June & July Bucket list (Summer)

I am choosing to ignore August due to the arrival of baby and instead am opting for a June and July summer bucket list, which while on one hand seems like it could be minimal at best on the other hand seems totally do able.

What is on your summer to-do list?
Are you enjoying the snow free time?
What are your favorite foods in the summer?

Winter 2013-2014 bucket list

What is on your winter to do list?

Do you love winter or hate it?

How do you feel about snow?

What am I missing on my to do list?

Guess Whose Coming To Dinner

It has been on my bucket list for quite some time now to learn how to roll sushi. I am totally and completely and utterly clueless when it comes to how to make it. I have some friends from seminary (Jakeypoo and Molita) who are sushi rolling pros and I have been saying for the longest time that I want to learn because I LOVE to eat sushi but hate the price not to mention the closest sushi place to me is a solid two and a half hours away. Which when you are craving sushi may as well be half way around the world. Anyways.

The church I serve three times a year has a fellowship event called "Guess who is coming to dinner" and people sign up to host the event at their house and then others sign up to be guests and you don't know who is coming to dinner until you show up. It is such fun and people around here love this even, I seriously think they would do it every other month if we would coordinate it - which maybe we should but that is a whole different topic for a different day. Anyways. Marc and I signed up to attend. We were assigned to a families house and we I brought dessert - I made a four layer cake - it was delightful in my opinion. Anyways.

The family who was hosting and Marc and I have been saying we both want to learn how to roll sushi and conveniently another family who was assigned to the same place we were (I didn't even make these assignments - sometimes I get to help pick who goes where) loves making sushi and so they agreed to teach us all how to roll sushi for dinner! WONDERFUL! Seriously so fun. Who knew how easy it was and how inexpensively you can make sushi. I feel like I just about ate my own weight in sushi it was glorious.

My first sushi roll I made

I am thankful for the family who taught us how to roll sushi - I am thankful I didn't just attempt to learn how to do it from directions online and that he was able to show us the tricks to the rice and exactly how to roll it in there and how to pack the rice as well as how to cut the veggies and the sea food. And surprisingly not that difficult to do. I am thankful that someone was able to show me all the tricks, which side of the seaweed faces up, the rice vinegar trick and all of that. Sooooooo yummy and sooooo excited to know how to do this and to be able to cross it off my bucket list (yeah I know I have some strange stuff on my bucket list - however it is my bucket list and I don't care how ridiculous some of it seems).

Part of our sushi roll stack
sooooooooo yummy

Do you like sushi?
Do you know how to roll sushi?
What is on your bucket list?
Anything crazy on your bucket list?
Have you been to any fun fellowship events lately church related or not (I am always looking for new and fun ideas)?

Olympics

In general I am not much of a tv watcher, sure I have a few shows that I like to DVR throughout the year (Grey's Anatomy, Deadliest Catch, My Yard Goes Disney, and Modern Family) but I am not one who HAS TO watch a show the night that it comes out. If I have something else going on or just don't feel like watching tv I have no issues recording the show and watching it next time I sit down to watch tv (later that week or even a week later, I trust the shows will be waiting for me). However..... there are two weeks every two years that you can find me glued to the tv at every opportunity - during the winter and summer Olympics. Granted I have figured out that I can go run at the gym on a treadmill and still get to watch the Olympics, as long as I get to watch I am jazzed.

There is something mesmerizing about watching athletes from around the world compete. Maybe a piece of it is I have always always always dreamed of being an Olympian. I have always dreamed of being good enough to compete at that level. But there is something else about nations coming together in friendly competition. During the Olympics every sport captures my attention, archery, equestrian, soccer, synchronized diving and swimming, gymnastics, kayaking and soooooo much more. I love watching people compete at the Olympics. I love cheering for USA and for the underdogs. I love watching the joy of the people as they stand on the podium to receive their medals. I love watching the tears of the parents as their child wins and Olympic medal.

I love sitting with my friends, a bowl of popcorn in hand, cheering for the people on the screen as if they can hear us. I love that my friends and I are coming up with plans to become Olympians ourselves, we have decided that curling might be our best option. The unfortunate part is none of us know how to curl but we figure we have six years until we need to be ready (we think two will be a little quick). There is something magical about the Olympics.

Adding to my bucket list: volunteer at the Olympic games (no preference on summer or winter)