DON'T DRINK AND BLOG!!!

This fake headline comes to you courtesy of the Onion, and I can't stop laughing at it:

Zombie Nutritionist Recommends All-Brain Diet

Me and Rory's anniversary recap: We had dinner at Red Star Tavern (part of 4th Street Live! for any of you natives that view this blog): The food was great (I would describe it as upscale comfort food), the weather finally comfortable, and the people watching was superb from our patio seats. Unfortunately we had to come home early, so that I could do homework, as we both have a pretty rigorous school schedule this semester.

P.S. Mom - the stationary came via UPS when we got home from dinner. It is very cute, but we keep laughing about how Dad's lap is in the background behind the dog's head's (I initially accused Rory of having the lap in question). Of course somebody has to hold their collars to get them to 'smile' for the camera, but I keep envisioning this senario....

Dear Barbara,

Thanks for inviting us to the lovely dinner party. Please except this card with my two little dogs on it... as well as my Dad's lap.

Leave it to a GARY to ruin a picture!!!

The Mission Statement of This Blog

I have a fixation with lists. I have grocery lists, lists of books I want to read, lists of movies to watch, lists of financial goals, lists of things to do, lists of things to do to the house, lists ad infinitum. If it can be quantified, chances are, there is a list.

Then there is THE LIST.

THE LIST is a running tally of things I wish to accomplish prior to taking my eternal dirt nap. Some of the items are profound; others are totally stupid. This blog has the primary function of informing our friends and family members of what we are doing in Kentucky (besides playing banjos on our front porch while main-lining bourbon), but secondarily it will chronicle items from THE LIST being accomplished. So without further ado, here is THE LIST (red items have been accomplished, greens are in progress):

THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE Percentage of list completed = 25%

1) Create a web page
2) Get married (again) at the drive-thru in Vegas
3) Bet $100 on black at the roulette table in Vegas
4) Find my soul mate
5) Climb Kilimanjaro
6) Go on an African safari
7) Shuck oysters
8) Visit London
9) Live in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean
10) Scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea
11) Visit Machu Pichu
12) Try caviar
13) Try grasshoppers in Mexico
14) Visit San Francisco
15) Drive down the pacific highway in a convertible
16) Surf in the Pacific Ocean
17) Interview a dietician and a college instructor, figure out what the hell to do for the rest of my life
18) Drink less Diet Coke!!! (I’m down to one glass a day)
19) Visit Portugal
20) Learn to sail a boat
21) Pay off the mortgage
22) Visit Sedlec Ossuary (Church of All Saints) in the Czech Republic
23) Bungee jump
24) Visit Rome
25) Run a small business
26) Eat less salt
27) Practice a religion
28) Attend Edinburgh Festival
29) Dance on top of the bar (Chicago, circa my Michigan State days)
30) Attend St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin Ireland
31) Try truffles
32) Visit Aquitaine, France
33) Attend Octoberfest in Munich, Germany
34) Tour historic Greece
35) Visit Budapest, Hungary
36) Run a marathon
37) Ride the Trans-Siberian Express across Asia
38) See the pyramids in Egypt
39) Dive in the Red Sea, Sinai, Egypt
40) Eat ostrich (it tastes like steak)
41) See the Forbidden City and the Great Wall in Beijing, China
42) Climb Mt. Fuji, then sit in a Japanese thermal spring
43) Visit Istanbul Turkey and the Roman ruins of Ephesus
44) Try foie gras
45) Lay on the beach with a tropical drink in Fiji
46) Visit Bora Bora and French Polynesia
47) Take an Alaskan cruise
48) Eat at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California
49) Drink wine in Napa
50) Attend a live taping of the Jerry Springer Show
51) Eat at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, IL
52) AND at the Superdawg in Chicago, IL
53) Visit NYC
54) Visit Roswell and the Anasazi ruins in New Mexico
55) Visit all the tourist traps on the Canadian side of Niagra Falls
56) See the Mayan ruins in Yucatan, Mexico
57) Attend Carnaval in Rio De Janerio
58) Visit Torres Del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile
59) Get my PE license
60) Dive with dolphins and see the shark rodeo in the Bahamas
61) Eat real jerk in Jamaica
62) Attend Sundance film festival
63) Attend one major sporting event (i.e. Superbowl, Olympics, KY Derby)
64) Send a message in a bottle
65) Write a book, even if it isn’t the Great American Novel
66) Have a personal mission statement, and revise it occasionally
67) See an eclipse
68) Spend New Year’s Eve in some place exotic
69) Do something for a cause
70) Learn to scuba dive
71) Find a job you love
72) Donate money and put your name on something, i.e. a scholarship, a bench in the park
73) Learn how to change a tire
74) Kiss the Blarney stone
75) Learn how to work the grill
76) Be able to handle: tax forms, Jehovah’s Witnesses, criticism
77) Keep regular medical appointments
78) Restore a classic car OR build a boat
79) Own an autograph of a certified celebrity (Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, on the same photo)
80) Learn to ride a motorcycle, or hell, even a moped
81) Go to bartender’s school
82) Learn 3 great card tricks
83) Learn 3 great jokes
84) Learn how to hand toss pizza dough
85) Have enough money to do everything on the list
86) Drink more water
87) Expand my social circle
88) Have a Plan B
89) Establish a daily creative ritual
90) Have a paranormal experience
91) Have a conspiracy theory
92) By a round for everyone in the bar
93) Bet on a winning horse
94) Eat fried green tomatos
95) Own something by Coach
96) Own something from Tiffany’s
97) Learn enough of the language of whatever country you’re visiting to not make a total fool of yourself
98) Own a pug or a bull dog
99) Own a boston terrier (the two terrible terriers!!!)
100) Learn how to apply makeup
101) Do something with my hair
102) Pray
103) Know how to make (at least) a three-tiered wedding cake (in progress)
104) Learn a martial art
105) Learn a dance
106) Ride a mechanical bull
107) Write a fan letter to a favorite celebrity
108) Go to a lobster bake in Maine
109) Go to a drive-in
110) Attend one really huge rock festival
111) Attend 5 big concerts in one week (it was U2, Oasis, Dave Matthews Band, the Black Crowes, and Wilco and yes, it was a hell of a week)!!!
112) Learn to play a musical instrument
113) Get hypnotized
114) Learn to fire a gun
115) Make my own bread (without using a bread machine)
116) Go lobster hunting (it’s a scuba diving thing for those who are wondering)
117) Experience weightlessness (technically you experience moments of weightlessness on the Magnum XL at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio – It counts!!!)
118) Give up television and the internet for one week
119) Yell “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” in a crowd
120) Get my master’s (in progress)
121) Eat alligator (it tastes like chicken)
122) Try authentic Thai cuisine
123) Read all the books from “The 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die” (in progress)
124) See all the movies from “The 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die” (in progress)

Our story thus far...

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away.... somebody's already used this opening.

Last year, in Michigan, I was working as a frustrated civil engineer for a large corporate entity, and my husband was a civil technician for the same afore mentioned entity. We knew we were unhappy; we knew we had to move some where new, some where that we could develop our intellectual passions into new careers.

We moved to where scholars have been migrating to for centuries: Louisville, KY.

So now, my husband is a nursing student at U of L and a nurse's aide at Kosair's Children's Hospital. I am a culinary student at Sullivan University and working toward's my master's in Nutrition (Dietetics, technically) through U of K. I want to know as much about food as possible, and aspire to teach others about good food, where to get the food, what to do with the food once you have it, how to eat the food sensibly, and what foods you might not be eating enough of. It's very profound, I know, but I never tire of hearing about FOOD!!!

I am sad to report, that the big move from Michigan did not provoke any new intellectual interests in either of the two terrible terriers.

The Cast of Characters

Our Heroine: It's me, Nicki, the author of this blog (duh). I thought a blog would be a fun way for our family members and friends back in Michigan to see what we're up to down in the Commonwealth.









The Trusty Sidekick: This is my compassionate other-half, listed only as the enigmatic "r.f.baker" on his blog which you can also read on blogger.com. He's my best friend, a great nurse, and damn good looking if I do say so myself.

The Two Terrible Terriers: This intrepid crime fighting duo consists of Lucy aka the Brains, and Homer aka the Brawn. This photo also demonstrates what Boston Terriers do with approximately 75% of their day. Barking at the neighbors through the fence must take a tremendous amount of energy.