "healthy shopping" part of the tour, she basically made a shopping trip through each aisle of the store, telling us what could be bought, why it was good for us and some examples of how to cook it. My family better watch out since I am now half tempted to try out some bok choy and parsnips.

However, most of the information I received (outside of the allergy info) I already knew and if you don't feel like following someone around a grocery store for two and half hours, you can glean the majority of the information from reading Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels, The Skinny Bitch by Rory Friedman or In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (or any combination of the three). You can probably pick up any of those books on Amazon for half the cost that it took to attend last night's class.

Day 4: Taste of Summer Cooking Technique Class

Today's "30 Days to 30" adventure was a cooking technique class offered at Williams-Sonoma. The store offers technique classes every Sunday morning for free. To my delight, this week's class theme was the Taste of Summer - focused on new ways to make summer vegetables. I ended up having to bring Hunter along with me to the class and with him tucked away in his stroller with a portable DVD player (yes, watching Curious George, AGAIN!) I was able to catch most of the class.

I can't decide if I should be disappointed or feel complimented because I really didn't learn anything new from the class. We learned how to make guacamole and how to sautee veggies in a skillet. Both of these are regular menu items at our house but seeing the interest of the others attending the class, I'm guessing they were "fresh ideas" to many others. I did learn about a bunch of overpriced cooking gadgets that if I had the biggest kitchen on earth, I'd probably want to buy :)

Day 3: Farmer's Market

Hunter, Jason and I explored the Road Runners Farmer's Market in north east Phoenix this morning. I have been rather disappointed with the farmer's markets that I've been able to find here in Arizona so far, but this one gave me a little faith. I think the Sparks' Hometown Farmer's Market has spoiled me for life. This morning's market included several different farms selling produce as well as other booths with bakery items, spices, salsas, crafts, etc. Anyway, Hunter and I were on a mission today... to find a watermelon! We ended up with a whopping 13lb organic one. Can't wait to dig into it for dessert tonight.

Day 2: Peddle Boats

My husband took Hunter and I out for a peddle boat ride on Tempe Town Lake this morning! We only lasted about 30 minutes (of our hour rental time) before Hunter got antsy and wanted to get out of the boat... and boy, that peddling was quite a workout! While we floated, we played a toddler version of I-spy and found ducks, swallows, fish, fishers, fish bubbles, trains, trucks, bikers, walkers and lots of airplanes. All-in-all it was a great way to spend the morning together.

Day 1: Get Your Zumba on!

First up in my 30 days to 30 journey: ZUMBA! I've been saying I'm going to try this out for a few months now and since they don't offer a class at my gym location, I actually had to step out of my comfort zone and travel to Tempe for the class. The room was packed and the teacher was sometimes hard to see and follow, but I definitely enjoyed the beat and the dancing. I don't think I've danced like that since high school or college. Some steps were even reminiscent of my days in the Sunshine Generation. While typically, Zumba mixes the styles of Salsa, Meranga and Cha Cha Cha... I think tonight's instructor included a little hip hop, belly dancing and even country line dancing (ha ha!) in her interpretation. Needless to say, I'm going to hurt in the morning!

30 Days to 30... let the fun begin!

It's official! In 30 days, I will be 30 years old. As previously blogged, I'm not entirely thrilled about this idea. But thanks to a surprise birthday party last weekend during my trip to Michigan (my family is the best!), I'm coming around to it. Hey, 30 is the new 20, right?

In honor of the big 3-0, I'm spending the next 30 days doing something fun and unique every day. As I get through the month, I'll be posting updates and pictures *hopefully* (had some camera problems on vacation, should be fixed soon though). Some of these are things I've never done before (like getting a tattoo!), others are just things in the Phoenix area that I've been dying to do.

I hope you enjoy my posts.