1. Gaining a new cousin (my aunt and uncle in Australia had Levi in late November), and two new nephews (Rory and Leo, who were born literally a day apart at the beginning of December). A new life is always so exciting!
2. The family was also expanded pet-wise. Of course, I got my beloved hamster-son Poe for my birthday. We now have, as well as the lovely Reggie who appeared last year, two more dogs in our family – Bakari the whippet, and Wilson the French Bulldog. I love animals!
3. My event highlight of the year was of course the Heroes & Villains fest. I had so much fun and met lots of fab people, as well as all of these fools:
4. I started going to the gym in June. This is still frightening to me, but I’ve stuck with it, and I’m proud of myself for persevering when I really felt like I couldn’t.
5. My mental and physical health are so much better than it was this time last year. I still have a way to go but I’ve been working really hard and have actually seen and felt results this year, which is really positive.
As is tradition, I’m going to recap the goals I set myself for the year, as follows…
✘ Reach a healthy BMI
Didn’t manage this one, of course. I’ve also realised that this will take longer to do now that I’m taking regular exercise and building up my muscles. I actually stopped weighing myself this year, and I feel a lot better for it. I may do a monthly weigh next year, or concentrate more on how my measurements change. Anything that’s better for my mental health and self-esteem.✘ Build up my blog
Hahahahaha no. I can count my blog posts for this year on my hands. I’m trying to brain-dump thoughts and potential blog topics to create a kind of ‘idea pool’ that I can dip into. But I tell ya, writer’s block is a bitch. I’ve been sloooooowly writing this post for actual months just to have it done in time for the New Year.✘ Get a tattoo
A couple of things held me back from this one. Finances and my own indecision, mainly. One day I might finally be able to achieve this goal, but it is not this day.✘ Start forging a career
This year, I have been employed all year, just not paid. Voluntary work has really been a saviour, and I’ve put in hundreds of hours. I’ve learned loads and added a heap of new skills and experiences to my CV. So I didn’t start a career this year, but I still think I did some important work towards getting there.✔ Save money
Because I don’t have a huge amount of money at the moment, it’s not really practical or easy to save up. But I’ve managed to get a little bisschen of money into my savings account, which is better than nothing.✔ Build up my wardrobe
I feel like I achieved this goal as best as I could, financially. I have some more clothes, shoes and accessories now. I plan to continue with this, as wearing things that I like really boosts my mood and confidence.✔ Read at least 12 books
Once again, I absolutely smashed this target and read 19 books! Despite being a lot busier than last year, I still managed to read a lot (and I’m not counting articles and other things that I’ve read that don’t qualify as a ‘book’) and learn more. And because I know you’re dying to hear what I’ve been reading, here’s a list:• Fashion on the Ration by Julie Summers
• Jaws by Peter Benchley
• More Fool Me by Stephen Fry
• The Fireman by Joe Hill
• The Witches Within Westminster by Peter Buckland
• Disease and History by Frederick F. Cartwright & Michael Biddiss
• I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison
• From Here To Eternity by Caitlin Doughty
• If Walls Could Talk by Lucy Worsley
• Nathaniel’s Nutmeg by Giles Milton
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• The Alienist by Caleb Carr
• Mindhunter by John Douglas & Mark Olshaker
• Books 1-4 of the Surviving the Evacuation series (London, Wasteland, Family and Unsafe Haven) by Frank Tayell
• The Penguin Book of Modern British Short Stories
• The Century Girls by Tessa Dunlop
✔ Do my Yearly Purge
I actually did this on time this year! I usually like to do the Yearly Purge around March (because springtime I guess), and this year I started and finished it in that month. After it took so long to do last year, I’m pleased. I also expanded my stuff to my ‘lounge’ (used to be little brother’s bedroom, but is now a spare room/my office) so I have more space to spread out and keep things neat.✔ Pay off my overdraft
I did it! I am so incredibly pleased with myself; I cleared £1500 in just over a year when I didn’t have much of an income. I feel a lot less burdened now that I know that’s done with, and now I have no debt (except student loans but who even counts that).✔ Take better care of myself
I have definitely been doing this. For a start, I joined the gym in June, which is completely out of character and weird. I already feel a bit of a difference, mostly in my strength, and friends and family say my shape is changing and toning up (can I just lose this beach ball stomach pls?). I’ve kept up with hydration and eating right, but I haven’t sacrificed the small treats and pleasures in life. I’m also just being kinder overall to myself, instead of holding me up to ridiculous standards that I can’t meet. My recovery has come along in leaps this year, and I’m finally feeling the difference.✔ Go abroad at least once
Does Wales count? I know it’s technically a different country, but it’s also part of overall Britain. So it’s pretty contended whether that counts as ‘abroad’. Even so, that was a lovely holiday with my brother Ryan, his partner Aaron, Aaron’s friend Xenia, and her little boy Ziggy. It was nice to get away, and we were blessed with good weather for most of the week. I can’t thank Ryan and Aaron enough for thinking to invite me and forbidding me from giving them money for it. They’re too cute.✔ Continue to track habits etc
Still doin’ it. It’s actually really helpful and I’m going to continue – not just next year, but probably for the foreseeable future. I feel so much more organised, and it’s good for me to have these things all written in one place to ground myself and have a visual representation of how well or badly things are going. I also started a symptom diary in an attempt to identify triggers for symptoms, or even just a pattern.✔ Continue learning
I never stop, man. Even if it’s something small like a new word, I always try to learn new things. My volunteering has been a huge source of learning this year, especially since joining the HR team as an administrator (as well as my editor position). It’s definitely given me some transferable skills for when I’m back in paid employment. Aside from that, my biggest learning things have been studying exercise and muscles (anatomy and how they work/develop), and also starting to learn Swedish (I find it has similarities to both English and German, so I clicked with it almost straight away).✘ Bake regularly
Nope, not nearly enough. I baked mostly things that I’ve already done/written about. I really need to start challenging myself again with this. I’m also trying to plan what to bake far in advance, as that gives me time to prepare and know what I’m doing.✘ Get to 6000 followers
I find that people on twitter are really fickle and a lot of people just want a follow back, or they unfollow you immediately. Unless you’re ridiculously funny (which I am, obviously, but no one appreciates genius my pals), you don’t gain organic followers that easily. I find with social media, though, I’ve definitely stopped with the whole ‘GAIN ALL THE FOLLOWERS’ mentality. I’m much happier just doing my own thing and enjoying it instead of making it into a chore to be agonised over. And if people like what I post, that’s an added bonus!✘ Finish travel scrapbook
When will my motivation return from the war? The travel scrapbook is in its fourth year and counting, and I still haven’t even started sticking in stuff from my New York trip in 2014. The scrapbook continues to sit there, mocking me and my procrastination.
~
I would say my goals were about half-and-half this year. I knew some of them probably wouldn’t be achieved, but I’m happy with what I managed to do. I just have to keep going, and try to be better.
Happy New Year!
