The Bucket List

I have had a 'to do' list as long as I can remember.  I had never formally called it a bucket list, but in reality, that is what it is.  I have become more aware of the dwindling time frame for me to complete this list.  The travel portion quite frankly is a challenge.  My husband and I have virtually no help whatsoever from our families and with our sons’ food allergies, traveling is difficult.  Because we have no one to leave them with for us to go away together, we take the boys wherever we go.  And finances are unfortunately a limitation as well.  We go on long weekends and stay where I can take and prepare food, and we also stay at a condo in Vermont for one week each year, but for the foreseeable future, long flights and international travels are simply not feasible.  However they do remain on my list.  I am hopeful that in a few years we will be able to visit at least a few of these places.

Probably the most unattainable item on my bucket list is riding on Air Force One. (but I really, really want to)  Ever since I saw the movie Air Force One with Harrison Ford, I've always wanted to not only see it, but board it and take a ride, even if it was only skipping cities!  Meeting the President would be great as I've never met a POTUS before.  And of course I'd need a photo of me walking down the steps. 

I've been tweeting the following, but haven't gotten a response... Next time you're in town @BarackObama - Can I have a ride on Air Force One? I'll take a commercial flight home pleeease #BucketList 

                     If you follow me on Twitter and see this tweet, feel free to RT!

I would love to meet and get a photo with Bruce Willis.  Yippee Ki Yay!!  Call me maybe?

                        Go on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and meet Ellen!

                             Swim with the dolphins..

Visit British Columbia and see a pod of killer whales (Orcas) in the wild.  

       Go on a whale watch and see a whale breach.

My son is a huge Derek Jeter fan and I would love to get a photo of him with Derek Jeter.  We've been to Yankee Stadium, but can't get near Jeter.  We may be going this spring.   CAN SOMEONE HELP???  

            Front row seats to a Maroon 5 concert.  

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and have dinner at an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn.

Take a photography workshop given by a very talented photographer I know.  She runs them every few months. (can't make any of the ones this Jan/Feb) but hoping to cross this off the list this spring! 

   

        Ride in a hot air balloon. 

                         Skydive.  Just once...  

       

                  Visit the Grand Canyon.

Rent a camper and drive to Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore and Glacier National Parks. (And more of the national parks if we can squeeze them in!)

     Visit a ghost town.  

                         Bike riding in Nantucket.

       Learn to surf.  

        Lose 35 pounds (working on it!)  

Hire a private chef for a month who can work around the dairy, egg and nut allergies.

Spend a week on David Copperfield's private island.

    

        Visit Hawaii.

    Go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Watch the ball drop in Times Square from a room at the Marquis Marriott.  

Spend a week in a suite at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan at Christmastime.

I dream of spending a month in France, climbing to the top of the Eiffle Tower, walking along the many bridges in Paris, picnicking on wine and cheese in the beautiful parks and visiting the famous sights of the city.  


Then onto a tour of the countryside with a few days lounging on the beautiful French Riviera.

Seeing the pyramids in Egypt is the one thing I really hope I can do before I die.  With all the unrest in that part of the world today, I would not even consider going.  But someday I would love to spend at least a month there, visiting the pyramids, some of the famous temples, the lighthouse at Alexandria, riding a camel, taking a cruise on the Nile, and hot air ballooning over Luxor.  

It is a dream of mine to go back to Italy and rent a car in Florence, taking the back roads through Tuscany to ultimately wind up in Rome.  No set itinerary, just drive and stop at some of the towns along the way and stay wherever it suited us.  

I would love to attend a Mardi Gras.

It would be so cool to have a NASCAR Racing Experience and drive a NASCAR race car on the track. 

I want to rent a camper for a weekend in Talladega for a NASCAR race weekend with my sons (and husband if he wants to go, he's not a big NASCAR fan).

Washington, DC is on our list of family things to do. 

Visiting Disneyworld is also another family vacation we would like take someday.  

Williamsburg, VA is another family vacation we would like to do.  My sons really enjoy history we love exploring these historical locations. 

Attend a Somewhere in Time weekend at Mackinac Island in Michigan at the Grand Hotel. 





I want to learn to take better photos.  I would love to be able to do something with photography, not quite sure what!  But I need to perfect some technical skills. 

Visit all 43 Presidential sites - we have been to 2 so for, Calvin Coolidge & Chester Allen Arthur, both in Vermont.

I want to have my 15 minutes of fame in a movie or on TV.

I want to do something that really makes a difference in someone's life.


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I have done a few things that were on my list.  I had always wanted to spend summers at the beach and two years ago I had the opportunity to rent a beach house for 4 weeks.  This summer will be the third summer we spend a month at the Narragansett beaches.  

My husband and I honeymooned in Italy in September, 2000.  We spent 12 days touring many cities and towns including Capri, Sorrento, Positano, Ravenna, Florence, Rome, Milan, Venice, Bellagio, Sangimniano, Padua and even Lake Lugano in Switzerland.  We climbed to the top of the Duomo in Florence and rode on a gondola in Venice, another item on my bucket list.

I always wanted to have a luau party and for my 50th birthday this summer, we had one at the beach house.  It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun.  

        Rode an elephant. 

Went down into a cave. (Howe's Caverns in Cobbleskill, NY). 






I unfortunately don't have photos of the following adventures:  

I have been on a Carribean cruise, visited St. Martin with friends, and had a week long vacation in Antigua many years ago.
Went on a Jolly Roger booze cruise in St. Martin and several of us jumped off the boat and swam to shore - that was pretty fun!

Do you have a bucket list?  What have you done already?  What are some of the things you would like to do most or places you really must see?  

  

 

Holy Guacamole!

As my sons are getting older, they are becoming more and more curious and adventurous when it comes to food.  Because of their numerous food allergies, we were fortunate that they really weren't overly interested with a variety of foods when they were younger.  Additionally, there were texture issues due to their autism, and David in particular was very happy to indulge in a limited menu, not too keen on trying new foods.  Occasionally, my husband and I take them to a restaurant with us, but they eat at home before we leave and take their Nintendo DS's or play games with our iPhones at the restaurant.  Because of the extent of their food allergies (eggs, dairy, tree nuts and peanuts), they can not actually eat out.  

I experiment with some of our favorite foods and try to adapt them to be dairy, egg and nut free.  I have been sharing some of them with you on my blog.  With my husband being home more with his little surgical mishap, I have been cooking up a storm.  Yesterday, we decided to have a Mexican night.  I had ordered the Perfect Tortilla pans from an infomercial (you can also get at CVS in the as seen on TV section), and made taco salads and guacamole.  

The soft tortillas at the market are transformed to crisp tortilla bowls and many of the brands are dairy, egg and nut free.  Ortega taco seasoning is likewise dairy, egg and nut free, so other than the shredded cheese in a traditional taco, the boys can enjoy tacos and/or taco salads.  Mikey likes his with guacamole on top, David prefers his guacamole as a dip with Tostito nacho chips.  

I make a very easy guacamole that takes a few minutes to assemble, and a 1/2 hour to an hour to chill and allow the flavors to mix.

Easy Guacomole

2 avocados - chopped

1 small ripe tomato, chopped

1 small onion chopped

juice of one lime

for the spices, I just use a small sprinkle:

salt

pepper

cayenne pepper

ground cumin

Mix all ingredients in a medium size bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a 1/2 hour to an hour to chill and allow flavors to blend.

Enjoy!

Let me know what you think of it!!

I Think I'm Losing My Mind!

It's 2013.  Christmas decorations are packed up and put away, the recycle truck came this morning and took away the tree.  The boys are back to school.  This is normally a time where I try and organize the closets, give a good winter cleaning and catch up on some work that I've been neglecting.  But not this year.  

The week before Christmas, my husband had an elective minor surgery that had a recovery period of a couple of days to a week.  After 3 weeks, he is still suffering the complication of a hemotoma and the doctor ordered no lifting, resting, warm baths and anti-inflamatories.  He may be laid up another 3 weeks and still has a risk of developing an infection.  Having my husband home during Christmas and New Year's was actually kind of nice.  We all cuddled in bed, watching movies.  We had nice dinners together and just overall relaxed.  

But now, enough is enough.  The kids are back to school and he is here for most of the day.  "Make sure you put a plastic glove on if you're going to take out the garbage."  "The towel basket is overflowing, don't you think you should wash them."  "Don't take out the tree, I'll call Ryan (the neighbor) and he'll take it out."  "You need to vacuum in here."  "What are you making for dinner, can you make some for my mother?"  "Did you wash your hands?"  "Draw my bath."  "Where's my medicine."  "Can you make me some oatmeal?."  And so on, and so on, and so on.   

(Where's the vodka?).

Luckily, he had to run to his office for  a couple of hours on Sunday.  As soon as he left the house, the kids and I went into high gear and took all the decorations off the tree - I moved the dining room table out of the way and dragged the tree, stand and all, to the back door.  Not too gracefully, I crammed it out the door, then chucked it over the deck, leaving hundreds of pine needles in it's wake, all over the living room rug, dining room floor and on the deck.  All was cleaned up when he got back, but of course I got the look...  

(more vodka please).

And this extended 'vacation' has been brutal on my weight loss - I am up 7 pounds from the nearly 20 that I lost in the fall due to not only the few pounds most of us gain during the holidays, but the fact that I am cooking more for my husband.  Normally, he eats out a few nights a week and that keeps me in check, but we've had full course meals including lots of comfort foods.  Homemade mac & cheese (recipe on previous post), pasta and meatballs with garlic bread (loaded with cheese and butter), stuffed mushrooms, italian stuffed chicken breasts, pepperoni and cheese pizza (don't look at me that way), and ravioli (lobster for me, mushroom for him) with homemade pink vodka sauce.

Since it is too cold for the bike path, I decided today to pick an alternative exercise regimen and found an awesome kickboxing workout on Fios On Demand.  I felt like I sweat in this 40 minute workout as much as I do with 2 hours on the bike, so we'll see what happens!  In the meantime, check out the pink vodka sauce recipe that I adapted from a couple of online recipes below: (not really a low fat recipe, but oh so good and quick!)

Pink Vodka Sauce

2 cloves garlic chopped

1-2 tablespoons onion chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup unflavored vodka

8 oz heavy cream

24 oz prepared pasta sauce

Put olive oil in saucepan and sautee onions and garlic for a couple of minutes over medium-low heat until translucent.  Add butter to pan and melt.  Add vodka, bring heat to medium high and cook until you can't smell the alcohol, about 5 minutes. Lower to medium heat, add cream and pasta sauce and heat through.  

Serve on your favorite pasta, (or ravioli),  add some fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese to taste if desired 

Bon Appetit!!

My Ultimate Comfort Food - Homemade Mac & Cheese

Let's face it, Mac and Cheese is just not meant to be a low fat, low calorie dish.  I found an online recipe with the total cholesterol being 160% of the daily allowance and there was 60 grams of fat per serving.  So I doctored it up to reduce as much cholesterol and calories as possible without losing the taste.  If you are watching your cholesterol and fat closely, you may want to skip this one. 

I start with my favorite Vermont Cheddar from Grafton Village Cheese Co in Grafton, VT.

Homemade Mac & Cheese

8 oz cooked pasta

4 tbsp butter

4 tbsp flour 

salt

pepper

1 cup of milk (I used 2% milk)

1 cup cream (I used 1/2 and 1/2

2 cups of shredded cheddar (I cut small squares of Grafton Village Cheese Co. Cheddar Cheese from Vermont)

Buttered Bread Crumbs (I used seasoned Panko bread crumbs, no butter)

Buttered baking dish (I sprayed with Pam)

Cook the pasta as directed and set aside.  

Preheat Oven to 400.  

Melt butter in large saucepan and then stir in the flour, salt and pepper.  Keep stirring until smooth.  Slowly add the 1/2 & 1/2 and the milk, constantly stirring to keep the mixture smooth.  Bring to a boil, boil 2 minutes, then lower heat and cook for 10 minutes stirring constantly.  Add the cheese a little at a time, stirring until cheese is melted.  Remove from heat and stir in the pasta, thoroughly coating with the cheese mixture.

Pour mixture into a baking dish liberally sprayed with Pam Non Stick Cooking Spray.  Sprinkle the seasoned Panko bread crumbs on the top.

Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until bubbly.

I don't know what the final fat & cholesterol counts are, but they are bit lower than the original recipe - ENJOY!!!