Well … no resolutions per se. But I have some goals I’d like to reach:
– Be in better physical shape. Yeah, that’s pretty generic. But this is how I specifically define it:
In 6 months, I will retake the gym’s physical fitness test. I want my Max VO2 and Bicep strenth ratings to improve – VO2 from 33.4 to at least 38 (on a 7 point scale, that takes me from 3 to 5); bicep from 45 to at least 60 (on a 5 point scale, that takes me from 3 to 4).
I also want to end the year able to do 10 unassisted pullups (chin ups, whatever you want to call them).
The more important, more nebulous goal would be to get my career on some sort of track. I have less specific ideas about how to get there.
OK, I’m going to put mine in, even though you all already know.
Health. Goal 1 is to lose at least an average of 2 pounds a week. Goal 2 is to exercise more, to go to the pool at least twice a week, even when it is cold, and, after a little more loss and before the end of the year, to sign up for the tour of the exercise equipment and add that to the pool. Goal 3 is to eat better: more whole grains, more vegies, less red meat, less salt, etc, and to take my vitamins more regularly.
Home. Goal 1 is to map out a room painting schedule and follow it. I want to have the house painted by the end of the year. Goal 2 is to get someone in to texture the ceiling ot to just do the best i can myself. Goal 3 is to clear out some of the boxes in the sewing room. There are a few boxes of things that need to find a home and be put away; there are a few filled with unfinished sewing projects. Those i need to just do what needs to be done. There are a few of clothes i have kept because i am going to fit them again some day. Those should empty as i lose. And there are a few of quilting fabric. I doubt if i am ever going to quilt, and if i do it won’t be much. I need to go thru those boxes, keeping only my favorite fabric and selling the rest on ebay.
Doable. I think…
-Get in better shape. This would help me in just about every area of life. I just have to get out and do it…
-Write in a journal at least once a week. I’d like to do it, but am currently a week behind. D’oh!
-Read more paper books. Dunno which ones though.
-Get rid of Stuff. I have too much ‘Stuff’. Boxes of stuff I don’t use, or have not touched in forever. I should catalog it, get rid of it, and when I feel the need for something I could check the list to see if I had it before and never used it.
-Clean more. You know, the house. The fish tank. The catbox. I’m sure everyone would be happy if things were kept a bit more clean than they are now.
stuff…. i think we all have too much stuff. I am feeling an ebay urge coming on. Sometimes i think “garage sale” and think if all the things i have freecycled and donated lately and think that if i had held onto them what a garage sale i could have… and then i think of the garage sales i have had in the past and quickly post things in freecycle before i am tempted to do it again. 🙂 But ebay…. ebay is still an attractive option.
Hrumph. Try moving.
Actually, Kevin’s protestations to the contrary, I think our own “stuff” levels are pretty benign. But I’ll go ahead and throw my own hat & household into the ‘we have too much stuff’ ring.
Our plan, as we unpack, is to have three boxes (or piles or whatever they tun into) – throw away, give away, and sell. Give away is either FreeCycle or goodwill; Sell is either Craig’s List or ebay.
We (I) plan on being pretty ruthless about it. Do either of you (Mom or Christina) want rights of first refusal? I don’t want to contribute to your own ‘stuff’ problems, but there’s a lot of very nice ‘stuff’ that I’m going to have to weed out. If Aleah has any need for stuffed animals, for instance, let me know.
I had this thought as I was writing the last comment – but it’s completely unrelated, so I thought I’d make it a different comment.
Would anyone care to introduce accountability to the resolutions? I haven’t thought it all the way through – want to see if it’s something worth thinking through, first – but here’s the nebulous idea I have in mind.
Say we all throw $20 in a pot and get a gift certificate to some nice restaurant – or some other universally desirable reward. We all set three similarly definable or defined goals – we each set the goal(s) and some way of quanifying said goal’s achivement.
And at some future date – 6 months, 8 months? – we compare notes and whoever did the best gets the prize.
Not fully thought out, as you can tell. But does this spark anyone’s interest?
I’m interested, sure.
But we would need to only have one or two resolutions each, or have each resolution count towards a percentage of the pot.
And what happens if everyone ‘wins’? I assume we’d just get our money back. Err.. and I assume we’d have to pony up at the start too. (I’ll volunteer for holding the prize until next year)
Within reason I would like to have first rights to your stuff. I am sure you know what might appeal to me. You might keep relatives in mind for your donation pile. Debbie, Lorna and her girls, Pat and his boys, etc. If your stuff is something that might appeal it might be nice to give it to someone you know. Some of us do not have as much stuff as others (Pat, for example, tells me he has 2 cooking pans, which he says he manages with just fine, but dang! 2 pans? There is the question of how much it would cost to mail, of course.). Still i have boxes started for various people… things that might appeal.
Speaking of offering our excess to family, I ran across that monkey puppet the other day. Do you remember it? I wanted it and thought it would be so much fun but i never got the hang of using it so it did not play that big a part in our family. Do you even remember it? I was thinking that if neither of you wanted it i might offer it to Pat. He got the hang of using it from the beginning.
As for the contest, yes i like. It needs more thought, but i think it could be fun. There are different kinds of things we all need to do. Getting in shape, be it weight loss or muscle addition would be similar. We all need to weed out “stuff.” Since i wrote my resolutions more have occurred to me. I have photos and family papers to scan for my family, I have photos to scan for my family, i have ecological goals of more efficient energy users and recycling, we need to write wills, there aew 101 things that need to be done in and out of and to my house. Perhaps you have something comparable.
As for what the prize is and when we decide it and when we get the prize…… that. too, needs thought. Actually it does not have to be material, though what non-material thing would work i do not know yet.
Oops – I though I’d responded to this. I typed, but guess I never pressed submit.
Yes, I remember the monkey puppet fondly and absolutely agree it should go to Pat (if he’s interested, of course). I remember how well he was able to animate it.
And I’ll also try to keep extended family in mind as I do my own weeding. Good idea.
here’s a funny idea: make a list of the ‘stuff’ you are getting rid of and post it. If nothing else, it could generate some funny commentary.
My idea was I’d figure out how to post pictures to the 4101 space (first of all)
then
make a table with thumbnail, description, and final distribution information.
Whenever the table was updated with new stuff I’d tell you all, and if any of you had any thoughts on where it ought to go (whether to self, other family/friends, other organizations, other destinations …) you could let me know (or not).
For instance … I need a place that I can donate clothes that aren’t in good shape. In NC, I sent at least three boxes of clothes (with obvious wear, tears, stains, really unfashionable, that sort of stuff) in with a friend who was sending a lot of stuff to a group (American Legion or Disabled Veterans, I don’t recall) – she said that they said that they took clothes like that and distributed it internationally to folks who really needed it. But I couldn’t find any confirmation that that’s what either group does, and I don’t know where to contact them up here.
Also, I read somewhere or heard on the radio that there’s a place you can donate clothes as cloth, and they grind and pound and make a really fine recycled paper. But I’ve looked and looked and I can’t find any mention of such a place.
So – if anyone knows of places I could donate really used clothes – or other odd things, for any purpose – I’d be willing to ship or do whatever, if I just knew where and what and all that. So if you see something on my table and think, wow, that is really in bad shape, but I bet the National Institute for Disabled Gerbils would like it – just let me know.
what a good idea…. both taking the trouble to find who would place really used clothes with someone who would conside them usable, and someone taking old fabric and turning it into paper.
There used to be a place in SA that made trip to Mexico when they had enough… Surely there is a place in Houston that does the same. I will look into it, though it would be better if you could find a place up there (shipping cost and all).
There is a place here in Houston that i have freecycled to before… They take old clothes and turn them into crafts. They especially like tshirts with slogans and anything with trim, buttons, or interesting fabric. It is, however, a small business for profit, not for the good of humanity.
Well … no resolutions per se. But I have some goals I’d like to reach:
– Be in better physical shape. Yeah, that’s pretty generic. But this is how I specifically define it:
In 6 months, I will retake the gym’s physical fitness test. I want my Max VO2 and Bicep strenth ratings to improve – VO2 from 33.4 to at least 38 (on a 7 point scale, that takes me from 3 to 5); bicep from 45 to at least 60 (on a 5 point scale, that takes me from 3 to 4).
I also want to end the year able to do 10 unassisted pullups (chin ups, whatever you want to call them).
The more important, more nebulous goal would be to get my career on some sort of track. I have less specific ideas about how to get there.
OK, I’m going to put mine in, even though you all already know.
Health. Goal 1 is to lose at least an average of 2 pounds a week. Goal 2 is to exercise more, to go to the pool at least twice a week, even when it is cold, and, after a little more loss and before the end of the year, to sign up for the tour of the exercise equipment and add that to the pool. Goal 3 is to eat better: more whole grains, more vegies, less red meat, less salt, etc, and to take my vitamins more regularly.
Home. Goal 1 is to map out a room painting schedule and follow it. I want to have the house painted by the end of the year. Goal 2 is to get someone in to texture the ceiling ot to just do the best i can myself. Goal 3 is to clear out some of the boxes in the sewing room. There are a few boxes of things that need to find a home and be put away; there are a few filled with unfinished sewing projects. Those i need to just do what needs to be done. There are a few of clothes i have kept because i am going to fit them again some day. Those should empty as i lose. And there are a few of quilting fabric. I doubt if i am ever going to quilt, and if i do it won’t be much. I need to go thru those boxes, keeping only my favorite fabric and selling the rest on ebay.
Doable. I think…
-Get in better shape. This would help me in just about every area of life. I just have to get out and do it…
-Write in a journal at least once a week. I’d like to do it, but am currently a week behind. D’oh!
-Read more paper books. Dunno which ones though.
-Get rid of Stuff. I have too much ‘Stuff’. Boxes of stuff I don’t use, or have not touched in forever. I should catalog it, get rid of it, and when I feel the need for something I could check the list to see if I had it before and never used it.
-Clean more. You know, the house. The fish tank. The catbox. I’m sure everyone would be happy if things were kept a bit more clean than they are now.
stuff…. i think we all have too much stuff. I am feeling an ebay urge coming on. Sometimes i think “garage sale” and think if all the things i have freecycled and donated lately and think that if i had held onto them what a garage sale i could have… and then i think of the garage sales i have had in the past and quickly post things in freecycle before i am tempted to do it again. 🙂 But ebay…. ebay is still an attractive option.
Hrumph. Try moving.
Actually, Kevin’s protestations to the contrary, I think our own “stuff” levels are pretty benign. But I’ll go ahead and throw my own hat & household into the ‘we have too much stuff’ ring.
Our plan, as we unpack, is to have three boxes (or piles or whatever they tun into) – throw away, give away, and sell. Give away is either FreeCycle or goodwill; Sell is either Craig’s List or ebay.
We (I) plan on being pretty ruthless about it. Do either of you (Mom or Christina) want rights of first refusal? I don’t want to contribute to your own ‘stuff’ problems, but there’s a lot of very nice ‘stuff’ that I’m going to have to weed out. If Aleah has any need for stuffed animals, for instance, let me know.
I had this thought as I was writing the last comment – but it’s completely unrelated, so I thought I’d make it a different comment.
Would anyone care to introduce accountability to the resolutions? I haven’t thought it all the way through – want to see if it’s something worth thinking through, first – but here’s the nebulous idea I have in mind.
Say we all throw $20 in a pot and get a gift certificate to some nice restaurant – or some other universally desirable reward. We all set three similarly definable or defined goals – we each set the goal(s) and some way of quanifying said goal’s achivement.
And at some future date – 6 months, 8 months? – we compare notes and whoever did the best gets the prize.
Not fully thought out, as you can tell. But does this spark anyone’s interest?
I’m interested, sure.
But we would need to only have one or two resolutions each, or have each resolution count towards a percentage of the pot.
And what happens if everyone ‘wins’? I assume we’d just get our money back. Err.. and I assume we’d have to pony up at the start too. (I’ll volunteer for holding the prize until next year)
Within reason I would like to have first rights to your stuff. I am sure you know what might appeal to me. You might keep relatives in mind for your donation pile. Debbie, Lorna and her girls, Pat and his boys, etc. If your stuff is something that might appeal it might be nice to give it to someone you know. Some of us do not have as much stuff as others (Pat, for example, tells me he has 2 cooking pans, which he says he manages with just fine, but dang! 2 pans? There is the question of how much it would cost to mail, of course.). Still i have boxes started for various people… things that might appeal.
Speaking of offering our excess to family, I ran across that monkey puppet the other day. Do you remember it? I wanted it and thought it would be so much fun but i never got the hang of using it so it did not play that big a part in our family. Do you even remember it? I was thinking that if neither of you wanted it i might offer it to Pat. He got the hang of using it from the beginning.
As for the contest, yes i like. It needs more thought, but i think it could be fun. There are different kinds of things we all need to do. Getting in shape, be it weight loss or muscle addition would be similar. We all need to weed out “stuff.” Since i wrote my resolutions more have occurred to me. I have photos and family papers to scan for my family, I have photos to scan for my family, i have ecological goals of more efficient energy users and recycling, we need to write wills, there aew 101 things that need to be done in and out of and to my house. Perhaps you have something comparable.
As for what the prize is and when we decide it and when we get the prize…… that. too, needs thought. Actually it does not have to be material, though what non-material thing would work i do not know yet.
Oops – I though I’d responded to this. I typed, but guess I never pressed submit.
Yes, I remember the monkey puppet fondly and absolutely agree it should go to Pat (if he’s interested, of course). I remember how well he was able to animate it.
And I’ll also try to keep extended family in mind as I do my own weeding. Good idea.
here’s a funny idea: make a list of the ‘stuff’ you are getting rid of and post it. If nothing else, it could generate some funny commentary.
My idea was I’d figure out how to post pictures to the 4101 space (first of all)
then
make a table with thumbnail, description, and final distribution information.
Whenever the table was updated with new stuff I’d tell you all, and if any of you had any thoughts on where it ought to go (whether to self, other family/friends, other organizations, other destinations …) you could let me know (or not).
For instance … I need a place that I can donate clothes that aren’t in good shape. In NC, I sent at least three boxes of clothes (with obvious wear, tears, stains, really unfashionable, that sort of stuff) in with a friend who was sending a lot of stuff to a group (American Legion or Disabled Veterans, I don’t recall) – she said that they said that they took clothes like that and distributed it internationally to folks who really needed it. But I couldn’t find any confirmation that that’s what either group does, and I don’t know where to contact them up here.
Also, I read somewhere or heard on the radio that there’s a place you can donate clothes as cloth, and they grind and pound and make a really fine recycled paper. But I’ve looked and looked and I can’t find any mention of such a place.
So – if anyone knows of places I could donate really used clothes – or other odd things, for any purpose – I’d be willing to ship or do whatever, if I just knew where and what and all that. So if you see something on my table and think, wow, that is really in bad shape, but I bet the National Institute for Disabled Gerbils would like it – just let me know.
what a good idea…. both taking the trouble to find who would place really used clothes with someone who would conside them usable, and someone taking old fabric and turning it into paper.
There used to be a place in SA that made trip to Mexico when they had enough… Surely there is a place in Houston that does the same. I will look into it, though it would be better if you could find a place up there (shipping cost and all).
There is a place here in Houston that i have freecycled to before… They take old clothes and turn them into crafts. They especially like tshirts with slogans and anything with trim, buttons, or interesting fabric. It is, however, a small business for profit, not for the good of humanity.
By the way, if you want to check out a charity, this is a good place to go.
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm
Small business for profit is better than throwing away. So that’s a neat idea – I’ll keep it in mind when I get to the closet.
We have 2 big boxes (3×3) filled with ‘stuff’ to redistribute. Time to get into the photography phase.