Got Cookin’… Or At Least Tried To

I’ve been working on goal # 14 of my Bucket List, which is basically aimed at my feeling more comfortable with my cooking skills.  I have conquered a handful of dishes, although I surely tried many more.  Just in case my friends (who know I am not a kitchen queen) don’t believe me, here’s proof.  Below are some of my tryouts accompanied by a very brief outcome report. You will notice that some of the dishes are very simple; my aim is not to become a gourmet cook, but to be able to create family meals by mastering certain dishes and being able to recreate them time and again with the same quality and flavoring.   Since I am being very picky as to accept any dish into my mastered list,  I am also  giving myself credit for every single dish I conquer, no matter how simple 🙂

    

 

HOW ABOUT YOU; WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN COOKING? 

I’ve Made It Into the Tennis Hall of Fame!

O.K., so I didn’t actually make it into the Tennis Hall of Fame due to my playing abilities; I  just went to visit the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, RI.  A few weekends ago they had a family day with free admission for all those under 16.  Imagine my surprise when the clerk was about to let me in for free.  I said “I thought only kids go in for free” and she answered “You are not older than 16 are  you?”  I had to contain my desire to hug that woman.

She provided the kids sheets with clues, and pencils to go on a scavenger hunt around the museum, discovering many artifacts and facts pertaining to the origins and history of Tennis.

They learned about Brad Parks, the pioneering founder of wheelchair tennis worldwide.  The actual wheelchair Brad used during his games was on display.

As for me, I was much more interested on finding the display for Rafa Nadal.  Of course, my interest in him is purely based on the fact that he is the number 1 Tennis player in the world.  It has nothing to do with his olive skin and dreamy smile, seriously.  Fine, don’t believe me.  I did find Rafa and took pictures with him; unfortunately those didn’t come out so good. 

No worries, I was able to find the display of another hunk, I meant to say another great Tennis player, Andre Agassi.  

Skimpy Outfit from the 1940's

He seemed very happy to see me and insisted that I take a picture with him. “Why of course Andre, I’d be glad to.”

 Other than the attractive players, I really liked the display of playing outfits, which were considered very risqué for their times.

My kids and their friends by the courts

After playing a couple of rounds of Tennis Wii, the kids and I headed outside to look at the grass courts, which are truly beautiful.  In fact, the International Tennis Hall of Fame has been voted one of the best places to host a wedding in RI. 

Have you made it into any Hall of Fame? 

If you come to fame not understanding who you are, it will define who you are. – Oprah Winfrey 

 

Special Date: Providence Place

In our home, I like to make birthdays very special for each person.  Usually this means spreading a few activities throughout the week of the person’s birthday, in order to keep the celebration going a bit longer.  The most recent one to enjoy this special treatment was Karla.  On the day of her birthday she had birthday cookies to bring to school, cupcakes to share at daycare,  and a birthday dinner with her dad and brother at a restaurant of her choosing.  The birthday gifts, cards, and calls from family and friends spanned for a few days.  During the weekend she had a costume party at home, with guests mostly consisting of school mates.  I thought an appropriate way to top off the celebration was taking her out on one of our special one-on-one outings we call Special Dates. 

She wanted to watch the new Adam Sandler movie, Jack and Jill.  I usually wait until movies are showing at the discount movie theater to bring my kids – movie tickets are ridiculously expensive nowadays, but seeing this was a special occasion we headed to the matinée at the  Providence Place Mall cinema. 

Providence Place Mall is right at the heart of Downtown Providence.  It’s establishment was part of the renaissance period the city went through beginning in the early to mid 90’s.  Another icon of this period, Waterfire, is right across from Providence Place.  The Mall is considered upscale, and it is home to about 180 stores, including several restaurants.  Some of the companies showcased include Nordstrom, Tiffany & Co., Coach, The Apple Store, The Cheesecake Factory, Sephora, J. Jill, Ross-Simons, Build-A-Bear Workshop, and Dave & Buster’s among others. 

After having a good laugh at the movies, we had lunch at the food court.  The agreed upon restaurant: Johny Rockets!  Here we ordered a couple of burgers and fries and we shared a delish strawberry milkshake. 

Since a trip to the mall is not complete without some retail therapy, I took her to Claire’s, a somewhat affordable accessories store with a juvenile theme.  She picked out some gloves and hair accessories and we were good to go.

I am always glad to spend my time giving individualized attention to my kids.  It builds our relationship and their trust in me.

The One Minute Review

My thoughts on: 

The One Minute Manager
By Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

Red Buckets : 

Disclaimer: I am NOT a literary expert;
therefore, reviews posted here are entirely based on
my personal opinion and taste as a reader.

 

Goal # 35 Read More – I first got this book from a friend about six years ago; at the time she was my supervisor and had recently promoted me to the position of Manager of one of the departments under her command.  As it happened, I ended up relocating shortly thereafter and never got to really read the book, just briefly scammed through it. 

My goal of reading more led me to retake this book; as I needed to read 5 more books before the end of the year to reach my self-imposed quota.  I recalled the book as being interesting and conveniently short.

In general I am not very interested in business literature but this text is a bit more than that; I am glad I decided to go for this one.  In summary it is a great book for managers of people; whether you are managing people at work, home, or life in general.  The basic concepts are simple and easy to apply to any aspect of your life and relationships. 

At times the oversimplified concepts made me want to go “Duh!”, but that is really the beauty of the book.  It provides the reader with key skills in a way that anyone can understand and relate to.  The cores of the book are three basic steps – One Minute Goal Setting; One Minute Praisings, and One Minute Reprimands – which when applied, will have a huge and positive impact on your interactions with people, as well as help produce the desired results from those interactions. 

Through the text there are several quotes that exemplify its main messages.

“Everyone is a potential winner.  Some people are disguised as losers; don’t let their appearance fool you.”

“People who feel good about themselves produce good results”

The authors of the book, Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson are widely recognized for their achievements in the world of management and management literature.  Johnson is also the author of one of the most useful books I have read Who Moved My Cheese? , which is all about dealing with change and making it work in your favor. 

Have you read The One Minute Manager and/or Who Moved My Cheese?  Do you have any good short books recommendations? Happy Readings!

Guess Who

The Cuban Revolution Restaurant & Bar

So guess who had a great time last weekend at The Cuban Revolution Restaurant while knocking  one item off her bucket list?  Why me of course you silly, why else would I be posting about it 😉

This casual space boasts a relaxed atmosphere with hints of 1950’s Cuba.  What I loved the most about this place was the live jazz; I am a sucker for live music, but when it comes to live jazz I drool.  They also played some Son, which is a native Cuban rhythm with some similarity to Salsa. You can almost taste the flavors of the Caribbean countryside through the beat of Son (click on it to sample a classic of this contagious rhythm.) 

My friend Vanessa tagged along; she is usually the one to come with whenever I want to have som fun.  Needles to say she had to be there to watch me check off item #42 on my list, Having a Mojito.  Unlike my experience with the Martini, I absolutely loved this mixed drink.  Rum + Fresh Mint + Club Soda + Lime + Sugar  =  Give me another one pleaaase!  That night I had 2 Mojitos, lots of fun, and good company.  Vanessa and I got out past midnight, after which she headed home to her hubby, while I… Well, that’s another story on its own.  Peek in soon; I promise I will keep you posted (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun.)