New Year Decisions

I had some other decisions to make for 2025, most of which I've now finalized:

Blogging: I do like my daily online journaling, but my content is now being read by supposedly thousands of visitors instead of a few dozen. Since there is no way I've boosted my appeal that much, it seems as if I'm being raided. I am not going to provide free content for others to use as they like and profit from while claiming they're the creator, so I may shut down Valerean and its clone blog. I will post a notice in advance before I do.

Budgets: I was able to thrift almost everything I needed last year, including books, clothes, shoes, housewares and materials for my creative endeavors. I want to continue that in 2025. I did not budget myself in this during 2024, however, so this year I will set $ limits on my thrifting. We budget food, gas and other necessities, and do pretty well with them, so no changes are needed there.

Creativity: I have my calendar mini-quilt project for the year ready to go; I still need to think about what more I want to accomplish with my quilting, crochet and embroidery. I will probably stick to small projects or depend more on the sewing machine as my dexterity continues to degrade. Instead of planning everything before the year begins I'm going to let this evolve naturally over the next twelve months.

Friendship Questing: I've been trying for several years now to be more social and make new friends online, which admittedly is pretty hard for a shy, older person like me. I still have trouble understanding why people are the way they are, especially at the present time. I've also come to the conclusion that I'm never going to fit in anywhere due to age, disability, personal opinions and overall social awkwardness. Since I have tried and failed so many times (which is exhausting) I believe that it's okay to stop trying.

Preparedness: I do tend to plan ahead a lot, and if I learned anything in 2024, it was not to underestimate the power of Nature and the narrow-mindedness of people. I was able to build our emergency pantry last year, which I will continue to use and restock. I'll continue to enhance our hurricane season preparedness, and also learn more about ways in which we can look after ourselves during any kind of emergency situation so that we are not a burden to others. This is super important to me because my preparations worked so well this year.

Resolution? None. I'm focused on being kind, grateful and mindful however I can in my daily life (an ongoing goal versus an annual resolution.)

Social Media (which is related to the friendship questing issue): Events in 2024 have seriously tempted me to leave social media altogether. I don't care to be exposed to hatred and anxiety every single day; it's toxic. I also think there will be a lot more hatred directed at women (me), free thinkers (also me), non-group-joiners (sooooo me) and those who refuse to bow down or cater to popular opinion and/or oppression via online manipulation (my personal motto is to walk away, not bow or cater.) In hopes that the situation improves, I will stay for as long as I believe that I'm safe and the platforms I use are not turned into soap boxes or weapons for darkness and evil. If that changes, as it did on Twitter, I will walk away without a qualm.

Work: I'm about to propose my next big work project, and if that's approved I'll have five major deadlines to meet. Since I've been able to meet those same deadlines for going on four years now I'm confident that I can do the same in 2025.

Finally, my hopes, which are always with me: #1 -- I hope I can be a better partner and parent this year by remembering to be considerate, coming out of the batcave now and then, and doing what I can to help, inspire and love the people who matter most to me. #2 -- I hope I can get more exercise and lose the weight I need to, and stick to my diet. #3 -- I hope the world can survive what's ahead this year and find paths to peace and understanding.