#16 Go to 5 festivals: Strawberry Days Rodeo!

This was my first year going to the Strawberry Days Rodeo!  Aren't we so happy?  You think the reason is because we're at a rodeo, but the real reason is because we found SEATS at the rodeo!  We got there right as it was starting and it seemed there were 100 people also looking for a seat, but we snagged this row!  Boo yah!

I've been to many a rodeo, but never one that had Wild Cow Milking.  Seriously?!  It was crazy!  Teams of three men would try to get this wild cow to stay still for half a second so they can get a few drops into this little bottle, then run it up to the judges.  TWO people had to be taken out in an ambulance!  It was the only event of the rodeo with casualties.  Absolutely insane.  Yet, every group managed to milk their cow. :)

My only regret is that I didn't get any strawberries and cream.  I experienced this goodness last year when I went to the carnival.  Since I was so lucky to have gotten my seat, and I didn't want to climb down over people (there's seriously no walkway...most poorly designed grand stands I've ever seen), my plan was to buy them after the rodeo...but they were closed.  This is what I missed:

Mmmm delicious!  I think I might content myself with trying to make it with one of those look-a-like recipes.  That can count for my other goal of trying 100 recipes!

#13 Experience 10 new things in Provo (1/10), #14 Eat out at 10 new places (1/10)

Last Friday I got to do two things on my Provo list: take the Front Runner and go to Malawi's pizza!  Both were fantastic!

Behold the majesty of public transportation!  It was great to see views you don't get from the road.  Like, who knew there was a Coca Cola plant in Draper?

Malawi's pizza is not actually African pizza.  It's a healthy, fresh ingredient, thin-crust pizza that cooks really fast.  We got our food in record time.  But the decorations are all African-themed, AND they donate a meal to someone in Malawi for each meal you buy!  We had two two-for-one coupons, so we felt pretty good about a $20 delicious pizza meal and providing 4 meals for people in Malawi.  Bam!

#16 Go to 5 festivals (1/5)

This past Friday I went to the Chalk Art Festival!  It was a blast.  I loved seeing the artists work and talking with a few of them.  They're super talented!

 My favorite one!  Love the simplicity, the colors, and the kid.  :)

#72 Try 100 new recipes, documenting each with photos and rating them (3/100)

So, I originally intended to "follow" 100 recipes...but it might turn into making up 100 recipes.  :)

I'm trying to enjoy fish.  So my friend Aaron and I had a cook-off.  He got the haddock, and I got the cod.  We each created our own marinades and then cooked them in a frying pan.  His is the one smothered in tomatoes and asparagus.  Mine is the more plain-looking fish.

I took orange juice concentrate, melted butter, and lime.  I added marjoram, sage, rosemary, salt, etc.  It was...alright.  I give it 2 out of 5 stars.

The asparagus, however, was awesome!  I got the recipe from allrecipes.com.  I put the asparagus on aluminum foil on a cooking sheet, sprayed them with Pam, then sprinkled it with garlic salt and parmesan cheese. 4/5 stars

I also made up a kickin' sandwich recipe that I neglected to take a picture of.  I took chicken tenderloins, dusted them with garlic salt and garlic pepper.  Grilled them in the George Foreman.  Put them in a frying pan, sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top, with oregano and basil, then put the lid on top to melt the cheese.  I sauteed onions and red bell peppers to go on top of that.  Then I made a little sauce out of plain Greek yogurt, honey mustard, garlic salt, garlic pepper, oregano, and basil.  Out it all together on a crescent roll with a few leaves of baby spinach on top, and wa-lah!  Presto!  Delicious picnic sandwich.  :) Also 4/5 stars.

#87 Be an "extra" on a real film set

Last Saturday I had a chance to fulfill a childhood dream!  I have always thought it would be glamorous to be an "extra" in a film.  I pictured myself being a dot in a large crowd of people that I could press pause and then proudly exclaim, "that's me!"  Well, it turns out I was a LOT more visible than that!

I got to be a PTA mom/80's back-up dancer!  I'm featured in Deseret Book's new online series Pretty Darn Funny.  The second season comes out in the fall!  As soon as it comes up, I'll post a link to my video.  :) 

It was fascinating to see all that goes on behind the scenes.  Cameras that slide down tracks or are suspended by cranes.  Make-up artists that "fluff" my big 80's hair every hour.  People to blot the sweat from my forehead, bring my water, and spray me down with sunscreen.  It's pretty incredible!

I was slightly concerned about being good for the part, since I didn't really know what I'd signed up for.  Luckily the choreography was easy, and they gave us plenty of time to practice.  Something that I didn't expect is that there's a lot of down time on a film shoot, as the camera people have to adjust all their equipment for the next scene!  That gave me plenty of opportunity to talk with the other extras and the 6 main actresses, which were very funny and down to earth.  In fact, they were grateful that I was there, and made me feel at home.

My $1 today goes to the Huntsman Cancer Institute.  You can watch their video here.  Cancer research is a subject that is close to my heart.  My older sister passed away from brain cancer when I was 2.  My mom's mom passed away from breast cancer before I was born, and my dad's dad also died from cancer before I was born.  Thus, from a young age, I've had a bone to pick with cancer. 

#22 Visit 5 new temples (1/5)

Yesterday I had the privilege of going up to the Bountiful temple for my friend Chelsea's first time through.  It was beautiful.  Beautiful building.  Beautiful feeling.  Beautiful experience.

And I got to hold her 9 week old baby nephew.  That was also precious.  :)

Living Deliberately: My 99 in 999

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "the unexamined life is not worth living."  I agree.  I also agree with the philosophy of the fictional character Alex Hitchins...

Hitch: "Like I always tell my clients - begin each day as if it were on purpose."


A few years ago I either came across or invented the phrase "living deliberately."  It resonates with me a lot.  In fact, I wrote a whole blog post on it on my other blog, here.

This list of 99 goals represents my attempt to live deliberately over the next 999 days (and from there on out).  I don't want to let life happen, I want to make it happen.  There are so many things that I want to experience, learn, and do that won't happen if I don't plan it.

I also realize that my privilege and opportunity to be able to live this way is incredible.  So, each time I accomplish one of my 99 things, I will be donating a dollar (hey, I'm a starving grad student!) to charity.  I plan to blog about each thing I do as well as each charity I donate to, hopefully leaving my readers inspired along the way.  Enjoy!