Goodbye 2015….Hello 2016!

I always feel a bit weird writing New Year posts- I mean, where has the past year gone? It makes me all too aware of time flying by. This was Freddie’s 5th Christmas, which to me is insane! The end of a year is obviously a time to reflect on everything that’s happened over the past 12 months, but also to make new plans. I know lots of people loathe the whole new year resolutions thang (and that’s fine), but I actually quite like having a few things to aim for, as well as a completely fresh start after what is often a totally mental month of December. Despite being one of those people who can’t WAIT to get the Christmas tree up, post-Boxing Day I have festive fatigue and can’t wait to get the damn thing down and crack on with normal life. Bah Humbug and all that! 😉

I had a great 2015 overall, personally and as a family. Adam and I got hitched, Freddie started school, Sasha started preschool last Jan, we honeymooned (STILL need to publish that Venice post), holidayed, hen/stag doooed (sp?), plus had many more adventures with friends/family et al. This little blog of mine started doing ‘ok’ in the wider ‘blogosphere’ (although I will always have a soft spot for it whatever)- more opportunities, more readers, a lovely surprise of reaching an awards finals and it also got me on the telly. I have to admit though that the first part of the year was spent running around like a lunatic, mainly getting wedding stuff sorted, so I’ll be glad of a <slight> breather in 2016. 

As for 2016? I have a feeling that this year will be a more productive one, and hopefully one that I can look back on and be proud of and feel that I have been the best wife/mother/person that I can be, whilst still fulfilling my needs and taking a bit (okay, a lot) more care of myself. 

Here is what i’d like to achieve in 2016:

Professionally

Whilst I’ve been so chuffed that this blog has started to give me a more-than-acceptable part-time income, I’ve been thinking for a while that I’d like a part time role that is more stable, and also one that involves working with other people. Everyone thinks the dream is working for yourself, when you want (and in a way it is), but I’ve actually found it to be a bit on the lonely side sometimes and I miss working directly with other people. I’ve got the chance to possibly work 2/3 days a week for one of the companies that I do social media for, to increase my hours to be their salaried digital marketing manager, so I’m quite keen to explore this further over the next few weeks. It would take the pressure of Adam as the main earner, give me a new challenge, and would mean that whilst I’d still want to work with some great brands blog-wise, I could be choosier and start writing again more for me. I think that’s the one thing I’ve missed this year about my blog, and that’s writing for me/our family/about what I love, as I haven’t had as much time, what with working and brands work. I’d like to get more of that back please! 

Health and fitness

I want to keep on going to the gym 3 times a week, but throw in a yoga class too. I’m far too inflexible for my age, and shouldn’t be waking up like a stiff old lady at the age of 32!

My main aim this year is to severely cut down the amount of alcohol that I drink. This year has been a big one socially (hence lots of boozing), and I think because I’ve been tired a lot of the time, I’ve used it to unwind when really what I should be doing is putting myself in a hot bath with a book and then having an early night. I’m kicking off with the obligatory dry January, and hoping I can continue. I wrote about this before and failed miserably after a few months, so I’m a bit nervous about making a big ‘statement’ on giving up, so I’m just going to see how I get on. I know I’m a better, more productive person, and most importantly, Mum, when I’m not sluggish and hungover. I had a dry New Year’s Eve and it felt SO GOOD to wake up feeling fresher than I otherwise would. I also know that I get more done with a clear head, and have more clarity about life/relationships in general when not in a booze fog. I will get back to you on this and let you know how I get on after a certain amount of time has past!

Eating-wise, I know I’ve been eating more and not as well this year (prob all that Sauvvy B causing the munchies), and my waistline is suffering from it (11lbs heavier, ouch). I don’t agree with diets as such, but I know I feel lighter when I follow a lower carb way of life (more salads, vegetables, lean protein, it’s not rocket science), and I’m hoping the pounds will melt off with the lack of booze. Whilst I care very much about my health, especially the older I get, I’m also vain enough not to want to buy anymore clothes in a bigger size! The children have also been having too much chocolate this past month, so I’m trying to cut it out now and get back to normal with only the odd bit here and there. 

Family and social life

I’d like us to continue to spend good quality time together, plan more trips i.e. get the dates in the diary NOW. Find other ways to socialise that don’t include getting rat-arsed in the pub. More dates with Adam BOOKED IN. Visit and phone more of my old school friends who don’t live in London. I’d also like to book a riding lesson, take more photos and use my camera better, and write more for fun. 

Parenting-wise, I think I’m doing an okay job, although I’d like to be a little less shouty than I’ve been the past few months. I hate shouting, but I find it happens most when the kids are bickering, I’m stressed/preoccupied with other things, and it doesn’t do anyone any good at all (and I don’t think that it works). I think I try to do too much at once, and I’d like to forget about some things completely and focus on the children entirely without distraction. I’m much calmer and deal with any potential 3 and 4 year old ‘blips’ better then!

Home 

We’ve lived on our house nearly 4 years now. I absolutely love our home, but it’s still taken this long to put what I call ‘finishing’ touches in place. These are photos and pictures to go on walls, potential colour changes on walls, furniture painting, a couple of new pieces of furniture/shelves up and most importantly, DECLUTTER. We now seem to have so much ‘stuff’, and as someone who’s naturally quite tidy and organised, it’s driving me crazy. Today I sorted out a kitchen utensil drawer, and it was insane what we didn’t actually need (2 pizza cutters, 3 garlic crushers among others. Surely no one eats that much garlic?!). This year I’m going to be ruthless! I’ll be writing more about this this coming week, and I think it will be the focus of a lot of my interiors blog posts this coming year.

So this obviously seems like a lot, and I HATE to call them resolutions, so let’s just call them ‘focus’ for now! I like having mini targets and goals, so have broken some of these up into mini monthly plans that I think might make them more achievable i.e. write down an area every 2 days for a month to declutter, what I’m going to do with it, and then getting rid of the unwanted stuff. 

So here’s to 2016! 2015, you were a good un, but I can’t wait to see what this year brings!