A new month, a new summer, a new start

I have to say that I love starting something new.  I always feel like the start of a new day, week, month, year brings so many new possibilities.  I have a long list of things i want to accomplish this summer and today seems like the perfect day to get started.

And yes, i realize that it's 12:30ish and i'm completely awake and motivated.  This is always what happens when i don't have a set schedule that i have to stick to.  I end up staying up later and later because i feel like i can accomplish more at night since i can focus on the things i want to since most of the rest of the world is asleep.  (What can i say?  I am my mother's daughter...)  

This week i'm working on working out every day.  I got a great start on that because i've worked out the past two days.  What has been my motivator?  Believe it or not, a Wii game.  When Andy and i were at Best Buy the other day, i was waiting for him to finish browsing and i ran across the Wii game My Fitness Coach.  I'd heard a lot about the new Wii game that focuses on fitness, EA Sports Active, but it's a little too expensive for me at the moment and it needs a balance board to be able to do everything.  My Fitness Coach doesn't need a balance board and was only $20!  It  is less a game and more a workout video, but it's great because you do a fitness assessment, set up a profile, and then you get customized workouts based on the equipment you own, the goal you're working towards, and the type of workout you want to do that day.  So far, i'm definitely working harder than i would on my own and i'm having fun because it feels like a game.  We'll see how the rest of the week goes.

The other thing i'm working on this week is trying out some new recipes.  I have a huge binder of recipes that i've pulled from magazines, newspapers, and the internet that i want to try, but i never seem to have time for.  I figure summer is the perfect time to start working my way through them because i have so much more time.  It also helps that i need to go grocery shopping tomorrow since i'll be able to get everything i need for the recipes.   This week i'll be trying out a strawberry chicken club sandwich, a beef and portobello minestrone, and a spinach and ricotta pasta.  Hopefully, we'll end up liking them and they'll be something i can make again.  Honestly, i don't doubt my ability to make them since i've been cooking for a long time.  It's more that i'm not sure that the recipes will be something that either of us will like, but i'll never know unless i try, right?