bucket list 2011 update

a few weeks back i published my "bucket list" . one of the things on my list is to make a new recipe/meal (not a baked dessert!) each month. 

this month i asked the nana and grandad to let me make them dinner as a thank you for their kindess and hospitality the last few weeks, as i have been staying with them in walnut creek, ca. (beautiful town - highly recommend a stop if you're in the area!). this stay is part of another bucket list task - living outside of orange county! as of next week i will be an official resident of sacramento, ca. but more on that later..... 

i had seen a friend post a picture of a dinner she cooked awhile back and thought it looked really cool (as in, presentation....), and hoped it would taste good too :) I went through a few of nana's cookbooks to find an accompanying side, hit the store, and got to prepping.

french onion sauteed potatoes

mix 1/3 olive oil with one packet of lipton french onion soup mix.  Sautee or marinate potatoes in mix and bake for 40 mins at 450

pistachio crusted chicken

you bet i hand rolled/chopped those pistachios!

mix 2 TB dijon mustard, 4 TB olive oil, 4 TB honey and salt and pepper to taste in bowl. mix 1 cup whole wheat (or not?!) bread crumbs and 2 cups chopped pistachios. dip in batter then in crumbs/nuts. bake at 375 for 20 mins

my dinner guests!

with salad and wine of course :)

and sugar cookies! (these i just baked. didnt even slice!)

i need to work on my photography skills  for blogging post purposes.....i am always SO in love with bridget's pictures at tales of me and the husband. which if you haven't already spent hours stalking her blog and falling in love with her love story..... you should!

peace....

peace - by james kavanaugh


in a complex and confusing world,
when life's details
get in the way of living,
and the mounting worries
crowd out simple beauty
of snow and silence,
fresh water and flowers,
when tragedy strikes without warning
and suffering arrives unannounced
then most of all
we must cling to what is truly beautiful:
children, love, laughter, dreams
wisdom, wonder, all that friendship means,
rearranging priorities, and taking time,
to discover what is alien,
what is really mine.
'tis then confusion softens, storms cease,
'tis then descends the gift of private peace.
may such peace surround our lives
all fill our space,
may peace transform our hearts
and thus our race. 


my grandma shared this poem with me other day. the rainbow my mom shared with me from above <3

life without internet.....

is no life at all for a blogger!  


i am in transition as i move on to a new adventure....blog posts may be a little scarce the next two weeks. to the 2-3 people who might read this and be devastated at the lack of my posting ;) i'll be back on track sooner than later!


"Whatever you can do, or dream you can begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." ....Goethe

happiness

Happiness by The Fray

Happiness is just outside my window
Would it crash blowing 80-miles an hour?
Or is happiness a little more like knocking
On your door, and you just let it in?

Happiness feels a lot like sorrow
Let it be, you can't make it come or go
But you are gone- not for good but for now
Gone for now feels a lot like gone for good

Happiness is a firecracker sitting on my headboard
Happiness was never mine to hold
Careful child, light the fuse and get away
‘Cause happiness throws a shower of sparks

Happiness damn near destroys you
Breaks your faith to pieces on the floor
So you tell yourself, that's enough for now
Happiness has a violent roar

Happiness is like the old man told me
Look for it, but you'll never find it all
Let it go, live your life and leave it
Then one day, wake up and she'll be home
Home, home, home

i think i have always been the kind of person who has the music turned up so loud i can't hear the knocking....

by 50 bucket list

i never really had a bucket list....at least not any more than random thoughts in my head. i thought it might be more meaningful to "publish" or document it somewhere, some kind of accountability. so my top 10 (for now)  things i really want to do in my life. i've set a goal to do these all by the age of 50. 

1. skydive! (sorry grandma!)

2. travel europe (specifically spain, italy, france, england, ireland....)

3. climb half dome. and buy a t-shirt when i'm done :) although i really want to find an old school 70's ringer "i made it to the top"....

4. own a drum set. and play it.  ;)

5. get a masters or phd in psychology. i am just crazy enough to do it!

6. spend a holiday season in nyc - christmas and new years. and hanukkah if done right!

7. go on a cruise - anywhere, but mediterranean  sea would probably top it....

8. buy a home

9. rv road trip across several states. (now, to be fair, we had some great family road trips across several states as a kids and has some amazing experiences and memories! but i want to do this as an adult, planning my own route, making the perfect playlists,  and finding random stops along the way to take pictures and camp out!)

10. take voice lessons

2011 bucket list

happy new year!

even though its just a date, a change of a number on a calendar; a new year is always a refreshing start for me. last year i created a bucket list of things i want to do by the time i am 50, but that's still some time off!!  having been inspired by some other bloggers' various "bucket" lists and follow up blog posts  on such lists, and never having really been a fan of (or successful at?) new years resolutions,  i decided to start the year off with a bucket list. maybe a new tradition!  

so for 2011:

1. keep up with this blog on a regular basis for the entire year. and maybe a side goal of having a whopping 10 followers, maybe even a guest blogger or chance to guest blog. blog blog blog!

2. read at least 5 books. including finishing the two i started!

3. take a class at a junior college or night school, etc. maybe an art or photo class, or something in business....

4. travel somewhere NEW outside of CA. (this shouldnt be THAT hard.....)

5. live outside of orange county. 32 years in the same 20 mile radius? time for a change!

6. cook 1 new recipe (not bake, cooooooook) each month

7. save $! now.....this one needs a little more goal setting and definition, for sure!

8. take voice lessons

9. "do something" culturally, physically, outdoorsy - something new and different,  (museum, hike, build something) once a month and explore my surroundings.

10. generally improve health. drink more water. maybe less coffee......

and thats that! i like the positivity of challenges of things TO do versus things NOT to do.  maybe that is my word of the year? DO!