How Do You Celebrate New Years Eve?

First I would like to say 2008 was a good year for us. What was the best thing that happened to you in 2008? What was the worst thing that happened to you, in 2008? For me the best thing was my sister coming, and spending Christmas with us. That meant a lot to me, and I am grateful for it. The worst thing, hmm I guess the fact that the economy has taken such a turn for the worse. It has effected my jewelry business, as well as our finances. Fortunately for us, we have been able to cover all our bills, and not got behind. It just makes money much tighter, and harder to save. I hope it turns around soon. What about you?

New Years Eve is not something we really make a big deal about. My children are still young, so we record the ball drop every year for them to watch on New Years Day. We will be watching Speed Racer, and ordering Pizza this evening. Then after my children are in bed, my husband and I will watch a movie of his choosing. It is his turn, so wish me luck. The last time I let him choose I had to watch The Jerk, possibly the dumbest movie ever made. We do not really drink, but I may have a glass of wine. Then tomorrow is of course Football games on, and the Christmas tree comes down. I hate to do it, I love my tree. But it really has to be done, to get the house back to normal. It always makes me kind of sad.

That is about it, so what about all of you? Oh yeah I almost forgot this blog is now a PR of 2 yay. So I met one of my goals for 2009, even before it was 2009.

Top New Years Resolutions

I have a poll going, asking if you make a New Years Resolution. I personally do not make a resolution. To me a resolution is aimed at a complete make over of ones self. I do not care for that. I do make short term goals, however. That seems much more manageable than a complete make over. So what do you think are the top resolutions people make every year? This is what I think the top 5 are:

1- to lose weight This is such a general statement. How much weight do you want to lose, how will you do it, and when do you want to do it by. For instance I wish to lose 10 pounds, by eating less and exercising, by St Patricks Day. Now doesn't that sound more attainable?

2- make more money- Again this is such a general statement. How do you plan to do it, and when do you wish to do it by. For instance I would like to get a raise of 2 dollars per hour, by June. I will request my raise, in May when my evaluation is due. That is much better I think.

3- Exercise more- very ambiguous What does exercise more mean. Do you already exercise, or do not at all. Wouldn't it make more sense to set a goal such as I will walk at least 1 mile every day. I certainly would not say I will join a gym, lift weights, and do aerobics 7 days a week, if I have never exercised in my life.

4- get out of debt- easier said than done. How will you accomplish this, when do you want to accomplish it by. It is highly unreasonable to think you will get out of debt in one year, unless you have already been working on it in previous years. It would be more reasonable to say I will pay an extra 10, or 20 dollars, every month on my credit cards, and other loans to reduce my debt by the end of 2009.

5- eat healthier- this one always surprises me. It really takes a lot of commitment, and goal setting to achieve a complete resolution of ones eating habits. You can not just say I will not eat chips, or drink soda anymore. That really does not work, at least not for most people. It would probably be more effective to say I will only eat a handful of chips, rather than the whole bag. Or I will limit myself to one or two sodas, per day. Starting by cutting whatever the unhealthy food item is, by quarters is more attainable, and easier to stick with. That leads me to my last one, and probably the most difficult

6- Quit smoking- how many try that every year, and it doesnt last? I know my husband has tried several times, only to start smoking again. For him it is because he tries to quit cold turkey, which does not work for most people. It would make more sense to say I will only smoke 6 cigarettes a day, or whatever is a reduction for you, for the first month, then 5 cigarettes a day, for the next month etc until you no longer need to smoke. Also, I think for a lot of people smoking is a form of stress management, so learning a new way to cope with stress would be optimal to quitting. That could be writing your feelings in a journal, meditating, or even taking a time out for 5 minutes to clear your head.

So what do you think? Do you make a resolution every year? Do you stick to it? Would it not make more sense to make a short term goal, rather than try for a complete resolution of ones self? Tell me what you think.

New Years Goals For This Blog

2009 is just around the corner. I have some goals I am setting, for this blog, for 2009. I have a current page rank of 1, and would like to get that increased to at least a 2. Higher would be great, but I try to set goals that are achievable. I would like to increase the revenue from adspace. Project Wonderful, has paid me once already, so that is great. Adsense is not too bad, I hope to make payout in 2009. I wish they would lower their payout limit from 100 dollars to something, just a little bit less. I get paid posts through Social Spark, and that has earned me over 100 dollars. Of course I would like to see that increase, with more paid opportunities. I have been with Adgitize since the end of November, and have made 1.44 there. Your earnings depend a lot on what other members do, as well as what you yourself do on the site. I want to add a link box with all my favorite educational, and information sites. That one will take a while, as there are so many that I use. It will be more user friendly, however for anyone that visits this blog looking for information. I am thinking of having some guest bloggers, other homeschoolers or educators. I think that would be interesting, and fun. I am always reading, and searching for new, and interesting topics that would be great to read. It doesn't necessarily have to be about homeschooling, education or learning in general is great. Here is to a wonderful, and happy new year to everyone.

Fun At Dudley Farms

Yesterday we all went to Dudley Farms Historic State Park. It is a working farm from over 100 years ago. It was given to the State of Florida, from the Dudley family and is run from their will. Unfortunately as I blogged before, it is one of the 19 state parks nominated to be closed down. I am not sure if this is why there were only two staff people working, or because of the holiday, but we were not able to enter all the buildings or see the usual goings on. Yet it was still interesting, and educational. There was a nature trail, which is the picture of my children standing next to a beautiful old tree. The majestic turkey was amazing, and no he is not smiling. Seems he does not like his picture taken. He was ruffling his feathers, in anger at me for sticking my camera over the fence. Isn't he a beauty though? See that old stove, isn't that cool. I think I would like one of those. As you can see the weahter was splendid, and thank goodness I did not see any snakes. Some really big spiders that DJ had fun taking picture of with his new camera. Caitlin gathered acorns, for the squirrels. All in all it was a wonderful day, and we can count it as a field trip, for school. I hope everyone had a wonderful Friday, too.