The Great Big Wonder

During a panel at a women’s conference last year, one of the speakers told us that in order to keep inspiration up she made a resolution to do 52 new things that year. She went on to explain that this meant she needed to do one new thing a week, whether it was going to a new restaurant, visiting a new city/country or trying a new activity.

I really liked that idea, so I adapted it and made it my “resolution” for 2019. I’ve had a lot of failed resolutions over the past few years, but I’ve also seen success, like “just go!” (go and don’t think too much) and “get out of the U.S. at least once”. For 2019 I wanted something pliable and long-lasting, considering most of my resolution success stories consisted of things that could be accomplished once and then marked off.

For my 52 new things, I set up parameters. I have four categories that my new things should fall into.

1. Things to See: museums, cities, countries, etc.
2. Activities: apple picking, yoga classes, starting a compost bin, DIY projects, etc
3. Get Outside: Walk, Hike, Camp, and adventure outside
4. Food: prepare something I’ve never made before

Each month I have to do one thing from each of the four categories. They don’t all have to be expensive, or wild or pretty but they have to be new, and I have to do one a week.

So let’s talk about what I did for January, and if you want to take up this resolution too never fear, double up a few times and you can get to the coveted 52, by the end of the year.

New thing #1: Activity: K1 Speed

For my January Activity, I took my brother and dad to K1 Speed. Locale Magazine gifted me a few race tickets as a contributor thank you and I FINALLY had time to use them. Daniel, Dad, and I had never been indoor cart racing before and I was excited to get to share this experience with them. We checked in and received our race gear –a black racing mask to keep the helmets clean- before they announced us over the loudspeaker and asked us to head to the track.

It took a few turns to get a feel for the cart before I was whizzing around the track. I felt like a NASCAR Queen. During the race, a kid ran into me –his mistake- and I caused him to spin out and crash into the wall. Did I stop? Not really! I had a race to win.

In the end, Daniel beat me by .03 seconds, and my dad came in after I did but we all had a good time. And its something that I would love to do again.

New Thing #2: Things to See

For my Thing To See, I chose the Museum of Illusions, with my friend Chris. The Museum of Illusions is in Hollywood, right in the hustle and bustle of the tourist swarm. We took the metro there and received $5 off for showing our TAP cards. I thought the museum would include more museum elements but it was really all about taking photos, it’s one of those new “Instagram museums”. It is a creative and interactive museum with murals made to look like you’re in an action movie or smashing up a piggy bank. Chris and I had a lot of fun taking photos and laughing at the silly outcomes and poses. It was a surprisingly fun and meaningful day, especially since I decided that this year I would share more of my face with social media, so I got a lot of good photos for that.

The museum was a bit crowded and you had to wait to take a photo as the rooms were small and the murals were large. We rented a tripod for $7 from the museum counter so that Chris and I could be in all the photos and we didn’t have to bug anyone to take our picture. Overall it was a really fun day!

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New Thing #3: Get Outside

For my Get Outside this month I originally planned on a hike but, after the relentless rains this week most of the trails I had marked out were closed because they were too muddy.

In the end, my family and I decided to head out to Newport beach and walk around the perimeter of Balboa Island.

I’ve been on Balboa Island before but only down Main Street for ice cream, never to walk around the whole island. It was a much-needed escape, especially after the rain. The sun was shining, it even ended up being a little hot! Everyone was out walking dogs or playing with kids in the sand and water. We strolled around, taking in the houses and discussing which designs we liked best and what we would do to our house if we lived on the island. It’s really important to me, for both my mental health and physical, to get outside and be in the sun. I always make a point out of getting outside. It’s so very easy for me to become trapped indoors, especially with a job that requires sitting on my laptop and writing or researching for hours. The stroll around the island was a much-needed escape.

New Thing #4: Food

Food was my final new thing of January, my friend Casey came over to my house and we attempted to make Chocolate Babka Bread although, it ended up just being chocolate challah bread. We used this recipe from Popsugar with some success. It took us two attempts at getting our yeast to rise before finally saying ‘whatever’ let’s use what we have. We began our baking adventure at 4PM and finished past midnight. I was pretty run down from it, and the baking process lost all its charm one we hit 11PM and we still weren’t finished.

I learned a few things during the process:

1. A wine bottle makes a GREAT rolling pin when you don’t have a rolling pin.
2. Don’t start a recipe when until you’re sure you have all of the baking tools required; for example a rolling pin and a LOAF PAN.
3. Yeast is hard, it takes time and practice.
4. Baking bread is an all day thing. Set aside time.

In all, our bread was pretty tasty. The Popsugar recipe was pretty good although, I wasn’t a fan of the orange zest. It also called for a fresh orange juice glaze which we did not make or put on the bread the next morning because we were absolutely wrecked and had no desire to continue working on the bread. In reality, the recipe itself was pretty easy to follow it was just so time-consuming that it lost its charm. Fear not, for a different kind of bread will be made again in the future.

The bread was good, and I’m quite proud of us for how it turned out in the end.

I really enjoyed my 4 new things this month and it has been fun. At some points, as I look on to what I’ll do in February, I’ve become overwhelmed. I’m looking to start a new job in February so scheduling time to do these new things has become quite scary, I needed to make sure that I had time and I have no idea what my life will look like next month. But, I’ve still scheduled things out.

At the same time, it’s a really refreshing experience. It’s a great way to do things with my friends and family whether that’s baking or exploring somewhere. It causes me to try new things and go new places, avoiding doing and making what I know best. I can’t wait to see how this adventure pans out in the end.

Bonus New Things:

Here are a few bonus new things I did this month!

1. Made homemade Mac & Cheese, not from a box! It’s super yummy! Making it is really simple and takes about the same amount of time as a box of Kraft, just with a pinch more effort.
2. Had Dim Sum at Lunasia in Pasadena. I visited for a friends birthday and it was so heavenly! The BBQ steamed pork bao was AMAZING. The pan-fried turnip cake was surprisingly delish and very reminiscent of Korean Vegetable Pancakes.
3. Visited the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and walked around. I’ve never walked around the cemetery before, I’ve only been in the entertaining spaces. It’s such a magnificent and quiet place. If you’ve never been you should certainly check it out!
4. Visited a Gallery Opening for Art at the Rendon. The Exhibit was called Blend and it was fabulous. The art was amazing and beautiful and my friend Diana and I enjoyed a glass of wine as we explored.
5. Read, “You are a badass: how to stop doubting your greatness and start living an awesome life.” by Jen Sincero. It was okay, 3.5/5 stars, just because I’m not a huge fan of Jen’s style. However, I have a lot of friends that loved this book.
6. Other restaurants I visited for the first time: Mel’s in Hollywood, Granville in Burbank, Urbano Mexican Kitchen in Pasadena.

Are you going to try this? If 52 new things is a bit much, try doing 12 or 24 new things this year! Give yourself categories you would find interesting. Comment down below what you’re going to try, and if you’re going to attempt this resolution. If not, give me some ideas on what I should do!