Last year I blogged about my previous year & the things I wished to achieve in 2016. 2015 was a big year for our family as we moved house, had our gorgeous little boy to complete our family & both had a bit of a career move. You can see my full post here.
This past year hasn’t been anywhere near as life changing, but it’s been a year of finding our feet as parents of two, our new careers & all the things life chucks at you to spice things up along the way.
I’m not a huge believer in ‘New Years Resolutions’ as you shouldn’t need a whole new year to start something if it’s what you desire BUT it can definitely give you the slight kick up the bum needed for self improvement which I’m always aiming to achieve.
My main goals for 2016 year were –
‘Find’ myself & focus more on ‘me’
Improve my anxiety issues for better mental health
Lose weight for better physical health
Focus more on this blog & make sure I post 3x a week
So, how did I get on?
Well I still haven’t quite found myself (I wrote about it more here) but I’d definitely say I’ve made a huge improvement the past year. Since we decided that our family was complete & my husband had a vasectomy (which I wrote about here) I feel more at peace with the fact that I can start focusing on myself rather than going back to nappies & sleepless nights. The older my two littles get (currently 3.5 years & 20 months), the more I feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel & in just a few years (or September for Elsa eeek!) they’ll both be at school & I will have my life back from being a full time mother (as well as juggling multiple jobs!).
With regards to anxiety, I have written about it a few times & feel like it’s SO important to open up about what is an all too common mental illness. Here’s one post which led on to this one. I got to the point of literally making myself ill with constant worrying & over analysing situations. It became a problem which I addressed by visiting my GP who put me on medication & going through a course of CBT therapy. I’d love to say that this helped but I personally found it a bit of a waste of time & the medication had other side effects so I decided to stop them.
What REALLY changed me was my cervical cancer scare back in the summer. It made me realise that life is too short & that spending all my life obsessing over a clean house was just making me miserable. I’ve definitely become more laid back & less anxious since then. Sometimes it takes something major to really open your eyes to what’s actually important in life.
As for the weight loss aim (typical resolution…) I have successfully put ON weight this year. I’m not at my biggest by far so desperately need to sort my life out & am rejoining Slimming World in January. 2017 is going to be my year of not being a total pig!
As for the blog, I am SO proud of how far it’s come this year & it’s now one of my main sources of income. I have also established myself as a freelance writer for other brands & companies internationally! I made it to the front cover & a 6 page spread in ‘Style At Home’ magazines July issue as well as being in the FINALS for ‘best newcomer’ at the biggest interior blog awards ceremony (Amara IBS). I’ve also worked with some of my favourite brands!
I was on course for hitting my ‘posting 3x a week’ however life got in the way during the summer which meant that I had no childcare, a busy social life & a health scare which pretty much savaged my mind which all sent me off course. Something to work on in 2017!
Spending habits have probably stayed about the same but I’m always careful with money as it is normally. I’d like to do ‘no spend January’ or ‘September‘ again but actually stick to it as that was a huge failure. Who’s with me?!
As for 2017, what’s my plan?
Well, I’d like to continue the work on my career with the blog & freelance writing. I’d also like to drop a considerable amount of weight & focus on my health. Basically everything I either haven’t achieved this year OR I have achieved but need to continue it. I’m not putting too much pressure on myself now that I’m a bit more laid back.
The only ‘brand new’ goal stems from a few weeks ago when I had a mass toy culling session to make way for the mounds of noisy plastic rubbish that my two little ones would be handed on Christmas day. Instead of my usual deal of selling, I decided to donate everything including the pretty much brand new bits. I posted on a Facebook selling group asking if anybody knew any charities in need & was messaged by a lady who recently fled a violent relationship with her 2 year old son but didn’t have enough time to grab toys for him & was struggling financially. I drove to her house & let her pick whatever she thought he’d like. I then took the rest to a local charity called Ashley’s Birthday Bank which helps underprivileged children in our local area.
It felt SO nice, to be nice. I’m going to look in to how I can give back, whether it’s small gestures here & there such as a reassuring smile to the mum of a screaming newborn in the middle of M&S or donating a few cans of beans to the food bank.
What are your goals for 2017? I’d love to hear them!
Love,
