Accounting for January

How did January turn out for the Resolute Rooster?

1- Attend at least two cultural events per month.

            - Done, though I really should make an effort to branch out from only going to classical concerts: 
             SPCO: Schreker's Chamber Symphony and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde on January 9th (Sasha Cooke has an amazing voice) at Ted Mann.

             SPCO: Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires arranged for Violin and Strings, Berio's Folk Songs, and Bartók's Five Hungarian Folk Songs on January 22nd at Saint Paul's UCC. I'd never heard the Piazzolla before and I have completely fallen in love with it.

2- Practice at least four times per week 

             -I did so-so with this, allergies and a cold put a damper on the singing. I should work out an agreement with myself about the other singing-related things I can do instead of practicing during those weeks that I have some sort of cord issue. Translating? Research? Planning?

3- Exercise at least four times per week.

            - Ugh. It is HARD to do this one when it's January in Minnesota, and some weeks I did better than others. I need to come up with some sort of structure or a schedule to keep me on track. I do better with schedules.

4- Master Swedish verbs.

            - Ongoing, though I could have put more time into this one. February will be my Irregular Swedish Verbs Month!

5- Super clean one room each month.

            - I did some great work in the living room, but didn't finish it. I might roll-over the living room into February and add in a smaller, easier room like the bathroom.

6- Try out one new recipe each week.

            - Done! I think I came up with a pretty good variety, too! Spinach Artichoke Dip, Portobello Mushroom Puffs, Overnight Asparagus Mushroom Strata, and Soft Molasses Cookies.

7- Send one postcard each week.

            - Done!

8- Crafty crap!

            - Done! A mosaic Swedish flag went out to Rooster C, and she likes it!

9- Learn to play the theremin.

            - Slacker. I played around with it, but I haven't started to seriously work on learning this instrument. As part of super cleaning my living room, I did open up a space for the theremin that is much better for practicing as far as height and stability.

10- Go hiking and see waterfalls.

            - Winter. Minnesota. Fail.

11- Beat the PM at Scrabble.

            - We played three times this month. I lost every time, but I was VERY close to winning the second match we had.

12- Eat five fruits/veggies a day.

            - I did pretty well with this. As long as I buy groceries and make my lunches and dinners most days, I easily get my five in the day. It's another story when I'm busy and eating out a lot. 


For February I really need to step up the exercising and Swedish verbs and make some headway with those resolutions.