Tag Archives: Resolutions

2018 Resolutions

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I really love goal setting and list making. Can you tell?

I just really enjoy the feeling of achievement that comes with crossing something off of a list or taking something off a to do pile. I know it’s not to everyone’s taste but you do you and I’ll do me.20160723_Saturday_BBQ_0633This year I have been thinking a lot about my priorities and goals and I have been getting much more organised these last few weeks. I’ve had a bit of a ‘Just do it’ (thank you Nike!) attitude that has seen me getting a lot of stuff done lately. I even managed to complete three photo heavy blog posts last weekend (1, 2, 3!) that I had put off for months and thought I was going to give up on. I still have a few more to go but it feels like progress is being made. 20160723_Saturday_BBQ_06502018 Resolutions

  • Read 30 books this year

This is 5 more than my goal last year. I love getting lost in a new book and I’m sure that adding 5 books will only make me happier. You can follow my progress by becoming my friend on Goodreads.

  • Letting go of things

Ben and I live in a room in London. Space is a privilege here and I don’t want to be clogging it up with unnecessary things. I have been watching heaps of tiny house and minimalist YouTube videos lately and I think I’m being drawn to them as I’m feeling a bit cramped in my space. It’s definitely time for a clear out and in the long-term, a habit change.

This one is a hard one to measure but I think I will know I have done it when:

  1. My paper pile is down to only things necessary for my visa application in 2019 and very little more than that.
  2. My wardrobe is no longer bursting at the seams
  3. The desk is no longer piled with stuff that doesn’t fit into our shelves. It is a very rare day that we can actually use our desk space.
  •  Take a short course

I haven’t yet decided whether I want this to be hobby based or a work based course but I want to do some learning in 2018. There are a few people around me who have inspired this decision and its great to watch them progress. I want a bit of that this year.

  • Make my lunch 4 days a week

Things got a bit out of hand last year and my colleagues and I were eating out at restaurants near our office 2-3 times a week some weeks. I’ve got to reign that in, for my bank balance and my waistline.

  • Stick at exercise for the whole year

I’m terrible at doing things in fits and starts with exercise. I will very easily let myself get out of a habit. This year my biggest goal is consistency. I want to be exercising the whole year with something other than netball. I have started a 10 week yoga course which I plan to continue with throughout the year as it is just around the corner from my house. I am also looking at joining the 9am Parkrun on Hampstead Heath when I can (read: when I’m not hung over).20160723_Saturday_BBQ_0646So, here we go 2018. Lets make it a good one!

The pictures are from summer 2016 when Ben and I stumbled upon a wildflower field on the way to a friend’s place right at magic hour. It was such a beautiful night, I can’t wait for more of these in 2018.

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2017 Resolutions: How did I do?

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20171210_Snowy_London_00152017 was a big year for me with lots of changes and lots of celebration!

It went by in a blur and it’s nice to spend some quieter time now to let it all soak in. The wintery weather makes it easier to stay inside and tend to some of that life admin too.

Unless it’s a snow day!

20171210_Snowy_London_0073We woke up to one of the best snow days I’ve experienced in London in my nearly 6 years here (wow!). We woke up on a Sunday morning mid-December to a blanket of snow just settling on the ground and it continued all morning. 20171210_Snowy_London_0090Ben and I couldn’t wait to rug up and get out there, Ben eager to capture the snowflakes with the camera, me just happy to pose and catch flakes on my tongue.

I feel like it was October this year before I really woke up to the fact that 2017 was nearly over. It has been a busy year. I did manage to complete some of my 2017 resolutions though. Here is how I did:

  • Read!

I set a goal to read 25 books this year to get me back into a reading routine after dropping the ball in 2016 when my commute changed. This turned out to be an exactly perfect pace for me and I read just over 25 books throughout the year in the end.

I really enjoyed using GoodReads too. It made me read more widely by picking up recommendations along the way and gave me a place to store all those want to read lists that would end up all over my life scrawled on paper, in books and in my phone. Love it.

I have increased my 2018 goal to 30 only because I want to watch TV and I know a goal like this will easily take me away from the box sets and into a book. Also with 72 books currently on my Want to Read shelf I’m not going to be short of inspiration.

Done it! You can read my write up here. Such a good challenge! My motivation to get out an exercise has been limited since this and I need to think about what my next exersize challenge will be to get me going for 2018.

  • Use what we have + only buy essentials
  • Save to buy a house

Kind of.. but there is always room to do more. I think we will be making actual monetary savings goals this year to help us step up the savings. We have a lot to pay for coming up including visas and hopefully citizenship for myself in the UK and maybe a wedding.

  • Learn to code in Visual Basic

I didn’t do this in the end. I started talking to my boss about getting on a course when I got back from my holiday in January, however I ended up being pulled into a Transformation project that eventually lead to a new job in 2017! Woohoo! I’m still interested in learning code, however will see where this new job will lead me in 2018 before taking it on.

  • Refresh my blog

This blog definitely took a back seat this year and I have struggled to feel purposeful about it. But I’m coming to the conclusion that I don’t care and mainly just want it as a record for myself. So I will keep popping in with little life updates and travel photos and see how I go in 2018.

So, two and a half out of five for 2017 goals. How did you do?

I love this time of year for a bit of re-evaluation and goal setting so will check back in with some goals for 2018 soon. Lots to get stuck into this year I’m sure.

Happy New Year!20171210_Snowy_London_0116

Thanks to Ben for the snow photos.  You can follow him on Instagram @benjamin_e_parry or me @andieinspired

 

2017 Resolutions

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20170110_175912.jpgThere is nothing like the start of a new year to make you re-evaluate your situation and inevitably, set some lofty goals. Ben and I have been having some big adult discussions lately about what we’re aiming for in life. It’s exciting. 2017 is also the year that we both turn 30 and we will have our 10 year anniversary so there will be lots to celebrate over the summer.

My resolutions are pretty simple this year and I’m thinking they will stick. I’m optimistic mostly because I’m so excited about them. So here goes…20170204_resolutions_blog_0065My 2017 Resolutions

  • Read!

With the change to my commute this year my reading has slowed down dramatically. I miss churning through the books on my long commute, it was the perfect, distraction free reading time. Now that my commute involves more exercise (and sometimes photography) I need to carve out some reading time while at home. So that’s what this goal is about. I have set up a Goodreads account to track my reading this year and set a goal of 25 books.

I have possibly bitten off more than I can chew here but I signed up to run this 10-12 mile obstacle assault course with Ben. The website says “You can expect undulating hills, thick mud and a range of mind-bending challenges to test your mental grit.” Yikes! We started (sort of) training in New Zealand and now that we’re back in London we have committed to this in earnest. There is a lot of ab crunches and pull ups (when I can do them) in my future.

  • Use what we have + only buy essentials
  • Save to buy a house

These two resolutions go together. This year is the year of saving for Ben and I, we really want to put in a big effort to save on the little things, like takeaways, buying coffees, and make the most of the stuff we have. We’re not going completely frugal but just trying to get smarter, I would much rather my money went on holidays and our futures than Uber rides.

  • Learn to code in Visual Basic

This will be a huge step for my Excel skills and will help me streamline the work I do so much. I wish I had thought of it sooner. I have a few projects at work that I’m going to attempt this year.

  • Refresh my blog

It’s nearly two and a half years since I started this blog on my 27th birthday and it still looks pretty much exactly the same. I think it’s about time to refresh, I love writing this little online diary so I want it to keep growing with me. 20170204_resolutions_blog_0055What are your resolutions for this year? Did you make any? Oh and does anyone want to train for Tough Mudder with me? I’m going to need so much support to get through that. .

2016 Resolutions: How did I do?

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20170204_resolutions_blog_0066I feel a bit different coming into this year, so much of my focus in 2016 had been on our month long New Zealand holiday over Christmas that I really hadn’t thought much about afterwards. But we’re just into February now and already so much has happened and changed. I’m really excited about what this year has in store.

I have a post coming really soon on resolutions I am adding for 2017 but for now I want to look at my 2016.

2016 Resolutions

  • No More Snoozing! I want to wake up and get up in 2016.

I’m starting off with a bit of a failure, I definitely haven’t shaken my snoozing habit. I used this progress checker by Elise Joy to help me stay on track, you can get a 2017 one here. It was stuck to the wall beside my bed in our Tottenham flat, and then by my mirror in our current flat. It’s a really good way of seeing how far you have come and tracking that daily effort. But as you can see, I started strong then I completely drop off over the period where we were looking for and then moving flats. There were a couple more flurried of activity during the year when I thought, yes! I’m getting back on track, but ultimately I’m still not jumping out of bed. 20170204_resolutions_blog_0043

  • Complete 10 full press-ups.

A bit like my snoozing, I had periods of really good effort during the year, but ultimately they didn’t stick. I still can’t do one press-up, let alone 10!

  • Make cards and use a bit more of the paper scraps that I am always collecting (hoarding).

Yes! I’m pretty proud of this resolution, I think 90% of the cards I gave this year were home-made or cards that I’ve collected over the years. I used home-made gift tags at Christmas time and used home made birthday cards. This is something that I’m sure I’ll probably continue doing forever. It’s creative, personal, eco-friendly (I really only recycle or re-purpose), cheap and I love doing it. I do sometimes worry that it’s a bit childish to be making cards but I remind myself that a card is really about the message and as long as it’s thoughtful it doesn’t really matter how professional it looks.

  • Say Yes! more and be an available and willing friend in 2016.

I’ve had so many good times with friends in 2016. I made some new friends through netball, I got to know my new flat-mates and we mesh really well and I got to catch up with family and friends back home, some who I don’t keep in regular contact with while over here.

I also had it on my mind to see more gigs in 2016. Here are some of my ticket stubs from events I’ve seen in the year. There is comedy, theatre, travel and sport in the mix but most excitingly is all the cool music acts I managed to see Mumford and Sons at British Summertime festival; a solo show from Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls; Birdy who was a new find for me in 2016 and a bit of NZ sound with Fat Freddies Drop. The stubs aren’t in my pile but I saw Newton Faulkner in the Union Chapel which is an amazing venue in a church and at the Hoxton Hall I saw The Head and The Heart.

The biggest gigs I saw this year were Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen at Wembley Stadium. Two very very different gigs but both so memorable. 20170204_resolutions_blog_0059

I have finally sorted myself out with a SongKick account too. I can’t beleive I missed this for so long. For those that don’t know it’s an app that tracks bands and lets you know when they’re touring and reminds you when the tickets go onsale. So essential if you’re going to try and beat all the touts before they sell out.

I also managed to keep at my 2015 resolutions which were to

  • continue working through my 27 List – a couple more were completed in 2016 but there is still 9 to go
  • save for a house – still going strong and will be ramping it up for 2017.
  • print photos – Yes, lots went on in 2016.

I hope you’re all looking forward to 2017. Thanks for reading xx

1. Make a three tiered cake

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Success! I’ve done it!
My epic baby shower cake has been baked, photographed and, thankfully, devoured.
_MG_0399I love this icing technique. It’s so easy and gives a really impressive effect that makes people think you must have slaved away for ages.

But really, this was so much fun to make and such a good challenge for me. I love baking and do it all the time, but making this was a huge stretch of my skills and I’m really glad I took that leap out of my comfort zone. I was helped by the fact that I have a super reliable chocolate cake recipe my Aunty gave me years ago. She ran a cafe, where I worked while in my last years of high school, and this chocolate cake was one of the counter food staples there. It generally sold out, but every once in a while there would be a leftover slice for me to take home, that was always a good day. _MG_0419 My friends really enjoyed this cake. So much so that I have a new order………for a Wedding Cake!! Eeeek! So scared and excited at the same time. This will certainly put my skills to the test. Watch this space….

New Year’s Resolve

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Happy New Year!! Here’s to new adventures in 2015!

I have three resolutions for the year:

  • Continue working through my 27 List and on this blog.
  • Save to buy a house sometime in the future.
  • Print photos and display them somehow.

I am now the joint owner of a DSLR camera which I am slowly learning to operate. So my resolution is to motivate me to learn to take good photos that I want to print and share.

I hope you had a nice and relaxing holiday season. I spent Christmas in Canazei, Italy with my boyfriend’s family learning to ski.

20141220_C70D_ParryChristmasDolimitesItaly_2482_SelectHere is me looking like a baby giraffe learning to stand, but I had a pretty good handle on it after three days on the mountain.

20141220_C70D_ParryChristmasDolimitesItaly_2779_SelectIt was a good chance to practice with the new camera taking pictures of the stunning Dolomiti mountains.

Lake Fedaia Before The FreezeLake Fedaia. Photo credit goes to my boyfriend.