Making a List and Checking it Twice...

I'm making a new list! In searching the internet for inspiration, I stumbled across some advice to live with your list for a week or so and check back over it before committing to it. So, that's what I'm doing. I'm announcing my new list for the sake of accountability and because I'm excited to be trying this again.

Some thoughts on this list business:

• I used the list last time to try to challenge me to do new things, rather than focusing on things that I could reasonably complete if only given a little push. Subtle, I know, but I think it was crucial in the problems with the list process.The next 1001 days are particularly hazy for me right now, so it's hard to figure out what is actually doable. This won't be clarified in the next week or so when I re-review the list, but I am trying to focus on things that are able to be finished rather than big items that will challenge me to do new things (tried that last time around, most things went un-done).
• I need to check in on my progress regularly. I'm not sure yet of the best way to do this but there are enough things that I want to do on a regular basis on this list to spur me along. I may mix in weekly round-ups about things like blog posts (spoiler alert: I am trying to do a lot of blogging this year...) with specific item posts. 
• I had plans to replace this whole list thing with a narrower focus month by month a la Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project. Instead, that sort of project will be an item on the list. I still don't know what that will all look like, but I think it will be an interesting complement to this process and a way to spur me to work on these items.

So, I'm getting excited. List to come. More planning to come. A great 1001 (plus some) days to come.

Time Flies...Some Reflections on the Past 900-Some-Odd Days

It's been almost a year since I last updated this blog. I can't say that I've been tracking any of the items, but I have been tackling some of them. I've been cooking and reading, but not writing about it (or keeping track there either). I've been in and out of exercise and yoga routines, interrupted mainly by bouts of physical inability.

And in reviewing the list at this point, there are a lot of things that I wanted to focus on in principle, but didn't really make the time for in a way that was trackable. There are also a lot of experiences that I listed out as very specific items (that was, in fact, the rule of the project - get specific), but really just represent my general wish to have new experiences and try new things. I've been doing some of that this past year as well, again, just not tracking it.

I'm not giving up on finding a way to bring more of the kinds of experiences I'm wishing for into my life. And maybe even to track them. One of my biggest overarching goals was to write more, whether it is for a formal audience as in this blog or my long-neglected food blog, or just for myself. I like the idea of holding myself publicly accountable, if only to an unnamed public, and so this blog may evolve and change and reflect the next stage of my indulgent path towards the life of my dreams.

There will be more to say about what that will look like, sometime between now and January (I fully appreciate that resolutions big or small don't have to coincide with the New Year, but my current schedule is looking pretty hectic for the next couple of months. Ah, life.). And because I draw so much inspiration from other quests for happiness and exciting experiences, chances are it will look like something I've read recently (working on Happier at Home right now, the next installment in the Gretchen Rubin Happiness Project experience) or seen elsewhere.

Until then...

New Recipes

Recently, I started cooking again and while I haven't been great about writing about it on the Brooklyn Forager (or tracking it here), I'm hoping to make sure everything gets logged appropriately more frequently.

For now, I've tried a couple of new recipes that are fitting the bill for this challenge:

• Curry Roast Chicken with Tomato Leek Gravy
• Pear Ginger Muffins
• Butternut Squash, Apple and Leek Casserole

I only wrote about the chicken so far, but the other two recipes will be going up on the blog as soon as I can get all the pictures in order and the recipes together.

More Non-fiction and More Food Blogging

I've read a couple of additional books this month, slowly adding to my total.  I read Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr which inspired a diet cleanse and more blogging over at Seeking White Space (yes, I probably have too many blogs...but they're all different!). I'm excited to have a new challenge and I hope to use it to get inspired in the kitchen and for blog posts across all of my various writing locations.

I also read:

• Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism by Paul Collins
• Super Freakonomics by Stephen D. Leavitt and Stevin J. Dubner

Trying to get in as much non-fiction as I can, I guess! I suppose I've been drawn in this direction these days, and it doesn't hurt that I get double credit!

Another One Bites the Dust: New Restaurant Round-up

While I wasn't looking, I also managed to finish my restaurant item! We don't go out to eat very often, so I set the bar low, and that worked to my advantage. Here are the places I've tried:

• Two 8 Two
• Lupa - This one was for our 11 year dating/2 year wedding anniversary.  I could write a whole entry just on this one, but in the interest of time, I'll just say it was fabulous AND counted for a date night.
• People's Republic of Brooklyn - We ate in the back garden, so this one was one of our al fresco nights. 
• Cubana Cafe
• http://www.stoneparkcafe.com/

Part of what I wanted to do with the books, movies and restaurants was write more. I think that with all of these items I bit off more than I could chew (which leads me into some thoughts about how to morph this blog into something a bit more simplified and targeted next time around, but I'm getting ahead of myself).  To remedy this, I'm reverting to lists and will focus my writing on the places that really call for it (some Brooklyn Forager posts are coming!). 

A Lot of DVDs Going On

I have been streaming loads of Netflix movies and TV since my last Netflix update (I know, 10/10.  That's sad.). But making a list of those streamed discs seemed daunting.  So I let the list get longer.  I sat down tonight to count actual discs as a start, with a couple notable movies from streaming thrown in.  And lo and behold! I finished this item with a couple to spare.  Very exciting.  Here are the movies that got me here:

• He's Just Not That Into You
• Ironman 2
• Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone: Part 1
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Where the Wild Things Are
• Big Love Season 4 (3 discs)
• Whip It!
• Inception
• Alice and Wonderland
• The League Season 1 (2 discs)
• Scott Pilgrim v. The World
• I Am Legend
• My Sister's Keeper
• Kick-Ass
• Damages Season 2 (3 discs)
• Dexter Season 3 (3 discs)
• Big Love Season 3 (1 disc)
• Mamma Mia! 

Since I actually managed to finish this one so early, and because I'm so behind on my other items, I'm reading the tea leaves and seeing that I need to really focus on my other activities.  Which is sort of the point of this whole list.  I've got a couple of things lined up, so now I just need to take this sign and run with it. 

Catching Up: What I've Been Reading

I'm hoping for more regular updates soon, but in the meantime, here is what I've been reading:

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
• The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
• Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
• Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert
• The Essential C-Section Guide by Maureen Connolly and Dana Sullivan
• Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr
• Empty Cradle, Broken Heart by Deborah Davis
• The Agency by Ally O'Brien

I will skip the reviews this time around, but I hope to get back to it now that I'm getting back on track. At this point, I'm well aware that I won't come even close, but I like tracking so I'll keep trying to get as close as I can.