Tag: New Year’s Resolutions

2019 News Year’s Resolutions:

/ Matt Talley / Leave a comment

A year ago, to the day, I said that I would do a bunch of stuff in 2018.  Well, if you want to hear God Laugh, tell him your plans…

Life was sort of turn upside down this year with continuing hip issues, an unplanned knee surgery, a job change, house rebuild craziness.  If you factor in my own laziness, stubbornness, and my A+ skill level of procrastination I did not get even half of my list ticked off. From that list of 50 Things, the items below are what I actually did get done:

Organize my chaos in the shop and basement. – Basement done!
Sell, donate, recycle, or throw away shit that I do not use.
Use my planner and notebooks as tools not as something that I “have” to use.
Take my desk at home back and make it a conducive writing space.
Fly my drones more
Finish my CJ-7 Jeep restoration
Sign up for a letterpress class at SVC Downtown
Take another blacksmithing class at The Pratt
Give some $$ to Heifer and MFS
Be involved in politics more: financially and with a time commitment
Finish the house remodel –  even if I have to pay a contractor to do it (shudder…)
Make.More.Stuff!!
Ride my snowboard and skateboard because I am not too old or too fat
Road trip in WA and on West Coast more
Take my wife on vacation

For 2019, I am going to keep it a little simpler:

  1. Work really hard to stay healthy and avoid any more orthopedic surgery
  2. Quit Twitter for good this time.
  3. Get on my bike
  4. Lose the extra weight
  5. Be a great engineer
  6. Make better and better YouTube videos.
  7. Read more
  8. Spend more time with Family
  9. Worry about the house less
  10. Finish and USE my shop to its fullest.
  11. Be happier and remove negative folks and situations from my day to day.
  12. Take some more classes
  13. Make more friends
  14. Be involved in my community
  15. Buy and consume less
  16. Simplify

2018 News Year’s Resolutions:

/ Matt Talley / 3 Comments

A year ago, to the day, I said that I would do a bunch of stuff in 2017.  I did OK, but not great. I could blame it on my old man hip, the surgery, or the recovery time, but mostly not getting stuff on the list done was all me. All my own laziness, stuborness, or my A+ skill level of procrastination. These are the promises I made to myself that I kept:

Take a pottery class
Take a Blacksmithing class at the Pratt
Read 1 book every 2 weeks – minimum
Play my uke, banjo, and guitar with others
Give lots of $$ to Heifer and MFS
Make movies and post: Adventure, craftsmanship, and family.
Make Stuff!!
Ride my skateboard because I am not too old or too fat
Road trip in WA more
Take my wife on vacation
Plant a spring garden
Fix up the front and back yards

The following is what I am committing myself to do in 2018:

  1. Organize my chaos in the shop and basement.
  2. Sell, donate, recycle, or throw away shit that I do not use.
  3. Use my planner and notebooks as tools not as something that I “have” to use.
  4. Eat my veggies.  Seriously.  Salads in my future.
  5. Take my desk at home back and make it a conducive writing space.
  6. Cut WAY back on sugar and carb intake!
  7. Lose weight – back to 175! and put on 5-7lbs of muscle
  8. Go to the gym 3-4 time a week – minimum.
  9. Box more at the gym and at home
  10. Write more: Blog posts, REAL letters, Thank you notes, fiction, and non-fiction
  11. Take more great pictures
  12. Fly my drones more
  13. Take at least a 45 minute lunch at least 4 days a week at work
  14. Show up to yoga at least once a week
  15. Take another pottery class
  16. Finish my CJ-7 Jeep restoration
  17. Look into getting back into the judo dojo
  18. Sign up and compete in the Gambler 500 car race
  19. Sign up for a letterpress class at SVC Downtown
  20. Take another blacksmithing class at The Pratt
  21. Read 1 book every 2 weeks!
  22. Learn how to play the mandolin and banjo better!
  23. Play my uke, banjo, and guitar with others
  24. Build a skin-on-frame canoe for two
  25. Road and mountain bike
  26. Take the puppies to Lincoln Park for a walk at least once a week
  27. Ride the living shit out of my Single -Speed
  28. Bike to work at least 5 times this year (12 miles each way)
  29. Volunteer more at the Center for Wooden Boats
  30. Pay off all credit cards
  31. Go sailing in Puget Sound
  32. Turn some amazing and useful stuff on my lathe
  33. Give lots of $$ to Heifer and MFS
  34. Make at least 1 movie a week for YouTube and post: Adventure and craftsmanship
  35. Monetize my YouTube account and increase my presence and standing in that community
  36. Lessen my Twitter and social media activity…
  37. See my kids and grandchildren more
  38. Be involved in politics more: financally and with a time commitment
  39. Work on my Genealogy database and organize all my info.
  40. Finish the house remodel –  even if I have to pay a contractor to do it (…shudder…)
  41. Finish the garage/shop/GROP build
  42. Make.More.Stuff!!
  43. Ride my snowboard and skateboard because I am not too old or too fat
  44. Road trip in WA and on West Coast more
  45. Have two hives of healthy, happy bees
  46. Kayak lots!
  47. See my friends more
  48. Take my wife on vacation
  49. Plant a spring garden and have a really bountiful fall harvest
  50. Have an awesome Griswald-like Christmas light display!

I am printing this list out and pasting copies in my notebook, work planner, in the shop, at my desk at work, on the fridge, and in the basement above my warranty voiding workbench.

2017 New Year’s Resolutions:

/ Matt Talley / Leave a comment

Stuff I will do in 2017:

Eat my veggies
Lose weight – back to 175!
Go to the gym regularly
Box more
Write more: Blog, letters, notes, fiction, non-fiction
Take a lunch at least 4 days a week at work
Show up to yoga at least once a week
Take a pottery class
Take a Blacksmithing class at the Pratt
Read 1 book every 2 weeks – minimum
Play my uke, banjo, and guitar with others
build a skin-on-frame canoe
Run and bike
Start a guitar building class
Pay off all credit cards
Go Sailing
Give lots of $$ to Heifer and MFS
Make movies and post: Adventure, craftsmanship, and family.
Lessen my Social Media presence (Blog doesn’t count)
See my kids and granddaughter more
Be involved in popitics more: financally and time wise
Work on my Genealogy database a little
Finish the house remodel
Finish the garage/shop/GROP build
Make Stuff!!
Ride my skateboard because I am not too old or too fat
Road trip in WA more
Have two hives of healthy, happy bees
Kayak lots!
See my friends more
Take my wife on vacation
Plant a spring garden
Fix up the front and back yards
Climb more inside and outside
Have an awesome Griswald-like Christmas light display!

So long 2011, don’t let the door hit you in the @ss…

/ Matt Talley / Leave a comment

2011 was a hard year for us, like it has been for so many Americans, on a number of levels: I was gone constantly for work – over 100,000 air miles, we had some serious medical bills, there was money spent to help some good people out of a bind, some unexpected home repairs, a layoff, taxes, etc…  I also chose 2011 to really work on my weight: putting it on, not taking it off.  I just stopped running, biking and lifting for the last half of the year.  I blame it on many factors: my work schedule, stress, an injury, laziness, apathy…

As I stand in my birthday suit in front of the mirror, I have done a fine job turning myself into a bald Troll doll.  As I had to promise my wife that I would go out without pants anymore (long story), I doubt that anyone will see me in this state, but I KNOW.  When dressed for working outside on the weekend, I look remarkably similar to a fvcking garden gnome.  I am not happy about this state of affairs!  My New Year’s resolution is to rid myself of this baggage by summer.  This is also the year that I would like to spend less on shit the I want and truly determine the things that I need before my debit card comes whipping out.  I WILL finish all my current cabinet projects, rub my wife’s feet more – it makes her happy. Eat MUCH less sugar, have a prosperous garden and mini-orchard this year. On the literature front, I am planning to put a big dent in the Conan Doyle Sherlock Homes tales, spend some time writing, read all the new crap that I have bought for my Kindle that just sits there and moves farther back in the queue as I keep buying new Kindle crack.