Not-so-failed plans! (Summer Week 3)

Despite spending time with several visiting friends, I got a lot more done this week! Having seven goals total to worry about was a bit much, but I'm not likely to have this many things to do every week. Let's review, shall we?

Goals Met

• Learn how to cook saag paneer. The recipe I ended up following was this one, from Saveur. A nearby store has stocked paneer in the past, but it was missing from the shelves when we were shopping for ingredients - either out-of-stock or not highly demanded by other shoppers. While the Saveur article included a recipe for the cheese, I was hungry and didn't quite feel up to making the paneer, as well. At my mom's suggestion, I tried substituting fresh mozzarella, adding it in right at the end, and I would say it worked very well! As the recipe called for a serrano chile and cayenne, the saag ended up very spicy, but it was also delicious and beautiful and I realized right after I finished eating it that I'd forgotten to take a picture of my creation for this post. I was a tiny bit gutted, but I don't regret a bite.
• Post a new cover. After an unsuccessful attempt at a brand new cover, I decided to finally make a video for an old one I'd never posted. My laptop's video editor has been on the fritz, so I had to get the audio file onto my phone and then use the YouTube Capture app to make a video, but I'm glad I finally figured out a way to get the song on my channel as more than an empty black screen. I covered Coldplay's "The Scientist."
• Draw ten new portraits. I'm not yet quite confident enough to post my drawings online, so you'll just have to take my word for it that I met this goal. I drew two camp counselors and several little hipster girls.

Goals Met... Sorta

• Work out almost everyday this week. While I worked out more than I did the week before last, I still didn't work out as many times as I'd wanted. Hopefully I can get around to it more often this week!
• Watch three movies new to me. Since summer's started, I've watched four new movies (Cabin in the Woods, Pacific Rim, How to Train Your Dragon 2, and Grand Budapest Hotel), but only one of those was really watched in the last week, so I didn't really meet this goal.

Goals Not Actually Met At All

• Make real progress in a fun book. Other than a few blurbs during a recent trip to Copperfield's, I haven't truly done any reading yet this summer... But hopefully that will change soon!

New Goals

• Finish the Wong Kar-Wai "trilogy." I loved the Wong Kar-Wai film I saw winter quarter (In the Mood for Love), and I've been meaning to finish the unofficial trilogy it's a part of. And now I have the time!
• Post another cover, and include percussion. I love acoustic covers with soft percussion parts, but I haven't done one myself. Julia Nunes' amazing cover of "Redshift" by Darwin Deez inspired me to try it out. (The original song is amazing, as well!)
• Go to lap swim at least once. A friend and I have, in years past, gone to lap swim together almost every night, and I'd love to go back with her now that we're both free again for several months.
• Make another meal from some recipe I find online. During the summer, I have a habit of eating the same things everyday (recently: salad, avocado toast, and more avocado toast), so I'm hoping to start making at least one interesting meal a week for the sake of mixing it up a little and finding new recipes for this next school year.

I'm itching to add more goals to that list, but I don't want to sign up for more than I have time for. But - oh, what's that? You want something more? You're bored? You want - sorry, repeat that? Oh! A new blog to read? Well, what a coincidence...

I present to you: my boyfriend's blog! It's called Once More Unto Thy Feet - An Ex-Runner Learns to Run. Dan is hilarious and interesting and a great writer, and, while there are only two posts to date, they're both funny, engaging, and entertaining. Enjoy!