January update

Whew. January went by in a blur of singing, drinking, and cat-petting. I can not believe the first month of 2011 is over. It feels like I've done so much already this year, and at the same time nothing at all. We took short trips to both sides of the U.S. - New York first, for snow, and then California, for rain. And you know resolutions don't apply when you are out of town, right? On to the update:

Read: I read not one but four books this month! The Fountainhead, Feisengrad, I'm With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, and In Defense of Food. I started off with a big new stack from my wishlist, instead of the old pile of unreads, and it really helped.

(one down, one to go...)

Eat healthier: Lots of cooking this month, lots of fruits and vegetables. And the new common sense guideline Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. to keep me inspired to eat less processed food.

Cook more: We got out of the groove due to traveling and having nothing in the fridge, but are right back in it. Recent new recipes include lamb stew, beef stew, wilted baby spinach (great way to use up leftover salad, and sauteed mushrooms.

(beef stew in progress...)

Play guitar better: Against my resolutions, I quit taking guitar lessons. Honestly, I haven't even picked up my guitar in 2011! Now I have to find somewhere to go to keep me sane and from becoming a hermit. Cooking lessons? Learn to speak Italian? Join a gym? Better decide fast because I adjust to doing nothing pretty well.

Like the way I look: I've been doing a great job wearing my new pretty dresses, and shoes. And my leather mini even went out for a spin. And almost always bright red lipstick, new favorite: Revlon's Fire and Ice. (Although my hair, and nails, are in desperate need of attention.)

(this new red sweater got a lot of play in January... it has a tail!)

Exercise: Nope, not even once.

Keep keeping the house clean: Yes! I wanted to start sweeping/mopping more, and the addition of a kitty cat definitely made this a must. And thanks to hubby, the trunk full of Goodwill-destined clothes and shoes finally made it there.

Wake up early: yes, and no. Mostly yes.

Diary/Blog and photos: Only 12 blog posts for January means I haven't even done this half of the days. And although I've been wearing my nice clothes much more, they aren't usually getting photographed. I need to work on this.

Improve day-to-day apartment living: All of the apartment purchases this month have been cat-related. And we still don't have a pizza cutter, although we haven't actually eaten pizza so far this year.

(kit-cat needed an awful lot of stuff...)