Resolutions for 2012

Back-story: Every year I try to do resolutions for the New Year and every year, I don't get where I want to be. Reasons for past failures: not specific enough, not measurable, unrealistic, no real hard deadlines, no accountability, etc. I have tried: publishing them on a blog, making them baby steps to a bigger goal, setting deadlines, etc. I need to try a new tactic. Tim Ferriss (author of 4 Hour Week, 4 Hour Body) has his best friend make his resolutions for him and vice versa. Couple that with Chris Hardwick's ideas in The Nerdist Way about treating your life like a D&D game and this is how I came to the below idea.

My Plan: I would like my family and friends to help me come up with 10 resolutions. I will take suggestions and do the top 10 best goals (assuming they give me that many) in return, if I pick theirs, they get to harass, torture and pester me to keep on track...or encourage, if that is their thing. If there are some really great ones I can't narrow down, I will have a vote. I have my own goals I'll be doing as well, but I'm hoping they can keep me on a track with these.

Rules:

• They must be S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely).
  
• I would like these to be accomplished by July 1st and then I will do mid-year resolutions if this works out.
  
• I am not jumping out of an airplane or doing anything I normally would never do. However, I am willing to leave my comfort zone.
  
• They can be positive or negative goals (i.e. read 5 books or don't eat out more than once a week).
  
• They can submit more than one goal.
  

Categories for you to use in coming up with ideas:

• Finance (saving/being more frugal)
• Health (weight loss goals are the part of the main adventure. These are for side quests)
• Brain (reading/learning/etc)
• Writing (Non-fic only. I am not a Fiction Writer)
• Photography (non-homework related)
• Social (doing more with friends, writing letters, thank you cards, etc)
• Exploring Seattle
• Travel or Misc (Being Girlier, expanding music knowledge, using etc less, etc.)
  

Things to keep in mind:

• I work 3:30p to midnight.
  
• Starting in Feb. I will be taking 2 MFA classes in Photography while still working full time.
  
• I do need to sleep.
  
• I can listen to stuff while I work.
  
• I will keep you all updated on the goals as well as the people who came up for that specific goal.
  

My family and friends are awesome and very creative. I look forward to seeing what they come up with and I am totally willing to do the same if they want to do this style as well.

Updated some links to your left

I added "Five Million Can Project" which is brought to you by my cousin-in-law, Kim. I'll let her first post explain what her blog is about and click on the link to read more:

I'm an out of work mom. When I had this idea, I was still working. Even then, with the cost of daycare, the cost of our mortgage, the cost of health insurance, the cost of day to day life, I didn't know how we were going to save for our kids' college fund.

This idea began that everywhere I went, if I saw a plastic or glass bottle or aluminum can-- a recyclable, that I'd pick it up and take it home and recycle it. I looked at it as a nickel. If I saw a nickel on the ground, I'd pick it up. Wouldn't you? So, these are my nickels.

After looking at the estimated cost of college in 2024 and 2027, respectively, my kids will probably need anywhere from 125,000 to 400,000 to go to college. EACH. If I can raise that minimum amount of money, then put it in a CD for the kids over the years, I should be able to have enough to pay for college for both of them.

How many of those "nickels" or cans would I have to find in order to pay for my kids' college?



Five Million Cans.

So this is the Five Million Can Project. My goals is to get Five Million Cans for my kids by the time my daughter turns 5. She is 3 1/2 now. I and my husband have currently found 416 cans and bottles. (Some bottles are worth more than a nickel according to California Recycling Value-- CRV). This is currently equivalent to 22.45. Obviously, I cannot do this alone, especially since my husband and I rarely drink soda-- Okay, I'm the soda drinker in the house-- and we have made it a rule that we don't buy bottled water unless absolutely necessary. We used to use a Brita filtered pitcher and now we have a filter built into our refrigerator. So, between our offices, where people are pitching their recyclables without a second thought and finding bottles and cans on the street, we're finding those nickels wherever and whenever we can. Even still, we need help. So, will you donate your cans and bottles to our little project?

Hopefully this will lead not only to my kids having a college fund, but also to a larger realization that empty cans and bottles have value. That wasting them by throwing them into the trash where they will just poison the Earth isn't just bad for the environment, but that you can really DO something positive when you don't waste.

Thanks!
The Can Mom.

And yes, I am pretending like it hasn't been 6 months since I posted last. We both know that anything I say about posting more will most likely be a well intentioned lie.

Happy Birthday, Jenny!

Today is my sister's birthday.

Superstar In the Making

My cousin, Mitch, has a daughter named Sammie. At her pre-school graduation, she got to sing a solo of "God Bless America." Here is the adorable video:



The look of "amateurs" while the guy fiddles with the microphone is classic.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday. I thought I would post some pictures of my mom in honor of her day. She reads this blog so in the comments section - feel free to wish her happy birthday!

From 1973 to 2008, she seems to have just moved from one jail to another.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Happy Birthday. Grandma!

Today is my Grandmother's birthday! This is my grandma on my dad's side. I thought I would post some pictures of her to celebrate her day!

She's the one being held by her mom (1922).

Years later (1942) with her mom in the kitchen.


Few more years later (1957) with her kids.

Few more years later (1977) with the first batch of grandkids.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDMA!