Journeys Are My Diary

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Looking back on 2017 – Resolutions

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The first thing I want to reflect on is the “resolutions” I made for 2017. I made a post here that outlined what I hoped to achieve, so I figured I’d start with seeing how I got on.

Of the resolutions I vowed to definitely do, I managed three of the four. Getting down my finances, working hard on Closet Geek and spending time enjoying family life. Since moving house in June (which is another tick on the list), I have generally felt so much happier in life and working hard but spending time with family has seemed even easier since then. Finances have drastically improved, though there is still a long way to go. Sadly Christmas pushed me to the limits on some of my credit cards but I’m several other accounts down altogether.

Of the resolutions I said I would like to do, I pretty much managed both. We sold the house and moved which was one of them, then booking a holiday abroad was the other. Though we technically went for a week to Jersey (which is abroad, but also not really) it didn’t really feel like abroad. Luckily though we have booked something for 2018 which I can’t wait to share my plans for!

Finally I had some ideas for things I would try to do, but were really only lifestyle improvements. There was getting things done and not putting off till tomorrow, there was going swimming and there was spending more time with friends. On some ocassions I definitely succeeded with theses, but on others I know I failed. I hope to try a lot harder this year with some of the points but perhaps with others its best just left as is.

Though I don’t want to dwell on the things I didn’t manage to do, weight loss was a big no (though I did try at times) and posting on my blog personally, wasn’t as often as I liked. I hope to work on some new resolutions for this coming year and I will update once I’ve figured them out!

Hello 2017

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On New Year’s Eve I wrote a post reflecting on 2016 and so today I want to look forward to 2017. As it’s already 3rd January I’m sure it’s probably clear that a whole “new me” is not on the horizon. I think I’ve learned from previous years, that that’s not the best route for me. Instead little changes, positive attitude and a hope for better things, is the direction I would like to go.

This Year I will:

  • Get a better grip on my finances. As I’ve mentioned on my blog before, I have a lot of debt – largely from my time as a single mum (I mean, I’m technically still a single mum but I have a very supportive partner now). For a few years, I just buried my head and the debt got worse but then two years ago it all hit me and I had to stop avoiding it. 2016 was the year I finally started to get that debt down and while I definitely managed to stop adding to it and clear one particular lump of debt, I still have a fair way to go. I have a specific target in mind by the end of the year and that will hopefully lessen my debt by about a third.
  • Work hard on my business, Closet Geek. It would be a lie to say I don’t work hard on it already as to be honest its my main focus, after the kids. I have thoroughly enjoyed working from home this last year and despite how crazy busy it has gotten at times, I wouldn’t change a thing. This year I am aiming to add at least 6 more product ranges (don’t ask me what, I have no idea yet) and hopefully more variations of the products I already sell. That said, I must remember to take time out and relax (which is hard because I often get into a flow).

  • Weight Loss is something I want to focus on this year. I haven’t jumped into any kind of diet yet as there is still a lot of bad food kicking around the house. However I am trying to regulate myself and not eat too my rubbish and when routine starts over again and I start cooking evening meals from scratch, I aim to make healthy dishes and avoid any junk. Last year I felt uncomfortable in my skin and it stopped me from dressing up, cosplaying and even feeling like I wanted to make any sort of effort. Its amazing what a knock on effect feeling overweight can have to all areas of life. I also want to try walking more often, especially as life isn’t so hectic that I need to save every minute of time by hopping in the car.
  • Last year was a wonderful change to family life, working from home instead of feeling stressed in the job I had previously (I actually can’t believe I walked out on that job 2 years ago – I’ve honestly never regretted it). I managed to attend so many of the kids events at school and I’m sure I will be doing so again this year. That said I want to make time outside of those events, to do things as a family. The kids love to play board games (we had a day doing that during holiday), go swimming and play computer games (Lily and I have played Lego Harry Potter for most days of the holidays) so I want to make more time for fun, not just scheduled events. I also want to make more time for Chris as he often gets neglected, just because he “understands more”. On evenings when he’s not at work, I need to step away from my sewing or even my computer and just be with him – doing whatever it is we feel like doing.

This year I would like to:

  • Moving house is definitely top of the list for things I’d like to do in 2017. Sadly not a huge amount of that decision is in our hands, but we need to try wherever possible. From the house going on the market last April, till now, we’ve only had two viewings. I think there has been many reasons to that but largely the price recommended by the agents is too high. We do have another viewing tomorrow so we will see how that goes but at some point this year we will have to make some firmer decisions – perhaps to change agents, sell at a loss, or whatever other options there might be.
  • During January I have a weekend away booked with the girls, to Disneyland Paris. However as much as I’m looking forward to it, I’d really like a nice week away somewhere abroad. Top choice for this year would definitely be Italy and ideally during the warm weather. Chris booking holidays at work can be a pain though as he can often only get out of school holiday time. With Megan now at secondary school I am loathed to take them out of school for a holiday, so it’s definitely going to be a juggling act – and of course available money. If we can’t get away this year, I would definitely love to book something bigger for next year – maybe a two week holiday somewhere further afield like the US.

This Year I will try:

  • Yesterday I was in a position (as I often am) where one of the girls asked if we could do something (something they had been asking for a while and have been saying “soon” to) and my immediate answer was “yes, tomorrow”. Now although that might seen immediate to you, it’s really only because it was that day or tomorrow that we needed to do it, before it was too late. But my reaction was still the latter, not the actual immediate. However after I walked away, I thought “actually, why can’t we just do it now?” and so that’s what we did. Basically I really want to stop putting things off till tomorrow and just get on with them. Because tomorrow never really comes and before you realise it, you’ve been putting everything off and never getting anything done.

  • When we went swimming, the girls and I, I was reminded of how much I enjoy it and, that despite not going very often, I’m still pretty good at it. While I don’t always want to go when they suggest it, I did realise I could take them and just watch (they’re both old enough now), but also I could go when they’re at school and just swim lengths. It would be a great way to make time for me, get fitter and even find time to shower! I don’t want to set myself a frequency but I would like to swim more.
  • As I mentioned last year, our friendship group is a little bit fractured now and so in the past 12 months I haven’t thrown any large group events. I think its probably easiest to just see each group of working friendships, by themselves, whenever there is time, rather than force everyone to get together. Last year we did enjoy a meal out as a group of friends, a cinema trip as a double date and a few times having friends around for dinner. I would like to continue that this year, making more of an effort but hopefully making time for everyone.
  • Finally I should probably give my blog a mention. At this time of year it’s always easy to say “I’ll post more”, or “I’ll post frequently” but the truth is when life gets busy, my blog takes a backseat. I also often find that I lose inspiration for what to write at times and it can become just one big life update that people probably aren’t that interested in. I’m ditching Project 52 (as I did towards the end of last year) as I always forget to take pictures weekly). Instead I might do something monthly, as I did with my round-ups (which definitely suits me better so I will be sticking to those). I’d like to keep updating about books I read (which maybe should have been another bulletpoint as I really should read more) and movies we see at the cinema but past that I’m uncertain of the direction my blog will take. I am considering various options though so watch this space!

Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016

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I feel like I’ve neglected my blog somewhat over the last couple of months and now that January has rolled around, I want to be motivated and post more again. My mind is bubbling with ideas for posts and I even have a few to catch up on from December. I’ve just ordered a new organiser to replace my Alice in Wonderland one from last year (sadly it’s not Disney but the  layout is similar) and I’m ready to start 2016 feeling fresh and ready to go!

2016

Normally I would look back on the resolutions I made last year and pick apart what I managed to do and what I failed at. However the truth is, I didn’t really manage many of my goals. There were plans with weight loss, with moving house, with money and to be truthful none of them really got anywhere. So instead for 2015 I want to just focus on the positive parts!

2015

All in all, the year was a good one. I don’t remember many lows (though emotionally I’m sure I cried lots as that’s just the person I am!) but at the same time there were only a couple of highs. One of the major highs was the trip of a lifetime that we had to Florida in 2015. I honestly never though visiting Walt Disney World and Universal Studios would ever be a thing I got to do. However with the help of mum, the dream came true and for two wonderful weeks we enjoyed plenty of sunshine, Disney and Harry Potter.

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Another awesome thing about about 2015 was finally setting up my own business so I can work from home. The idea sort of spun off from making the girls, Olivia and Amy all dresses to wear in Florida. It then spiraled into a working idea and Closet Geek was born in August. I’ve had so much fun getting started and more importantly having people like the things I make. I have high hopes for 2016 and hopefully this time next year I’ll be able to report that I’m still going strong!

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Of course there are many other lovely things to note, so I will add them quickly too.
– The girls growing and changing including; Megan picking a secondary school for next year, Megan getting her ears pierced, both doing well in school plays, school reports, class assemblies, sports day etc., making a TARDIS with Lily for homework, going on both girls school trips with them, starting up their YouTube channel (Double The Geek).
– Trips away including; London, Disneyland Paris and Berwick.
– Cinema movies including; Big Hero 6, Cinderella, Tomorrowland, Pitch Perfect 2, Inside Out and Star Wars.
– Shows including; Disney on Ice, X-Factor Live, Phantom of the Opera, The Railway Children and Avenue Q.
– Randoms; experiencing a solar eclipse, losing a lot of weight pre-Florida, Chris passing his driving test, Cosplay and Comic Cons, writing and completing a murder mystery, collecting loads more beautiful Disney items – especially Mrs Potts, Lumiere and Cogsworth (along with many Tsum Tsums and Disney traditions), reading some great books, discovering some new places to eat, going to the Disney Cafe in Harrods and meeting Tim, plus so much more!

2016

So that brings me onto the new year and boy do I have plans!

My blog – It’s going to take a backseat to many things in my life, but I don’t want to neglect it completely. I hope to post at least 3 times a week and I must remember to share my posts, connect on Twitter, gain more followers and follow more bloggers myself.

Money – This time last year my finances were in a mess and I had just quite my job. To be honest money is no better right this moment but I hope to work through my debt this year, especially now I’m able to work from home too. I’d love to save for a holiday but I know that moving house might take some finances too.

House – We must move this year. Megan starts secondary school in September and living in Gainsborough still is just not an option. Get the house sorted, decorated as best we can and on the market. Aim to move no later than Summer.

Weight – I’m so up and down and once Florida was no longer a motivation I’ve really struggled. I really want to try, I’m going to try. 10 stone is still my goal.

Family – Not working (especially at my last job) has made life so much more chill on the whole. I’m a nicer person and a better mum, even though we all still have bad days. I’d like to continue this, making time to teach the kids things they want help with (keyboard, recorder, bike riding etc) but also to make time for family dinners, movie nights, board games etc.

Friends – Our friendship group is so up in the air right now. Relationships have changed and the dynamics don’t seem the same. To be honest I don’t know what this year will bring for our board game nights or murder mysteries but I hope to at least see everyone, even its in slightly small groups.

I’m sure there are more things but these are my main pointers. As a family we all sat down and wrote our New Year Resolutions yesterday so I guess we’ll see how it turns out!

Like I said before, I have a few posts planned and towards the end of January I’d like to give my blog a re-jig. I hope that 2016 is a good year for us and of course I wish the same for all of my readers! Happy New Year!

Week 1 – Monday Round-up

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I wasn’t sure if my Monday Round-up post was something I wanted to continue into the New Year, as I know its probably of no interest to anyone but me. However my blogging originally started as somewhat of a diary and even if only for me, I want to keep a decent record of everything I’ve been up to. I’m late making this post (as it’s actually Tuesday) but I’m going to cheat and backdate it to yesterday. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep up with my Monday Round-up posts in the future, although I have to admit that several were posted late last year!

Monday was still December (gosh that feels like a long time ago!) and it was also the last day Namu was here. We didn’t do much in the morning (the girls played on Disney Infinity), but by lunchtime we were heading off to Lincoln, in order for her to catch her train. Tragedy struck however as we got stuck in traffic, only minutes away from the station. There was nothing we could do and in the end, we missed her train by about 3 minutes! Speaking the people customer services desk, there was no chance of using her ticket on a later train and instead the only option was to pay another £45. Obviously Namu didn’t want to do this and although I felt partially responsible (since I was driving and we were late), I didn’t want to pay it either. In the end, we decided she should risk it. When she’d traveled up from London the week before, she’d been able to catch an earlier train, so we figured perhaps it would work the other day. Not to mention, her American stuck in the UK routine often seems to benefit! Luckily it all worked out and she text me to say that neither train had been a problem. I was very relieved! The girls and I had been to Burger King and grabbed some food as it was 2pm and we hadn’t had lunch. Afterwards we headed home and chilled out. We ended up watching Kung Fu Panda while waiting for Chris to get home. Honestly its so long away now, that I don’t really remember what I did in the evening – but it probably involved chilling out, catching up on all things online and maybe some TV watching too!

The next day was Tuesday and we had nothing planned at all. Chris was at work but the girls and I just hung around the house, doing our own thing. Again, I don’t really remember what we did (sadly) but the girls dressed up as that was their Disney task for the day and I’m pretty sure we tidied and sorted out the house. The only other noteable thing about Tuesday, was that it was a good post day. I got a Disney Traditions ornament I had ordered just after Christmas and also a necklace that I had bought for Amy. Again, with it being so long since, I don’t remember much more about the day! That said, I know we started to plough through Season 2 of Arrow, desperately trying to catch up.

Wednesday was New Year’s Eve and for the majority of it, Chris was at work. The girls and I went into town briefly, I had a few things I needed and also a parcel to collect. Megan also needed to buy a birthday present for her best friend, so we got that sorted too. I spent most of the afternoon, uploading pictures and sorting out my hard drive – exciting stuff! When Chris came home from work, we popped open a bottle of Prosecco and toasted in the New Year early (since we wouldn’t want to be doing that at midnight). I did however agree to wake the girls just before midnight, so we could all see in the New Year together. Chris and I spent the evening watching Arrow and eating chinese takeaway, right up until waking the girls at 11.40pm. At that point we all snuggled up on the sofa together and watched the countdown and fireworks at midnight.

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Ten past midnight and we all headed to bed. Chris was knackered and the girls had barely even woken up, so it worked out well that we all just wanted to go to sleep. In the morning I was up before everyone else. We had nothing much planned for the day again and so I hung out with the kids, bumming around till lunchtime. During the morning though we all made a list a New Year Resolutions. It was really just a silly thing that the girls and I were going to do but we got Chris involved too and we all wrote out a sheet of A4. In the end we debated either putting them up on the wall all year, to try and get as many done as possible, or placing them in an envelope. By majority vote, they all went in an envelope and we’ll be opening them on New Year’s Eve 2015, to see how we all did.

At midday we packed a bag for the girls as they were going to their dad’s. We had lunch and then put on a movie – or rather I put on a movie and both girls ended up getting sucked into it. At 2pm their dad came for them and once they were gone I finished off the movie and then went for a bath. I decided to get some more of “Allegiant” read and so even after my bath, I lay on the bed and read quite a lot of my book. While I was reading, Chris took a bath and then afterwards we watched more Arrow.

Thursday Chris was back at work and the girls didn’t need picking up until 2pm from their dad’s. As such I had a very relaxed morning before heading off to my mum’s for just after lunch. Stopping for a cup of tea and a chat, I then left to pick up the girls. We headed back via Lincoln and went to Toys R Us, only to not find what we were after. We ended up at Asda Living, where the girls got 2 new Disney Infinity characters and then we headed home. After getting some dinner, the girls and I spent some time sorting out their room. Lily has so many cuddly toys that we had to clear the whole of their drawer unit, just to make sure she didn’t sleep with them all in her bed.

At bedtime we finished off “In a Blink”, the first book in the series of Never Girls. Once the girls were in bed, I spent the evening trying to get some work done on dresses and my sewing stuff. I started by tidying out all my sewing box and then went on to google for some ideas of clothes I might make.

Saturday came around and another day of good old nothing. However we needed to make Disney themed food as our Disney task for the day and so we had waffles for breakfast/lunch. The girls dressed up (a catch up task from the day before) and I let them watch the end of the movie they’d missed a few days before. We then made Fajitas for dinner and settled down to watch Avengers as a family evening together.  Afterwards I worked on some jewellery ideas, ready to get listed on my Etsy as soon as I have time!

Finally it was Sunday and while we had nothing planned for the morning, it seemed to go by so fast. Megan had been invited to a friend’s house for the day (as a surprise treat) and was going to see Big Hero 6. I had also booked for me, Chris and Lily to go see Big Hero 6 at the same time. We dropped Megan at her friends at 1pm and then headed to my mum’s for coffee and to kill some time. At 3pm we headed into Lincoln, parked the car and headed to the cinema. We saw Megan in the foyer but tried not to interrupt her fun too much – even though she was full of how she’d traveled in a limo. We got popcorn and headed to our seats, watching Big Hero 6 in 3D – something we wouldn’t usually chose to do.

We loved the movie and I’ll definitely be writing my review of it, as soon as I get time! Afterwards we headed back to my mum’s briefly, before then heading to pick Megan up from her friend’s house (we let her travel back in the limo). On the way home, we all decided we were hungry. Chris bought us all fish and chips but we headed home to actually eat it. Once the girls were in bed, Chris went on his computer and I spent the evening on mine – getting ready for the big blog switch over! And here I am, all moved to WordPress.

I’m hoping life will normalise a little this week and that I’ll find it easier to keep track of. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Disney Countdown – Days 93 – 87

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I’m a little late making this post, this week – but I’m actually going to cheat a little and backdate it. It’s been such a busy week but so nice to have plenty of time with the kids!

Monday (93) – Dec 29th – Play a Disney game
Tuesday (92) – Dec 30th – Dress up Disney
Wednesday (91) – Dec 31st – Read Disney
Thursday (90) – Jan 1st – New Year’s Day (Disney Infinity)
Friday (89) – Jan 2nd – Dress up Disney
Saturday (88) – Jan 3rd – Make Disney themed food
Sunday (87) – Jan 4th – Watch Snow White Big Hero 6 movie

So this week, Disney Infinity has still been a huge hit. While we had all the plans to play some board games, Disney Infinity has won out when it comes to “play a Disney game”.  Both the girls have spent a lot of time on the Xbox this week, but certainly Lily the most! Tuesday was dress up Disney and Megan only having a few options, picked to be Tinkerbell, where Lily picked to be Ariel. New Year’s Eve was “read Disney” which was nice as we all got to read a bedtime story together to see out the end of the year. New Year’s Day came around and we had no specific task so the girls just got in more Disney Infinity. They both then headed off to their dad’s for the day and night, meaning that the following day they were back pretty late and realised they were supposed to dress up Disney. Since they didn’t have time, both girls picked to wear Disney nighties instead. However the next day they dressed up, as well as doing their next task.

On Saturday we were around to make Disney themed food again. As we didn’t have much in, I suggested Mickey Mouse shaped waffles. The girls weren’t too sure but they were a big hit in the end. For me, they were far too time consuming, taking over 5 minutes to cook each waffle! Finally that took us to Sunday when we should have been watching Snow White. However there was a one day preview of Big Hero 6 on at the Odeon and we couldn’t pass up that chance. We’ll have to catch Snow White another time!

This week also saw the 3 month mark for our countdown to Florida. I can’t tell you how much nearer it feels now. So exciting!

2014 in Review – This Year’s Goals

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Almost a year ago, I made a list of all the things I hoped to achieve during 2014. At the end of the year, I wanted to take a look back and see what I hoped for and what I’ve managed to actually succeed in. In a few days time, I’ll be putting together a new list of goals for 2015 and maybe looking back will help me decide what it is I want this coming year!

Blog Stuff
This time last year, one of the things I vowed to do with my blog, was post at least once a week and if possible 2-3 times a week. I definitely achieved this for majority of the weeks, in fact for the last 3-4 months of the year, I was posting every day! As well as that, I said I would try to advertise myself more, mingle on Social Media and make blog friends. I’m confident to say that for the most part, I did do all these things. I know I definitely need to try harder on social media and hopefully in the upcoming months/years, make more friends too. Finally, my last goal with blogging, was to attend a Blog Meet. Not only did I attend one, but I also arranged one, so I’m pretty pleased with that! Also, though it wasn’t a goal, I started off the new year with 53 followers. Now at the end of the year, I have almost 700 more. Though the current total fluctuates a little, at the time of posting, my followers on Bloglovin’ were 735. I’m pretty proud of this!

Money
I’m sad to say, that really my money situation is no better than last year. I made the goals of getting myself out of debt – which I did to some extent – but I also know I could have been much better. I also aimed to save, by starting a saving scheme of £1 in week one, £2 in week two, £3 in week three etc. and about 7-8 weeks in, this all came crashing down. I would say I’m probably in a slightly more manageable financial situation than last year, but having just quit my job – I obviously have no idea how that will turn out.

Family
For the new year, one of the most important resolutions I made, was to shout less, keep calm and make the most of my time with the kids. I think for the most part I definitely achieved this and while working has definitely placed a strain on me, I’ve gradually got better at dealing with it. I’m looking forward to a few months without working so much and hoping it continues on calm and enjoyable like Christmas holidays have been. The other goal I set, was to plan and go on a family holiday – preferably Rome. A few weeks after making my goals, my mum announced she would be taking us to Florida in 2015 so really all savings needed to go into this. We did manage a few nights away in Berwick though, along with a visit to Edinburgh. We also had the odd day out, with visits to The Deep & Hull, Butlins in Skegness (though mum paid for this), Eureka, Adventure Farm, Harry Potter Studios, Warwick Castle, days at the cinema and other fun stuff too.

Friends
I only set one goal this year and that was to host a gathering at least once a month, to touch base with all my friends – especially the ones at a bit more of a distance. I’m trying to work out in my head if I managed this and I think I pretty much did. In January I think we had a games night, in February a Valentine’s Murder Mystery, March had both Amy’s birthday Murder Mystery and Chris’ birthday games night, with April having an Easter Murder Mystery. May had both Erika’s birthday Murder Mystery and my birthday Murder Mystery, along with a Eurovision Song Contest night. June had my brother’s birthday Murder Mystery and July had Chris Boatman’s birthday Murder Mystery. A large group of us also attended Comic Con in July and while I didn’t host it, I definitely organised it. Sadly in September, we didn’t actually hold any official gathering. I’m pretty sure we had a games night or two, but it was just 4-5 of us, which I guess still counts. October had Halloween, November had Nat’s birthday Murder Mystery and December had both Megan’s Murder Mystery (involving mostly my friends) and the Christmas Murder Mystery. Next year will probably be far quieter but I’ll need to make some effort to organise something.

House
Before I even refer back to my goals, I already know I’ll have done badly on this one. Sadly the year has just been so busy and working took up so much time, that nothing ever really got done on the house. One of my goals was to have the kitchen finished, the garden cleared and the hallway painted. In fairness, the hallway is pretty much done and the garden did get cleared, so its not as bad as I thought. Unfortunately nothing really got done on the kitchen so perhaps that’s a goal for this coming year – along with many others. Tidy and clean more was another goal and while I’ve probably done better than 2013, I know it still needs more. Just over the Christmas period I’ve got to grips with certain areas, so hopefully being off work will mean more time spent on the house!

Health and Fitness
This was a bit of a mixed bag, when it came to success and failure. Get back on track with my diet and achieve my 10 stone target, was goal number one. With the help of Weight Loss Wednesday, over at Twice the Mum, I managed to drop 22 pounds. I still have another 23 pounds to go, to obtain my 10 stone target, but I’m confident over the next 3-4 months, that I should hit that goal. I wanted to find a healthy lifestyle and stick to it, along with go swimming more and venture onto the Wii Fit. I can hand on heart say that I didn’t really manage any of those things, except in summer when we went swimming more – largely to get Lily swimming and improve Megan’s swimming. Finally I wanted to quit smoking altogether and I’m glad to say I’ve managed this one. While I will admit I’ve had the odd one here and there, I’m not smoking on a regular basis and I’m definitely not purchasing them.

Creativity
I failed miserably on my creativity goals. I wanted to write more of my book – preferably finishing it – and take part in some sort of writing competition. I didn’t add a single word to my book (though I did help Megan plan one) and while I was > < this close to participating in NaNoWriMo, life just got far too busy and it wasn’t possible. That said, I did write a murder mystery for Megan’s Birthday and I did get creative in other ways – mainly clothes making and sewing. I’m hoping that some form of creativity is going to find me a new occupation in the upcoming year.

Career
My one goal for my career, was to find a way to work at home. While that didn’t really work out, I guess since I did actually quit my job on December 17th, I can technically say I completed this. I’m unsure what the new year will bring but I do know I’m not actually looking for a job. I have several things I want to do, but everything involves staying afloat, building up a business and/or planning for a better future job.

Entertainment
Finally, in my list of goals, were some easy-going entertainment related goals. I vowed to read more books and watch more movies, even setting myself some targets. For reading, I set myself the goal of one book per month. Some months this would have been easy to accomplish, while others it felt impossible. Being out of the house between 8am and 4pm every day, definitely took its toll on my leisure time and I’m sad to say I only got 9 out of the 12 read (and even then only 6 of those were completed). I did enjoy some really good books this year, but sadly I also got stuck on some really rubbish ones too. Next year I hope to improve this figure and read a lot more. With regards to movies, I set the target of 52, working out as one per week. At one point I thought I was nowhere near, but counting up now I’ve actually watched 68 movies this year. 4 of those movies, I watched whilst being on my computer (so didn’t fully watch) but even deducting that, I still clocked in at 64, which is 12 over my target!

All in all, I know that I tried. Looking back, I’m pretty pleased with everything I accomplished. I know its a bit of a cop-out, but working (and specifically the job I worked) was definitely my main stumbling block this year. I felt constantly tired, constantly like I didn’t have time for the things I wanted to do and fairly constantly miserable. I feel very positive, moving into the new year, knowing this hurdle is now gone. I know there will be other things that cause issues this year, but fingers crossed it will be a happier year overall!

2014 – things to come

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So 2014 is here and I saw it in with the exact same 3 people that I did last year, shortly followed by going to bed. In all honesty I find NYE a little overrated and if it wasn’t for seeing the year in with my partner, I’d likely just head to bed before midnight.

Anyway I’ve been thinking a lot recently – not just about the new year but about life itself. Sounds pretty deep but mostly its just been about making myself and those around me happy. I’m not one for New Year Resolutions but I have decided to set myself a list of goals, hopefully to achieve over the next year.

Blog:
– Post at least once a week, but preferably 2-3 times.
– Make more of an effort to advertise myself, to mingle on Social Media platforms and to make blog friends.
– Attend a blogger event. I’ve gotten close but never managed to actually do it as yet.
Money:
– To sort out the debt I’m in. While I won’t get into how much I have, I do intend to get on top of it and then also budget myself for the future.
– Save. I’ve seen a nice idea for saving a little every week. I think I might try it.
Family:
– Keep calmer and shout less. Now that I work I’m finding I cherish time with the kids far more than I did before. I need to try not to spend that time getting mad at them.
– Plan and go on a family holiday. I’d love to achieve Rome but we’ll have to see.
Friends:
– Host at least one gathering every month. It’s usually murder mysteries but as they often require a lot of organising and spending, we only seem to do a maximum of 6 a year. Find something else to do in the other 6 months.
House:
– I think realistically we’re all accepting the fact that we might not have this house ready to sell by summer. It may need another year here in Gainsborough. However this year I want to have the kitchen completely finished, the garden cleared and the hallway painted.
– Tidy and clean more. I’m really the only one in the house who wants to do it, everyone else just gets bullied into it. Even still, with so little storage I need to keep on top of cleaning and tidying more.
Health and Fitness:
– Get back on track with my diet. I was doing so well and then it really slipped in 2013. I want to obtain my goal weight of 10 stone and then maintain it.
– Find a healthy lifestyle to stick with permanently. Cook more balanced food and plan meals, hopefully to aid with budgeting too.
– Go swimming more. The kids love it and it would definitely help my fitness levels.
– Venture onto the Wii Fit. It’s realistically the only actual exercise I might do.
– Give up smoking. It’s not something I usually write about in a public place, but I’m determined to do it.
Creativity:
– Write some more of my novel. Preferably finish it. Big big ask. But doable.
– Take part in some form of creative writing competition.
Career:
– Find a way to work from home by either writing my book or starting a business from home. This year I have realised that being able to stay at home with my family is a top priority.
Entertainment:
– Read more books. I don’t want to set myself an unrealistic target so for now I’m going to say 12. One for each month.
– Watch more movies. This one I will set at 52, one per week. Movies are often important family/couple time so to make an effort to sit down and watch something frequently will be nice.

So its a lot longer list than I first intended as I started to write it, however I think majority are achievable. As I finish this post I definitely find myself feeling a lot more positive about the things to come in 2014. I hope you’re looking forward to things to come too!