30 Before 30 Journey in a Year

Look off at Edward's Point Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity." John Muir What comes to your mind when  you hear someone say, "Let's go for a hike!"? Some of you may day dream of lacing up your Keen's, grabbing some water and trail mix and running out to the nearest trailhead. Some may contemplate the imperfect weather and possibility of bears to then retreat back to a beloved Netflix account. And some may think of hiking as a pastime reserved for those in our society who wear a lot of plaid, have plant based diets and use Tom's deodorant if any at all. But when it comes to hiking, I fall into the first category.  There aren't many things in life that are as consistently rewarding as hiking. Although I lace up a pair of Vasque boots, conquering a trail both in elevation and length provides a jolt of satisfaction and accompl...

I  knew knitting would be hard; I never imagined it would take me 10 months to finally knit a pair of socks. Back in October, I began the initial steps of learning to knit. Like most current wannabe knitters with zero knitting experience, I started with a compilation of Youtube videos and online tutorials to find out what were the basics of knitting I would need to know before diving into my desired project: socks. The basics of knitting are to learn how to cast on, cast off, a knit stitch and a purl stitch. You'll also have to learn for more dynamic projects like socks how to increase and decrease your stitch count. Knitting patterns contain a lot of jargon and abbreviations that are not always explained so there was a lot of looking up terms. This Knitting Basics webpage from Better Homes and Gardens is very helpful for learning the basics and for identifying all the knitting slang. From my experience in the very beginning, you'll need to practice your cast on, cast of...

Remember old TV westerns and lost in the wild style movies when someone needs to start a fire they just go grab two rocks, strike them together and maybe in two tries they have a fire? Well, I tried something similar and it took more than two tries. Don't ask me how I came up with this list idea item. Maybe I saw a Man vs Wild promo and thought "What survival skills should I know before 30?" Or maybe I was trying to channel my inner Katniss and didn't have time to master archery in a year. Regardless, starting a fire with flint made its way onto the list. Like any other 29 year old, the first thing I did when preparing for this was visit my trusty, know it all friend Google. And the nuances I found were both entertaining and strange. There were many fire starter purists that gave examples of how to make our own char cloth, the pros and cons of u shaped versus c shaped steel strikers and preferences on the type of flint family rock to use. Here's one example ...

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” Confucius sure did know what he was talking about when it came to the joy most people receive through the gift of music. And I say gift deliberately. Producing, singing, writing, performing music is a true gift for those lucky enough to possess it. And while I wouldn't classify myself as a musicophilic, I did want to include a musical sampling adventure in my 30 Before 30 challenge. While I have attended a concert or two outside, I had not attended a show hopping, multi-day festival in its entirety.  With the parameters of no camping (you all know how I feel about camping ), within easy driving distance of Chattanooga and a lineup that included at least a few bands I knew of, Sloss Music & Arts Festival in Birmingham won.  SlossFest is a two-day festival that featured what I would classify as popular but non-mainstream artists - alternative if you will but...

Over a year ago, the hubs and I decided to get our DNA tested through 23 and Me . For about $100, you can get a basic ancestral report. For additional fees, you can also get genetic screenings for disease, abnormalities and wellness. With the thought to continue to live in ignorant bliss forgoing the later, we provided an uncomfortable amount a spit in a little vial and sent it off for testing. Upon return and without much surprise, I found out that I'm vastly European, 99.1% to be exact and about 66.4% of that is British/Irish. With the addition of .9% Sub-Saharan Africa which reflects the deep history of humans, the most surprising of my genetic makeup is a small but non-negligible representation of Ashkenazic Jew. For this type of genetic testing, I could only find out my complete ancestral makeup but not which parent provided what ancestral material. For my husband, he received a maternal and paternal breakdown because he has both an X and a Y chromosome. For me to receive ...

I love to cook. Preparing meals is not stressful for me; it's my time to relax and unwind in the evening and a way I show others that I care. But, I could go without doing the dishes. And for the month of June, I ate and cooked exclusively vegetarian. One of the reasons I wanted to try being vegetarian for a month was the challenge it would present in cooking. A big thank you to  all my social media friends for sharing your vegetarian recipes, favorite bloggers, staple ideas and quick non-meat dishes that you enjoy. Below are some of the suggested items that I also enjoyed: Slow Cooker Enchilada Orzo   Pizza Quinoa Casserole Quorn Products I'm not a big fan of meat substitutes, but these were good. Tofu and seitan make me want to throw up.  Grilled Zucchini Hummus Wraps Zucchini Meatballs - LOVED these! Put artichokes, havarti cheese and pesto onto some fancy bread and make a panini.  Cookie and Kate (blog) The First Mess (blog) Naturally Ell...

"I don't understand camping. We're voluntarily living like dogs." Flo from Pitch Perfect 2 had some sage words that I agreed with for most of my life. But did my weekend backpacking trip change those feelings?  To note, my camping experience is very limited. Aside from this weekend, I think I've slept in a tent three other times. And none of those were backpacking experiences, most where when I accompanied friends' families growing up.  From these camping experiences, what has been my experience you ask? Hot, uncomfortable, sleep deprived and ornery about cover it.  But part of this 30 Before 30 journey was revisiting things that I might have prematurely written off in life, giving a second glance and making a firmer and more educated decision. I love to be outdoors, and I love to hike. I just want to come home, take a shower and sleep in my bed at the end of the day.  But living in the great outdoorsy city of Chattanooga and having ...