30 by 30 #28 – Bake a pie from scratch

I love to bake though I don't get to do as much as I would like and I had never attempted to make a pie from scratch. It seemed do-able and AJ and I had to bring something to his family's Easter dinner, so I attempted a key lime pie.

The crust I thought would be the hardest part, but it actually wasn't too bad. The meringue went well too, but the actual key lime part was tough.

The pie turned out just okay. AJ's family was kind enough to tell me it was great, but it really wasn't. Edible, but definitely not perfected. The inside was just a bit watery and not quite solid enough. For a first attempt, I think it was okay. I think I'll try another pie for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year.

30 by 30 #16 - Read the Harry Potter series

There has been so much hype about Harry Potter for many years now and, until this point, I had avoided the movies and the books, just because I thought they were just for kids and I wasn't very interested. But now that the movie series is wrapping up, I thought I'd give them a chance. Plus, the books are my friend Ashley's favourite, so this goal works for reading the favourite book of a friend too.

I didn't actually read the books per se, instead I got the audiobooks and listened to them at work. I really did enjoy them, especially the later books as the characters get older. They're written for kids/teens so they're really easy to get through, but the stories are good and I really enjoyed listening to them all back to back instead of having to wait for the next one to come out.

Once I finished the series, AJ and I borrowed the movies from a friend and watched through the series. We just have book 7 part 2 to watch now, which is currently in theatres.

I'm really glad I read the books, they're a big deal for this generation and I've already found that I'm "in" on a lot more inside jokes on TV and in movies when Harry Potter gets referenced.

30 by 30 #30 – Have a baby

Obviously I'm an awesome blogger for not posting for over 7 months, but I have been whittling away at my 30 by 30 list and this completion is the reason for the lack of posts.

AJ and I decided we were ready to start a family and we found out I was pregnant at the end of October 2010. On July 8, 2011, we had Kyler Jace Martin - a whopping 11 lbs. 1oz.

My pregnancy was really great, no real problems and I actually really enjoyed it. Kai was a week overdue when I got induced, so I was getting a little antsy by the end to finally meet him.

Labour was tough and long, but I was able to get an epidural and that made a world of difference for me. I'm not sure I would have been able to deliver an 11 lb. baby without it.

I think this will easily be the coolest thing I've done on my 30 by 30 list. Kai is amazing. Now he's 5 weeks old and he's starting to give us real smiles, hold his head up more, respond to toys and be awake more often. Parenting is just as tough as everyone says it is, but it's awesome and we're so thankful to have Kyler in our lives.