A Trip to the Zoo

I've been slacking. I checked an item of my list well over a week ago and never wrote about. This is partially due to how absolutely boring this particular item ended up being, and the fact that I was out of town for a week. Oh well, excuses aside (as I know you are just soooo excited to find out what I checked off - HA!), Saturday before last I made a little trip to the zoo and visited the Butterfly and Insect Pavilion. Yippee!
To be honest with you, this was kind of a filler item on my list. When I was looking for things to put on it, I went to a Nebraska tourism website and looked for random things I hadn't done or places I hadn't been to. I really did think the Butterfly and Insect Pavilion would be cool. (Incidentally, "Go to the Wildlife Safari in Ashland" is also an item I added randomly when trying to find things on the tourism site. Hopefully it isn't as lame as the butterfly pavilion though.) I don't mean to bad mouth the zoo or anything as the pavilion was a nice exhibit, it just wasn't all that exciting. Ohhhh, butterflies - done. Really though, there weren't as many butterflies as I though. For the first section of the exhibit, you walk in to a tiny glass room that has a door on each side. This is to keep the butterflies from escaping the exhibit. After walking in the room and they close the door, they give you some brief instructions like not to touch the butterflies. Then the door leading to the exhibit opens and you can walk in. It was pretty short and there really weren't many butterflies flying around. Most of them were up against the window, clamoring to get out!At the end of the exhibit, you went in another room with 2 doors but this one had mirrors on the walls. You had to check yourself for hitch hikers. It also had fans blowing from the ceiling to blow off any potential escapees. Again the door on the other side was opened and you were let out. The other part of the exhibit had other types of insects but these were all contained in displays. Nothing all that interesting and we breezed through and got out pretty quickly.
There was one BIG highlight to this exhibit though. The fact that there were NO STROLLERS ALLOWED! If you have ever been to Henry Doorly Zoo on a Saturday, you know that many exhibits are bottle necked with strollers. The Aquarium in particular was a real pain to get through. I really appreciated the people that opted for the baby backpack thing rather than ramming their tricked out stroller into the ankles of innocent bi-standers. Totally understand the convenience of the stroller at the zoo, but some areas are just too small to have 50 strollers crammed in to at once... (I reserve the right to retract my statement someday when I have kids and want them to ride in style as they look at the fishies...)
So that's it. #16 successfully checked off. I actually thought of replacing this one with something more interesting or challenging but I think I will just play the lazy card and consider it done! Plenty more to go anyway!

Photo of me in the exhibit for posterity's sake.

The Entire List - With Commentary

1. Write a blog detailing my adventures of trying to achieve 30 things before 30 - Well, I have started that so I think I am on a good track!


2. Do 100 consecutive push ups - Yes, my arms are weak. I know this. But thanks to my good friend Charles, I stared the 100 Push Ups program. http://www.hundredpushups.com/ Doubt me if you will but I WILL accomplish this. I actually started a little before my birthday but considering I am doing modified (girl) push ups right now, I will probably have to do the program a few times before getting to 100 real good form push ups. After day 2, I am able to do 10 modified push ups in a row.


3. Visit Mount Rushmore - Just think it would be fun. Road trip anyone?


4. Plant and cultivate my own vegetable garden - So this summer I became addicted to grilled zucchini and squash with a citrus grill seasoning I have. I am tired of going to the grocery store to pick them up though because they don't tend to last very long in the fridge. Solution, grow my own! I would like to plant some other veggies too and maybe some herbs.


5. Go on a mother/daughter vacation to somewhere sunny and beachy - This would just be fun! And I never go on vacation. Seriously, the last real one I went on where you stay at a resort was Spring Break, sophomore year of college. Sad. Plus it would be quality time with my mom!


6. Read the entire bible - I have tried but always failed. Now that I have a blog to hold me accountable, I have to do it!


7. Cook (then eat) a whole live lobster - So my dear brother tried to scare me away from this one saying the lobster will scream and try to claw it's way out of the pot. I have found the screaming to be a myth. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_lobsters_really_scream_when_you_put_them_in_boiling_water As for the clawing their way out, well as Tim said, that is what the lid is for. Now he is on board and wants to know when this event will happen so he can join me. Think you're getting free lobster eh Tim?


8. Watch all of the Harry Potter movies - I know it is shameful. I haven't read the books either. Not planning to. The books can go on my 40 before 40 list.


9. Treat myself to a spa day - Many of you know that I am cheap and I would rather pay for tangible things rather than experiences. Hence why I rarely go to concerts. I guess I will just have to suffer through a spa day...


10. Pee outside while camping (in honor of Tara K) - Yeah, I have stage fright if I try to pee outside. Tara tried in vain last year at the Niobrara to get me to but I would rather use the stinky, bug infested porta potty and risk being attacked in the dark by deranged campers.


11. Go to Worlds of Fun - I really have never been. Always wanted to go, but it just never happened. This year, it will!


12. Run a half marathon - This one will be tough with the problems I have had with my calf but I think with the proper training, I can do it!


13. Visit a Nebraska winery - Another one of those always wanted to things, but never did.


14. Play paintball with my brother - As many know, my brother is quite in to paintball. We'll call him a paintball enthusiast. I am a little frighted that he will try and cover me head to toe in a shower of paint balls but I am hoping his girlfriend will come to my aide. By the way, Tim has offered to allow me to bring friends!


15. Attempt/learn to water ski - I have snow skied but never water skied. First time for everything!


16. Visit the Butterfly and Insect Pavilion at Henry Doorly Zoo - Seems like a fun thing to do.


17. Go to the Wildlife Safari in Ashland - I actually never heard of this until today when I was looking for things in Nebraska I could do. Seems pretty fun and there are trails you can walk too.


18. Go ice skating at the ConAgra ice skating rink - Yeah, I know. I worked there for 5 years and never went. In my defense, it was only open 1 or 2 years when I worked there...


19. Decorate for Christmas - Some know that I stopped doing this a while back when I hit a rough patch in life. In reality, I was only really down one Christmas but I just haven't decorated since. Last time was 2005 and that is far too long. This year I want to go all out! I may even get a new tree since I have high ceilings in the new house!


20. Go fishing at Standing Bear Lake - Live by a lake, might as well fish in it!


21. Submit a concoction to http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/ and have it published to their website - I know it sounds bad but if you check out the website it is pretty funny. People come up with crazy, horribly fattening dishes and then take a photo of them. Some sound and look pretty gross but some actually sound quite yummy. Take the Corn Dog Pigs In A Blanket. Those sound great!


22. Go through the McDonald's drive thru and buy the meal for the car behind me - Hopefully the person will see this as a nice act and not think I am hitting on them. If I am lucky, it will be a nice old lady. My luck though, it will be a family of 20 or someone picking up hamburgers for their entire youth group and I will end up with a huge bill. Better bring a lot of cash when I do this!


23. Learn to drive a standard - Nope, never learned how. My brother tried to teach me once when I was buying my first car. It was between a little black Civic which was a standard and a Neon which was an automatic. I was too nervous about learning to drive the standard so I ended up with the Neon. Yeah, I know. Bad choice. I bet I would still have that Civic!


24. Go to a rodeo - Well given I live in Nebraska, I think I should go to at least one.


25. Milk a cow - Not really sure how to accomplish this. Maybe at the rodeo? Do they let you do that there? Or maybe they have a cow milking exhibit at the zoo? Anyone I know have a farm???


26. Teach Mollie to shake - So lots of people seem to think my dog is dumb. She isn't the brightest but she isn't that dumb and what she lacks in brains she makes up for in cuteness! She knows, "Go home", "Sit", "Lay down", "Leave it"... I think that's it. Hopefully I can teach her a new trick!


27. Make a large art project for the house - Not sure yet what I am going to do but as anyone who has visited the new house can attest, I have nothing on the walls. I am thinking a big photography project where you do 9, 12 x 12 frame and hang them on the wall in a large square shape. Or maybe I could take a painting class and make a large painting. We'll see. I guess I should hit up some DIY websites for ideas or start watching HGTV again!


28. Host a dinner party for a few close friends - No, I will not make you lobster. You should all know I am too cheap for that. A nice dinner though where I cook everything and others can just enjoy!


29. Swim in the ocean and/or make a sandcastle with Becca - Yes, this is just an excuse to visit Becca and go to the beach. It's my list! I can do what I want!


30. Volunteer and do something I have never done before - I have done clean up stuff, Habitat, stuff with kids, fostered a dog etc. I want to do something new. For instance, I have never worked the elderly or homeless people.