#25: Document 25 Recipes

#3 Ring in the new year.

DJ Devin brought the party to quarantine.

1. Accumulate one Bitcoin

2. Grow LA Fashion Insider

3. Ring in the New Year

4. Buy a Smoker

5. Go to a Marquette game

6. Key West or New Orleans

7. Buy a shot gun

8. Go Off-roading

9. Covert driveway into a fenced in patio

10. Go to a playoff game

11. Fly fishing trip with my Mom and Jim

12. Visit an American City we’ve never been to

13. Visit a state we’ve never been to

14. Celebrate Sonia’s 51st like it was her 50th

15. Go Skiing

16. Soak in a hot spring

17. Achieve 20% yearly gain on day trading account

18. Build an outdoor kitchen

19. Pay off Amex

20. Read 20 Books

21. Skeet Shooting

22. Pizza Oven

23. Add more smart home features

24. Get vaccinated 

25. Document 25 recipes

26. Sell the Bronco

27. Celebrate Devin’s 31st as if it was his 30th

28. Add a banned books shelf to the library

29. Remodel the front porch

30. Go to a major live concert/festival

31. Fly fish three rivers

32. Sleep on a boat

33. Visit five countries

34. Draft our wills

35. Eat seafood seaside 

36. Build a backyard cabana

37. Remodel Master Bathroom

38. Buy some waders and boots

39. Watch a sunrise

40. Watch a sunset

41. Star Gaze

42. Nap in a hammock

43. Palm Springs

44. Eat indoors at a restaurant

45. Three Beaches

46. Visit an island

47. Cut the cable cord and go digital

48. Go to a Giants game

49. See a movie in the theater

50. Back down to sub 260lb

51. Cardio

52. Buy a truck

53. Kayak

54. Joshua tree

55. Have a picnic

56. Stay in a cabin

57. Catch some sushi

58. Cardio

59. Harvest and replant

60. Have a drink in a bar over 200 years old

61. Commission a Pear Jam/MU Concert poster from 92’

62. Buy Sonia some fiscally irresponsible shoes 

63. Visit a National Park

64. Visit 3 Museums

65. Bike ride in another city

66. Purge and replace the library of unwanted books

67. Survive 2021

68. Stay at a winery

69. Aurora Borealis

70. Set my watch to 5 different time zones

71. Add some awnings

72. Build an outdoor sectional

73. See a Play

74. Family Christmas Party

75. Have a Catch

76.Three Master Classes 

77. Finish first draft of novel

78. Fly fish the ocean

79. Watch Alex pitch

80. Visit a Client

81. Build a table saw station

82. Landscape the curbside

83. Create a Xmas Eve video

84. New couch

85. Remove a tattoo

86. Panel the bedroom wall

87. RV

88. Go to a Bears game

89. Celebrate Hemingway’s 10th

90. Host a party

91. Remodel the kitchen (yeah, right)

92. Bigger TV

93. Buy Bikes

94. Las Vegas

95. Add three Hemingway books to the library

96. Upgrade the kitchenware 

97. Build a secret safe 

98. Plan a 2022 trip 

99. Jet ski

100. Start second novel

1. Don’t sleep in a hospital
2. Don’t Permanently Shutter LA Fashion Insider
3. Ring in the New Year
4. Do something I wouldn’t do if not for this blog
5. Go to a Marquette game
6. See my Dad in person by Father’s Day
7. Shot gun
8. Off roading
9. Complete 10 nagging home repairs
10. Refurbish the fireplace
11. Sleep in my bed
12. Visit an American City we’ve never been to
13. Visit a state we’ve never been to
14. Celebrate Sonia’s 50th
15. Go Skiing
16. Soak in a hot spring
17. Convert guest bedroom into a library/study
18. Pool Equipment Fence
19. Pay off Amex Business
20. Read 4 Pulitzer winning/finalist Fiction Novels
21. Read 20 additional books
22. Go to Wrigley
23. Survive 2020
24. Five hikes
25. Go vegetarian for two weeks
26. Take the top off or sell the Bronco
27. Celebrate Devin’s 30th
28. Read a top 50 book of all time I haven’t read
29. Complete Spain/Portugal Album
30. Go to five live music venues in LA
31. Spend a day at a lake or river
32. Go to a baseball stadium I’ve never been to
33. Sleep in a tent
34. Draft our wills
35. Eat seafood seaside 
36. A look back on the last decade
37. Attend my nephew’s HS graduation
38. San Diego
39. Watch a sunrise
40. Watch a sunset
41. Star Gaze
42. Nap in a hammock
43. Lounge by 5 hotel pools
44. Attend a music festival
45. Three Beaches
46. Three Masterclasses
47. New Orleans
48. See 10 New Movies
49. Don’t go bankrupt
50. Cardio
51. Zip line
52. Kayak
53. New laptops
54. Have a picnic
55. Go to any concert
56. Staycation
57. Dinner at home one full week (3 times)
58. Go to a Giants game
59. Have a drink in a bar over 200 years old
60. Commission a Pear Jam/MU Concert poster from 92’
61. Help 10 LA restaurants recover
62. Visit a National Park
63. Visit 3 Museums
64. Bike ride in another city
65. Deep sea fishing
66. Stay at a winery
67. Aurora Borealis
68. Set my watch to 5 different time zones
69. Fish a river or stream
70. Frame Pearl Jam posters
71. See 3 Plays
72. Don’t wear a hospital gown
73. Have a Catch
74. Go to a professional sporting event
75. Finish first draft of novel
76. Go to an island
77. See Alex pitch
78. Five rooftop toasts
79. Garage Sale
80. Landscape the curbside
81. Art for the dining room wall
82. No car for me
83. Remove a tattoo
84. Sleep in the desert
85. RV
86. Go to a Bears game
87. Celebrate Hemingway’s 9th
88. Celebrate Brittany’s 25th
89. Learn more Spanish
90. Palm Springs
91. New car for Sonia
92. Las Vegas
93. Add five vintage hard covers to the library
94. Weigh 165
95. Don’t Weigh 120
96. See my mom in person this year
97. Start second novel
98. Walk across a bridge
99. Family photo
100. Tour a winery

54%. The lowest completion rate in years, but expected once the shit hit the fan. Happy for the most part.

I’ve always enjoyed appreciated devastation depicted in film.

Branzino and home grown roasted zucchini.

Head start on next year’s goal to upgrade my kitchenware. Three new Dalstrong knives for X-mas. Thanks, GA.

My last read book of 2020. I was entertained.

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Until I get a pizza oven, the blackstone worked surprisingly well. The Bloody Mary in the spa to watch the Bears game was icing on the cake. Trying to set up a universal remote for the remainder of the day brought things back down to earth.

Hemingway was very impressed about how much faster the Blackstone cooked his 40lbs of venison than it used to take me with the oven. Sonia’s happy the house doesn’t smell like venison.

Christmas was different this year. The Christmas Eve party that has been a Youmans family tradition for more than two decades was paused for a more immediate gathering in the back yard. We added whiffle ball which was a plus, and the fire pit made the cool night more than tolerable. As for Christmas Day, the breakfast was as good as ever and Santa brought a perfect 72 degrees and sunny day.

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The grocery store drink dispenser is a game changer.

Meh.

Much better.

Dinner prep.

Bacon, egg and cheese with miso red sauce for a kick. I love this griddle.

Entertaining.

3 hour BBQ ribs. House grown butter lettuce salad. House grown roasted zucchini.

Guess we’ll have some zucchini for dinner.

New Blackstone griddle with 3 built in air fryers. Breaking it in with some fajitas.

Christmas.

California’s new stay at home order. Screw it, we’re going to work.

Another pandemic silver lining. I just became a HVAC repairman. It was like solving a Rubik’s cube, but now I know what the cave men must have felt when they first made fire.

No restaurants, so it’s time to cook more. Huge Mac and air fries.

I subscribed to a monthly Butcher Box of grass fed meats just in time. The second full lock down has begun.

A little maintenance on what ain’t happening’.

#36: A look back on the last decade. — I don’t have the time, but the 2010’s were great.

#44: Attend a music festival — I miss these.

#67: Aurora Borealis — One of these years.

#79: Garage Sale — We cleaned the garage, but gave it all way.

#80: Landscape the curbside — Maybe next year.

#86: Go to a Bear’s game — Glad we couldn’t.

#2: Don’t Permanently Shutter LA Fashion Insider

As odd it sounds, we had our best year in the last six. Chalk it up to the pandemic and getting into PPE like masks and covid testing kits.

Thankfully, LA waited until today to close down all restaurants so that we could celebrate Devin’s 30th.

Happy 30th, Devin!

Got a head start on one of next year’s goals which is to upgrade our cookware. My first piece is this chef’s knife. Instead of buying one from one of the big brands, I found a 15 year old aspiring knife maker from the UK on instagram and commissioned him to make this. Pretty cool, because he had not yet tackled kitchen knives, but he got a lot of support from the knife making community and the end product turned out great. Got it today and already prepared dinner with it.

Fantastic.

Friendsgiving. H

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#96: See Mom this year

Mom brought us together for a wonderful few days in the darkest spot in the USA. Anza Borrego was a hit.

#39: Watch a Sunrise

From the comfort of the RV. Sunrise in Anza Borrego.

#10: See 10 New Movies

I usually enjoy Sophia Coppola’s movies, but this was a bit of a bore.

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A small patio makeover. Happy to have added a ceramic tile saw blade to my collection.

Enjoyed.

Updated to the new, more accurate 23 and Me chip. All looks about right compared to my research. Paternal Grandmother was Lithuanian. Paternal Grandfather was Welch/Scottish/English. Maternal Grandmother was German/English. Maternal Grandfather was Irish/Scottish/English. Nice to see a smidgeon of Portuguese as I might live there one day. Probably where I got my sea legs. Still not a Jew, but Jew-ish.

Used our anniversary as an excuse to get together so that Hemingway could return to the field. Hasn’t lost a step.

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First hot pot dinner. I like.

Halloween Store at the end of our block is outfitting everyone for their super spreader events.