My 101 List

My 1001 Day Project ends on Friday, October 1, 2010 in .

• Main Goal
• Do something towards my goals every week (1/104)
• Cooking
• Catalog all my stray recipes
• Grow an herb garden
• Grow an organic garden in a pot
• Learn to cook fish
• Learn to cook flan
• Learn to cook my dad's garlic chicken
• Learn to cook pastelles
• Learn to cook piononos
• Declutter
• Clean out garage
• Declutter house
• Photograph and post at least 10 ebay or craigslist items for destashing 1x month (1/34)
• Photograph and post at least 10 supply items for destashing 1x month (2/34)
• Scan and shred all household documents
• Financial
• Create a budget
• Establish a $1000 emergency fund
• Inventory household items for insurance purposes
• Pay off all credit cards
• Health
• Establish an exercise habit
• Get hair trimmed 3x year (1/9)
• Get a real hairstyle…and not just a trim
• Grow my Kickboxing skills
• Lose 80 pounds
• Plan my meals out and shop for them 1x week (1/143)
• Start mountain biking again
• Start rollerblading again
• Test for brown belt
• Visit dentist 2x year (2/6)
• Household
• Buy/make non-disposable shopping bags
• Finish our living room curtains
• Fold laundry 1x quarter (4/12)
• Landscape yard 2x year (0/6)
• Paint our bedroom
• Setup memory board/mirror display in living room
• Vaccuum house 1x week (0/143)
• Wax truck 2x year (0/6)
• Jewelry
• Buy a tumbler and shot
• Establish a blogging schedule for A Pretty Rock
• Learn Chinese knotting
• Learn silver wire fusing
• Pay off A Pretty Rock debt
• Redesign website
• Submit website for write up to 4 blogs 1x month (3/34)
• Knowledge
• Learn to type Spanish language characters on keyboard
• Read 3 books in Spanish (0/3)
• Read Boriquas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings -- An Anthology
• Refresh my Arabic language knowledge
• Loving my dog
• Brush Snickers 1x week (0/143)
• Take Snickers for walk around block 5x week (0/143)
• Personal
• Create a family tree book
• Create an "in event of our deaths" list for both our moms
• Help our mom's fill out their own lists (0/2)
• Give blood (hate needles)
• Have a baby (again...hate needles...and pain)
• Create a book from my Grateful 365 project
• Take my mom to see The Nutcracker
• Recreational
• Attend a USPS dead letter auction
• Create website for my WoW guild
• Create wedding scrapbook (been 9 years…about time!)
• Finish baby blanket cross-stitch (started for my godson who is now 2)
• Go hiking in the Appalachians (I live so close!)
• Go horseback riding
• Learn how to handbind a book
• Learn to alter/customize clothing for myself
• Learn to rock climb
• Learn to snowboard
• Participate in project 365
• Purchase a dSLR
• Read all the Chronicles of Narnia books
• Read my lapsed comic book series
• Visit a corn maze
• Wear a costume to DragonCon
• Relationships
• Buy/make everyone's Christmas gifts before November each year (0/3)
• Host get-together 3x year (1/9)
• Keep track of birthdays and anniversaries (and addresses) and send a card on each one.
• Write thank you notes every time I receive a gift
• Spiritual
• Go on a missions trip
• Memorize a bible verse 1x month (1/34)
• Read bible 5x week (2/143)
• Travel
• Go back home to Puerto Rico with husband
• Take Jason to La Palguera
• Visit St. Thomas/Virgin Islands
• Visit New York
• Go to the top of the Empire State Building
• Go to the top of the Statue of Liberty
• See a musical on Broadway
• Visit Europe
• Visit Las Vegas
• Take a weekend getaway with my husband 1x year (0/3)
• Work
• Back up my computers 1x week (0/143)
• Create a program to serve a useful purpose for others
• Grow my business so my husband can stay home and work with me
• Join a networking group
• Learn a new programming language 1x year (0/3)
• Learn to expertly analyze web traffic tracking results
• Organize files on computers (0/3)
• Read a technical book 4x year (1/12)
• Setup landing pages for all my registered domain names
• Update paperwork for taxes 4x year (0/12)
• Write a blog post 1x week for Turtletopia (2/143)
• Write a blog post 1x week for YazminMedia (1/143)

When good flan goes bad · 12/19/2008

Around the holidays, in almost every Puerto Rican household, you’re guaranteed to find one of two holiday favorites: arroz con dulce and flan. I had great plans today to make arroz con dulce, but totally forgot to pick up some rice at the grocery store.

So all I have to show you is a picture of a failed attempt at flan. (Notice I have not crossed it off my 101 list…yet!)

I didn’t write down the recipe my mom gave me in January when she was up for a visit. So, I called my mom for the recipe in hopes of surprising our friends with some dessert. In my defense, the only reason the flan turned out lopsided was because she halved the recipe for me. Instead of using the two pans I remembered from earlier this year, I really only needed one. Unfortunately I didn’t realize this until it was too late.

Couldn’t let a good flan go to waste, so I went ahead and cooked it all lopsided…no matter how odd it looked. Let me tell you it was just as good. ;)

Now I know, though, and I have plans on making this again real soon.

If you’re feeling brave enough to try the recipe yourself (without one of my wonderful photos to cheer you on), here’s you go:

FLAN

SPECIAL SUPPLIES
A double sauce pan

INGREDIENTS
5 eggs
1 15oz. can of condensed milk
1 15oz. can of evaporated milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water

DIRECTIONS
1. Place water in bottom pan of double sauce pan.

2. Place pan in the oven and heat to 350 degrees.

3. Beat together the eggs and the two milks. Set aside.

4. Put sugar and water in a microwavable bowl. (I use a glass measuring cup, saving me the cleaning of an extra measuring cup.)

5. Microwave on high for 6 minutes or until sugar has caramelized to a deep brown (like the cognac color of a dark hessonite garnet.)

6. BEFORE THE CARAMEL COOLS, pour it on the bottom of the other sauce pan (the other portion of the double sauce pan not in the oven.) Make sure to tilt the pan, making the caramel cover all portions of the bottom of the pan.

7. Pour the custard into the caramel lined pan.

8. Bake for approximately 1 hour. Flan is done when a toothpick test comes out clean.

9. Remove pans from oven and let cook in refrigerator for 1 hour.

10. Invert flan onto a serving tray. The caramel sauce is served over the custard.

I want pictures if you make it!

If you’re looking for more Christmas traditions & recipes or a Christmas shop spotlight, make sure to check out the Etsyblogger’s blog on December 22nd for our blog carnival post.

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Tropical Trail Mix · 12/17/2008

I’ve been sick. This is nothing new. I get sick a lot, but this last time I had a breather of maybe a week between my sick bouts. I don’t want to live my life from cold to cold.

Just so happens that both my mom and this random magazine article mentioned that I should look into boosting my immune system, so I’m taking it as a suggestion from Higher Up that this is what I need to do.

While I fear putting myself in the same hypochondriac category that we’ve placed another friend (who really thinks he’s going to die from anything and everything at least once a week), I still made the trek to Target to pick up some vitamin D. (Vitamin D helps maintain bone health and the immune system.) I already had vitamin C and echinacea in the house, so no need to buy more of those.

Since I can’t just go to the store for one item, I decided to pick up supplies for my favorite snack, Tropical Trail Mix. One of my favorite candies to eat when I visit the in laws in California is chocolate covered gummy bears. (Yea, I know – gross, right? I can’t believe I like them either.) Well, the best part of my favorite snack? It gives me a fix just as if I had eaten the gummy bears. It makes me feel like I’m at least attempting to eat healthier. No guilt food. It should always be that way. :)

TROPICAL TRAIL MIX
Makes 1 serving
WW Points: 5

INGREDIENTS
15 Almonds, raw preferrably
1/3 cup dried tropical fruit
1/4 cup chocolate chips (Kroger’s organic brand has really large ones I like a lot)

DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients together and chomp away!

Yummy.

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For when you just need some chocolate · 11/13/2008

Last month I participated in an EtsyBlogger’s blog carnival about favorite recipes. If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I offered my pumpkin muffin recipe. (Now I’m going to have to make some of those this weekend.)

While browsing the carnival, I came accross this fantastic recipe for 5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake on Holly’s SilverRose Jewelry blog. I love chocolate and I love anything baked, so I thought “why not?”

I have to say, it’s not the exact consistency of cake. It’s more dense and a bit more “wet”. Adding the chocolate chips really did do it wonders. Regardless, I do believe I would try it again…maybe with one tablespoon less of applesauce.

Oh, and I did modify the recipe a bit (you might have noticed that from the mention of applesauce if you’ve seen this recipe floating around before.) So here is my version of the 5 minute cake:

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
Makes 1 serving
WW Points: 8.5

INGREDIENTS
1 Coffee Mug
1 tablespoons flour (plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
3 tablespoons egg substitute
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons applesauce
1 tablespoon chocolate chips (optional), some nuts (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

DIRECTIONS
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well.

Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and oil, and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips (if desired) and vanilla, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate, if desired.

Finally, I should mention that I couldn’t remember who it was originally that I got the recipe from until I did some backtracking. While searching, I produced two other Etsyblogger members who had tried the recipe. Check out Tina Rice’s and Spotted Cow Soaps’ notes on the recipe.

If you try it, let me know!

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