Looking Back and Looking Forward 2010 & 2011
 

Remember this thread? How'd you do this time?

Despite obvious fails of reading more and getting back on the Metro, I think I did okay, though I'll probably be working on some of the same issues for 2011 - but I'll have to mull that over a bit before I commit anything to writing here.

How about you?

I have succeeded in paying off quite a bit of debt but that was due to the generosity of my parents. I still have a lot to go but it's manageable now, and not crushing.

I found a job that I love, most days.

I have expanded my social network quite a bit. SCORE!

Despite keeping them off LoT, I have continued to expand my creativity venues.

4 for 4!

For 2011:

• I spent most of 2010 in some sort of injury preventing me from really working out. I will go back to the gym and focus on my health.
  
• Continue my education in ways that will allow me to branch out from tech support. So.Over.It.
  
• Travel more, beyond Vegas. Maybe even go see E in F'in UT.

We did well on the debt side of things, but lost too many near and dear friends and relatives.

Last year, I wrote:

If by legit performances I meant "not for theme park visitors," well, that's happening right now! (Yay Shakespeare!)

I abandoned the writing of the short novel, probably forever. I'm focusing on shorter pieces intended for a web site I'm also hoping to get up and running this year.

I finished several musical pieces, but not the ones I was talking about a year ago.

Not really any better at time management.


For this year, I hope to:

- figure out why I hate Twitter so much and how I can make it work out better for me
- establish a compelling web presence
- kiss somebody pretty

That's more than enough for a year.

Batted a thousand! Even if it did take 7 months or so to get around to it.

She got fired not long after I posted that. So that doesn't count as an at-bat since I never had the chance to test my resolve.

As for a new vague, non-committal, non-resolution - I dunno. 2010 quite honestly will stand as one of the seminal awesome years of my life. It makes me want to try to block out the whole concept of drawing a line between years for fear that it'll just seem like I'm starting from zero and trying to somehow match the greatness that was, which is a fool's endeavor. I'm just going to go ahead and ride the wave forward.

Global financial meltdown still has not yet happened so I'm still perfect.

If all goes well within the next couple of days my demotion will become official which would be the culmination of my unofficial resolution.

Found others with kids that are actually cool - CHECK. Maybe they'll eventually merit an invite into my LoT world, heh.

There are areas that I'm very laid back about with Theo and others where I do obsess a bit. It can be hard to not second guess yourself when you have very little feedback from someone who can't tell you what they need. I can't say I'm fully successful at tamping down the crazy but I'm doing as well as I can. I will continue to work on it.

For 2011...I use a lot of tools in my parenting kit, including Patience, Playfulness, Optimism, Joy...and they need sharpening constantly. I resolve to keep smiling amidst hard days because he deserves the best mom I can be.

I resolve to have more people over, and to visit people more often. Sure, there are limitations, but there are also many possibilities.

Sigh, I'd like to say that I resolve to follow my creative heart and make Halloween costumes for babies...but I just don't think I can make the time. Ok, I resolve to continue to consider it and not give up on it.

WOW! I was working at P&P at this time last year. So much has changed! I left there - and while it was a really good decision, it did take me a while to get back on my feet again. I went back to pet sitting and started making jewelery seriously. I did my first craft fair in May and I haven't stopped since! While the dog walking still pays the majority of the bills and keeps me super busy, my creative life has sure been a fulfilling one! The first show I curated opened at the beginning of December and has been a wonderful experience! I know I'll be curating more shows, but, if I do that, I need to find ways to encourage the sale of art.

My goal in 2011 is to keep growing that part of my life and see if I can figure out a way to make that really work for me. I'm not sure that is actually realistic, but I'll certainly give it a shot.

Who knows where things will lead. It's sure been a fun ride this past year! I'm looking forward to what 2011 will bring. Rain or shine, the experiences are so worth it.

Now that you've had Theo a good amount of time, and gotten to know him pretty well (although he still has some surprises for you), I'm curious: What have you found to be the most difficult thing about being a Mom (and there will be more than one answer), and what is the most surprising? I've had my girl for 15+ years, and I am supremely grateful for each and every moment. I never thought I would be a Mom- I really didn't think I could have kids, and had settled in to being a total Uber-Auntie before the happy surprise. My most difficult things- watching kids and parents be stupid and unkind, and not being able to stop the illness that took her hearing. My best: realizing she was her own little person, with her own likes and dislikes, and learning how to cater to them. :rolleyes: (I foolishly thought I would have at least a semblance of influence in these areas...) Also, when I realized that her hearing loss didn't define her, but it contributed to the awesome person she is.

My 2010 was rather 'eh'- neither good nor bad. The worst part of it was when my sis lost her job- I was so worried about her (she's a total workaholic) and I was so very happy for her when she landed in an even better situation. I also had to have a couple of esophageal biopsies, which was a bit scary as I had a 2 out of three chance of having something bad. I lucked out and got a serious food allergy, which at press time seems to be wheat. (Try to find things without wheat or gluten in them- I dares ya!). Let's just say I'm ecstatic about Trader Joes finally coming to Spokane. (Woot!)

Did that.

I don't have any resolutions for this year. I'd like to move to a new job, but I don't have much hope it will happen.

Apparently I didn't resolve anything last year. I think this year I'll limit myself to things with a strong likelihood of actually happening: new job, life on the other coast, and marriage. And progress on my knitting backlog.

Note to self: next time, be more specific.

Well, at least I got married, LOL.

I have a few things in mind, but not much I can list here. Employment, again, but not if it's going to be like the last fulfillment of that goal, which came at too great a price for the income it yielded. So let's say "worthwhile and enjoyable employment... which I retain".

Check !!! :D

2011's are:

• Get myself down to 110 Kg or smaller. 100 Kg would be good.
• See several European countries.
• Removing some of the clutter in our unit to make it more liveable. Surfaces, sweetie, surfaces !

ThinKrisps!

And bacon.

I generally don't do resolutions, you know, "one day at a time" and all that. But, this year, there's a role in a play that I want. And I should be about 30 pounds lighter for it. This may finally be the one thing that inspires me enough to do that very difficult thing of combining self-denial with exercise.

I'd love to have my own kitchen, instead of a once a week rental. In my own space I could ramp up production, improve the packaging, and finally get a crew trained to do everything I'm still doing. My dream would be to get the business self-maintaining so I could concentrate on theatre.

Aaand, I'm tired of being single, or dating the "come closer, get away" crowd. I'm ready to meet nice, potential keeper types.

I should probably tidy my bedroom, just in case.

Somewhat resolved, due to moving further south.

I'll probably be getting more serious about public trans as gas prices may be jumping up again. I have discovered in this past year that I really like taking the Express Bus over the train. The train is brightly lit and full of chatty people who think it’s OK to have loud conversations at 6:30 AM. Then there’s the loud beep and station announcement ever few minutes.

The bus is generally quiet, and if I hit the 6:40 bus, the driver keeps the lights dim and turns them off for the drive.

And the seats recline.

Just as true in 2010 as it was in 2009. We saw some places that we had some interest in, but a lot of homes just started the short sell crap – one seller had repairs needed that the bank wouldn’t budge on. So, as stated above, we moved further south and stayed in the apartment situation.

Yeah, there’s still a lot of improvement, but I failed to set any goals for myself. My blood pressure ratcheted up to 160/110 this fall, in great part due to the tremendous stress I’ve been under in my personal life. I haven’t been sharing on here, or much of anywhere – and that’s something I plan to change. January promises to bring a lot of stress, too, so we’ll see.

My goals:

Find time to express, in some fashion, what’s going on. Bottling, or “stuffing” hasn’t been doing my any good. It’s not a good place when things are so bad that you feel like you can’t talk to anyone about it. So, even if I don’t feel like talking about it, I should be finding an outlet.

Really get a house, for real-real. I love the new apartment complex, but I’m not thrilled about it. We’re just paying a lot of moo-lah for something that really isn’t ours.

Go to the gym 3 – 4 times a week at a minimum. And don’t beat myself up when I can’t do it. This year has been a lot about self-flagellation in this department, and it’s not helping, so I need to quit it.

Erica - I had been wondering about you, and now I hope you can follow through and let us know how you are doing, even when the news isn't great. We're here for you. *hug*

I'll try to not completely derail the thread. Difficult...As Theo gets older it becomes harder to remember to be patient. Amazingly, I find myself annoyed that he doesn't understand or do what I tell him. Ha. Surprising - well, to be honest, I'm surprised at my own lack of patience, as I had seemingly infinite patience for the first few months, and I never would have guessed that I would expect anything but unpredictability and lack of cooperation from a baby.

Oh lordy, if only! There's no such thing as an empty surface in our house, and I expect that will always be the case.

CP, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but the problems still exist in my 5, 7 and 9 year old.
:)

and my 14 almost 15 year old.

I didn't contribute to last year's thread but I know what my goals were - to write more, to play more music, and to continue to make progress with some personal issues. All three of those were accomplished. For this year, I just want more of the same. I try to keep things simple.

I also am going to try to post more here.

Well, I did not do too well in 2010. Here's hoping I do better in 2011!

#1 like 2010 is to finish retiring the credit card debt. I made progress, but, not enough to retire it all. Like Rosie the Riveter, this year I can do it!

#2 I lost 20lbs which is something to crow about, but not the 50lbs I was shooting for. At least 20 more lbs is the goal.

#3 Never made it to Disneyland, pretty pathetic! I'll be in LA in May, I hope I can take a few days extra and pay a visit to the Happiest Place on Earth and maybe say hello to some swanky folks if they're around.

#4 I think I've been kinder, not had any complaints and actually got some compliments!

#5 I've decluttered, but can do more, still too much stuff. More decluttering!

Your signature says otherwise, missy.

I hope you don't do it like Rosie the Riveter, since she just retired her debt by dying.

No bubble to burst - that's why I said "amazingly". It's a laughable expectation of a baby and a pretty far fetched one for a child of any age. I don't know what's wrong with my brain.

Considering the number of people who think their dogs understand them it doesn't seem that deviant to expect it of an infant.

Dogs have the intelligence of a 3-year old, it's not unreasonable.

GD, you are right about that. :blush:

It's been a gift that keeps on giving!

Dogs understand words. Especially if they are words such as "hungry", "treat", "bully stick", "dinner", "breakfast".....well, you get the picture.

I found this guide to Resolution making:


The Hedonist’s Guide To Getting Things Done: Goal Setting Made Easy

No clue who Gihan Perera is, but I like this blog post for obvious reasons

:snap:

I regret the day you ever told me what a "Bully stick" is made of. :eek:


...I would never put one of those in my mouth and chew on it !!

Sure, dogs understand words. Wouldn't contest that (I think the record is something like 150).

They don't, however, understand what you're saying. And they don't understand the words unless you've said it to them many times and very carefully tied it to a specific real world stimulus. If you give the dog a treat every time you fart it will understand that word just as well.

The same could be said for some Humans.

Yep, pretty much how language is acquired. Although dogs are at a disadvantage to their human counterparts in that they lack the physical capability of mimicking the sounds they hear to test which ones will have the same effect. So yay dogs for managing to learn anyway.

Not really. Vocabulary and language are two different things. The former is simply a catalog of labels, the latter a system of using those labels. Dogs can acquire the former, not so much on the latter.

A fair argument. I'll grant you that point.

Its the chewing part that gets to you, right?

Which is what prompted this entire sidebar.