My "Life List" part 1

I've had what they call a "Bucket List" for a long time.
I thought it was high time to put it in writing so I have something to look at and work towards.
Some place to come and check things off as I do them.
I like the term "Life List" WAY more than "Bucket List".

Here is 1-50 of my 100.
In no particular order.

Some are small.
Some are practically unattainable.
But they are all things I want to experience in my life.

My Life List

1. Sky Dive
2. “Comfortably” wear a size 10 jeans.
3. Take a Photography class.
4. Own a Pink Jeep Wrangler and drive with the top off.
5. Take a cruise to Alaska
6. Go deep sea fishing.
7. Take a pottery class.
8. Grow and maintain a (larger scale) successful garden.
9. Can or “put up” enough home grown food to last my family a year.
10. Teach a class or seminar.
11. Walk confidently in high heels.
12. Visit Ireland.
13. Live on a houseboat.
14. Bake perfect bread.
15. Have a family hunting lease.
16. Become good at shooting skeet.
17. Get my concealed handgun license.
18. Eat pasta in Rome
19. Swim in a clear blue sea.
20. Skinny dip in an isolated lagoon.
21. Chase a tornado.
22. Get a makeover by a professional.
23. Anonymously provide Christmas for a family in need.
24. See the Grand Canyon.
25. Visit a Dear Friend and explore Australia .
26. Go to Ohio and NC and visit my brothers’ graves.
27. Make Love outside during a rain storm.
28. Take a train ride through the mountains.
29. Install solar panels.
30. Zip glide through a rain forest.
31. Grow a rose garden.
32. Have an outside Bathtub/shower.
33. Go morel hunting
34. Drive across the country on old Rt 66
35. Spend the winter in an off-grid mountain cabin
36. Scuba on a reef
37. Learn sign language
38. Make my children proud.
39. Run a mile
40. Go Salmon fishing in Alaska
41. Have a salt-water fish tank
42. Volunteer at St Jude’s Hosp.
43. Make someone’s dream come true.
44. Learn how to dance.
45. Go mudding
46. Get in the car and just drive.
47. Grow old w/ the Man-of-My-Dreams.
48. Explore a deserted island
49. Take a hand-to-hand combat class.
50. Find the perfect red lipstick.

Whats on your "Life List"?

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Make your own super easy (and kinda dangerous) caramel. (re-do)

Who doesn't love caramel?
Caramel candy, caramel on ice cream, caramel icing, caramel in your coffee....
My favorite is fresh tart apples dipped in caramel.
The Man-of-My-Dreams could eat his weight in apples-n-caramel!

Making your own caramel sounds hard huh?
All that stirring...
Cooking in hopes you won't burn it...
Candy thermometers....
etc etc etc... Yuck!

Well, it doesn't have to be hard at all!

Look at this perfectly delicious caramel
(dulce de leche)

I didn't use a candy thermometer.
I didn't stir it.
I didn't burn it.
All I did was stick one can in a pot and let it boil.
And, I'm gonna tell you how.

Perfectly Easy Caramel
(dulce de leche)


You will need.

1-3 can's of Sweetened Condensed Milk. (I use Eagle Brand)
One DEEP pot. (I use a big, tall stock pot)
Water

Directions

1.) Remove the paper labels from your cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk.

2.) Place your UNOPENED cans of sweetened condensed milk into the bottom of a large deep stock pot.

3.) Fill the stock pot with water your water level MUST be at least 4 inches above the top of your cans of sweetened condensed milk!!! stick a lid on your pot.

4.) Bring the stock pot to a boil. Let it boil for 3 and a half hours. (a nice consistent steady boil)
Check the water level of your pot numerous times... the water MUST remain at least 4 inches over the top of cans!!! Add more boiling water to the pot if needed.

5.) after 3 and a half hours, turn off the heat and let cool.

6.) once cooled, remove your cans of caramel, open, and enjoy!

***WARNING!!!*** during the boiling process is it extremely important that the water level in your stock pot stays well above the tops of your cans or they may explode and cause severe burns!!
If your water level is getting too low, just add more boiling water to the pot and replace the lid.

I have made this caramel many many times and never had a problem.
But I have heard horror stories about people who let the water boil out of the pot and the cans exploded. If you follow the simple rules you'll do fine and end up with some of the best caramel that you've ever had!

ENJOY!

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Overheard on the farm today...

"Hey Tom"

"Hey Tom! Hows it hangin?

"Do you smell that?"

"It smells like them people are cooking up a big ol meal today."

"I sure wish they would have been thoughtful enough to invite us."

"Tom! It's not just a meal!

This is a holiday that people celebrate and get together to give thanks for everything in their lives that bring them joy."

"You know... Things like family, friends, good-health and all that jazz."

"The people make lots of food,

Things like Mashed potatoes, Green bean casserole, stuffing, pie"

"I've been told that they always have a turkey as the guest of honor."

"What?!? They have a turkey as guest of honor, but they didn't invite us??"

"We've been on this farm for years!"

"I'm Hurt.. Betrayed... And down-right offended!"

..."wait a  minute...

Where is Tom?"

"T-O-M!  where are you?"

"Hey Toms, You arent gonna believe what I just heard!"

"You know the evil gray barn cat named Ash?"

"Well, he told me that the people ATE Tom!!"

"What?? They ATE him?"

"On a Holiday?"

"Those people!"

"I knew we couldn't trust em!"

"Run  for the hills!!!"

"Heh heh heh... stupid birds!"

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Buddies

 

She Loves Him.

He Loves Her.

They...

Are...

Weird...

That is all.

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My Favorite Gifts for the Kitchen.

I love finding new products that help make life easier, are affordable, and are just plain cool!
I love sharing them with you too!
So...
I have partnered with Open Sky to help get the word out about some products I personally use and love.

With the Holidays quickly approaching, I thougt I'd start with things that are on my gift-giving list!
Enjoy!

I'll start with Gifts for the Kitchen...
  

The Salsabol!   

Dont'cha hate it when you take a big old scoop of salsa with the perfect chip and your chasing the salsa all over the bowl and right out of it and onto your table? 
The Salsabol has a specially designed lip that stops that from happening!
It's cute! 
It's functional!
And at $13 it's an affordable gift!

Check it out, or buy your own here! The Salsabol

The Flirty Apron (cocoa lime) 

For Mom & Me

It's no secret that I love aprons!
This is one of my favorites!
And the fact that I can have a matching one for my Daughter is GREAT!
It is a quality 2-ply apron that washes well and looks Great!
And the ties are more than long enough to reach around even the most well-fed chef! :)

You can get your own here (adult size)  Flirty Apron in Cocoa Lime
Child Size (fits 3-8 yr olds)  Child's Flirty Apron in Cocoa Lime

Maple Syrup Powder

I grew up in the north...

The land of Maple Syrup...

I love real maple syrup.

But... in Texas? We have no maple trees.

So..  unless we wanna spend crazy amounts of money to buy teeny tiny bottles of it, we are out of luck.

Well, I was until I found the wonder that is Maple Syrup Powder!

It's 100% natural maple syrup.

No additives, nothing artificial.

I use it in cooking and baking.

Sprinkle some of it onto your sugar cookies or even onto your baked beans!!

To-Die-For!

Or, follow the directions on the package and re-constitute it into a syrup.

It's wonderful!

Check it out here.  Maple Syrup Powder (1lb)

FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer

I love Love LOVE my sealer!

I literally use it every single day!

I use it to re-package meats and cheese I buy in bulk into manageable size packages for the freezer.

I use it to package bulk-cooked meals and leftovers into individual size servings for the kids to grab and reheat for lazy cooking nights.

I mean.. It's like TV dinners for them.. but made from MY homemade cooking, I know what went into it, I know how it tastes. It's perfect!

Things don't freezer burn!

Things don't spoil or dry out as quickly!

I love it!

I even use it when we go camping to keep toilet paper dry and safe!

I cannot and would not have a kitchen without it!

My FoodSaver Vacuum sealer is worth it's weight in gold!

Get your own here! FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer.

I'll share more soon..

Until then,. Happy Shopping!

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Coward

I'm not a squeamish kinda gal.
I don't get grossed out too easily.
I've actually held a beating heart while it was still in a mans chest.
I've cleaned up gallons of vomit.
I've carefully taped a Dixie cup over a child's protruding eyeball.
I've helped birth babies.
I've placed severed fingers into a Ziplock baggie.
I've reached into a goat to reposition babies for birth.
I've doctored compound fractures.

And I did each of these things without passing out.
Without tossing my cookies.
I did them with a calm confidence.
I didn't run away in fear.
I didn't cringe.

Tonight I had to face something that made me cringe.
Something that paralyzed me.
Something that made me freeze and lose all confidence.

The Little-Foreman-in-Pink came to me with an incredibly wobbly-loose-floppy tooth.
"Mommy?" she asked, "Will you pull out my toof?"
I froze.
I couldn't do it.
My little girl asked me to do something to help her, and I just couldn't do it.
You see...
I'm great at taking care of things after it happens,
But I cannot stand to actually see the trauma happen.
I would have no problem wiping the blood from her lip after she lost her tooth.
I'd even give her an ice pop to ease the ache.
But to be the one pulling it out?
Nope. can't do it.

So...  I did what any good mommy would do.
I called in her big brother.
This is my HUGE 18yr old who can't hear the dog puke in the next room without running for the bathroom to throw up himself.
This is the boy who has paid his brother $10 to pick up cat poop because it's "gross".

But to actually CAUSE trauma or pain?
He's all over it!

He was so excited that he even made his own special tooth-pullin tool!
(needle-nose pliers wrapped w/ electrical tape to provide traction against the slippery tooth.)

The Little-Foreman-in-Pink was a trooper!
She didn't flinch.
She didn't have a clue what she was getting herself into!

She had a smile on her face the whole time!
I was the one behind the camera whimpering and jumping each time he came near her with his device of torture!

"PLUCK"  it came out that easy.
No screaming.
No crying.
Nothing....

She is such a brave little thing!
Unlike her mother...

Who let this teeny-tiny little thing freeze her in fear.

... I rock!

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Bacon-Wrapped, Deep-Fried, Deviled Eggs? Heck Yeah!

I made a trip to Fort Worth last week-end.
And, as usual, I set out to find local comfort food.
I was lucky enough to stumble upon the Cowtown Diner.

I love diners.
I like how they look.
I like how they feel.
I like how they are "local".
And, of course, Diners are the perfect place to find comfort food!

First came the appetizer...
Fried deviled eggs? hmmm

We love deviled eggs...
And, everything is better with bacon right?
I was a little worried,
Until THIS showed up at the table!

You can read my complete review of the Cowtown Diner on my cooking Blog.. Craving Comfort

It was wonderful!

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A Dream Come True!

As I’ve told you before, I’m a truck girl.
Even before Chevy let me test drive their beautiful Silverado, I drove a truck daily.

I’ve always had a silly little dream….
Keep Reading and see the video HERE

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When He's Here...

As I've whined, bitched, cried, sobbed, complained mentioned before, The Man-of-My-Dreams works far far away in Kazakhstan every-other month.
When he's gone things are a little "off"...

But, When He's Here...

1. The House gets thoroughly cleaned.
2.  Fish get caught.
3. We go to the lake every week-end.
4. Lacey underthings come out of the drawers.
5. The car gets fixed.
6. There are countless trips to the home improvement store.
7. I don't blog.
8. Large amounts of Mexican food is ordered.
9. I wear perfume.
10. The bathroom gets re-modeled.
11. The fences get fixed.
12. I don't return phone calls.
13. Weatherstripping is installed on windows.
14. My legs are shaved.
15. Leaking pipes get replaced.
16. Chin-hairs are plucked.
17. The boats go into the water.
18. I'm in bed before 10pm.
19. The truck has more than a half-tank of diesel.
20. NASCAR is on the TV.
21. I don't write.
22. The kids listen better.
23. The bed gets made.
24. The pastures are cleaned.
25. He buys me an iPad! (whoo hoo!)
26. Ridiculous amounts of beef is flame broiled and consumed.
27. I wear shirts without stains.
28. I'm whole.

Yes, he's only been home 2 weeks and every single thing on this list has happened!
I'm happy he's home...
I'm whole again.,..
I'm exhausted from trying to keep up with him!
Pray for me...
... or send cheesecake!

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