Happy New Year to You and Yours! 

Once again, we will spend New Year’s Eve, home where it is safe and comfortable. 

A year ago, I posted the following:

New year's resolutions? 

·                  be more aware of what I eat

·                  ride the bike more, move more

·                  read more (turn off the TV) 

·                  write for 30 minutes per day

So how have I done? 

I seldom eat anything by accident, and I think I have actually become more nutritionally responsible.  I balance that with having as much fun as I can along the way.  I have never heard anyone on their deathbed say; I really wish I had skipped that chocolate chip cookie.

The first seven months of the year, I rode the bike a lot more, and moved a lot.  The arthritis in my knees started really bothering me over the summer and I have had a couple of bad falls. It really slowed me down. There are advantages to moving slower, I am noticing the roses along the way. I am back climbing stairs and moving more, but I have a lot of work to do to stay active. My knees have been an issue for a long time, and I always said if I quit moving it would be hard to get back going again.  I am reading more, averaging a couple of books a month and I think watching a bit less television.  I have written a lot more. I did 183 blog postings this year, submitted two chapters for publication, and wrote a major policy paper.  This is a nice blend of fun and serious writing.  I should start writing fiction – I kind of enjoy it – though I don’t know why people read it. Other than Harry Potter- truth is stranger than fiction. 

What is up for 2015

I have a bit more scheduled travel. In late January I have a meeting at a resort on the beach just south of Los Angeles and from there I am going to Hawaii to work for a week.  I will be on four islands, with five days of work to do before I fly home. Overall I will cover about 12,000 miles in 11 days. In May, I have another double city trip that will take me to Austin Texas and onto Orlando, Florida.  In August we are planning a couple of weeks in Europe, likely Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg Lichtenstein, and Austria. I am thinking about flying Iceland Air with a change of planes or a stop-over in Iceland.  In September I need to go to Portland, Oregon.  I will likely make another trip to Florida in November.  I will likely make a trip or two to Kentucky, and we need to go to Cleveland sometime over the summer.  My office travel budget was slashed by the Federal sequester cuts or I would be traveling even more.  I am down to three states left to have visited them all, by the middle of February I will be down to Idaho and Wyoming left to visit (I will get those in the next couple of years.)

New Year’s Resolutions for 2015

• ·        Eat better, focus on quality and taste
• ·        Move, remembering that it is a journey not a race
• ·        Write more fiction, dialog or narrative
• ·        Do something new every week, visit a new place, try new food or drink, challenge myself in a novel way.
• ·        Not shy away from opportunities (we regret most what we did not do.