i thought this one was good, since it went up only a few hours into the new year.

How are your New Year's Resolutions coming along? Mine...not so good.

Woody Guthrie's 33 (!) New Years Resolutions that he made in 1941 (for 1942) give us a view of an optimistic, serious, sensitive, funny man. Just dealing with the nine I chose to print here present a challenge but nearly 70 years on can't we all feel the resonance/relevance of the last one?

29 inches x 10 inches printed on newsprint

new years eve party

The angermark's missing. . .

via Instagram ift.tt/1O7EHs1

I've resolved to read more trashy books this year...starting with this double-header in January. The Jacqueline Susann is the much better of the two (no surprise). Angelique is not nearly as tawdry as the cover promises...so far the heroine has shot someone (exciting!), but mostly just blathers on about Quebec.

Any trashy recommendations?

This was just a quick capture whist on a walk, turned out to be the best of the day.

hey! I'm having a little contest! stop by my blog and find out the details!!!

Thank you to all who participated!!!

...and also learn about composition, perspective, light, exposure, aperture, speed, white balance, metering modes, color, lenses, filters, built-in/fill-in flash, action shots, night shots, low light shots, low key, high key (find a place to always leave my keys!), portraits, landscapes, hdr, orton, photoshop..... and a lot more that I don't remember right now..... and I count on you to help me!

Thank you very much for your friendship, kindness, tips, advices and I hope I get a lot more this next year.

Love,

Eda

People who set a New Year’s Resolution tend to piss me off. When you find the motivation to set a goal for yourself, you need to tackle it and commit to it with every ounce of energy you’ve got.

kevinskene.com/dont-start-unless-you-commit-to-finishing/

This is my Accountability Chart from 2024. Why am I posting something so personal here on Flickr? 1) Because it's me, and 2) Because it might inspire others who are struggling to stick with goals or New Year's resolutions.

In 2024 I set goals to get at least 150 active minutes each week; lift weights for 30 minutes twice a week; vacuum once a week; post 2+ pics on Flickr each week; walk to the grocery store twice a month; only read books that I already owned or borrowed from other people, develop no more than four rolls of film, and plant a pollinator garden.

These goals were meant to improve my health, save money, do my part to save the planet, and have a better home life.

As you can see from the chart, I did not reach my goals every week. Some of them I hardly reached at all. But I met some of them quite a lot, and I guarantee I met them more often because I wanted to keep those checkmarks going on the chart.

I met my target of 150 active minutes on 39/52 weeks, or 75% of the time. That's two weeks more than in 2023.

I only managed to lift weights for 30 minutes twice in one week once. But I did lift weights for 30 minutes on 13 occasions, and lifted weights [period] on 43 occasions, and that's not bad at all!

I vacuumed on 48/52 weeks, which is 92% of the time, which was my best result. Vacuuming doesn't take as much time, and it appeases my wife, so even though it doesn't benefit my health, it does benefit my life.

In 2023 I had set a goal to post 3+ pics on Flickr each week, but that proved to be too much, given my competing priorities, and I only hit the target on 21 weeks. I reduced the goal in 2024 to 2+ pics per week, and met that target on 39 weeks, so I felt good about that.

I walked to the grocery store (instead of driving) 13 times. There's lots of room for improvement, but I have a family of three now, and it just sucks to carry that much heavy stuff while wearing heavier clothes. What I mean is that if I'm going to get sweaty, I don't want to be wearing the heavier clothes I wear for a walk to the store, especially in winter. But I can still aim high, and if I don't achieve it, it's not a big deal.

In 2024, I read 10 books that I either borrowed from someone else or the library, or already owned. That saved me probably $200!

I also set a goal to only develop four rolls of film in 2024 to save money, because developing at home is not an option and I never learned how anyway. Developing at a lab is at least $13/roll. I ended up developing five rolls, but that's okay.

I didn't plant a pollinator garden because we unexpectedly moved in the spring, and thus no longer had access to a garden. I did buy a few potted lupins after moving, but they did better indoors.

Anyway, the point of this is that if you have routine goals (like health improvements) and have a hard time sticking to them over time, it really helped me to make this chart and break them down into smaller units (in this case, weeks), and log them. In a place where my wife can see it. That way, it's obvious if I'm keeping on top of my goals.

You also need to make them specific. "Get Healthier" is too vague. I set the "150 active minutes a week" target because that's what my family doctor told me in response to a few bloodwork indicators. So I had the motivation and a number to aim for. You can set a number and a frequency that makes sense for your goals; whatever they may be.

I hope this inspires a few people to make a similar accountability chart!

__________

IMG_0300ap

Make one crack about Mission Impossible 3 and I'll kick you. (or Da Vinci Code)

"Once in a Lifetime" = documentary about the first failed attempt to Major League Soccer in the US. (Randy, have you seen it?)

in latino culture, we eat twelve grapes for each stroke of the clock on new year's.

each one is supposed to represent each month of the coming year.

the sweet ones signify months of good luck and the sour ones...well, you know.

this year, however, these twelve grapes signify the now: every second that the clock strikes, may we be in the now, in the moment.

learning: the past and the future, we cannot control. solo tenemos el presente.

how's THAT for a new year's resolution?