Update(s) for 2015

Honestly, life has been too busy to really focus on doing anything that isn't related to my graduate degree. However, some goals were accidentally completed! In case you're wondering, this is what I accidentally accomplished:

Drop 56: See a Billy Joel Concert

      Billy Joel is the man! I was beyond thrilled to learn that he has been playing at Madison Square Garden for as long as he continues to sell out his shows! So, the hubby and I drove down to NYC to catch one of him in action. 

 

It was an excellent time! Obviously, quite a bit of time has passed since his songs were topping the charts. So, it was pretty surreal to hear the voice of Billy Joel coming out of this old, bald man. 

The seats were not amazing, but who cares! I was so happy to just be able to sing along to "Italian Restaurant" and "You May Be Right" (aka my personal theme song) as the man himself sang them.

Drop 68: Catch the Body Show

I've wanted to catch the Body Worlds exhibit ever since I heard of its existence! To think that people donated their bodies to be on display after their death is freakishly wondrous. Not only that, but the careful work and precision that must have gone in to carving away at and preserving these bodies is mind-boggling. I can't help but to wonder- Whose body was this? Is the pose that their body had been preserved in representative of who they were and what they represented? These bodies were once living, breathing, interacting. An incredibly surreal experience.

Last year Body Worlds came to Faneuil Hall.  I did go with my little one, so ideally I would love to go back either with myself or with a like-minded friend who wouldn't mind me spending tons of time looking at these bodies.Unfortunately, they are no longer around my area. However, if they are in your neck of the woods I highly recommend checking them out!

Drop 71: Make a Photo Book of Lela's First Year

I completed this book a few years ago, pretty quickly after Lela turned one. It essentially documents her entire first year of life. Good deal!

| Design your own photo book with Mixbook's easy online editor.

 Drop 102: Cook Indian Food

I essentially completed this goal by making a pretty straightforward Chicken Tikka Masala. I used the meat from chicken thighs, marinated in a yogurt based garlic and ginger sauce, grilled it, and then let it braise in a roasted red-pepper and tomato masala sauce. Delicious!

  While I did slightly stray, mostly I used this recipe. Delicious!

Apologies if this post isn't designed as awesomely as it could be. This blog is more likely going to change gears and be mostly for me and my own personal use. So, it is likely to become less awesome. My sincerest apologies! However, if you are reading this I do think it may be worthwhile to check in every now and again. Who knows- Maybe something amazing will happen!

New Year Update 2013

Howdy! Been a while!

     Motivation for updating this blog has been low lately. The mere thought of all the Vietnam-related posts I was aspiring to complete apparently burnt me out for nearly 6 months! So, I'm going to get back in to this slowly. To me that means one sweet and simple post every week or so to get me back in the swing of things. In the meantime, perhaps the biggest news I have for you at the moment is this:

Domain Name Change 2013!

     As I mentioned way back in December, I have let my adropinmybucketlist.com domain expire. It's too long, wordy, and in my opinion it doesn't really represent what I think this blog is about- nor is it the name of the blog to begin with! What was I thinking?! So, ladies and gents, please welcome:

FMLB.net!

    Sweet, simple, easy to remember, and somewhat catchy perhaps? Not to mention it actually matches the title of my blog. Easy Peasy.

So- if anybody is still here- what do you think? Better? I think I lost a lot of readership due to the change, but hopefully y'all will manage to wander in to my little spot on the web :-)

End of Year Update 2012

In case you haven't noticed, I've been absent for quite a while.

     Is anybody still here?

Updates

      I've decided to let my domain, adropinmybucketlist.com, expire. FML(B) can still be found at http://adropinmybucketlist.blogspot.com! And although stephanie@adropinmybucketlist.com will no longer be up and running you can now reach me at FMLBucket@gmail.com. So, no worries folks!

     My Life List

           I've been lazy, and my Life List has paid the price. Anything that I have completed has quite honestly been done by accident!

           Drop 73: Meet Somebody Famous

          I am a huge Food Network fan. So, imagine my surprise when out at a WaterFire I ran in to Michele Ragussis!

          Who is Michele Ragussis?

            Michele is probably best known for making runner-up on Food Network's "Food Network Star"- where chefs aspiring for their own TV show compete in tasks testing their ability to handle the pressures involved with being a show host on Food Network. Michele was a runner-up, and made it to the show's finale.

            Although Michele didn't win, it is clear that she is a Food Network favorite. She has also appeared on Chopped and again on the show "24 Hour Restaurant Battle" where she DID win. She is a talented chef and has a genuinely upbeat personality that can attract a following.




        Drop 77: Vote for the President of the United States


          I am not sure why I have this on my list. I vote every chance I get. So of course, when November came around, I voted. This was also on my 25 before 25, so it's a double-whammy.

       Drop 86: Go Zorbing


          While in Vietnam we visited the Đại Nam Văn Hiến tourism complex. This place was amazing, and way too big to visit in a single day. Inside the park Dai Nam Park is a shopping center, hotel, movie theater, theme park, campground, water park, zoo, and numerous temples. There is even a 'snow land', where you can go sledding and tubing! The water park is home to the largest artificial salt sea in Southeast Asia- and yes, you can Water Zorb.

         I wished I had taped the experience- it was absolutely a mess! I kept falling out of the ball and couldn't quite get it going. I felt like a washed-up gerbil!

     Drop 92: Relearn the Alphabet in Sign Language

        I wanted to teach Lela baby sign language. Lucky for me, it is nearly identical to ASL! Lela's favorite song is the ABC's, mostly due to my lack of knowledge in baby songs. What better time to relearn the alphabet in Sign Language? I knew some of the signs already, so this was a quick one to knock out.






     Drop 116:  Salem, MA for Halloween

     For Lela's first Halloween I really wanted to go to Salem- the destination for the holiday. Because of Hurricane Sandy, we decided to play it safe and go a few days before Halloween, since Salem was going to be mostly closed for the day itself. It was pretty neat! We dressed Lela as a dragon, as it is her zodiac sign (she is a lucky baby!). We even made the news! Well, kind of. After finding some famous graves in Salem's graveyard, the hubby noticed a news camera following Lela. Later that night at a Chinese restaurant- and by pure chance- we glanced up and saw her face on the TV! The brief clip is at 1:40 on this newscast:

          Updates to 25 before 25

                There really isn't too much left on this list, but all I have to show for it is this:

               Teach Lela Something New

    

I taught her how to use a sippy cup. I'll take it :-)

What have you been up to lately?