Can you believe seven months of 2012 have passed? It’s been an eventful year, especially with the birth of my granddaughter this month. I’m still working on keeping those resolutions I made back in January. So, how have I been doing?

1. Writing. Per my resolution, I have been writing every day, and I have posted a blog every day, though those from last week were short and brief; after all, I was a little preoccupied with my Mady. Some days I get more on paper than others, but that’s par for the course. I haven’t been as diligent with the project as I should have been. If I end up having a failure on the writing end of my goal, it’s going to be the progress I’ve made on the project. I’m not a quitter, though, so I’ll keep trying.

2. Reading. I’ve managed 11 books in July, which is a good thing since I had quite a bit of catching up to do. That brings my total for the year to 38. In order to reach 75 books, I need to average 6.25 books per month, which means I should be sitting at 43.75 for the year. I’m behind by 5. I’m hoping, however, that I can catch up in August. That will be a little more difficult with school starting, but for the most part, I’m going to be home by myself in the evenings, so that should open up some reading time. The good news about the whole situation is that if I can manage 6.25 each of the remaining months, I really only need to read one extra book per month to still hit 75 for the year. That is completely doable.

So what did I read this month? I started the month with Janet Evanovich’s Wicked Business, a series based on a character named Diesel. If you enjoy her Stephanie Plum books, you will enjoy the Diesel books. I then read Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, which was one of the AP summer reading assignments. I always enjoy this book, which I reread every summer it’s assigned. In January, I read all of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, so this month I read the first two books in the Heroes of Olympus series, The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune. I’m looking forward to the third book’s release in October. I also read The Princess Bride by William Goldman. My kids love the movie so I’ve seen it several times, and when I ran across the book, I decided to give it a read. I read Angels Flight by Michael Connelly, a good mystery. I celebrated Christmas in July by reading Mary Higgins Clark’s Silent Night. Moliere’s Tartuffe also made the list for July as I needed to decide whether to include it on a reading list. I read Rainwater by Sandra Brown; it wasn’t a typical Sandra Brown-style book, but I do suggest it to those who like stories set during the Depression. Lisa Gardner’s The Other Daughter was a good mystery book, and I’m pleased to say I had it figured out by the end. I finished the month with Lee Goldberg’s Mr. Monk on Patrol. I love the TV show Monk, and the book series is great. If you love the TV show, you’ll love the books.

3. Weight Loss. I’m not even sure where I stand on this one. I haven’t done a weigh-in for several weeks. I was beginning to get a little frustrated with it again, and so I haven’t been watching my food intake quite like I should. Next week, school starts and I’m back at work and on a regular schedule, so I’m going to try to get it together. Wish me luck.

4. Cooking. We’re still trying new recipes. Jimmy created a couple of new dishes for us this month, sausage subs and a pasta salad. As with most things he creates, these were quite good. I made several freezer jams this month. I had done strawberry before, so that wasn’t new, but the peach jam, the blackberry jam, and the strawberry-blueberry jam were new. I’m pleased to say they were all successful. One new recipe that was very successful was Paula Deen’s Crab Cakes with Dill Sauce. The final two recipes were also very good, Southwestern Chicken from Pinterest and Spicy Stuffed Peppers with Andouille from Taste of Home magazine. We’ve managed to try so many new recipes this year, and for the most part, we’ve enjoyed all of them. This is definitely something we’ll keep doing.

5. Updates. This is the easy resolution to keep, just write one blog a month to tell you what I’m doing. I like this resolution for several reasons. One, it gives me something for sure to write about one day each month so I don’t have to struggle to think of a topic. Two, it’s easy to keep. Three, it helps keep me honest and on track.

Seven months down, five to go. For those I’m having trouble with, there’s still time to get on track and be successful. For those I’m not having trouble with, I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing.