30by30: 2.) Bento Design - Chicks 'n' Bits

Here is my first attempt at designing my own Bento box. I used an ice cream scoop to make balls of mashed red potatoes. Then I sliced some steak thinly and placed that on a piece of lettuce. I put some A1 sauce in my panda sauce pourer (bottom, right side - Sauce pours from panda's mouth when you twist the head). I packed bacon bits in the yellow chick so they stayed crispy. I placed my dessert of a slice of SinDawg and tea ceremony sweet in a yellow cupcake sleeve. All and all, quite adorable for my first time! 29 more to go! >. <

30by30: 30.) Commit time on Rosetta Stone

I've just checked out the Pimsleur language approach for Japanese I. Talking to myself during my hour, 20 minute commute to Sherwood is long, boring and causes me much anxiety. I've downloaded like 30 gigs of audiobooks and I also checked out this Pimsleur CD collection from the library so I can learn how to speak Japanese. I really want to learn how to speak Japanese because right now with my interest in becoming involved with the J.E.T. program at some point, that makes sense. Also, heritage wise I also want to speak German. I think French and Italian are the prettiest languages. And Spanish is the most practical. But for now, I'm just trying to focus on Japanese. I have Rosetta Stone for all of those languages available to me through my husband, so I can start that whenever. I figure I can get ahead on Japanese by trying the Pimsleur approach and see how that fits.

So far, with Lesson 1, I've left feeling sort of offended because it's "an American man speaking with a Japanese woman" at a bar. I mean COME ON! I feel like a liberal feminist all upset about something like that.

30by30: 26.) Repair, furnish and decorate backroom

We have caulked the new door and placed the new floor in the back room. The new floor is a bamboo laminate that we stuck in. It was so difficult to pull up the old 12x12" sticker laminate that was the cracked, weathered oak woodgrain. It took hours to get it up. We still need to repair the ceiling from the leak and put the molding up around the door and around the floor and ceiling, to match the rest of the house. For Christmas, I got my husband two of these Ikea "poang"chairs. They look really nice in the room. We also added a large 3x3ft electric wall heater that is mounted behind one of the chairs. We also moved one of the coffee tables that matched the chairs in to that space. I also hung the Portland Japanese Garden art print on the wall and a Chinese Astrological wall hanging with all 12 of the different animal symbols. It's coming together, slowly.

30by30: 2.) New Dinner Dishes - Cheese Fondue

For Christmas, my step-mom got me this gorgeous fondue set from Williams-Sonoma. My husband and I made a delicious cheese fondue from our own home. Though not particularly complicated, neither of us had ever made fondue before. It was a lot of fun and I think we will use it a lot. We figured out some short cuts for next time. We had some fantastic Artisan Roast Garlic bread to dip and enjoyed some medium grade champagne in our wedding Lenox glasses. It was very fun and romantic. What a wonderful way to wish in 2012!

30by30: 8.) Works of art, Sugar riding a Velociraptor

This work of art was inspired by several things. First, I recently purchased the new book 642 Things to Draw and that made me create my own version of it with additional drawing options. This drawing was inspired by one created by The Oatmeal, a Seattle cartoonist who I admire. The cat is my Siamese, Sugar , and she is riding one of the all time terrifying animals, a Velociraptor! I was terrified of that scene in Jurassic Park when the V-raptors learn how to open the doors ... shiver. Anyways, my cat is clearly awesome because she is flaunting her glory. I have done several drawings in pencil, ink and colored pencil for the two books. Between the two, I think there are more than 1,000 different subjects to draw from! I love writing prompt books, so having a "drawing prompt" book is fantastic. :)

30by30: 12.) Learn how to drive a stick - COMPLETED

This is the first accomplished task from my 30 before 30 list. I worked on driving the Volvo a lot more often and it got smoother and smoother. I figured out to deal with handling a hill and I really didn't feel bad about driving it at all by the end. If I ever participated in the Amazing Race, I would be able to figure it out.

This was a real challenge for me at the beginning, so the fact that I did it is a huge accomplishment!

30by30: 25.) Empty Storage Unit - COMPLETE

This storage unit we had to get when mom died. We cleaned it out and closed it. Man, that felt great to be saving ourselves $100 each month!