[Elaine Cooks (and sometimes has other projects)] A real return to blogging?

[dancingyel]

Well, obviously, I've been not so good at the whole blogging thing. I think part of it was a lack of time, and part was a lack of projects that I wanted to share. I'm still cooking, and sometimes it's new stuff, but somehow, it just hasn't seemed that exciting. But, I have a new set of projects and some new ideas about keeping the blogging going, so maybe it can work!

What is this new thing, you may (door may not) ask? Well, inspired by Cindy's "30 before 30" project for this year, she and I decided that I should do a "30 around 30" project of my own. Since I'm turning 30 in March, the whole "before" thing wasn't gonna happen, but this seems like a good compromise. So there we go! I'm also going to try and get back into the blogging thing in addition to this project, but at least it'll provide some structure,

So, what 30 things am I going to try this year? This is where you come in! I'm looking for suggestions for new projects to attempt! So far (and yes, these will be their own blog posts), I've baked bread and taken an aerial silks class. What else should I do? I've taken trapeze and I've gone both skydiving and bungee jumping, so those are out. Already on my to-do list are sewing a skirt and baking meringues (which I know isn't supposed to be that hard, but has always felt terribly intimidating to me). But now I need 24 more items to do! Thoughts?

Comments

[kryscat]

Knit a hat? Feed an elephant? Write a book? Drive a truck? Build a house (thinking Habitat for Humanity or somesuch)? Go skiing/snowboarding/fishing/snorkeling/rock climbing? Learn to make origami meese? Grow a garden?

Not sure what you've already done, just brainstorming. :p

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I don't know about a hat, but a scarf seems doable. And an origami moose, if such a thing even exists! I suspect writing a book isn't feasible, but kragen suggested I write a short story, which seems much more doable. Will have to contemplate the others. Would love to grow a garden, but probably not this year. Thanks for the suggestions!

[linley.livejournal.com]

Google says that origami meese totally exist. http://www.ehow.com/how_8786822_make-origami-moose.html

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

Heh, this has now officially gone on my list. Don't know what I'd do with an origami moose after I make one, but hey, I can figure that out later.

[auros]

You should try cooking at least one meal that involves gathering ingredients from your environment. (I think I mentioned to you guys, we did this with wild artichokes. And of course, all over the Bay Area, there are lots of fruit trees; my experience in AZ is that there's a fair amount of citrus around, so you could probably make some marmalade. Also, I've occasionally thought I should try to make some kind of nopales dish, or a prickly pear jelly, from the cacti in my parents' yard.)

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

I like this idea a lot, but I'm a little intimidated by the thought, especially since I've never cooked with cacti (or even eaten anything made with them). Still, it does seem like a good challenge.

[auros]

I've been told that the main challenge with nopales is just getting them prepped -- safely removing the spines and kinda scraping the surface off. Once that's done, they cook up very much like potatoes, though less starchy and more vegetal (kinda like parsnips, maybe).

You also could just look for a time when you can be in the Bay Area for a weekend, since you get a lot more options here. :-)