My Bucket List...

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It's been a long week, and I'm looking forward to the weekend!  I just have to get through one more day of work and I'm free!

It's going to be a bittersweet weekend.  My friend Matt, got a job in Alabama and is moving away.  His going away party is Saturday.  I've known Matt since high school.  Well, I've known most of my close friends since high school actually.  It's funny, they say that you grow apart once you hit college, but after almost 8 years of having graduated, we're all still pretty close.  It's going to be hard to say good-bye, but I know it's not good-bye for good.  It's just a sign that all of us are truly growing up, and starting our own lives, on our own paths.


So I've been thinking of things that I want to do with my life.  Things that I want to do before it's all said and done.  And so I've compiled a little bucket list of 10 things (not necessarily in any order) I want to do in life:

- Own my own catering business
- Travel to Europe
- Have a family
- Visit all 50 states
- Eat at a Michelin star restaurant
- Graduate from culinary school
- Grow a full fledged garden
- Write a book (don't necessarily know about what, but hey, it could happen)
- Visit the Philippines
- Have a full stocked kitchen (like seriously... with every gadget known to man)

Of course, some things are easier to obtain than others, but it's always great to have goals. Something to strive for, you know?

What about you guys?  What's on your 'bucket list'?

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the dessert poll!  I've got an interesting one lined up!  Have a great rest of your Thursday, and we're just hours away from Friday!  And that just means we're that much closer to the ever-sought-after weekend!

What Will 2011 Bring?

Well, with New Year's Eve being tomorrow, I thought maybe I'd do my top highlights of 2010 and what I hope to accomplish/work towards in 2011.

What happened in 2010???


#1.  I got engaged! - of course this has to be on the top of the list.  And it's hard to believe that it happened almost a year ago!  While normal people don't stay engaged for a long time, Andy and I don't mind it.  Sure... we want to get married.  But weddings cost money.  And when we're ready, and financially stable... there will be a phenomenal wedding, don't you worry.

Zappa: Help me mommy, there is a crazy man behind me

 Yup... I'm marrying him (and no, I do not mean the dog). =)

#2.  I'm still blogging! - I can't believe it.  Almost a year and a half and I'm still at it!  I couldn't do it without you guys!  So hopefully I continue well into 2011 and beyond.


#3.  I made the decision to go to culinary school.  After I finish my bachelor's in Biology.  I've been in school long enough, and I'm so so close to being finished, that I owe it to myself to not just let it go by the way side.  And science plays a big role in cooking, so it may prove to be beneficial in culinary school!


#4.  I bought a new car!  Yep, a 2009 Ford Focus.  Great gas mileage, practical, and gets me from point A to point B.  All I could ask for in a vehicle.  We'll save the shiny sports cars for a later life.

#5.  We went to Savannah, GA.  Although it was a cheap vacation (my brother lived there, so hello? no hotel fees!, but now he lives near West Palm Beach - so you can probably guess what this summer's vacation will be), it was exciting and an absolute beautiful place!

So what do I want out of 2011?  
And although they're numbered, these aren't in any particular order...

#1.  Do more (or at least 1!) Daring Cook's Challenge.  I joined the site over a year ago, but have actually never participated.  I don't know if it was lack of time, confidence, or what... but I'm telling myself that I'm going to challenge myself and do a challenge or two, or three... you get the point.

#2.  Make a cooking video for the blog.  Yeah, me... on the blog... in a video.  It's gonna happen.  I hope.

#3.  Actually make wedding plans.  I want to at least finalize a venue.  We keep going back and forth (mainly because we keep seeing amazing venues) on where to get married.


#4.  Cover more Louisville Food Events.  Louisville has so many food-related events that I'm surprised I haven't attended more of them.  I'm really hoping my sister can pull through and get me tickets to Desserts First (she's working on an internship with a Louisville social magazine that covers charitable events, and this is the first event she's writing an article on!).

#5.  Plan a group vacation.  My group of friends has already discussed this.  We really want to head out to Vegas.  Whether Vegas or somewhere else, we'll have a ball... and probably end up in some sort of trouble.... but that's half the fun, right?

So yeah, simple, achievable goals... right?  Right.

What about you guys?  What do you love most out of your 2010?  And what are your goals for 2011??

Iron Foodie 2010

I just recently joined the Foodie BlogRoll (I know, I'm a little late on this one!) but I've discovered some cool new contests and food bloggers through it!  So in the next few months or so, I'm sure you'll be seeing me post about contests, such as this one... Iron Foodie 2010.

What is this contest all about?  Well, only 25 contestants are chosen and the lucky 25 get to receive a goodie box of 8 "secret ingredients" from Marx Food Stores (lots of great stuff there so I highly recommend you check them out!).  And with 3 of those 8 ingredients, the contestants must come up with a dish!  Kind of like Iron/Top Chef! Cool huh?

And the winner receives a $200 gift card to Marx Foods!  I'm in on that!

Well, narrowing down to 25 is going to be tough.  We were given these select questions to answer in order to be considered:


Why do you want to compete in this challenge?

Limitations of time/space notwithstanding, whose kitchen would you like to spend the day in & why? Julia Child, Thomas Keller, Ferran Adria, James Beard, Marie-Antoine Careme, or The Swedish Chef?
 
What morsel are you most likely to swipe from family & friends’ plates when they aren’t looking?
 
Sum your childhood up in one meal.
 
The one mainstream food you can’t stand?

And the following are my answers:

Why do I want to compete in this challenge? From the get-go, I'm a majorly competitive person.  You say the word "challenge" and I'm there.  But I most wanted to do this competition, just like any competition (such as Project Food Blog from Foodbuzz, for instance)  to broaden my blogging capabilities.  It's always a challenge to find new things to blog about, interesting aspects of food/meals, and the element of surprise with the secret ingredients is completely thrilling to me. Whose kitchen would I want to spend the day in and why? The chefs to choose from are quite amazing and it's hard to just pick one... but I think out of all of them, I'd definitely have to say Thomas Keller.  Why?  Why not?!  I think I would want to know how Thomas Keller works.  How he functions.  Is he calm?  Is he frantic?  Is he an ass?  I think my main reason for picking him is because Thomas Keller's food is the type of food that I want to cook if and when I become a chef.   What morsel of food am I sneaking away from Andy's plate? Hands down... it's chicken.  Any way it's fixed - fried, baked, shredded... if he's not looking and there's some on his plate... I'm taking it.  And he usually catches me, but still just smiles and lets me do it anyway! See... I love me some chicken. What is the one meal that sums up my childhood? Filipino Chicken Adobo.  My mother doesn't make it as often as she used to, but when she does, everyone in the family knows it.  It's the one meal that people will stop what they're doing and come sit around the table for.  Because it is that good.  It's a humble meal, simple and delicious - like my childhood. The one mainstream food that I can't stand? I can't stand a lot of mainstream things, but if I were to choose... it would be bleu cheese.  There... I admitted it.  As much as I want to fit in and say that bleu cheese is delicious and pleasing... I just can't.  I can't get over the fact that it's just... it's just... stinky cheese.  But I know I'll keep trying it in different things... and I know that my tastebuds will continue to say "damnit she's done it again."   Well... I hope my answers were interesting enough to be eligible, but at the same time... I hope you all learned a little more about me, and hey... if you want to be my stiff competition and are part of the Foodie BlogRoll... click on the badge above and get started!