Joseph F. Radosevich

We have filled out "goal sheets" with our kids on New Year's Eve for the last 10 years. Our older kids read through them in the lead up to the New Year. There are four categories on the sheets along with frames and pictures to color. The four categories are: What I want to read, what food I want to try, what I want to learn, and what I want to do. We personalize them in different ways. Some people write down multiple goals in each category. Some write down a food like lobster, tomatoes, or buffalo. Others write down dishes or international cuisines. Some write down a book to read. Other write down a number of books to read.  What I love about these New Year goal sheets is that they focus on this we want to learn and do. Goals work better if they are about skills to learn. I've learned from 10 years of these sheets that I can learn new things and these sheets are best if I focus on skills not outcomes. Last year, I relearned to write in cursive. I learned all the notes...

My father-in-law makes amazing pour-over coffee. I can't find a coffee shop that makes drip or pour-over coffee that good. It took me years to figure out his secret even though he told and showed me everything. I married his daughter 17 years ago. It was right in front of me the whole time.  He gives me bags of coffee to take home from time to time. I couldn't replicate the flavor at home with the exact pour-over cone that he had, so I started asking questions.  First, I thought it was the water. Nope Then, we thought it was the amounts, or the temperature, or the speed. Still no. The entire time, I thought it couldn't be the grind. I use whole bean coffee and grind it fresh. All the guides and gurus say to grind pour-over coffee medium-medium fine. I found it always brewed too quickly and came out thin and acidic or it channeled in the cone. The taste was never right. It wasn't the rich, flavorful cup that he got. I gave up on using the cone at home and marveled at eve...