A few more resolutions complete

When it came to making my list of New Year's resolutions back in January, I didn't put a lot of thought into them. I just listed off some random things I wanted to do this year - and thought making it public might help keep the pressure on to actually do them.

As I wrote yesterday, some of these resolutions have been a little bit harder than others - like the date thing.

Since it is nearing the end of August - with really only four months left to complete the list of 19 items I made for myself - I thought it was time to check back in and see what I have left to accomplish. I have to admit, I didn't spend too much time thinking about these resolutions during the summer. There was just so much else to do - graduation parties, baby showers, weddings, watching back-to-back-to-back episodes of "The Gilmore Girls."

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I have completed 8 of my 19 resolutions and that one of them is kind of obsolete now. One of those resolutions had been to decide what kind of car I wanted to buy, but since I sort of took over driving my mom's Saturn when she bought a new used Saturn I didn't really decide anything. Still, I think it should count as complete.

I also quit Farmville months ago. I was torn because so many of my relatives and friends were playing it - so for weeks I would still log on to send supplies and gifts to all the people I knew who were playing it. The game was never fun. I mean, it consists of clicking on squares to "sow, seed and harvest" plants. It's much more exciting to pick real vegetables in my backyard. Finally I realized I just had to give it up cold turkey. It has been months since I've started up the Facebook game and I no longer feel bad for ignoring all those requests I get from other people. It was just too much of a time suck. Now when I see all those please for help, I just ignore them.

I also feel like I should be able to claim No. 14 on the list - keep up the gym routines. Since January, I've been going to the gym an average of six days a week. I run about 10 miles a week. I've completed two 5Ks and have plans to do another one next month. I even signed up for a boot camp class at my gym that has been kicking my butt twice a week and have a gift certificate for one-on-one sessions with the same trainer. Though it's not the end of the year quite yet, I feel confident that I will continue with my rigorous routine. The benefits of it have been too great to ignore - sleeping better, getting down to the same size I was when I was 23, not feeling super stressed at work and having visible muscle mass - so the routines came with a lot of motivation.

I've read a couple books I haven't reported on yet and I am nearly complete with another one. The sad thing is I have only really enjoyed a couple of the books I've read and a lot of them just haven't been that interesting. More on this resolution when the next book is complete.

Some of the other resolutions haven't really gone quite as well. I have yet to watch any of the Academy Award best picture winners - aside from ones I've watched in the past. I guess I just got too wrapped up in getting "The Gilmore Girls" from Netflix, and a few other TV series, so I haven't put much effort into it. As soon as I finish with "The Gilmore Girls" and perhaps the last season of "Criminal Minds," I promise to add a few movies to the queue.

I have not learned the family recipe for gnocchi though I made it known to my aunt that I want her to make them with me. I am sure it will happen before the end of the year. I also have not made ravioli from scratch or pasta sauce from scratch. The goal was to use tomatoes from my garden to make the sauce and then make the raviolis. Unfortunately, of the two roma tomato plants I put in the ground, one died of and the other has just now begun to produce ripe tomatoes. The weather has just been off so much this year we only have cherry tomatoes in abundance and those wouldn't really work well for sauce I have in mind. I still haven't decided exactly what I will do about the sauce since even tomatoes at the farmers markets haven't been that good this year.


But I still have four more months to make some progress so here's to hoping I can finish up the last 11 resolutions.

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.