Upping your New Year's resolution odds

I've resolved to make my resolutions next year, and quit procrastinating

G'ud morning RY... you survived the night of revelry? I wonder how many will make it here tonight..
 
I've stopped making any NY resolutions. But an idea came to me today. What if we make only ONE and check back here next year to see how we go. There is a rule though - it has to be something that is risky, that is challenging. It has to be something that you've always wanted to do but didn't for some reason, or it has to be life changing. We don't have to tell each other what it is until we are ready, but we will be cheerleaders to those brave enough to share.

I wish there is a way to record this (tech team??) either in a spread sheet or word document. Maybe a medal should be awarded too.  

I've some ideas here and I hope more can be added. 

Changing Careers
Starting a business (be careful!)
Relocating - different town/city/country (and why)
Completing a degree/Masters/PHD
Going back to the University to learn something completely different
Finally learning something you've always wanted to eg:

A new language
A musical instrument
CPR
Finally risking that operation or treatment that the doctor has been urging
Forgiving someone (must explain consequent action)
Reuniting with someone "lost" (takes a lot of courage to start this)
Finally saying goodbye to a toxic relationship
Terminating a relationship that is not going anywhere
Falling in love; might include having to - 

Go on a blind date
Join a dating service
Relocating
Searching for a past love
Reaching out to a relative, neighbour or one of a different creed, race, colour, someone you've feared or hated and knowing you might be rejected
Conquering a fear or a phobia (how?)
Travelling for the first time (this can be scary)
Travel (some suggestions)

Round the world
See the Aurora Borealis
The Antartic
Great Wall of China/Sail the Yangtze
Join Jaxz in one of her ventures
Join RY in his RV
Visit Spring Fragrance
See Hazel's wooded garden (and learn some Welsh)
Join one of the "Without Borders" Organisations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Without_Borders_organizations

Volunteers needed include doctors, engineers, farmers, pharmacists pathologists, reporters

hmmm...the text got rid of all my bullet points.....I hope the list makes sense

I can't stand it - it looks too messy so here is my list again..
 

Changing Careers

Starting a business (be careful!)

Relocating - different town/city/country (and why)

Completing a degree/Masters/PHD

Going back to the University to learn something completely different

Finally learning something you've always wanted to eg:

A new language

A musical instrument

CPR

Finally risking that operation or treatment that the doctor has been urging

Forgiving someone (must explain consequent action)

Reuniting with someone "lost" (takes a lot of courage to start this)

Finally saying goodbye to a toxic relationship

Terminating a relationship that is not going anywhere

Falling in love; might include having to - 

Go on a blind date

Join a dating service

Relocating

Searching for a past love

Reaching out to a relative, neighbour or one of a different creed, race, colour, someone you've feared or hated and knowing you might be rejected

Conquering a fear or a phobia (how?)

Travelling for the first time (this can be scary)

Travel (some suggestions)

Round the world

See the Aurora Borealis

The Antartic

Great Wall of China/Sail the Yangtze

Join Jaxz in one of her ventures

Join RY in his RV

Visit Spring Fragrance

See Hazel's wooded garden (and learn some Welsh)

Join one of the "Without Borders" Organisations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Without_Borders_organizations

Volunteers needed include doctors, engineers, farmers, pharmacists pathologists, reporters

...growwwlll.... still not looking good; i give up...hope you get the general drift
 

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -
 
Mark Twain

The best to all of you; I mean it sincerely. Take care, and have a happy; Lee

Are you drunk dialling Lee? :)
Just kidding .....

While most of you are tucked up in bed, I'm looking at a grey, damp, drizzly New Years Day. It's 1.1.11 if that has any significance.

Morning Hazel...I wonder how many will make it here today. Are you feeling excited about 2011? I think I will have a couple of major changes, some of which had been set in motion a few years back. But you know, life always throw a couple of surprises ...

The Year of the Rabbit doesnt start till Chinese New Year 3rd Feb., havent quite checked out that article at top right; looks rather complicated.

But I got this from someone today. Its a long read but quite interesting, esp if you've got a wet day.  

http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1410600420

Good morning RoadYacht, Spring Fragrance, Hazel, Lee,
 
My ,my! We're all in our places, with bright shiny faces, etc.
 
Happy and blessed New Year to each and all of you!  I treasure you!

Grow or die.

~ fusco non ~

I know, it looks Italian or Latin doesn't it?
It is according to, Logan "Log Jam" Jameson, long time tender in the family bar, a question and often the first one asked by persons who, having passed out or dozed off, are blinking back into consciousness.

Happy New Year all - wishing you all the best of the best -- surely do hope this is a much better year....decade..for you all.

Hi  there,  virtual  friends.    Good  to  see  that  someone  has  correctly  perceived  the  "trap"  of  seeking  only  to  preserve  their  life  in  a  "safe  harbor."   Taking  chances,  within  moderation,  is  what  makes  life  meaningful,  rewarding,  fun.   Or  putting  it  differently,  you're  better  when  you  are  old  to  look  back  on  a  series  of  gutsy  choices  you  undertook,  notwithstanding  marginal  successes,  than  you  are  to  say  that  you  dutifully  &  faithfully  maintained  the  status  quo.  The  world  changes  around  us,  opportunities  come  &  go.   You  don't  want  to  be  the  last  one  to  get  on  that  train,  it  may  have  already  left  the  station.....

Move or stagnate

Be a better friend
Improve
Sing at church with my daughter
Not be so gravity challenged
Get my book published
Fix a difficult relationship
Let go of what little pride issues I still have
Surprise my bride with something unexpected
Receive love better

Appreciate clean fresh water- the real global shortage

Stoney~  ~fusco non~  has inspired me to get out my doodling pad and create a spoof family crest. It's a question I frequently ask when stoney cold sober!

Happy New Year all! I actually went to sleep before midnight. Wishing you all a good year & I am making NO resolutions......................and it feels great. Life brings resolutions & choices; so I figure who make up false ones. I feel so free.........................

Happy 1-1-11.

Happy New Year to everyone. When I went to bed in the wee small hours, it was 14C, and this morning it is -3C with a wind chill of -13C, gray and damp. A bit of weather whiplash to start the year.

I am looking forward to welcoming the year of the rabbit in Bali next month where it will be at least 29C, and with lovely shades of green.

I have only had one new year's resolution for many ears now — no guilt in 2011. It is amazing how well the year goes and that resoltion frees me up for all sorts of new adventures and learning.

Happy New Year to all!  As much as I really like SF's idea.....I'm afraid I'm clearly on the side of those whose solution to resolution is not to make any.  It really is more freeing, as Bebe said.  That said, it doesn't mean I'm not going to try new things or tinker with things in life.  But, it does mean I won't end up in a year with a boatload of guilt.  When I read the posts here I know that you all are open and free to life's many bountiful offerings.  And I know that if you feel your life needs a little tinker now and then, you'll adjust it.  I know you all have enough resolve to handle the hairpin turns in the road and the occassional flats, but you keep on and for the most part enjoy the ride along the way.   I hope 2011 will bring you all wonderful blessings, hope and peace.  And may it give you the strength and the fuel for the journey.

Why, not who.......duh........... hello CAROL!

Tommy Typical~ When we lived in Africa,we did get a water supply piped from a nearby lake. We had to filter and boil every drop of drinking/cooking water. Depending on the weather, the bathwater would be various shades of tea./coffee. Women and children from miles around would appear in our backyard to fill their water containers from the outside tap and carry it back to their homes, balanced on their heads. It was my job, as I had some grasp of the local language, to talk to them and tell them they MUST boil the water to prevent diseases. Our house-boy (servant) was horrified when we eventually got an indoor flushing loo, because of the ostentatious consumption of water. Clean fresh water is, indeed, a precious commodity. When my family came back to the UK, I was shocked to see how people wasted water 'till I realised that the stuff drops out of the sky all too often.

Happy New Year, everyone!  May 2011 be filled with grand and gentle adventures.  Instead of New Year's Resolutions which tend to be rather grim, try making a Bucket List (great movie with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson).  Or list the 50 or 100 places you really want to travel to.  Or try the Omnivore's 100 List
(http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/archives/399). 
I edited out some things I won't do (alcohol, road kill, etc.) and have the list down to a handful.  Try adding a few things to it.  I tried New Year's Resolutions once.  My observation is that too often they are grim - things we know we ought to do but really don't want to.  I do have some things I must do and am doing.  I must lose weight (I am down to 222 from 245 and am aiming for 180 or lower).  I mist control my diet.  I must stay of carbohydrates as muchg as possible for three months and give my pancreas a rest.  I must follow medical advice.
And I must take care of myself in other ways: support groups regularly, proper rest and exercise, etc.  I will be 68 this year, not 28, and need to be more mindful of the details.  Progress, htough, not perfection.  Progress.  Happy 2011.

WOW! First oatmeal of the year!  WOW! First melon of the year! Wow! First coffee of the year! Wow! First flush of the year! Wow! First txt msg f d yr! Wow! First pancakes of the year! Wow! first omellette of the year!   oops, first sneeze of the year...

I hope that gave all Y'alls your first chuckle of the year, (just like last year)  <|8-)

It did, RY--thanks and I look forward to many more!! (Gesundheit!)  Right back at ya, Bebe!!!

My resolution for 2011 is to take the advise of St. Francis "accept the things you can't change, change the things you can."  

Haze- Thanks for the great story. Water is a concern along with protein sources and basic immunizations. Tom's is doing a great job getting shoes out there- another essential in dire need. Also a way to set up small barter businesses. Goats for shoes and such.

Happy New Year everyone.
I want to be less serious in the future, enjoy each day a little more and do things I turn down or put off.
Here's to a Healthy Happy New Year blessed with all the good things in life.

Hello, and Happy New Year to all!
 
We are looking out on rain, gray skies, and fog so thick we cannot see the neighbors' homes, but have blackeyed peas, and turnips and mustard greens simmering on the stove.  The rice will cook just before dinner at 5, the thick porkchops will go on the grill, and the pleasant sound of a football bowl game is playing in the background. Tradition dictated the viewing of the Rose Bowl Parade this morning while we sipped out bloody marys, and took turns answering the phone for various friends and relatives who called to say, "Happy New Year!" This makes me feel very American and in tune with thousands of others who celebrate the first day of another year in the same or similar way!
 
Some of the kindest gifts given and received this holiday were the goats. One daughter gave me and others,  goats in our honor, but actually delivered to a needy family in another country. The group is called Heifer International at www.heifer.org. It will be a lasting gift with promise of a better life for the families that receive and care for the animals.Does anyone in PE have experience with this organization? I see on Bing search that there are several such groups that try to deliver livestock to those in need. Like the chemicals that purify the dirty water, this seems to be a worthy gift. (There is so much to be thankful for, and clean water, meat, and food are some of the sustenance we have that we should remember when we count up our gratitudes.)
 
Resolutions? Same old "lose weight" and "exercise more" will do. Others are more fun, like the Bucket List mentioned above. We have traveled to 47 states, and want to do the other 3, including a return to DC and the environs which have had additions since we were there 20 yrs. ago. Also, Scotland and Ireland (Wales, too), the homes of our ancestors. May all have high intentions and the strength to pursue them. (Fine list, Spring!! I have the college degrees, careers, personal accomplishments done - all I want. I guess doing good deeds and traveling will be my focus in 2011.) Happiness, health, and satisfaction to all!

RY -- first cyber-smile of the year -- thank you

Have all 2011 resolutions wrapped up by 5:11, barely made it

Oooooh~ I hate that pic top of page. Why don't gyms have treadmill things like in hamster cages to generate electricity rather than consume it?
Moose~ If you ever get near North Wales, maybe we can say hello face-to-face. Love your goats for Christmas presents. It really does make a huge diffence to an impoverished family living in a mud hut.

True Grit is ****. Jeff Bridges makes a man proud to get some age seasoning and constantly working to perfect your craft.

Right on, Bert!!! Life is to be lived, hopefully it will include some moments to be savoured. I think I was 16 or 17 when a friends relative, who at the time was all of 18 or 19 told us that he was going to go to college (he knew which one); he was going to get a degree in business admainistration, and go to work at Albertson's Grocery (large chairn in the NW.). He also told us, with the utmost comfidence, that by 30 he was going to be the manager of his own (Albertson's) grocery store. He did what he said. I can still remember my feelings of that day. First of all what a dismall ambition; but mainly I was really shocked thagt anyone could, or would, plan out their lives that way. What would he miss? Who would he never become acquainted with? Think how many women in the worl have absolutely no interest in meeting a grocery store manager. And how many unforseen events/opportunities would go be that this guy would never see. Most of the good things in my life were never planned--they just happoned. They were opporturities that I was in a position to take advantage of. My friend's friend retired some years ago. He had been Manager of Albertson's in Richland, Washington (and that, friends, is a dismal plase to live) for some 20 plus years. Live it up, Friends.

LEE;
I'm with you. Most of the best stuff in my life just happened. I was in the right place at the right time to meet and get to know the most intersting people.
I need to get back to that.
Life is good.

Lee~ Just how inconvenient would it be if nobody aspired to be the manager of a grocery store? And nobody knows the small services to individuals and their local community, given from the kindness of their hearts. I loathe supermarkets and love my little local butcher, baker, grocer etc. And they are are all happily married, with children. My butcher has a painted sign over his shop that started off J.Jones and Son, J.Jones died and son inherited the business, and married. The sign was changed proudly to  T.Jones and daughter when his first child was born, and subsequently to daughters and son. I get the heebie-jeebies when I see a sign that says something like "Fred Bloggs, Family Butcher" as I imagine grannies & aunties being chopped up for mincemeat.

New Year Resolutions - I am really going to try to write 2011 on letters, cheques and things. As it is, I have to put the TV on to check what day of the week it is, changing the year is a bit of a challenge.

Hazel--You have impressed me as someone who meets challenges head on and either overcomes or finds a way around.  I don't believe you are ever stymied by what's presented for more than a few moments.  Too many "big box" stores and grocery chains have really eaten into the local family owned butchers, etc.  (And now, of course, we don't usually call them butchers, we use the more bland term 'meat processors.' )  When my daughter was a toddler we went to a local butcher and she absolutely loved it because she recieved a little hot dog to munch while I shopped.   I admire Lee's friend for having such resolve at so young an age and hope that as his goals were realized he was enabled to reach for the stars.  Shouldn't we all grasp for the stars?  Instead of straws?   Hazel, I've said it before, but it bears repeating....you've led an extraordinary life....and we, of the Village, are the richer for it!  Thanks for sharing so much of it!

I really appreciate people who run little neighborhood stores.  I have a friend that I went to high school and graduate school with who owns a charming ethnic food store in Brooklyn.  She has multiple graduate degrees and is a liscensed occupational therapist, but loves getting behind the counter and greeting customers.  I'v met dozens of people who have said that they wanted to be taylors when they retired from their well paying jobs. People should do what they love, especially if it is a marketable trade or service.  

At the end of this economic chaos, we shall find the joy in doing something that is productive, fulfilling, and tangible will restore self worth- true wealth, not artificial riches. The system is not broken at the basic level, it is individual integrity. When that is restored, all is well and we can say- momma didn't raise no fool.

Guess it's time to speak back. I grew up in a small town. Our fuel dealer had been there two genorations. There was a butcher shop, too. However, Albertson's is not, and never was. a small store. To quote their website, 'Albertson's is one of the largest grocery and drug companies in the U.S.' I think what bothered me most about this 'long ago' conversation is that somone could willingly make such life contraining decisions. I can see someone our age deciding, Im going to be the world's best race driver (never made that one), or I'm going to travel the work and see what it has to offer, or I'm going to go to Hollywood and try acting. What amased me was that he cast aside all other options without seeing or trying them. His life (in his mind) was cast in stone forever forward. The only common place thing I can think of that's cast in stone are tomebstones. Take care, Lee

Hazel -- you are extraordinary - I start my day with you - you are a rare one and I so enjoy you.
HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you. 

From King Estate, to party favors ... from Garth Hudson to Diana Krall ... from the Redwoods to Oregon Shakespeare Festival's To Kill A Mockingbird ... 2011 .. Everything 2010 should have been; oh baby!!
Now if the Corsairs just don't lose 100.

Of all the best things in my life some were by accident and some were semi planned. My skiing which has been a large part, and great part of my life came because a friend talked me into going when I thought it would be a waste of time. I met my wife ,the best thing that has happened to me (and to her if you listen to her) at a party that neither of us intended to attend but decided to go to because neither of us had anything to do that evening. May its because we both felt like we really didn,t need to be therethat we hit it off.
After finding out I really didn't fit in the corporate world I got into a world of being an independant contractor and became somewhat successful. Was able to retire at 58 with no golden parachutes, no government benifits ,no inherited money. we did it our way and enjoyed it all. Even more important than having a decent degree of success is the fact that most of the people whitch I did business are still friends. My wife became friends with their wives as well and we still get invited invited to to their homes for overnight visits, boat trips
famliy,weddings, cattle roundups and more.
What is important to me is that at least most of this business, and more important the friendships were based on a handshake,andnot on written contracts.
There are still a ton of really decent people around if you will just open your eyes and find them.
By the way some of those hand shake deals were transactions that were over seven figures.
They went forward because of something called Trust.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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