reflecting on 2010 and new years resolutions.....

[crowsashes]

well it is that time of year after all... im currently on my post xmas cleaning binge and im happily ditching stuff that should have gone ages ago ( like the ex's crap thats been here months and it only should have been weeks... )

anyhow came across my old diary ( one for college - runs sept -august ) and i wrote down my new years resolutions.... and i can tell you i failed on last years ones!

so right now im starting as i intend to carry on the next year....

first resolution - GET RID ... by that i mean all the useless bits of tat that are cluttering up every darn room in my house . LO has just had a hell of a shock, ive just removed the BIGGEST load of toys he does not play with . now awaiting freecycle collections. for some reason this year ive just not been able to do it...

2nd - STAY SINGLE - i dont work in a relationship...actually i dont choose relationships that do work so im taking a long break from men - this in turn will lead on to the next one

3rd - MORE TIME FOR ME - wishful thinking i know! but i intend to make a bit more time for me and that involves hassling my mum to help have LO overnight alot more than once every 4-6 months

4th - get healthier... i need to cook more... being at college has meant LO and I have been living off food thats not the best...even just sandwiches and soup mostly because were out 7am - 7pm most days and exhausted but with forward planning im hoping i can sort this out

5th - get my portfolio up running and ready .... its old, nothing has been added for well over a year so its time i upgraded my work and hopefully get into a job i love...

6 - keep up with my challenge to get my rubbish/household waste down - recycling/reuse up -buy nothing new for a year etc etc...


already im feeling very positive about next year and looking forward to it... even started implementing a large portion of these changes already and it feels great!

so over too you... anyone planning on big / small changes for next year? im excited already thinking about the possibilities for the next couple of months!

[mrsflibble]

i dont make resolutions, but i intend to continue with recycling and food waste separation (two weeks and i have 6 bags of recycling, half a green wheelie bin of food/garden waste and only 1 black sack!)

do more sewing

and i have something to do before new year and that's finish the damned fillet crochet piece i have been working on since may!

[Zech]

I have just one resolution, but I think it might be as big a challenge as your six, Crowsashes:

Make a plan and stick to it.

Having quit my job for a less structured life, I fear I'll slip into idleness all too easily. I need to work out ALL the things that need to be done throughout the year, break them down into day-sized tasks, and write one on each day of my nice new calendar. I can move things around (this will all be written in pencil) and I hope I'll be able to leave one day a week blank, but with my calendar giving me instructions every day, hopefully everything will get done, or at least I'll be able to see just how badly I'm doing!

Now I've said it publicly I'm going to have to do it

[Percy]

Be glad to see the back of 2010 to be honest. I was the victim of a serious assault back in April and ruined for most of the year, could hardly do a thing on the allotment, although family and friends did help when possible.
Next year, make the most of what i have and restructure my whole life.
It has really given me a new outlook on life.
Need to be more self-sufficient as way of achieving something.

[Puddleduck]

Sorry to hear about your pants year Percy, hope 2011 is better for you

Just a couple for this coming year:

Be Organised:
Make a plan for the garden and work through it, make time to do the essential jobs like weeding and mulching, and to enjoy the garden instead of letting it go until it becomes a huge chore. Now that my LO is old enough to help, rather than needing to be entertained constantly, she can join us too, it can be family time with the added bonus of yummy food afterwards.

Knit something for myself:
Instead of the jumpers for father and father in law, waistcoat for hubby, jumper for LO, half finished cardigan for mother, I want something too dammit!!!!

Be nice to myself:
By which I mean taking time to slow down and enjoy myself instead of the running around like a headless chicken like I did for the last year.

That's the plan anyway. Happy upcoming New Year to everyone!!

[yvette]

My resolution - actually learn to use my camera properly so that I can photograph things for my website and folksy shop. I am hopeless with the darned thing, even though it is not a particularly complicated one. All I need, I'm sure, is to sit down with the manual for a couple of hours and focus.
I've been impressed by people resolving to finsih projects before they start new ones or only to allow themselves to have so many projects on the go. But I know I'd be incapable of sticking to that - even as I am knitting I am gazing longingly at the felt-making materials and dreraming of the lovely fabric I have upstairs just begging to be cut out and sewn....

[crowsashes]

My resolution - actually learn to use my camera properly so that I can photograph things for my website and folksy shop. I am hopeless with the darned thing, even though it is not a particularly complicated one. All I need, I'm sure, is to sit down with the manual for a couple of hours and focus.

have you had a look to see if theres an online video to run you through using it? theres a few out there that 'teach' you what each button etc does without the need to trawl through a camera manual.

[yvette]

Thanks very much crowsashes, never thought of that - I will look. I still haven't quite got out of the mindset that anything I need to know will be in a book!

[Helsbells]

I have lots of new years resolutions, love making them, this is just a draft:

1. Do some exercise, literally haven't done a bit since July,

2. Get Serendipity child art/ Serendipity child crafts/ Helen Jackson art (not sure which yet) off the ground,

3. Buy nothing new for a year,

4. Read the Bible in a year,

5. Grow more veg - always plan to not have to buy any veg, but never manage it, will try again this year,

There are more I am sure.

[Keaniebean]

I've never been one for resoloutions really, as I always assumed I would fail at them anyway, but this year feels different so I have a few that I would love to fulfill.

1. Make/grow more, spend less.
2. Start up an Etsy shop.
3. Be fitter not fatter
4. Be out of debt by the end of the year.

Happy New Year to you all.

[crowsashes]

4. Be out of debt by the end of the year.

you've just reminded me of another 1!!

i have a £1600 overdraft - i want to try and get at least £600 of this paid off by the end of the year... looks like im spending new years eve budgeting for the coming year! hopefully my 'buy nothing new' challenge will help me save a few pennies so i can save even more pounds on NOT HAVING TO PAY INTEREST !

[Flo]

My resolution - actually learn to use my camera properly so that I can photograph things for my website and folksy shop. I am hopeless with the darned thing, even though it is not a particularly complicated one. All I need, I'm sure, is to sit down with the manual for a couple of hours and focus.

Learning to use the camera is one thing. Learning to compose a picture is quite another. Your ambition requires someone with a camera who has an artistic eye too. I've taken squillions of pictures over the last three years and only just learned to "see the picture" before I press the button. It may be that you need to sit back and ask yourself how to organise a picture so that if you were the customer it would look so simple and pretty that you just had to buy the item involved. In the case of selling, the eye buys. But at least your products don't move.

You actually have two resolutions there. One is to learn to use the camera and the other is to learn to take artistic pictures for your website.