i wrote them and planned to see how i progressed with them without any specific prodding, as it were. i planned to write them and leave them to be reflected upon within the year to see how i did... i hate the convention that people follow that calls for them to write them out and demonize themselves when they do not follow through with any one or combination of them... i wrote them and am now looking at them for the first time since i posted them to see how i did.
please enjoy, as i am sure i will...
- become better with money... well, i can most certainly say that my money-management has improved. the shift in my fiscal abilities occurred in september as a result of the divorce. as someone who is typically atrocious with money, i immediately realized i had to snap to attention and sort myself out because the estranged was very good at enabling me, which in turn made me lazy, ungrateful and irresponsible. here i am today though, more-or-less able to manage my money.... i have not had to borrow money from anyone (bar that £20 from janeyface) since september, and have been very delighted to see at least a tenner left in my account at the end of each month.
- cut down on cola products... i went through phases through the year, but it was not until the separation that i actually stopped having cola products all together. well, not ALL together, but it is a VERY rare occasion that i will have a cola now. i feel incredible for having done that as well...
- sort out my health... as many of you have witnessed over the last twelve months, the biggest problem i have faced is my mental health. it has been a bloody rough ride, but i have been fortunate enough to finally find a consultant that actually cares and he has helped me to completely pull myself out of this rut. my mental health, whilst rocky at the beginning of the year, has mostly been sorted. i have been off my medication now for about a month and feel incredible. i feel happy and well and confident. a lot of this confidence has to do with the improvement of my physical health. in the last three months i have lost three stone (42 lbs) and i feel freaking awesome! i am eating better, drinking better, have quit smoking and am overall the happiest little creature ever!
- crochet more... and oh have i crocheted my face off this year! i have created so many fabulous things over the last twelve months... i can't even begin to name them all. suffice it to say that they have all been wonderful and have all found their way to happy, wonderful homes.
- finish all my started projects... heh, yeah, no. i am looking around my room and noticing that i have not actually finished even ONE of my started projects. blankets, skirts, paintings, dolls... all still in random states of un-finished. i have just spent too much time consumed on OTHER projects and, if anything, i have only added about twenty MORE items to my list of unfinished things. i really need to sort my life out!
- write people more... well, in some ways i have absolutely done this... because i am planning to move, i have been going through a period of re-connecting. i have been contacting the lovelies i will be returning to so i can make sure they know i adore them and want to prance with them upon my arrival to the mother country. alongside that, i have been putting in a serious effort to cuddle, write and kiss as many of my english beasts as often as possible... i NEED them to know how special they are to me and i NEED to make sure that those bonds are as strong as possible before i go so they don't break whilst i am away.
- tidy more and better... again, since the split, i have REALLY sorted myself... well... overall, i am not THAT tidy of a person, but i have really been putting in the effort to make sure i keep my life in some state of order now. particularly at the moment, i have been trying to de-clutter... this is both in aid of getting all of the estranged's stuff out of my life, but also for me to prepare for my move back stateside... i only want to take the most special of the special back with me, so i need to clear my life.
- blog more... oh yes, this is something i can most definitely say i have been better at. not great, but better. i have tried to make sure that i have posted at least once a week, missing only a month or two here and there when i was having a particularly difficult time. i have been better and am pleased with what i have done thus far.
- learn to bake the perfect cake... not cupcake... PROPER cake... no... just no. granted, i DID bake the most perfect carrot cake in the world on easter, i have yet to be able to consistently be able to churn out the perfect cake. i can still blast out the most fabulous cupcakes anyone has ever eaten, but i STILL want to master the perfect cake.
- watch more films... absolutely 100%! i have been SO good this year with films! this is primarily thanks to my beautiful pow pow, as he has been my special date for most of the films i have watched this year, but i can happily say that i have totally crammed in as many films as i could have hoped. i has a satisfied!
- collect more lists... meh, i only got a couple dozen this year, certainly not as many has i had hoped... at least i got SOME though!
- go out more... in some ways, i guess i have. i have absolutely been making attempts to go out of my comfort zone and see more people, do more things and generally be less of a hermit. i most certainly could have gone out MORE, but i am content with the amount of time i have spent out of my house this year.
- spend more time with husband DOING stuff... meh... this was never really achieved. i guess we KINDA did some stuff together, but overall, one of the main reasons our relationship dissolved was as a result of he and i just not having anything in common anymore and therefore meaning we didnae go out together anymore.
- take more photos... whilst i know i could have taken MORE, i am very happy with the amount i HAVE taken this year. i have photo documentation of most of the things i have done or seen this year and for that i am pleased.
- read more... mmm, sure. again, i could have absolutely read more, but i am content with the amount i have read. i consumed all of augusten's memoirs, countless zombie novels, all the daren king books and many others... sure, there are some specific books i would have liked to have read, but i have been a busy girl.. i'll get to them!
- BE IN AMERICA FOR CHRISTMAS 2009! well, i think it is pretty clear why this didnae materialize. the good news is that danie will be in america for christmas 2010 AND the following countless christmasses!! yay!!
thank you world, for letting this year pass with such flawless perfect. thank you for escorting me safely to 2010. i'll be thinking about you.
