Resolution update...

Remember these?

1. Make bread from scratch (no cheating with a bread machine)
2. Donate blood at least 4 times this year (can't do more it more than every 8 wks)
3. Try 3 new recipes every month
4. Do some container gardening...maybe some tomatoes, a pepper plant and some herbs?
5. Meet more of our neighbors besides just the couple next door
6. Do some sort of exercise (besides walking the dog) a minimum of 3 times a week
7. Try at least 3 new restaurants on Murphy Street (there's at least 12 and we eat at the same one every time)
8. Work on being more consistent with my tennis game
9. Hang pictures on the walls that do not feature any member of our families
10. Spend Christmas in Hawaii
11. Make this blog more aesthetically appealing (gotta have a stretch goal)

Well, since I'm so boring a lame and hardly ever post these days, I'm going to pinch hit here and give you a little update on my progress. I still haven't done #1 but then, it's been hot and we don't have air conditioning. I've spied Ina's recipe for Irish soda bread which is not, by the way, the same as the Irish bread we make every year during the holidays and whose recipe I cannot ever share with anyone (Great-Nana Breen's family secret) but I don't think that counts anyway. I'm thinking more like a really good honey whole wheat. Anyway, I'll get there.

Re: #2. Oh, hell, that's a funny story. So, I have given blood 2x so far this year and I just realized I'm due to go back but that's not the funny part. The funny part is how on June 24th, the last time I donated blood, I got pulled over for an incomplete stop at a stop sign because I got lost while trying to find the donation place. And the officer asked me where I was going and I told him "I'm going to give blood." Yeah, I'm sure he believed that one. And he goes off to write my ticket because CA is in a massive budget crunch in case you hadn't heard and do you know how much it was? $212. $212!!!!! For an incomplete stop! Fck. Anyway, it's time to give blood again and I have made damned sure that I have stopped for a full 3 seconds at every stop sign since and you can bet I'll be extra careful when I drive to my next appointment.

Re: #3, I'm right on track. You can head over here to see some of the tasty things I've made as well as the other fabulous recipes we've tried.

Re: #4, I'm only moderately successful here. My herbs are fine although the basils are going south for some unknown reason and the cilantro died before I could transplant it. My cherry tomatoes are starting to come in but I've only seen a handful of the green zebras. The heirlooms, well, that plant hasn't produced a thing. Durr. As for the pepper plant, it said bell pepper on the marker but they sure look like little banana peppers or something besides bell pepper. Better luck next year, I suppose.

Re: #5, we met 2 more neighbors and continue to introduce ourselves to other neighbors while out for walks. Regrettably, we weren't able to participate in the national "Night Out" this summer so we missed an opportunity to meet more neighbors.

Re: #6, well, I have that one in spades. I work out 5 times a week and sometimes as many as 7 times a week depending on my schedule. I'm a big fan of the "Biggest Loser" DVDs and I have 3 Jillian DVDs. Love them. I don't love that I pulled my triceps muscles this weekend when I upped the handweights to 8lbs but I do love that I recently purchased pants and a skirt with a single-digit size tag. I haven't seen that number in years. Years, people. So long ago, in fact, that I can't even remember the last time I bought something in that size. 9th grade or 10th grade, maybe?

Re: #7, we recently tried the 3rd new restaurant and it was pretty tasty.

Re: #8, as always, my tennis game is a work in progress. I've developed a strategy for beating Michael but with his enormous wingspan and my remaining placement inconsistencies, I'm successful only about half the time. I'm also working on my serve and am constantly struggling against the bad habit of backing up while following through with my swing. That's never a good strategy.

As for the rest, well, you can see I haven't touched #11. #10 won't happen until December and I really have no excuse for #9. We just need to spend some time framing a few photos and putting them up. How hard is that, anyway? And yet, it's still not done. It's all a work in progress, right?