Dirty Thirty

Today is my 30th birthday. I don’t know why some people spazz out when they turn 30. I mean, they know it’s coming. It’s not like it’s a surprise when you turn 30. So I’m totally cool with saying “peace out” to my twenties. Mostly.

Since it’s my birthday and I can do what I want, I thought I’d share 30 random things about me. I’ll try to include photos because I know reading isn’t nearly as fun without pictures.

1. My first name was inspired by Jane Fonda’s character in the movie “On Golden Pond”.

2. I broke my right leg on the last day of first grade. My grandma told me not to go ride my bike because it had rained, and the sidewalks were slick. I didn’t listen.

3. I rarely drink pop, but when I have a craving, I grab a Diet Coke or Diet Dr. Pepper.

4. One of my top ten lifetime moments was attending an Oprah taping during her last season with my best friend. Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler were her guests. I almost touched Adam Sandler’s hand as he left the stage. The whole experience was awesome. You can read more about it here.

IMG_5597a

5. I’m terrible about going through my mail. Ask Brad.

6. When I was in college I had a hard time declaring my major because I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. Seriously, how are 18/19 year olds supposed to know what career path they want to take? I ended up majoring in elementary education. I taught for 3 years before retiring.

7. I played clarinet from grades 5 to 10. I wasn’t that great. I think the furthest I got was third chair.

8. I don’t like whipped cream frosting. It’s gross. Team buttercream all the way.

9. My favorite TV shows are Downton Abbey, The Mindy Project, Justified, Orange Is The New Black, Ellen, The Walking Dead, and Game of Thrones.

10. I love sleeping in a cold room under a fluffy down comforter.

11. Peonies are my favorite flower. Big surprise if you’re a frequent reader.

pink peonies

12. Whenever “The Help” is on TV I have to watch it. Same goes with “The Shawshank Redemption.”

13. I loathe putting clean laundry away. Which is why there’s usually a giant pile of clean clothes on the chair in our bedroom.

14. My go to mixed drink is a whisky and diet.

15. I did 10 years of cake decorating in 4H. Two of my cakes won top honors at the Indiana State Fair.

wedding+cake

16. I don’t like having my fingernails painted. It makes them feel too heavy. Weird, I know.

17. My current favorite Indianapolis restaurant is Bru Burger on Mass Ave. Their BBQ chicken nachos, Provençal burger, onion rings, and house made ketchup are delicious.

18. I’ve traveled to Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Italy, France, and some islands in the Caribbean (St. Martin, St. Thomas, Bahamas).

19. I lived and student taught in Ireland for 10 weeks my senior year of college. You can read more about that here, like how I fed my students PBJs because they’d never eaten them before.

kylemore abbey

20. The last podcast I listened to was Serial. You should listen to it if you haven’t already.

21. I don’t really like reading books because I feel like I’m wasting time, so instead I’ll waste time by watching Real Housewives shows on Bravo. Yes, my logic is skewed. I did read Gone Girl last year though.

22. I counteract the dumb reality shows by watching the Smithsonian Channel. Million Dollar American Princesses is my current favorite miniseries.

23. I don’t like recreational activities that involve putting projectiles under my feet– skiing, ice skating, roller skating. Hard pass.

24. When I’m bored, I’ll get on Zillow and look at houses.

25. My favorite Craigslist purchase of all time has to be my card catalog.

library card catalog

26. I’ve used eye wrinkle cream for the past couple years. This is probably why I’m okay with turning thirty– because I look like I’m 26.

27. Some US cities on my must-travel-to list are: NYC, Seattle, Austin, LA, and Washington, DC.

28. I’ve worn the same pearl stud earrings every day for almost a decade.

29. I can find just about anything on the Internet. I’m pretty sure I was a private detective in another life.

30. This is going to come as a surprise, but my favorite thing about my 29th year was welcoming our little nugget into the world.

owen 4

Now go have a cocktail to celebrate my birthday.

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68 Comments

  1. #16 – so me. I HATE having my fingernails painted for the same reason. People always give me the side eye when I tell them that! Love getting to know bit more about you!

  2. Happy Birthday! I would have a cocktail for the special occasion, if I wasn’t pregnant. Hope you have a wonderful day. 🙂

  3. I live bru burger!!! It’s my favorite Indy spot as well!

    1. Amazing, right? I just wish they took reservations. We went back in December before taking Owen to Christmas At The Zoo. We ended up waiting double the time they told us so they gave us our drinks and appetizer for free. Brad was all, “Man, I would’ve gotten another beer.” Hah!

  4. Rachel Steck says:

    Happy Birthday!
    xoxo
    Rachel

  5. I’ll be thirty in a few months and connect with a lot of this list. 🙂 Originally found your blog through I heart organizing and now that I’m expecting my first little one, I’m finding lots of useful info here. Had to finally comment to wish you happy birthday!!

  6. Happy Birthday! I turn the big 4-0 this year and cannot believe how quickly my 30’s passed. Enjoy them!

  7. Happy birthday, Chelsea!! DC is the greatest, and I’m so lucky to live here. If you come down, I would love to show you around! My mother worked at the Senate for 32 years, so I know my way around the place 🙂

    Sarah

    1. Thanks, Sarah! That’s awesome! I went when I was in the 8th grade for a long weekend field trip with my class. Brad has never been so we’ve talked about going sometime. I’ll have to hit you up for things to do and places to eat!

  8. Happy birthday fellow Capricorn and 1985 baby!!! I’m turning 30 on Sunday the 18th and am a little freaked out!!! Only because I still feel 21 ( well that’s when my 18 month old sleeps through the night- HA!!)
    Have an awesome birthday, wishing you a fabulous day surrounded by your loved ones.

    1. Happy belated birthday! I totally feel the same way! Maybe not 21 because I definitely can’t party like I could at that age. More like 24. Hah! Hope you had a great birthday!

  9. Happy Birthday. i just turned 40 this year… that felt a lot heavier than 30. 30 was fun! I still fell 30, isn’t that enough?

    Also, I was an Elem. Ed major too and taught Kindergarten for 2 years before I “retired”. My logic was “who wouldn’t want to cut and paste and color every day?” LOVED my kids, but teaching is HARD!

    And you should come to Dallas. It’s pretty awesome too.

    1. Ah, a fellow teaching retiree. I loved the kids and creating fun lesson plans and activities, but I wasn’t a fan of all the other stuff that comes along with being a teacher. I joke that even if someone said they’d pay me $100K a year to teach that I wouldn’t go back. My stress level went from a 10 to a 2 once I retired.

      I’ve been to the Dallas airport! Does that count? 😉

  10. FELICIDADES………….que lo pases muy bien y un tironcito de orejas por cada año que cumplas.
    A mi me encanta como serie True Detective,Downton Abbey, Mad Men,Juego de Tronos, Breaking Bad.
    Muchos bsos para Owen.

    FELICIDADES

  11. Shantel Hickle says:

    Happy birthday! You’ve accomplished a lot in 30 years! 🙂

  12. Happy Birthday!! Come to Seattle, we have a great city. Go Seahawks!

    1. Thanks, Danielle! We’ll actually be in Seattle this June! I can’t wait to tour the Chihuly Garden and Glass. I watched a PBS special on Dale Chihuly a couple weeks ago so I’m even more excited to visit now. Congrats to your Seahawks!

  13. Happy Birthday! =) I’m turning 30 in September and I’m actually excited! 30 is the new 25 ;). Also, I’m from Texas and Austin is amazing! I would definitely recommend you going and enjoying the landmarks and nightlife! Hope you have an awesome birthday!

    1. Thanks, Jessica! Yay for being 1985 babies! Yeah, we’d love to visit Austin sometime– preferably NOT during the warmer months. Hah! #Idontliketosweat

  14. Jessica Nelson says:

    Happy birthday! I loved reading this. We actually have a lot in common. Similar tv interests, the thing about fingernails, lack of reading, cold room and cozy blanket, laundry…and the most shocking to me – looking at houses on zillow!! My husband always teases me for that, but I have an obsession!! I thought I was weird. I’m 22, so I don’t know if this means I have the mind of a 30 year old or you have one of a 22 year old, but either way it was fun to read. 😉 Have a great birthday!

    1. Thanks, Jessica! We’re basically twins. Funny thing– Brad looks at houses on Zillow more often than me. He’s always emailing me links. So I think you should tease your husband for being the weird one. Because it’s 3 against 1 in this situation. 🙂

  15. Happy Birthday!
    Whahaha, point 21 is me exactly, you’re brave to admit it. I feel so bad when people are like “I love reading”, I want to say, but usually don’t “I fall asleep 2 pages into the book, but I love watching Housewives” :))).
    And yes, Ireland looks amazing, I want to go soon!

    1. Haha! I’m glad I’m not alone! Seriously, I’ll be like, “I should read a book. Wait, never mind, I should do something else that’s productive. Oh look, a new episode of RHOA!” Story of my life.

      You should go. It’s gorgeous! And there’s lots of beer and hard cider.

  16. Brenda B. says:

    Happy 30th Birthday!! You look fabulous!!

  17. 30 – Check
    Whiskey and Diet – Check
    Peonies – Check
    Hate Laundry – Check

    I feel like I just read a list about myself! Happy, Happiest Birthday! Kiss that little smushie of yours for all of us!

  18. Happy Birthday!!! I will celebrate 39 on Wednesday!! It feels like I just celebrated my 30th! Enjoy your day….and you decade 🙂

  19. Happy birthday! What an awesome idea for a post! Except that I would have to post 59 things on my next birthday. At least I’d have until December to come up with them :0) But really … who would want to know 59 things about me?? LOL But you…you are as great as your list 🙂

    1. Thanks, Lisa! Trust me, I don’t know if I’ll do it again because it took me a good 2-3 hours to come up with 30 random things. And I’m sure there’s plenty of people who would want to know 59 random things about you!

  20. Ali Jackson says:

    Happy birthday! I don’t think 30 was bad and never bothered me. Now that I’m going to be 45 years old in September, I’m a bit freaked out over it – 5 years from 50, 50= Half Century Old, etc BUT I’m with you, I don’t look my age so I’ll go with it, for now, I suppose.

    1. Thanks, Ali! I said to my friend the other day, “Wooo! Half way to 60!” I got a weird look. Hah! It’s just crazy because I think most people feel younger than they actually are. Which is probably a good thing! And wrinkle cream and drinking plenty of water definitely helps with in the looking younger dept. 😉

    1. Thanks, Trina! Brad took me out for a fancy steak dinner at Ruth’s Chris. When we got the bill I smiled at Brad and said, “I only turn 30 once.”

  21. darla arnold says:

    Chelsea! happy birthday have great day i loved your posting and i do belive age is only old as you feel . i just turned57 in dec and if i woundnt end up sick in my 20’s i belive i would be runing with the young ladys . as i love to go and do things i use hate to have stay home i worked 4 part time jobs and 1 full time then i got sick and disably took my 20; and 30 and my 40 and my 50s but i have learn to enjoy my life even if i am almost home bound enjoy crafts and i love to make cards it blessing i send to others who might need kind word and it help me pass the hours away at home . happy birthday enjoy your life as much as you can and thank god everyday that you can .

    1. Thanks, Darla! That’s good to hear that you’ve learned to enjoy life and fill your time doing things you love. And especially making cards for others– that’s very thoughtful of you!

  22. Happy Birthday. Hope you have a lovely day.

  23. I found your blog on Pinterest! How cute!! I think I will be a new follower! 😉 I followed some of your other sites too, Instagram ~ etc. HAVE A BEAUTIFUL, BLESSED and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Wear a flower in your hair, by your ear. Sparkle and Shine! l 🙂 love, cindy from http://www.inspirememama.com

  24. Crystal M. says:

    Totally agree with you on #16! I tried to explain this to my husband, and he just looked at me like I had grown an ear on my forehead.

  25. Happy Birthday! Hope you had a fabulous day!

    I’ll be 30 in July but we do have #30 in common. 🙂

  26. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I agree with you on the turning 30 debacle. People always ask me, so how does it feel being 29? Actually, I had a very huge revelation that my life was ending because I am getting older. No, really. I feel the same as yesterday. Kudos on giving those kids some PBJ’s!

    1. Thanks, Diana! Hah! Right? It’s like when people ask you feel older whenever it’s your birthday. Why yes, I feel much older now that I’m 10,950 days old versus 10,949 days old. Yes, I did just break out the calculator on my phone to do that math (fyi, those numbers don’t reflect leap years).

      I couldn’t believe they had never had PBJs! Peanut butter isn’t very big over there for some reason. They’re definitely missing out.

  27. Happy birthday lovely – always good to get to know more about you x

  28. Happy belated birthday! Mine was the 17th. I remember having a hard time turning 30, too. Getting older is certainly better than the alternative, though.

  29. I think we are so similar! From Whole30 to OITNB to traveling to zillow to being born in 85. Thanks for sharing. Glad I’m discovering your blog!

  30. 18. …. But never visited the Netherlands??? 🙁 Why not?

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