Tag Archives: New Year Resolutions

New Year’s Eve 2020

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A Favorite book of mine

Sing a Song of Seasons, the book was displayed in the children’s section of our county library and I fell in love with the pictures and poems and promised myself to read each daily poem. Of course, I didn’t. The year has passed quickly for me and I find myself with the same goal for 2021.

Poem December 30th

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December

A magical thing

And sweet to remember

We are nearer to spring

Then we were in September

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December

by Oliver Herford

Poems; a daily joy to ponder what life is really about.

May you duck in time to avoid life’s mishap or reinventing yourself if you fail.

. . . . just saying

Happy New Year

1984 Vs 2035

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 259/365 Clock Work by martinak15 (CC BY 2.0)clockwork

Aging & Attitude

Happy New Year!

It is hard to believe it is 2015 but it is.

Mr. Wonderful* and I celebrated by eating at McDonald’s on the way home from Orlando International. We were hungry. We were away for sixteen days and that return flight was our best choice, besides New Year’s is not about fun; we are retired and have fun all the time. New Year’s is about making changes, anyway; it was a direct flight.

One of life’s challenges is change or to move forward, because there is no standing still and consequently we will go backwards or decline. This is evident with aging, and the realization none of us will escape wearing diapers and eating soft food. We can only hope to keep up with the changing world around us. Perhaps these thoughts are the cause of my recent dwelling on the novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell. You must recall the terms it made famous; Big Brother, doublethink, thoughtcrime, Newspeak, Room 101, telescreen, 2+2=5, and memory hole.

Reading the book as a sixteen year old scared the crap out of me. I could not imagine the year 1984, and doubted I would be alive to have Big Brother watch me. And if I were, would insist 2+2 equaled four and be convicted of thoughtcrimes .

It was 1964 and 1984 was twenty years away.

In 2015, I have the same predicament. I cannot imagine the world twenty years from now, and doubt I will be alive.

Not true! Senior Journal reports, “– Happy New Year! If you are age 65, and pretty much average, you should expect to live another 19.3 years, according to new life expectancy projections.”

Well I am pretty much average. In twenty years I will be eighty-seven and Mr. Wonderful eighty-six. Yes, I married a younger man. Our son will be sixty; daughter, fifty-eight and grandchildren in their thirties.

I am considering going vegan or at least eating blueberries for breakfast.

What will the world be like in twenty years? Will we get flying cars, personal robots and travel in space? Some people predict a Utopia existence free of pollution and poor health. Mandatory ID chips inserted in our brains will provide education and track our location so there will be no forgetting where you parked or left your keys. Right, we won’t need keys, nor be parking.

So now I am rethinking my New Year resolutions and changing my expectations. How important is losing five pounds?

 

. . . . just saying

*Mr. Wonderful aka, Bob, my husband

2014 Weight Loss Resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions

Polar Bear Plunge

2014 Weight Loss Resolution

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GE DIGITAL CAMERA

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”   Lao-tse  

   Here we go again; the number one New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, unfortunately only eight percent of those making the intention succeed. That means ninety-two percent or almost everyone fails, and I am one of them. It was my resolution last year, the year before and the year before that; to lose the five pounds gained in retirement. Granted it is not the freshmen fifteen but I am not eighteen either. Mr. Wonderful, my husband of 42 years, says, “You’re not really overweight.” My response, “Yea and that’s the way I want to keep it.” Besides not really overweight is equal to, not really smart or its counter not really stupid. His comment does not make me feel better. My pants are tight, and please do not suggest I wear pants with an elastic waist. I am philosophically opposed to the fashion concept.

You may think losing five pounds for someone my size is easy, but it is not. In order to lose one pound a week I need to cut my caloric intake by 500 calories a day or eat 25% to 30% less than I now consume. What typically happens is that I am “Good” on weekdays and take off the pound, but it comes back over the weekend. On Monday I face the same old challenge.

Consequently, to meet success in 2014, I have consulted a professional personal trainer, my brother, Victor. He reinvented himself in retirement and has his own business, VB Fitness(vicboylhart@gmail.com), with a catchy tag line; “Stay Fit With Vic.” The Silver Sneakers flock to him. Vic’s advice, “Sis, you can cut calories to lose weight OR increase activity and people who want to lose more have to do both.”

Vic explains, “walk one mile, lose one hundred calories. Take any amount of time to do that but the faster you walk the less time you need to burn calories. That is why people run.” Vic can lose a pound in 6 point something minutes.

But Vic, “I do not run, my boobs shake, but I walk several times a week for about 30 minutes and exercise with Miranda Esmonde-White’s The Classical Stretch routine.”

Vic smiles and says, “That’s the problem you’re burning calories not fat. You have to sweat and exercise 40 minutes or longer, sweating clears the body of toxins. ”

But Vic, “I don’t like to sweat! How about I change my resolution to; I’m not going to gain five pounds.”

Mr. Smarty Pants response is to do jumping-jacks, he is right.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends:

  • Adults participate in at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity physical activity to prevent significant weight gain and reduce associated chronic disease risk factors. For most adults, this amount of physical activity is easily achieved in 30 minutes/day, five days a week.
  • Overweight and obese individuals will most likely experience greater weight reduction and prevent weight regain with 250+ minutes/week of moderate-intensity physical activity and reducing calories.
  • ACSM also recommends strength training as part of this health and fitness regimen, to increase fat-free mass and further reduce health risks.

Consequently the way for me to lose weight is; give up wine, give up cookies, and jump around until I sweat. I love my cookies with coffee as an afternoon snack and seriously, sweating is highly over rated.

   Place your bets!

. . . . just saying

 

 

New Year Resolutions In July

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images

Half Way There

Aging & Attitude

The Rise & Shine section of the News Journal, informs the reader of the date, the days left in the year and gives a quote.

Today is Tuesday, June 19 the 171st day of 2012 and there are 195 days left in the year.

The quote; “One has two duties – to be worried and not to be worried” by EM Foster a British author (1879-1970)

I worry. We are 171 days into the year and I am nowhere near accomplishing my New Year’s resolutions. Remember, the things we planned to change and have not.

I saw Bubbles at the gym recently. She is not thinner, neither am I.

I have lost and regained the same two pounds many times in the past six months and frequent the gym although, the measurements logged in my journal have not changed. The good news is I am not heavier nor wider.

No, there are not 171 entries in my writing journal even though it was a New Year’s resolution to write every day. There are fifty, well less than forty.

I am moving at a snail’s pace.

How are you doing with those New Year’s Resolutions?

I gave up weeding (number one on the list), but lack a sense of real accomplishment, because I sold the house to do it, literally.

I am eating healthier after attending a Vegan Festival and scared shitless about meat and milk. We eat soymilk, cheese, and margarine. Boca Burgers pass for a real burger. Tofurky has the taste of sausage but the consistency of a hardboiled egg white. The picture shows a recent birthday dinner, cheesy potatoes, kale, and blackened tuna with salsa, quite delicious. Mr. Wonderful raved about the cheesy potatoes made with butternut squash. VegRecipes.org.

It feels like I am taking three steps forward and two steps backwards every day.

However, I am not worried because there are 195 days remaining in 2012 to make those resolutions  happen.

We need a boost, like retail does with a Christmas in July sale.

Why not revisit New Year’s Eve Resolutions in July?

Rather than abandon goals or throw the baby out with the bath water, re-energize, re-organize and re-think strategies.

This is Leap year and there are 366 days in 2012. The 183nd day of the year, halfway to 2013 will be in 13 days or July 2 (for those of you not good in math, trust me).

Rethink failure, join me in celebrating July 2 as “Halfway to Resolution Day”. Forget about fireworks and a big celebration. Sit in a corner, ponder the consequences and let me know.                                                                                           

                                                       ….just saying

(Those exempt from resolution are eligible to comment)

New Year’s Resolution

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New Year Resolutions  

Aging & Attitude

Blame the Romans for the New Year tradition of making resolutions.

In 153B.C. Janus, God of Beginnings was placed on the Roman calendar and January 1st declared the first day of the year. Pictured with two faces, one looking back, the other forward, the practice of evaluation and resolution was established.

During the nineteen hundreds people began celebrating early, making New Year’s Eve the bigger event, and a kiss at midnight a symbol of purification and luck in the United States.

It is a good time to take stock, change behavior, and anticipate a better you.  Not everyone agrees. Some believe they are already their best, and others, convinced they are doomed to break resolutions, refrain from making them.

I personally enjoy the custom.

One year I resolved not to drink wine with twist off caps and dedicated myself to promote merging in traffic. Initially I did better with the wine but after a month reevaluated the cost and went back to twist off.

Merging proved as challenging.  Friends, unable to grasp the concept of allowing vehicles to go in front of them, appeared bored by my conversation and started to avoid me, so I gave that up, too.

Last year I was determined to give up weeding, lose weight, and start Blogging. I had success with the writing and only gained five pounds, which does not count because muscle weighs more than fat, I am told at the Gym.

Giving up weeding was a disaster. I found myself returning from getting the mail with fistfuls of weeds, magazines and bills tucked under my arm.  In 100-degree heat, I would wait for cloud cover and sneak outside addicted to a bag full. By August I was weeding several times a day and paying the price with back pain and  hand tendonitis.

My resolve this year is to be more realistic. I have considered hiring, but think buying expensive wine makes better use of my money, besides setting healthy boundaries is the real issue.

Consequently my New Year Resolutions are:

  • No weeding in hot humid months.  (In Florida that means May through November.)
  • No moving rocks and the black stuff to get to weed roots.
  • Only one small plastic grocery bag a day regardless of weather conditions
  • And by 5pm to be sitting or in a prone position with something pleasant to drink.

                                                      Damn it, I am retired!

Just Saying

(What is your New Year Resolution?)