Blog, Take 2

Let's try this again, shall we?
I set a big old goal for myself of blogging once a week. I didn't make it past February. BUT I'm going to restart it this summer!
I just moved back home for the summer. I think I had a very successful second semester- a BIG improvement over fall semester, thank goodness. I am a much happier person. I did not encounter the panic attacks and stress-induced insomnia that plagued me first semester. My grades are much better. I have a solid group of friends who help make my life better. Overall I kept up a healthier lifestyle than I had been living. So life is good.
Of course, that doesn't mean that I'm just going to sit around and let things pass me by this summer. I have big plans, and new resolutions. See the list below:
1. Work out and stay in shape. I have a habit of falling apart as soon as I move home and don't have the same routine I did when I was at school. No more. I will be utilizing my handy dandy to-do list almost every day this summer, and a workout will almost always be on the list. The gratification of crossing stuff off is that big a motivator for me.
2. Cook. I have compiled a list of recipes that I would like to try my hand at. The list has grown to the point that I probably need to do about two meals a week in order to have them all completed before I go back to school and lose all the convenience of a well-stocked kitchen and an accessible grocery store. So I will have to get moving.
3. Bake. This is separate from cooking for me. For me, cooking generally involves non-dessert items. Cooking is for meat and vegetables. Baking is for all that sugary stuff that you can't eat a lot of but you do anyways because it makes you happy. I am going to try to master some basics (chocolate chip cookies, apple pie, bread, a cake), and then move on to more fun stuff (lemon ricotta cake, ricotta pineapple pie, fudge, cinnamon pull-apart bread). All from scratch. I will post photos for this and the cooking resolution so you can see my progress.
4. Read the news. My beloved New York Times now requires a paid online subscription for unlimited access. :( So I will be attempting to read the majority of my local paper, and deciding whether or not the Times is worth my money.
5. Teach myself the piano. My dad received a DVD set of a learn-by-chords method, and I think I will give that a shot in the evenings.
6. Get a job and make all the money I spent this year at school back, plus some savings. ...good luck to me!
7. Read. I never had any time to read for fun at school. I am compiling a reading list for myself, including Water for Elephants, The Corrections, Love in the Time of Cholera, Half the Sky, The Fountainhead, and The Help. If you have suggestions, please put them in the comments below.
8. Play with my brothers and family more. It will get me active, out of the house, away from my beloved MacBook Pro, and forge a deeper bond with a couple of guys that just can't seem to stop getting bigger.
That's the list for now! If you have suggestions/encouragement/comments in general, PLEASE leave them below. There should be a way to comment as a guest if you don't have a Google account or are not on Blogger.
Happy Summer, everybody! Keep your eyes out for new posts.
With love,
Imara