One-tenth of Resolution No. 1 done

I stayed up way too late last night working on one of my resolutions. I finished reading the first of 10 books I want to make it through this year (Resolution No. 1.) It was a book I got for Christmas by one of my favorite authors, Nick Hornby, "Juliet, Naked."

I started it on the weekend, but of course, I didn't finish it. I spent the week trying to get to bed early so I would have a little more time to read before bed. I even took the book with me to work and read during my lunch hour on Monday.

It wasn't Hornby's best work, but it was a decent read. My favorite Hornby books have both been made into novels, "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy." Those two books just had fuller characters than "Juliet, Naked," but perhaps what made them more enjoyable was the happy ending at the end. The latest book is about three people in the middle of middle age - or nearly past it - who suddenly realize they have wasted 15 years of their lives. Duncan and Annie are an English couple who have never gotten married and just sort of fell into their relationship. Duncan is obsessed with a reclusive former musician from America and it puts a strain on his relationship with Annie. The musician manages to contact Annie, in the middle of his own brittle relationship. The sad thing is that although all three people seem to realize what a waste the last years have been, none of them end up doing anything to change it.

It was engaging enough, however, that I couldn't put it down last night as I got down to the last 50 pages. It's one of the reasons I don't read more books - I stick to magazines. And thanks to Hornby, I am not an extra two weeks behind on my "New Yorkers." I'll get back to those before I start the next novel in a couple weeks.

Stop and smell the (pricey) roses

I'm beginning to think I don't believe in marriage. Or more specifically, I am not sure I believe in weddings.

I've been immersed in wedding planning as maid of honor for my cousin who has plans for May nuptials. And every step along the way I am shocked with how much everything costs.

The latest stop along the way included a visit to a local flower shop. I can't claim to be an expert on flowers since I rarely send them to other people and have rarely received them myself (although I am still wondering who sent me the mystery bouquet of roses and stargazer lilies when I worked at SJSU.) But it seems to me that a small bouquet of flowers with which to walk down the aisle really shouldn't go for nearly $300. And then there are the bouquets for the bridesmaids, boutonnieres for the groomsmen and corsages for the mothers and honored guests. It all adds up to way more than I would ever want to spend on flowers.

That doesn't even count the venue, food and drinks, invitations, the wedding dress, the cake and a whole bunch of other costs.

As my friend put it, weddings can cost as much as a really good car or a down payment on a condo. If I had that kind money I'd put it to good use by paying down my student loans. But I guess I don't have to worry about any of this for a while since I haven't made any progress yet on Resolution No. 9.

The root of the problem - Resolution No. 6

This morning when I sat down to work on a shopping list for the week's menus (after a nice trip to the gym and yoga - Resolution No. 14), I thought I would start to tackle some of Resolution No. 6.

I chatted with a friend the other day who gave me some suggestions for ingredients he thought I should use. Of course, some of them were clearly just meant to poke fun at my picky eating habits - like black squid ink, which I will never eat willingly. He also nixed my idea to use saffron or other herbs and seasonings as ingredients. He said they didn't count.

But there were a few items he mentioned that were already on my tentative list, such as quinoa.

I found a quinoa recipe I will use later this week, but a lazy Sunday afternoon seemed like the perfect time to roast up some root vegetables I've never tried before. The first on my list was kohlrabi, but unfortunately I couldn't find it anywhere in my grocery store. Perhaps it was listed under another name - like how fennel is sometimes called anise. I realized that using some out of the ordinary ingredients may require a little bit of shopping around.

Luckily, Nob Hill had all the other root vegetables I wanted. The medley included veggies I've used plenty of times such as onions, carrots, parsnips and turnips. The ones I haven't cooked before included celery root and beets, red and golden. I've eaten beets plenty of times, but usually just out of a can on top of a salad.

Despite some time spent washing and peeling the vegetables, the prep time was pretty quick. I bought a mandolin slicer before the holidays and it worked out well to slice up the round vegetables into 1/4" thick slices. The vegetables were tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, with sprigs of rosemary, thyme and sage thrown on top.

The vegetables were served with a pot roast. The celery root has a slight celery flavor and came out of the oven with a smooth texture. The red beets had an earthy flavor and the golden beets were sweet.

One ingredient down, four to go. So far this resolution has been tasty.

Photo by Melissa Flores

Roasted root vegetables include carrots, parsnips, red and golden beets, onion and celery root.

28 days more to wait

Netflix and Warner Bros. came to an agreement early this week that highlights the change in the way viewers are seeing movies. The studio agreed to release more of its video catalogue to Netflix streaming option (which can be accessed using Xboxes, Roku players and on laptops) if the mail movie giant would agreed to delay release of Warner Bros. films until they have been on sale for 28 days. Read more about it here.

My family has always been avid movie collectors and we have probably 300 movies on DVD or video (parsed down from more than hundreds more when we moved to our new place.) A lot of those movies are courtesy of my sister who bought a lot of movies from classic Audrey Hepburn flicks to anime to horror films. My dad has lots of Westerns and my mom has plenty of romantic comedies. The shelf I claim as my own has maybe 50 movies on it and they run the gamut from mainstream comedy to obscure indie films.

When we moved to the new house, we downsized the movie collection by donating movies we didn't think we would watch again or that we had lukewarm feelings for to the local library. The impetus for us was because we really didn't have the space. It also seemed like a good way to start saving some money since we spent an awful lot on new movies and pre-owned DVDs through the years. I still occasionally buy movies that I really want, like "The House Bunny."

It will be interesting to see if the month wait prompts any users to run out and buy DVDs. My guess is that people who really want to see a film will have already seen it in the theater and the extra four weeks wait won't make much of a difference. As any long-time Netflix user knows, it's nearly impossible to get a movie the week it comes out anyway.

The good news for viewers in all this is that they will be able to see more of the Warner Bros. catalogue on instant play.

Eight decades of best pictures

So I figured the first step in starting on my resolution to see all the Academy Award best picture winners for the last 80 years is getting the list together. I've seen some of the movies before, so I have a little bit of a head start on it.

The oldest picture winner I've seen is 1943's "Casablanca," with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, a classic love story that seems even more classic compared with all the bad romantic comedies I saw last year. The most recent movie I saw on the list is 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire." I thought the movie was well-done despite the penchant director Danny Boyle has for gross bathroom scenes. And the music was excellent. I've seen quite a few other movies (italicized below) from the musicals of the '60s such as "My Fair Lady" and "Sound of Music," to the serious fare of "Terms of Endearment" and "Schindler's List."

I can see why many of the winners took the best picture honor, but some just confuse me such as "Crash" in 2005 and "No Country For Old Men" in 2007.

As I check the movies off my list (which I am sure will take more than a year), I will report back here with thoughts.

For now here is the very long list I have left.
Wings (1928)
The Broadway Melody (1929)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Cimarron (1931)
Grand Hotel (1932)
Cavalcade (1933)
It Happened One Night (1934)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
You Can't Take It With You (1938)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Rebecca (1940)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Casablanca (1943)
Going My Way (1944)
The Lost Weekend (1945)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
Hamlet (1948)
All the King's Men (1949)
All About Eve (1950)
An American in Paris (1951)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Marty (1955)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Gigi (1958)
Ben-Hur (1959)
The Apartment (1960)
West Side Story (1961)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Tom Jones (1963)
My Fair Lady (1964)
The Sound of Music (1965)
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Oliver! (1968)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Patton (1970)
The French Connection (1971)
The Godfather (1972)
The Sting (1973)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Rocky (1976)
Annie Hall (1977)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Ordinary People (1980)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Gandhi (1982)
Terms of Endearment (1983)
Amadeus (1984)
Out of Africa (1985)
Platoon (1986)
The Last Emperor (1987)
Rain Man (1988)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Dances with Wolves (1990)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Unforgiven (1992)
Schindler's List (1993)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Braveheart (1995)
The English Patient (1996)
Titanic (1997)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
American Beauty (1999)
Gladiator (2000)
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Chicago (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Crash (2005)
The Departed (2006)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Best picture of 2009?

The resolve continues to evolve

I've already got some feedback from some friends about my list of resolutions for 2010. I have a must-try restaurant added to my list (resolution #2,) though I'm told the going rate is $95 a person so maybe I can combine my resolution of going on a date (resolution #9) with that one and get someone else to pay for it. The same friend who suggested the very expensive Los Gatos restaurant (it's Los Gatos, of course it's expensive) also wants to suggest some new ingredients (resolution #6) for me to use in 2010. I am sure he just wants to drink me into eating seafood or something spicy, which has been a goal for about the last decade.

The only resolution I have actually gotten started on is No. 10 since the application for the fellowship for which I would like to apply is due Feb. 1. I wrote out rough drafts of two of the required essays and have coworkers reading them offer for advice. It's one of the benefits of working with a bunch of writers and journalist - they all have a critical eye and good grammar.

Though I did spend a lot of time ruminating about my list of resolutions before I posted it over the weekend, there are a few things I meant to add to the list that slipped my mind. So here is an addendum to the original listing.

16.) Enter (and complete) a 5K run/walk

Okay so some of my friends have lofty goals of running marathons, but I'd like to keep my goal a little bit more realistic since I am never going to have the time or motivation to train for something like that.

I've been volunteering for the last couple of years at a summer 5K walk/run and this year I think I'd like to participate in it rather than sitting on the sidelines. I used to run two miles a day back when I worked at San Jose State (and was in my early 20s) and this goal will help keep me motivated at the gym.

17.) Clean out the garage

My family moved into our house going on three years now...there are still boxes packed up in the garage from when we moved in. I am pretty sure at least 75 percent of the items in the garage (with the exception of Christmas decorations, photo albums and the extra refrigerator) can probably go straight to charity or the dumps. It's time to get this cleaned up.

18.) Have tulips or lilies in my garden

The best thing about the house I moved into three years ago is the eight hours of sunlight in the backyard for the vegetable garden. I've had basil and tomatoes that have thrived, but every time I plant flowers nothing much seems to happen.

For the last three years I have tried to plant tulips and/or lilies in the garden. I chilled the bulbs, planted them in winter and waited for spring each year. And waited and waited and waited. This year, I will have tulips and lilies in my garden, even if I have to buy transplants from the garden center.

19.) Make homemade pasta sauce (entirely from scratch)

Speaking of the home-grown tomatoes, this year I would really like to make homemade tomato sauce entirely from scratch. I wanted to do it last season, but our tomato crop was less abundant than usual due to the cold spring weather. And then it was really hot and I couldn't see putting the oven on for hours to roast tomatoes for the sauce. But perhaps I can come up with a way to roast the tomatoes on an outdoor grill to keep the heat out of the house. I already have plans to plant some Roma tomatoes, the perfect variety for a pasta sauce.

I am sure the list of resolutions will continue to evolve, and once again, advice and suggestions are welcome.

With great resolve

In this week's edition of the Weekend Pinnacle, we reviewed the happenings of San Benito County in 2009. My co-worker went through our online archive month by month to pick out the top stories of the year - and based on his news judgement there were a lot of them. A review of the year revealed a lot of budget cuts, a lot of furloughs and a lot of unemployment. But it also revealed some progress, such as the opening of the Hwy. 25 bypass, which has been a decade in the making, the first condors nesting in San Benito in 70 years and plenty of people who are doing good deeds.

On a personal level, 2009 had its rough spots, but I'd like to look at things with a glass half full attitude. I took a pay cut, but I still have a job in the news industry, something that seems to be more and more rare. I was healthy all year except for a little cold and allergies, as were most of my friends and family. Work got really hard when people were laid off, but I learned new skills and was able to adapt. All in all, I had a decent year.

Now that 2010 is started, I thought it was time to think about what I want from the next year. I don't usually make resolutions, but I was inspired by a blog I discovered a couple months ago where a woman posted her own bucket list and writes about accomplishing the items. Most of the things on her list are things that would never make my list, but it got me thinking about how to change things up in my life a little. So here is my list of things I'd like to do in 2009 - or at least start on. Feel free to offer input and anyone who wants to help is welcome to.

1.) Read at least 10 books

This might seem like an easy one since I am an avid reader, but I have a bad habit of reading "The New Yorker" cover to cover. It's not like reading "People" magazine, with all the pictures and such. I have a stack of "New Yorkers" on my nightstand about a foot deep and they keep piling up every time I take a break to read something else.

But I do enjoy reading a book once in a while - and I have a box full from Christmas, my birthday last July and possibly from the Christmas before that I'd like to tackle this year.

2.) Eat at five new restaurants

I am a creature of habit, and a picky eater, so when I do eat out I almost always go with the same, old stuff I know. My favorite restaurants tend to be hole-in-the-wall places in Hollister and Gilroy, or chain restaurants I know well.

So this year, I'd like to try a few new places and get out of my comfort zone - though that doesn't mean I will be trying any fish dishes or anything else too exotic. Anyone with restaurant suggestions around the Bay Area, please let me know and friends are welcome to dine out with me.

3.) Make homemade ravioli

I made egg pasta from scratch for the first time two years ago when I took a cooking class. I was surprised at how easy it was, but I've never tackled anything more than fettuccine or spaghetti. I bought my sister a pasta maker for her birthday last year and it has been used once. I'd like to put it to use more often and come up with a tasty ravioli filling sometime this year.

4.) Learn my aunt's gnocchi recipe

For anyone who doesn't know, gnocchi are a kind of Italian potato dumplings. My aunt and her daughter are the only ones in the family who know the recipe so I think it's time someone else learned, to carry on the family tradition.

5.) Take a trip somewhere other than Indiana
No offense to my very good friend from the Midwest, but the only vacation I've taken in the last two years has been to visit Indianapolis for some face time with her. I have another trip planned for May when she gets married, but I'd like to get out of town and somewhere else.

I'm not thinking a long tour of Europe or anything, even just a weekend trip out of town would be nice.

6.) Cook recipes with five ingredients I haven't used before

For the weekly food column I write, I am always trying out new recipes and last summer I challenged myself to find meals that used some of the ingredients at a local farmers' market. That's how I discovered leeks, fennel and bok choy, all delicious vegetables. I'd like to expand the family favorites with a few new ingredients.

7.) Watch all the Academy Award best picture winners

I've probably seen about a quarter of the movies already, including most of the winners for the last decade but I'd like to see some of the older films, too.

This is probably one goal I will not be able to achieve in one year, given there are more than 80 movies on the list.

8.) Write a short story

I've been kicking around the idea of writing a novel for a couple years now, but with work responsibilities I just never have to time to get down in word the ideas that are in my head. I thought a good way to kick start it might be to try writing a short story first and see where things go from there.

9.) Go on a date

This also might seem like an easy one but I'm not sure I've been on a real bonafide date in years. When I mentioned to my friends I hadn't dated in a while and I'd like to start I got two responses - the first was that they'd love to fix me up with someone but all the single men they know are single for a reason and the second was that they'd tried online dating and I should, too, because they met a lot of...interesting people. I'm not quite sure how I'll tackle this one, but perhaps I will ask my friends for some more advice.

10.) Apply for a fellowship

I've got a journalism fellowship already selected - the application is due Feb. 1. I printed the application requirements in October. Now to actually start working on it. My actually getting accepted to the fellowship program might be a long shot, but as my coworker keeps reminding me I really have nothing to lose.

11.) Quit farmville

I only started playing farmville because a couple of my friends were playing it. I nearly stopped playing it a while ago when I realized my farm was so big it was taking me 20 minutes to harvest, plow and plant my fields every time I logged in. But then a bunch more friends signed on and I felt kind of bad if I quite I would be helping them along with their farms. Perhaps I could just scale back on the times a week I log into farmville and slowly wean myself off it.

12.) Take a class

I don't really have a class in mind, but I'd like to use a class as a way to learn something new. I always look at the community classes offered at Gavilan College, but never actually since up for them. And there are weekend cooking classes offered through sources such as Sur La Table.

13.) Scan old photos of family and friends

I've got photo albums from college and high school, as well as the old family photos that are just sitting in the garage. I'd like to start scanning them and burning them onto cds where we will have copies in case anything ever happens to the albums. It would also be great to share the photos of family with my younger cousins who haven't seen them.

14.) Keep up the gym routine

I was going to the gym regularly for nearly a year when I got a little overwhelmed with work and honestly was just a bit too tired to get up and go. But I've gotten back to the gym for the last six weeks with a commitment of going four days a week. It means getting up at 6:30 a.m. on weekends and earlier on the weekdays I go. But it means I feel less stressed out at work, I eat better and I feel better so its worth it.

15.) Decide on what kind of car I want

I have plans to get a new care in 2010, but I am torn about what I want. I once said I would never get an SUV, but I really kind of like the Honda CR-V. The idealist in my thinks I should get a hybrid, but those are all expensive. In the end, I'll probably just buy whatever is the most affordable and gets decent gas mileage.

So here are a few things to start off the New Year. I may add more as time goes on, and I will certainly post updates on how things are going, especially when I complete one of the goals. As I said before, input, advice and dinner company are welcome.