Tracking and Motivation: Daily Tracker, Way of Life, and Promodoro

It can sometimes be tricky to motivate myself, particularly under circumstances where I don't have an external structure to keep me focused on finishing (or even starting) a task. For example, if I'm working on an art project, I am the only person who is going to hold myself accountable, and it can be easy to let things slide. So, in an effort to make the most of my free time, I've been experimenting with various apps and other methods which can impose a little bit of structure on personal endeavors.

I've previously mentioned using List Master as a method of tracking expenses and other personal stats. While I still find that app very useful (particularly because it is highly customizable), I have been experimenting with apps that allow me to track my progress in a somewhat more sophisticated fashion.

Daily Tracker is, essentially, a one-size-fits-all app that allows a person to track various aspects of their lives. Though there are many apps which enable users to track their progress in various endeavors (for example, a dedicated fitness tracker or finance tracker), Daily Tracker allows you to create and customize a variety of lists (with different settings and list types), which can allow you to organize and track different aspects of your life. The tracker can function as a timer, a checklist, a notebook, or a more traditional list, depending on the parameters you set.

The Republic of Yogaland

When I was in high school, the gym program offered the then-novel option of yoga classes, and, as a sport-phobe, I gravitated toward it as a gym class alternative which seemed less intense and competitive than the team sports I would have otherwise participated in. I remember the class itself being pretty enjoyable; however, I didn't continue to practice yoga after my high school graduation.

Earlier this month, I came across the "Pocket Yoga" app and decided to try it out on a lark. I have been surprised at how much use I've gotten out of it already, and am hoping that I'll be able to make it part of my monthly routine.

The app provides five basic routines, including two sets of sun salutations and three different practice types (Ocean, Desert, and Mountain). The practices have different focuses, with Ocean as the "cardio" practice, Desert geared towards flexibility and relaxation, and Mountain geared towards building strength.

Art in Progress

A few days ago, I just finished drawing a detailed landscape in Photoshop. It is always exciting to finish something ambitious, but it is also exciting to see the piece develop along the way and to see hints of what the end result will look like.

Sometimes it is frustrating to work on a piece for a long time without sharing your progress along the way, since I sometimes get excited when I finish working on a major component of a piece or have added a nice element that I am proud of, and I have an urge to show off the incomplete picture. Nonetheless, it is usually best to keep the picture under wraps and let the desire to share motivate me to finish my work.

Reciperfection

Another recipe, courtesy of Epicurious:

Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 pound total) 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 4 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1/4 cup drained sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil; 1/2 ounce), patted dry and coarsely chopped 
• 3/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes 
• 1/4 cup dry white wine 
• 3/4 cup chicken broth 
• 1/4 cup heavy cream 
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Recipe:

Pat chicken dry and season with salt and black pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken, turning once, about 6 minutes total. (Chicken will not be cooked through.) Transfer with tongs to a plate.

Raving about Recipes

I've tried my hand at a couple more recipes. Again, I found them via the Epicurious app.

Baked Tomatoes

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 1/2 loaf Italian bread (about 8 ounces) 
• 5 to 6 sprigs flat-leaf Italian parsley 
• 1 medium clove garlic 
• 1 tablespoon capers 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or more as needed 
• 2 large tomatoes or 4 small ones

Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 250°F. Cut away and discard the crust from the loaf of bread and cut the loaf in half lengthwise. Bake for 5 minutes on each side. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes.

Raise the oven temperature to 350°F on convection heat or to 375°F in an oven without convection heat.

Cut the bread into chunks small enough to fit easily in a food processor. Place them in the food processor and pulse until you have fairly even crumbs that are not too fine. Set aside 1 cup of crumbs and reserve any extra for another use.

Taking Drawing to the Next Level

I have always enjoyed drawing, and, once the technology became available, I've enjoyed using image manipulation programs to spruce up my drawings and create pieces of art from scratch. Over the years, I've gotten more comfortable with these programs and more knowledgeable about their capabilities. However, I've also learned to appreciate the benefits that come with drawing by hand.

Photoshop and its ilk provide many benefits over traditional drawing. When drawing by hand, mistakes are inevitable, and I often find myself having to work around problematic pen strokes; if I'm using Photoshop, mistakes can be rectified with the touch of a button. The ability to correct mistakes also allows for more experimentation, particularly when choosing a color scheme. Finally, digital art allows a greater amount of precision, particularly since one can divide a single artwork into multiple 'layers' and work on each portion individually.

Recipes, Redux

I've tried my hand at a few new recipes, courtesy of Epicurious.

Grilled Eggplant Parmigiana

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
• 1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 ounce finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/4 cup)
• 4 small Italian eggplants (1/2 pound each)
• 16 thin slices whole-milk mozzarella (from a 1-lb block; not fresh)

Recipe:
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook garlic and red-pepper flakes, stirring, 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and salt and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil and parmesan.

Recipe Roundup

Although I have not hosted any dinner parties lately, I have, with the help of my trusty Epicurious app, tried my hand at a few new recipes over the past few months. It's been fun to broaden my horizons, and test out some new flavors and techniques.

Here is a sample of what I've been cooking lately, in chronological order:

Museum-Going Through a Child's Eyes

Growing up, I have a number of memories of visiting museums and galleries, both on family outings and on school field trips. And, I am grateful that I have continued to seek out museums on my own, both in my local community and during trips outside Southern California.

Unsurprisingly, my attitude going into a museum visit has changed dramatically since my elementary school days. I have studied history and art history, allowing me to place a museum's collection in context and making the pieces more immediately interesting. And, naturally, I have more patience and a greater attention span, allowing me to more fully contemplate a museum before I've had enough.

However, even if my understanding or interest was more limited during childhood, the interest had to start somewhere, and my first exposures to history and culture through museums (and even more lowbrow sources such as television) gave me something to hang on to when these subjects were formally introduced in school.

Yesterday, I met up with my friend Amanda, her mom, and her 5-year-old son Matteo in order to visit the Getty Villa, and got to relive the experience of visiting a museum as a child. Naturally, he dictated the itinerary and the pace of the visit, flitting from room to room, running around the courtyards, and directing us to parts of the Villa that were sometimes surprising. And, naturally, this visit included a long sojourn in the kids' activity area, where there were urns to draw on and foam weapons to handle.

So, while this visit to the Villa was very different, and much less thorough, than the one I made last year (accompanied by my grown-up friend Nick), it was nonetheless a valuable learning experience. It is always exciting to see a small kid become engaged with something new (even if the thing he or she focuses on is a tad unexpected), and, over the course of the visit, there were many moments where Matteo became genuinely excited about the centuries-old statues, vases, and decorative items on display. I hope those moments of engagement, and the memories of the visit, stick with Matteo as he grows.

The Anatomy of a Surprise Party

In addition to having a creative side, I am fond of putting together puzzles and crafting things in general. Likewise, I have a tendency to throw myself into various elaborate projects. So, naturally, when I realized that Andy's birthday was coming up, the idea of putting together a special surprise was irresistible.

When I had settled on the basic idea for a surprise party, I gradually started pulling things together: approaching friends, figuring out a good party date (May 4), and doing my best to secure Andy for the party without giving up the game. Matt and Chrissie provided invaluable assistance in figuring out the logistics and streamlining the party plans when things became a little convoluted.

Of course, I wanted to add my special touch to the surprise party. So, before the party even started, I set the tone by putting together a scavenger hunt, complete with rhyming clues and even a couple of fakeouts. I worked on an introductory collage and poem, found a bunch of postcards, figured appropriate hiding places for the clues, and wrote little poems (including a sonnet and a poem in terza rima) to serve as clues.

Roughin' It, Reading Readily, and R-Twork

One of the pleasures of a close relationship, romantic or otherwise, is that you get to open yourself up to a whole new set of experiences that you wouldn't necessarily seek out on your own. Friends and family have left their mark by introducing me to some great artists or works of art (I learned a whole lot about Alfred Hitchcock when I tagged along for Chrissie's classes at USC), fun activities (I was introduced to wine tasting by my good friend Tiffany), and interesting places (I first encountered Barnsdall Art Park when I accompanied my sister to a play there).

So, it is no surprise that I have picked up a few new hobbies from Andy. Most obviously, I have been camping regularly over the past three months, visiting sites all around the Los Angeles area.

Until this year, I had not gone camping since I was a student at Marlborough and the school took us on field trips to Catalina, Joshua Tree, Sequoia, Marin, and Yosemite. I didn't get the "camping bug" at that point, possibly because, in my high school days, I was more averse to the outdoors, less willing to put up with the unexpected, and a bit more easily winded by outdoor activities. Plus, camping with ninety other students and a handful of chaperones is a fundamentally different experience from going in a small group, where a person is more likely to set her own pace and follow her own agenda.

2012 is a Year of Change

After a bit of a journaling hiatus, I figured that I would jump back in and return to writing about my life.

2012 is already shaping up to be a memorable year, in ways that are both exciting and challenging. Though it is unclear where I will be by December, it'll be fairly different than where I was this January, which is not true of many, or most, years.