Celebrating 30

I created lots of pomp and circumstance leading up to my thirtieth birthday.  I suppose it would only be right to share with you the highlights of the fabulous week surrounding my entrance into a new and exciting decade.  I’ll keep it in list form for all you non-readers and even include photos!

I kicked off the week of fun with a delightful sushi dinner with my darling friend Tina Marie.  We have the best time bonding over sushi.  I love that girl.

Friday night my bestie Jenny got into town and we went out to one of my favorite karaoke spots, the Free Spirit Lounge, to celebrate the last night of my 20s.  We sang.  We danced.  We drank.  The lovely @ZubidasWorld made me a birthday cake complete with a Twitter bird…and she even brought toys!  So many great friends came out to celebrate…what a way to end the twenties!

Then Saturday was a DAY-OF-FUN with Jenny!  We started with pedicures with my mom and sister, then had lunch at Pei Wei, fro yo at TCBY and did some Target shopping.  Who doesn’t love Target?

The evening kicked off with a family dinner.  Gotta love getting all the (soon to be) family together!

And then there was The Party.  We went with an 80s theme, since I am a product of the 80s.  And who doesn’t want a reason to crimp their hair and wear neon?

The last celebration came with a night out with the love of my life.  Ben took me to the Skyline Club.  What a romantic place!  We overlooked Monument Circle, lit up in all it’s glory as we dined on probably the best food of my life.  Poblano pepper stuffed with chorizo!  Surf and turf!  THE BEST CHOCOLATE SILK OF YOUR LIFE!  But better than the food and the view?  The company of the best man ever.  Ben showered me with gifts and love and affection and I will never forget this birthday because of it.

Here’s to a great new decade.  The first week has been amazing!

_______x30

With one month left until I exit my 20’s, I should probably review the “goals” I made with my 30×30 list. It’s no secret I spent most of the last year busier than ever thanks to multiple jobs, DoItIndy-ing and falling in love. So, unfortunately, the progress I made on this list is sad. Saaaaaad. Luckily, while I can’t quite cross all of the things off this list, so much has been added to my life in the last year that I would never trade for the experience of playing flag football or watching M*A*S*H.

Here’s the update. Commentary in parentheses…

1. Cook 7 days worth of new dinner recipes in a row straight. (I think the highest I got was 4 days in a row…)
2. Save $1000…and don’t blow it. (Ha.)
3. Drop 50lbs. (Ha. Ha.)
4. Tour a brewery. I actually did this…accidentally! A friend of Ben’s had a birthday party at Thr3e Wisemen and we toured the brewery! Whew!
5. Attempt to waterski. (I blame the drought on this.)
6. Order a steak rare in a restaurant. (I had my chance this past weekend, but I went with what I knew.)
7. Watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. (Nevermind. No thank you.)
8. Learn all the words to Shake That by Eminem and Nate Dogg. (Silly, silly goal.)
9. Finally learn to Soulja Boy, er I mean, Dougie. Or maybe the Thriller dance. (No one wants to see that.)
10. Learn how to butcher a whole chicken. (Meant to do this with my Aunt Donna, but we got too busy having other fun.)
11. Watch the entire series of M*A*S*H. (Why? Who knows. Didn’t get around to it.)
12. Read a “classic” novel. (Who has time to read when I can watch reruns of Big Bang Theory? Besides, I HAVE read other classics in the past…)
13. Visit a haunted house. With Jenny…that’s the rule. (Oh we did this. And we screamed our butts off. Never. Again.)
14. Try yoga. (Eh…)
15. Write a children’s book about Evan. (I’ll get there some day…)
16. Ask a guy out. (Done. Didn’t work in my favor, but I did it.)
17. Do 10 “regular” push ups. (Ha. Ha. Ha.)
18. Play with fireworks. (Again, blame the drought.)
19. Tailgate. (This is the one thing I am sad I STILL haven’t done…)
20. Play blackjack in a casino. (I DID THIS! And I walked away $85 richer!)
21. Participate in a flash mob.
22. Run a 5k. (Oh I did this. Well, I walked some, but I traipsed through a huge crowd and ran in front of strangers…sooo….done, I say.)
23. Eat at Fogo de Chao. (Someday I will have the meat sweats.)
24. Grow and eat my own vegetables. (Drought 3, Kelly 0)
25. Stay up all night to see the sun rise. (This just makes me tired thinking about this…)
26. Be on TV. (Wahoooo! I did this. I still do this. Every Tuesday on Fox…)
27. Go to a Rocky Horror Picture Show screening. (Someday…)
28. Take a road trip by myself. (Done! Michigan and back all by myself!)
29. Perfect scrambled eggs. (Thanks to Ben, I have perfected this.)
30. Play flag football. (Eh…)

So there you have it. 8×30. Oh well. I’m embracing the more important things in life.

Here’s to better lists in my 30’s.

Happy Birthday Ben!

In honor of Mr. Benjamen Risinger’s 35th birthday, I am here to share with you 35 (of the countless) reasons I love him.

It’s hard to describe in words how much I love this man, but this is a start. In no particular order…

1. His toy collection is bigger than my shoe collection.

2. He can grow a fine mustache.

3. His enthusiasm for the little things is rare and contagious.

4. His love of Chuck Taylors mirrors mine.

5. His hardworking spirit.

6. His love of his family is apparent and strong.

7. He was cuffing his jeans before the hipsters were cuffing their jeans.

8. He grills a mean steak.

9. He picks up after me.

10. He surprises me with thoughtful gifts (“Here’s a lava lamp for your desk at work…because flowers die”).

11. His smile.

12. His love of his dog Nala, whom he’s allowed me to adopt and become Dog Mama to.

13. He does the laundry because I’m afraid of the basement.

14. He listens to me.

15. He holds my hand.

16. He always kisses me goodnight.

17. He’s great with kids (particularly our nephews Ivan and Evan).

18. He suffers through me singing in the car and doesn’t ever ask me to stop.

19. He always asks to “Text me when you get there.”

20. He would do anything for a friend.

21. He lets me fall asleep in his recliner almost every night.

22. He loves me for me.

23. He cares about my family.

24. He is a neat freak but doesn’t freak when I throw my stuff everywhere.

25. He likes to shop the clearance section of Target maybe more than I do.

26. He puts everyone else first.

27. He says hello to strangers when we are out and about.

28. He likes the Spice Girls.

29. He appreciates when I do little things for him.

30. He’s so darn handsome.

31. He likes to karaoke.

32. He makes me laugh and smile and cry in a good way.

33. He doesn’t get mad at me if I am on my phone too much (because chances are, he’s on his, too).

34. He smells good.

35. He’s my best friend.

30×30 update

30×30 check-in

In case you are wondering what “30×30” means, a brief catch up to you: On my 29^th birthday in January, I wrote a list of 30 things I wanted to do before I turn 30 in January 2013.  Call it a less-depressing bucket list, if you may.  But really, if you look at the things on the list, you’ll be like, “Really Slick?! You’ve never tailgaited?!  Get to it.”

Hence, the list.

 

So here’s the list again…with some annotations.

1.  Cook 7 days worth of new dinner recipes in a row straight.  (This will be happening 7 WEEK nights in a row, scheduled for May 14-18, 21-22.  Stay tuned. : ))
2. Save $1000…and don’t blow it. (Uh.  Further than where I was in January but back on track.)
3. Drop 50lbs.  (Haven’t weighed myself in a bit, but I think I am on track…)
4. Tour a brewery.
5. Attempt to waterski.
6. Order a steak rare in a restaurant.  (Maybe during Devour Downtown?)
7. Watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
8. Learn all the words to Shake That by Eminem and Nate Dogg…and then dazzle the people at karaoke with it.  (Or, I will take suggestions for a new song to sing and perform…)
9. Finally learn to Soulja Boy, er I mean, Dougie.  Or maybe the Thriller dance.  (Planned. : ))
10. Learn how to butcher a whole chicken.
11. Watch the entire series of M*A*S*H.
12. Read a “classic” novel.  (By an author I haven’t already read…)
13. Visit a haunted house.  With Jenny…that’s the rule.  (Also planned. :))
14. Try yoga.
15. Write a children’s book about Evan.
16. Ask a guy out.   (I’m gonna go ahead and say I kind of sort of did this.  Long story.  Details needn’t be hashed out online.)
17. Do 10 “regular” push ups.  (Oh lord I haven’t even tried this yet…)
18. Play with fireworks.
19. Tailgate.
20. Play blackjack in a casino.    DONE!  When I visited my aunt in Detroit in March, we went to Greektown and I WON $85!!!!
21. Participate in a flash mob.  (Scheduled : ))
22. Run a 5k.  (Currently training.)
23. Eat at Fogo de Chao.  (Perhaps for another Devour Downtown thing…)
24. Grow and eat my own vegetables.  (Shoot…I better get on this…)
25. Stay up all night to see the sun rise.
26. Be on TV.  DONE!  Thanks to my partnership with www.doitindy.com, I was able to fill in last Saturday and be on Fox59.
27. Go to a Rocky Horror Picture Show screening.
28. Take a road trip by myself.  DONE!  Michigan was the longest I’ve ever travelled by myself…good times.
29. Perfect scrambled eggs.
30. Play flag football.

 

Well, 4 out of 30 isn’t bad, right?  I best be gettin’ to it!  7 and a half months!

29 Reasons Why I Love Jenny

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST FRIEND A GIRL COULD ASK FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In celebration of her 29^th year on Earth, I present 29 REASONS WHY I LOVE JENNY:

1. She will watch ANY movie. And when I say any…I mean any.

2. Even though she’ll watch any movie, she has pretty good taste in movies. No lie. And she owns them all.

3. She throws a mean party. Amazing food, great themes, good times.

4. She’s the Garth to my Wayne.

Party on.

5. She’s had bangs almost as bad as mine.

6. I can text her from my office.

7. She lets me sleep on her floor at a moment’s notice.

8. She’s almost as awesome of an aunt as me.

9. She introduced me the color purple. As in the hue, not the movie or book or whatever with Oprah.

10. Have you seen her eyes? Yowza!

11. She has the most adorable laugh.

12. She loves the Eiffel Tower.

13. She makes a mean chicken wing.

14. She’s up for any concert and has attended many with me.

Kelly Clarkson concert. Or wait...Gwen Stefani? No Doubt? There have been so many!

15. She turns wax drips into art.

16. Jenny will listen to me any time I call, even if I go on and on about something she has already heard me go on and on about.

17. She follows me on Twitter.

18. She went to LA with me and we didn’t even want to kill each other.

Fun in LA 🙂

19. She has t-rex arms.

20. She makes a sexy Paul Stanley.

Halloween 09

21. She promises to grow old with me and have McDonald lunch dates.

Us in 50 years...

22. Her taste in music is even better than her taste in movies.

23. She gives the wisest advice regarding my love life from any of my friends.

24. She dispenses said advice and doesn’t judge when I don’t listen to her.

25. She makes kick butt concert tees.

Yeah, we aiked for Clay. Whatev.

26. She’s always down for an adventure.

27. Jenny always has a kind word to say about anyone.

28. She rocks the hair poof like none other.

29. It’s hard telling what is more beautiful, her inside or outside. She is the kindest, sweetest, most genuine friend I have and have no idea what I would do without her. I love you Jennifer Ann!