Looking forward to the first ski trip of the season

I'm looking forward to my first ski trip of the season. I'll be going with a couple of friends. Hopefully I'll have some good pics. to post after the trip.

2009 New Year's resolutions

Well, like most people I want to make and keep some realistic New Year's resolutions. When we had our online business we discovered that anything related to exercise and dieting always sold REALLY WELL in January, and some in February. This was a result of those New Year's resolutions to lose weight.

Well, even though I don't have to lose weight, I really need to exercise (at least some) for my general health and well being.

Here are some of my resolutions:

• exercise more
• have more patience with others (like when you pull up to a drive-through at McDonald's or Taco Bell and discover they didn't put in any Ketchup in the bag even though you ordered fries, or they hear you say "water" to drink and assume this means you REALLY didn't want ANYTHING to drink)
• try to find more "balance" in life - this one is always a constant struggle. I tend to focus on one thing pretty easily, but I hate stopping a task part-way through (even though the tasks can spread out over several days)
• charity - more charity towards others. This involves giving to people in need when you can. However, sometimes charity is knowing when NOT to give and helping people help themselves. It can even be as simple as NOT judging others by the appearance of their circumstances. I've learned over the years that even though many people appear to be happy in public, they have the same struggles and trials as everyone, you may just not be aware of it. Sometimes people are doing the best they can although it may not be readily apparent.
• better fiscal discipline - with the economy turning sour it's more important now than ever to be frugal and practice thrift.
• gratitude - Here in the USA we are one of the most wealthy of all nations, yet sometimes we take for granted the simplest things. I heard a statistic once that said if you own more than one pair of shoes (i.e. 2, 3, 4 pairs of shoes) your considered RICH in comparison to the rest of the world's population.

I'm sure I'll think of more but there's a start.