July has been a good month. It became an all-month-long birthday celebration when presents started arriving right after the 4th, and has continued with quality time spent with most of my local friends, a visit from one of my favorite L.A. families, and a fabulous birthday hooky date with my love.
It’s also been one year since I published my 40 before 40 list and six months since my first roundup so it’s time for another update. There’s been some solid progress on the list over the last six months. I also started working toward many more items than are listed below, but here’s what I can report thus far:
#1. Try Peruvian food
I tried lomo saltado (below) and anticuchos (beef heart) in February, snapping this pic for Instagram to prove it. Delicioso!
#4. Wear my joy
I’ve been wanting to wear my joy, as inspired by artist Kelly Rae Roberts, for a while now, but I didn’t really know how. Luckily, KRR came to the rescue by offering the Wear Your Joy e-course in May.
I signed up and, while I’m still working through the course at my own pace, I feel like I’m gaining an increasing sense of my personal style. More to come.
#6. Play tourist in my home city
This one is an interesting challenge. It doesn’t have a clear end, a time when I can check it off and say “Yes, I did it!” It’s more of an attitudinal shift from status quo living to exploring our surroundings more deliberately.
To that end, I made a list of things I want to do around the Bay Area over the next few months, which includes visiting Safari West, walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, and attending Kings Mountain Art Fair in September.
The first check mark was ticked when Mr. Watson played hooky for my birthday and drove us to Santa Rosa and Safari West, a 400-acre preserve featuring giraffes, antelopes, rhinos, zebras, and other African wildlife. We went on a three-hour guided tour and had dinner in their open-air restaurant afterward. I even took along my “real camera,” a Canon 5D with 70-200mm lens, for snapshots.
#13. Attend Holi at Stanford
Brian and I attended Asha Holi in April. We danced, threw colors at each other and random strangers, ate some tasty Indian food, and chilled on the grass.
Photo courtesy of Snap Yourself
And, in case you’re wondering, all of the color washed right off when we hopped in the shower afterward. Our old tees got a few stains, but it was worth it—we had dressed appropriately.
#14. Celebrate 10 years of marriage
Mr. Watson and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with a photo shoot and marriage blessing in Hawaii on May 28th. It was a beautiful day at one of our favorite beaches on the Big Island.
Paul Simon’s song lyrics, “Ten years come and gone so fast. I might as well have been dreaming,” is dead accurate, in my opinion. I can’t believe we’ve been married 10 years but it’s been a blast and I’m looking forward to our next chapter.
Here are a few of my favorite photos, from photographer James Rubio:
#15. Dance in the rain
On one of our last evenings in Hawaii, Brian and I danced on our deck overlooking Kamuela and Waikoloa to “Anthem” by Emancipator. It was drizzling. That counts, right?
There you have it: Roundup #2 of my 40 Before 40 List. More in January with the third installment.
Cheers,
