I took last month off from my countdown to 50 by just chillin’ out.  No to do, no monthly chore no big deal. I increased my work out schedule, attended more LAX and basketball games and finished the Fifth Shades trilogy. Not bad.

Faced with another month, I thought to myself, “what would I like to do this month?” What is on my bucket list?  What would I enjoy doing as I turn 50?  Learn Italian.

Not surprisingly, there’s an ipod app for that.  My ipod will alert me once a day with my word of the day,  sometimes a phrase of the day.  You can hear the pronunciation and repeat; you can bookmark the word for future reference; but you can never replicate the sound of my grandfather’s voice or the smell of the garden from his swing as he would teach me basic words in Italian.  I wish he were here today.

My grandfather once made me a lunch of pasta-fa-zool and red wine. It was a hot summer day and we hung out on the front porch and had lunch.  I was about 3 years old.  When my mom picked me up,we were both sleeping and I could not venture too far away from the bathroom.  Moral of the story:  too many beans and wine have an adverse affect on a 3 year old; a positive affect on an 75 year old.

I am off to make a sweet potato crusted basa with seaweed salad.

Non abbiate paura di qualcosa di nuovo. (Don’t be afraid to try something new.)