Last night I had a hard time falling to sleep- I blame it all on those f*&é"' Kardashians. I was so much better off when we didn't get the E! Channel but French tv is so bad that it makes this stuff look entertaining and suddenly it is 11 pm and I am up past my bedtime wondering if Khloe Kardashian was actually born with a cleft palate and if Scott Disick is the gayest baby daddy I've ever seen. Seriously, sitting through a thirty minute show will lower my IQ by atleast 50 points. Anyways- so I started trying to pull together my Life List, which is much better use of brain space.
Before I forget all the good ideas that I had, I want to post them here. This is definitely a rough draft of The Life List, but its a good start, I think. In no particular order:
1. Plant a flower garden.
2. Hike to Machu Picchu
3. Sail to the Galapagos Islands
4. Go on a shark dive
5. Dive in the Komodo Reserve in Indonesia
6. Frame and hang on my wall a photo that I took
7. Throw an enormous surprise party for someone I love
8. Make an impact (either through my actions or a large financial endowment) on a charity
9. Go in the thermal baths in Iceland
10. Take a surfing lesson
11. Do a zipline in the jungle
12. Do a real safari
13. Make a batch of jam
14. Knit myself a sweater
15. Write a book about my childhood
16. Give a speech at a conference
17. Learn to speak Italian
18. Audit the art history class at the Louvre
19. Do a cooking class with Cordon Bleu
20 Go on a yoga retreat in India
21. See a glacier
22. Scan all the old family photos and give a CD to each of my family members
23. Be up-to-date on all my doctor visits
24. Have my wardrobe sorted out by a professional
25. Embroider my monogram on something
26. Find or have someone take a photo of me that I LOVE
27. Have a library of all the books that I truly love in hard cover
28. Organize a vacation with all my best girlfriends
29. Teach my daughters to cook my signature recipes
30. Make a real difference and improvement in a child's life
31. Go skiing in Switzerland
32. Swim with dolphins
33. See the pyramids in Eygpt
34. Go on a gondola ride in Venice
35. Drive a really fast car
36. Walk on the Great Wall of China
37. Take a road trip across the US
38. Do a silent retreat at convent or monastary
39. Buy a stock on my own with my own money
40. Ride a camel in the desert
41.Visit Tokyo
41. Make ice cream with my kids
42. Rent a helium tank use it to fill hundreds of balloons for a party and the rest for making our voices squeaky
43. Climb one of the major mountains in the world
44. Ride a parade float
45. Take piano lessons again until I can play a song that I love
46. Drink a glass of local wine in each of the top 10 winemaking countries of the world. The countries are Italy, France, Spain, Australia, Chile, United States, Germany, Argentina, Portugal and South Africa
47. Learn how to juggle
48. Build a house with Habitat for Humanity
49. Take a trapeze lesson
50. Eat caviar
51. Take the girls to Disney Land and get a photo of their faces (pure joy) as the characters go to hug them.
52. Surprise someone with the gift that they always dreamed of
53. Volunteer at a soup kitchen on Christmas or another special holiday
54. Try glass blowing
55. Visit Murano
56. Buy a piece by Toso & Barovier
57. Dive at the Great Barrier Reef
58. Host an exchange student
59. Buy a piece of vintage clothing that I look great in and that my daughters lust after.
60. Dance the merengue in Venezuela
61. Take a ride in a helicopter
62. Organize a candlelit party in the park, overlooking the Seine
I would love to have a list of 100 things, so I'm going to keep thinking. Maybe the best part so far about making the list is that I realize how much living I've already done. I've been going through other people's lists, for inspiration, and I'm shocked at how many items I've already done and it does remind me that while I might often feel like I do nothing but sit home and take care of babies, its far from the truth. I've travelled to places that I've dreamed about like Rome and Rio. I've mastered lots of skills like knitting and sewing since I am at home. I've pushed myself to do things like host Thanksgiving or learn a foreigh language. I've made the effort to find time to do things that are important to me, like put together photo albums for my family and throw parties so that I can invite everyone I love.
One of the things that I thought about after my grandfather died in February is how he had such an inspiring way of doing and not talking. He was a great example of someone who just tried things. People talked about him being an eternal student- his whole life, he never stopped trying to learn- but I think that part about him doing things was even more importaint. I remember when I was about 12 and I wanted to help in the kitchen. He would tell me to just do it, stop looking at cookbooks and asking questions, and make something. When I made a TERRIBLE lemon meringue pie one day, he just laughed and threw it in the trash and asked me what I would be trying out the next day. I'm sure he never realized what a huge lesson he was teaching me that day, but its something that has stuck with me ever since. Its so important to go through life with an adventurous attitude and just try things out without worrying what might go wrong. I'm just starting to realize how important that is.
I was thinking that I should be an item on my list 'Teach my children to be adventurers' but it would be redundant. If I do everything on my list, they will learn that automatically.
Showing posts with label Life List. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life List. Show all posts
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Things that I am liking today
Despite the nice suuny sky, doesn't look like I am going out this afternoon as Georgia is acting a bit under the weather. Don't 
quite know what she's got, but I have had a few good nights sleep in a row so I suppose that means I am due for an all-nighter. In order to get a post up, I will do a quick list of things that I am liking today:
*Soup
On Sunday afternoon, I cooked up a pot of Jamie Olivers' Tomato and Chickpea Soup (found in his cookbook Jamie's Dinners, which I picked up at The Little Red Wheelbarrow a few weeks ago; its turning out to be a great purchase), so yummy. I just ate two bowls of it for lunch and finished off the last of it. I LOVE this recipe- here is my version:
Saute 100 g finely chopped chorizo in a tbsp of oil. When the oils come out of the chorizo, add two sticks of chopped celery and a chopped onion; saute til cooked through. Stir in one clove of crushed garlic. Add 4 cups of chicken broth, 2 cups of crushed tomatoes (or chopped fresh tomatoes), a lg bag of spinach leaves and a can of drained chickpeas. Leave to simmer for 40 minutes. Puree about half the soup (I use those liquidizer wands). When ready to serve, top with sliced prosciutto, chopped boiled eggs and a drizzle of really good olive oil. Die and go to heaven. Voila.
I suspect that I could eat it this everyday for a good long while before I every got sick of it.
PS: notice the dish? So far, I'm happy with the change- food looks so good in these dishes!
*Fleur de Geisha Tea from Palais des Thes
I am also burning through my box of tea that I got as a present from our friends who stayed in our flat while we were away skiing.
I had smelled it while I was in the shop and thought that it smelled nice, but I like it even more than I thought I would. As I am still trying to watch what I eat, I have been drinking gallons of green tea every afternoon. It gets boring. But this tea has such a nice flowery smell that I would be drinking it even if it wasn't green tea.
*Tetines
And since Georgia is under the weather, she is allowed to hang on to her tetine all day long, even though it is normally limited to bed time.
She is just cranky cranky cranky. I got her up from her nap because I heard her making noise and brought her in the kitchen for lunch. She refused everything that I offered her, even though I broke my own rule (normally, in this house, you eat what is offered or you go hungry to til the next meal. Doesn't matter how short you are...) and opened a second jar of baby food to try and tempt her to eat something. No luck. She kept squeaking until I just put her back in bed. She slept another 45 minutes and then I took her temp (nothing), gave her a Doliprane in case it was sore teeth, and now she is wandering around the house alternately playing with her toys and breaking into inconsolable sobs.
*the new brochure from the Opera de Paris
Yesterday in the mail, I got the calendar for the 2010/2011 season of operas and ballets and the paperwork to pre-order tickets. Since I've been taking Ella to see shows this year, I've realized that even though tickets are expensive, they are a worthwhile expense. I really really enjoy going and I just don't know why I always put off buying tickets when it was just for B and I. Ella adores going to see the ballet and, as I've said before, I think that it is just as worthwhile as sending her to ballet class. She probably gets more out of it; as well. I have been pouring over the book and trying to decide which ballets I want to get tickets. Then I mentioned to B that they also had some great operas scheduled for next year (Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Les Noces de Figaro) and maybe we should think about getting tickets for that as well. I was really surprised when he told me to go right ahead and book them, if I wanted. I think I will!
The only downside is that when you buy all these tickets at one time, the total bill is pretty impressive. I don't think B quiet realizes just how much this is all going to cost. On the positive side, I think that I can probably go down a category and still have good seats since the pre-order tickets get the best places.
That reminds me- I did manage to get tickets last week for the Nureyev ballet Le Bayadere. Because I was in such a tizzy Monday morning from the unexpected arrival of the painters, I totally forgot to go online for the tickets until I was sitting down for lunch. I logged on and the website was completely blocked due to high traffic and I ended up getting pretty much the last tickets available. I have 2 seats in category 3, which is good. But they are not any where near each other, so taht is kind of bad. Well, its really bad since I had planned on taking Ella. Hmm. I don't quiet know what I'm going to do abou this, but I figure no point worrying til it gets a bit closer. At worst, I have B or a girlfriend go with me, and take Ella to see something else. Or I could just show up with Ella and hope that someone switches places, or that they just let us sit together anyways.
*My brother's blog
My little brother has taken a sabbatical from work to go an A Big Adventure. He has a buddy who bought a boat and they sailed it through the Panama Canal. Now they are getting the boat ready and will be sailing out of Panama City today or tomorrow for the Galapagos Islands. From there, they will go on to the French Marquesas (I'm trying to talk B into flying out there to meet them). Wow. Maybe this is something that has to go on my Life List. It sounds like an amazing thing to do- a bit scary, but the most worthwhile things tend to be the ones that push you to your limits, right?
quite know what she's got, but I have had a few good nights sleep in a row so I suppose that means I am due for an all-nighter. In order to get a post up, I will do a quick list of things that I am liking today:
*Soup
On Sunday afternoon, I cooked up a pot of Jamie Olivers' Tomato and Chickpea Soup (found in his cookbook Jamie's Dinners, which I picked up at The Little Red Wheelbarrow a few weeks ago; its turning out to be a great purchase), so yummy. I just ate two bowls of it for lunch and finished off the last of it. I LOVE this recipe- here is my version:
Saute 100 g finely chopped chorizo in a tbsp of oil. When the oils come out of the chorizo, add two sticks of chopped celery and a chopped onion; saute til cooked through. Stir in one clove of crushed garlic. Add 4 cups of chicken broth, 2 cups of crushed tomatoes (or chopped fresh tomatoes), a lg bag of spinach leaves and a can of drained chickpeas. Leave to simmer for 40 minutes. Puree about half the soup (I use those liquidizer wands). When ready to serve, top with sliced prosciutto, chopped boiled eggs and a drizzle of really good olive oil. Die and go to heaven. Voila.
I suspect that I could eat it this everyday for a good long while before I every got sick of it.
PS: notice the dish? So far, I'm happy with the change- food looks so good in these dishes!
*Fleur de Geisha Tea from Palais des Thes
I am also burning through my box of tea that I got as a present from our friends who stayed in our flat while we were away skiing.
I had smelled it while I was in the shop and thought that it smelled nice, but I like it even more than I thought I would. As I am still trying to watch what I eat, I have been drinking gallons of green tea every afternoon. It gets boring. But this tea has such a nice flowery smell that I would be drinking it even if it wasn't green tea.
*Tetines
And since Georgia is under the weather, she is allowed to hang on to her tetine all day long, even though it is normally limited to bed time.
She is just cranky cranky cranky. I got her up from her nap because I heard her making noise and brought her in the kitchen for lunch. She refused everything that I offered her, even though I broke my own rule (normally, in this house, you eat what is offered or you go hungry to til the next meal. Doesn't matter how short you are...) and opened a second jar of baby food to try and tempt her to eat something. No luck. She kept squeaking until I just put her back in bed. She slept another 45 minutes and then I took her temp (nothing), gave her a Doliprane in case it was sore teeth, and now she is wandering around the house alternately playing with her toys and breaking into inconsolable sobs.*the new brochure from the Opera de Paris
Yesterday in the mail, I got the calendar for the 2010/2011 season of operas and ballets and the paperwork to pre-order tickets. Since I've been taking Ella to see shows this year, I've realized that even though tickets are expensive, they are a worthwhile expense. I really really enjoy going and I just don't know why I always put off buying tickets when it was just for B and I. Ella adores going to see the ballet and, as I've said before, I think that it is just as worthwhile as sending her to ballet class. She probably gets more out of it; as well. I have been pouring over the book and trying to decide which ballets I want to get tickets. Then I mentioned to B that they also had some great operas scheduled for next year (Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Les Noces de Figaro) and maybe we should think about getting tickets for that as well. I was really surprised when he told me to go right ahead and book them, if I wanted. I think I will!
The only downside is that when you buy all these tickets at one time, the total bill is pretty impressive. I don't think B quiet realizes just how much this is all going to cost. On the positive side, I think that I can probably go down a category and still have good seats since the pre-order tickets get the best places.
That reminds me- I did manage to get tickets last week for the Nureyev ballet Le Bayadere. Because I was in such a tizzy Monday morning from the unexpected arrival of the painters, I totally forgot to go online for the tickets until I was sitting down for lunch. I logged on and the website was completely blocked due to high traffic and I ended up getting pretty much the last tickets available. I have 2 seats in category 3, which is good. But they are not any where near each other, so taht is kind of bad. Well, its really bad since I had planned on taking Ella. Hmm. I don't quiet know what I'm going to do abou this, but I figure no point worrying til it gets a bit closer. At worst, I have B or a girlfriend go with me, and take Ella to see something else. Or I could just show up with Ella and hope that someone switches places, or that they just let us sit together anyways.
*My brother's blog
My little brother has taken a sabbatical from work to go an A Big Adventure. He has a buddy who bought a boat and they sailed it through the Panama Canal. Now they are getting the boat ready and will be sailing out of Panama City today or tomorrow for the Galapagos Islands. From there, they will go on to the French Marquesas (I'm trying to talk B into flying out there to meet them). Wow. Maybe this is something that has to go on my Life List. It sounds like an amazing thing to do- a bit scary, but the most worthwhile things tend to be the ones that push you to your limits, right?
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