Summer Projects

It's no secret, I have major summer fever.  Not spring fever, that occurred in March right before my month-long spring break (I love you England!), but summer fever.  Meaning I just want my exams to be done and start enjoying warm weather (first nice day today in England!  Unfortunately it looks like it will only be for a couple days, then we're back to the upper fifties, sigh).  Anyway, in an effort to get ever more excited about summer (yes, it is possible), I'm making a list of projects I hope to accomplish this summer.  After all, everyone knows how easy it is to let the summer get away with you and fall into the habit of lazing around all day.

1.  Working on the blog.  I'm super excited for this one and think it will be my most ambitious undertaking.  We're talking frequent updates, a cool layout, special features and (hopefully) good photography.  It will be an evolving process, but I'm looking forward to turning this place into a unique and special way to share the crazy outlook I have on life.

My crazy outlook will be evinced through images such as this:

Taking a photobooth picture with my Hello Kitty revision pen (it has ten different colors!)

2.  Continuing to study Italian.  We all know it happens, you don't do any work over the summer, forget everything you learnt and begin school in the fall having to relearn everything from last year.  While this is inevitable as I won't be attending regular grammar classes (thank go!), I'm still going to try and keep up my Italian skills by reading books and magazines, watching movies and talking to people in Italian.

3.  Cooking/Baking.  I love to cook and I love to bake, unfortunately, neither is easy to do living in halls.  This summer I'm going to expand my skills by trying new recipes, new cuisines and new techniques!  I try to follow a vegetarian diet, with vegan tendencies (I'll explain this in a later post), and will display this through yummy and healthy meals.  I also plan to become better at experimenting in the kitchen, rather than just following recipes, and will attempt to veganize/healthify many recipes I have previously tried.

4.  Setting fitness goals.  Instead of just doing yoga, lifting weights and going running, I'm going to set little goals and challenges for myself in order to improve my general level of fitness and keep myself from getting bored.  I'll share my experiences setting and achieving these goals on here.

5.  Exploring New York.  Even though I grew up in New York, I only know such a small part of it!  This summer I'm going to try to experience new things in my city, even if it means being a little bit of a tourist.  I'm going to go to new neighborhoods, try new places to eat, look for the best coffee and generally try to see my hometown in a new light.

A cappuccino and croissant at one of my favorite New York cafes

As you can see, I have quite a few plans for this summer, certainly enough to distract me from revision (because who really uses the pluperfect subjunctive or remote past when speaking in Italian?).  Here's to a wonderful and productive summer.  I can't wait!

Un bacione,

Emilia