#5 - The D-Box experience...

I have wanted to try the D-Box seats installed at our local theater for some time, but have had a hard time justifying the extra price.  At $16.50 that is almost double the price of the regular ticket.  I know what you are saying if you live in a big city...that IS the cost of a regular ticket.  We are spoiled here in Utah and our evening shows are only $8.50, matinees just $6.   The Megaplex at the District, just a few minutes from my house, has 20 theaters to fill.  In fact, there are over 250 screens within a 45 minute drive of me, so it is easy to see why the prices are competitive here.  Utah is the home of the multi-screen theater.  If you look at the box office receipts for cult classics like Harry Potter or the Twilight series, Utah's Megaplex chain usually has the #1, #2 & #3 spots for opening night sales.  They take their movie going seriously here, so we are fortunate to have both an iMax and D-Box theater at our Megaplex.

For those who do not know what a D-Box seat is, think Star Tours or Soaring over California.  It is an interactive seat that moves with the movie to give you the experience of being "in" the movie.  The seats are comfy and spaced farther apart. They are a little higher off the ground so my feet dangled even more than usual.  They have a control setting and default to medium.  You can change the settings to high, low or off just below the armrest.  While the placement is easily accessible, I did accidentally change the settings several times when resting my hand on the armrest.

Trev was in town this week so I did a redux of Battle, Los Angeles.  Yes, it is worth seeing twice.  The first time was in the largest of the theaters, the one going all the way to row S.  I do enjoy an action film on the largest screen possible.  I also like sitting in the back row.  The D-Box theater is smaller with a smaller screen and the D-Box seats themselves are lower than I prefer to sit.  But the D-Box experience was pretty darn cool.  Every missile, gunshot, grenade and alien artillery rumbled my seat. Every helicopter or humvee ride felt as if I was in the vehicle.  And as the helicopters turned in flight, so did our seats.  I admit to getting a little motion sickness, but not sure if that was entirely the D-Box as the movie is filmed with a hand held camera. Nausea aside, it was AWESOME!  My companions also gave it a thumbs up. Definitely worth the extra bucks, but I might pack some Dramamine next time...

4-1/2? Well, not really...

I thought about crossing another "new" item off the list today on my 50/50 challenge.  And this would have been accomplished by not doing something, rather than doing something new.  But I caved...sort of.  Let me explain further...

I have a problem.  My kids would say a serious problem.  You know how you've purchased a pair of shoes or an outfit you've never worn?  Or for the men, how you've bought that new tool that is still shiny in your garage?  Well, that is me and scrapbooking.  Twice a year we have the Scrapbook USA Expo.  It is huge.  Tens of thousands of women shell out between $12-$75 just for admission.  Usually I only pay the $20 early admission rate which gets me a goody bag too.  I then shop for the latest and greatest scrapbooking items that I never use.  I have boxes and boxes and boxes of the stuff.  I do sometimes use the paper, glitter, rubber stamps, embossing items, markers, die-cuts, etc. on crafts projects.  But in the 15 years I have been here I have only made one full scrapbook page and that was at a church event.

My intentions have been good.  As the baby of the family I am on the one with the empty baby book and an envelope full of photos.  I vowed my children would have their young lives well documented.  But the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  I have boxes of photographs, tons of scrapbooking supplies, and empty albums.  Trev does have one baby book to be proud of, but only because his Auntie Pam had way too much time on her hands in those days.  She was a little busier by the time Ariel came along, so she is the one who now feels left out, as I did all those years ago.  How do I know this?  She tells me regularly.  I even started buying the page kits where everything is all cut out.  All you need to do is add photos and glue.  I must have at least 100 of those alone.  But still no finished pages have come from them.

So the Scrapbook Expo is in town this weekend.  Did I really need to go and see the latest and greatest?  Did I really need any more supplies?  Shouldn't I actually do some scrapbooking before buying more?  No, no and yes.  As of this morning I had resolved I would not go for the first time since they have held the bi-yearly event.  I could count that as something new.  But on the way back from the shop my car took the wrong exit, the one that leads to the expo center.  Two hours later, not only had I been around the Scrapbook Expo, but I also had managed to take in the Gem Faire next to it.

I am proud to say I purchased nothing.  Scrapbooking, it seems, no longer compels me to purchase unnecessary items.  There were a few things I might have liked, but not enough to stand in a line with 40 other women purchasing them.  I could have dropped some serious cash on jewelry at the Gem Faire, but again I have plenty that I never wear.  It seems I am finally growing up and becoming fiscally responsible.  Only took me 50 years....

#4 Wii Fit Plus...

Those of you who are techies and those who are young will be unimpressed with this accomplishment.  But those compadres who know what it is like to both love and fear technology will understand.  I can remember using a rotary dial phone.  I can remember when computers were programmed in fortran or cobol and were the size on an entire room.  The young have no appreciation for having to punch hundreds of cards to get a computer to run a simple program.  They don't remember when you had to SHARE computers and got blamed for anything that went wrong with them.  I hated to even turn ours on, and I was almost 30!  So excuse me if a video game console is a bit daunting and I've never actually used the thing.

Kudos to Trevor for setting up the system over the Christmas holidays and to Ariel for instructing me how to use the Wii Fit Plus this weekend.  I am happy to say my Wii character is in the normal range for weight and BMI.  I even have a sassy hairstyle and purple clothing.  The aqua eyeshadow is a bit over the top, but that can all be part of my mid life crises.  My Wii age last night was 55, but I must have improved because this morning it said I was 37.  Maybe it was just happy I weighed a half pound less so was giving me a compliment.  Thankfully it made no comment about the lack of rhythm in many of the "exercises" I tried.  I have learned I have no business leading a marching band and my math skills aren't what they used to be.

As I get to know the Wii Fit, it is going to have to get to know me a bit better too.  It keeps saying I lean to the left.  Everyone knows that is illegal in Utah.  If I were to take the Wii Fit to California and use it there would it suddenly say I lean to the right?  OK, so I do lean a little to the left in Utah if you consider that the Tea Party is the middle in this state.  Yes, there are people even MORE conservative than them.  Just google the Eagle Forum and Gayle Ruzicka.  She makes Sarah Palin look like a liberal.  Her goal this year is to keep socialism from being taught in our schools.  Apparently the unions have managed to get socialistic code words in the curriculum to make our next generation vote democrat.  Seriously.  I think this woman needs to spend a little less time at the State Capitol and go buy herself a Wii Fit Plus.  Not sure how she'd react if it tells her she leans to the left...

#3 St. Patrick's Day 5k

This was my first 5K.  I thought it might be my last, but it wasn't all that bad.  I could have gone faster if I wasn't afraid of dropping dead from a heart attack.  Ariel could have gone a lot faster if she wasn't afraid of me dropping dead of a heart attack.  Now that I think about it, I wasn't all that worried until she told me that is why she agreed to run with me, so she could call 911 right away.  And she was dead serious (no pun intended).  So I did a fair amount of walking to make sure the call wasn't necessary.  Next time I will push a little harder, but have 911 on speed dial just in case.

I wasn't last. Woo hoo! In fact 20+ people came in after me.  Woo hoo!    I'm trying not to think of the 200+ that came in ahead of me.  And some of those were little kids.   I am going to pretend the darling little dog that we helped return to it's owner (he was chasing after the runners) added a lot of time to my run. While it seemed like only a minute or two, it could have been a lot longer.

I was a little discouraged that my age group had 13 people in it.  I was hoping for three so I would medal no matter how slow I was.  Apparently I am not the only 50-54 year old female having a mid life crisis and trying to prove I am not old.  It seems to be a trend.  There were far fewer 55-59 year olds, they all medaled.  And no one in the 60 or above age groups.  Apparently at 60 more wisdom sets in.

#2 - An easy one...

#2 was an easy item to check off the list...went and saw a new movie, Battle Los Angeles.  Ok, so I have seen movies before, but not THIS movie.  And if it was a dud I wouldn't have counted it.  It was, however, awesome.  The beginning 1/2 hour I was thinking how disappointing the movie was from the previews. Then the action started and it was intense.  Ariel described it as Independence Day, Cloverfield and District 9 all rolled into one.  There was even clapping from the audience when the credits rolled so we weren't the only ones entertained.  If you like action, a little horror and a feel good ending then I recommend you see this movie, you'll enjoy it.  Now on to #3...

#1 Happy Birthday to Me...

It's here...I am 50 and fabulous!  So to treat myself I stayed up late and waited for the iPad2 to go on sale.  It seemed to me fate that it was to be released on my birthday.  Destiny awaited me.  At 1:32 am MST I joined the iPad generation.  While it won't be here for 3-5 business days, it is the first step towards learning a new piece of technology and #1 on my list.  Of course I promptly felt regret at the purchase.  The Mom in me always thinks I should have spent the money on the kids, even though they have had their own iPads for months.  Tim has had one almost from the beginning.  My friends post on facebook from their iPads.  I even used one to tour an art exhibit.  They were everywhere I went, taunting me.  I have been green with envy (which is the color of my new case btw).  No matter how much I wanted one I couldn't justify spending that kind of dough on a new toy for me.  But a 50th birthday only comes once, so Happy Birthday to Me!

After 4 hours of sleep, the rest of the day was nice enough.  A much needed pedicure and manicure.  A visit to Nordstroms shoe store.  And I picked up dinner at Red Lobster and some Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.  Now it's off to the airport to pick up my baby girl.  It's been a pretty good day.  One down, #49 to go.

Happy Mardi Gras...

Fat Tuesday is an appropriate name for the day before lent.  I bought a king cake today in spite of the fact my religion does not celebrate lent and therefore I don't need to stuff myself today.  But liking to get into the spirit of different holidays I had two pieces and boy do I feel fat now.  The king cake is a Mardi Gras tradition in the south.  In Europe it is served for epiphany.  Named after the three kings (wise men) who sought out the Christ child (Christ the king), it is similar to a twisted cinnamon bread, formed into an oval ring (to symbolize the eternal nature of Christ), topped with icing, then sprinkled with gold, purple and green sugars (to again represent the three wise men).  A small plastic baby trinket is placed into the cake and whoever gets the slice with the baby is the king of the party...and the host of the next king cake party.  Stories vary as do the actual ingredients.

I am thinking one of my last things to do on this challenge shall involve Mardi Gras 2012.  Since it will be three weeks before my birthday next year it fit's in my time frame.  If things are going great financially, look for me in the Mardi Gras crowds lining Bourbon Street in the Big Easy.  I'll be one of the few females with my shirt on.  If the budget is still tight, I'll post a photo of the king cake I will make from scratch...

My thinking cap is indecisive...

I have a list of about 20 things to either do or look into so far.  Sorry Dan, I have no desire to go to Vermont and learn how to tap a maple tree, but the other suggestions were great.  While there isn't a lot that I currently do, I have found there is a lot I've already done (including knitting and making a souffle Angela).  I used to try and keep up with Martha Stewart until I realized that the real reason she went to jail was so she didn't have to do that stuff anymore.

There are several things in the works for next week.  My daughter will be home for spring break so wanted stuff we can do together.  But I'm a bit stuck on what to do to kick things off on my birthday.  I have something planned, but there is a chance it might not happen so I want a back up plan.  So far about the only thing I can think of is getting a body wrap and that's gonna set me back about $100.  I know it will be my birthday, but it's been ages since I've had a real spa pedicure so would rather splurge the $50 on that and pick up a new pair of shoes.  Besides, there's no one around to see my silky smooth skin after a wrap, but the sales staff at Nordstroms can admire my freshly polished toes as I slide them into pair after pair of expensive shoes, until I settle on that one inexpensive pair that made it's way into the mix.

I did have another thought, but was afraid it might end my quest at #1.  I've always wondered if PETA would accept a donation from me if I brought it in to their office wearing a fur coat while eating a roast beef sandwich?  Maybe I should make that my 50th thing I have never done before.

Can I do it?

I think I can.  Starting this coming Friday, my 50th birthday I will attempt to do 50 new things throughout the following year.  The hardest part may actually be thinking of 50 things, not doing them.  I'm hoping I don't have to resort to bungee jumping or sky diving, but I don't want them to be too boring either.  I may be able to splurge on an item or two (a cruise perhaps?), but most will need to be within my very limited budget.  I will try not to repeat things, such as seeing new movies or reading new books.  I will make an exception for travel though.  I hope to see as many new places as possible.  I'd really like to hit all 50 states this year as well.  I'll try and knock off as many as I can.  Maybe I need to concentrate on the states I haven't visited yet and then I can say I have visited all 50 by 50.  So follow my blog and watch my progress for all things 50.