I’ve spent a lot of time over Christmas and New Year pondering a post like this one, wondering what 2016 will bring and whether it needs to bring anything in particular. There were no resolutions going into 2015 as the year before had been quite a challenging one but another year later and I feel so energised and at peace that I can’t help but think about what it would be lovely to achieve with the year ahead. So without further ado and in no particular order:
- The Kitten – we still don’t have the other part of our furbaby family that this blog was named after. So before Maddie gets too much older, I’m on the hunt for ginger kittie Boo. Pete’s not a cat person but he’ll come round.
- More cinema visits – we went to see The Danish Girl on New Year’s Day and it was such a beautiful film. Sadly it takes us both being shut in a dark room to properly focus on a film these days and whilst I can switch off and settle down in front of something Pete is so easily distracted. We couldn’t remember the last time we went to the cinema together but think it may have been as long ago as March or April and although there are often films that come out during the year we’d love to see, we never get round to going and invariably forget about them completely. Our local cinema is just a short drive away in Greenwich and is part of the Picturehouse group so often shows independent and foreign films as well as being a lovely venue with a great bar. We even have membership so there’s no excuse really!
- Booking a doggie holiday for September – we took Maddie down to Devon and Cornwall for a week last September and it was one of the best holidays. Long walks and lots of fresh air, pub food and country living, it felt so blissful to escape the big smoke and watch her racing along stretches of sand. We didn’t decide to go until very late on so ended up staying in hotels for the Cornwall leg of our journey. This time around if we plan ahead a week in a little self-catering cottage somewhere would be perfect.
- A new ceiling for our living room – this is the next step in our living room renovation plans. We currently have 1970s/80s reject Artex on our ceiling in the living room and dining room and it’s just hideous. We also have a central lamp in the living room and hopefully this will be replaced by integrated lighting as we do the ceiling which will make such a difference to the look and feel of the room.
- Taking lunch to work at least 3 times a week – we both spend too much money on grabbing lunch here and there whilst we’re at work and rarely plan from one day to the next in terms of food. I’m convinced we’re wasting money by doing this plus I’m now so limited in terms of what I can eat since being diagnosed with gluten and various other allergies. The GREAT news is that after months of feeling unwell, I’m finally starting to feel better as my insides slowly begin the healing process and the cravings for bread have all but disappeared. We’re both looking forward to a healthier lifestyle and thinking more carefully about what we eat, plus my Mum gave us a Nutribullet for Christmas so it would be rude not to try it out. The coming months will be about batch cooking, trying new recipes and hopefully being more creative.
- Growing with Pilates – one of the absolute best and surprising things I did in 2015 was take up in Pilates. I joined a small and local class back in April which takes place weekly at a local cafe after hours. It has, literally, changed my life. I feel stronger, leaner, suppler. I’ve gained confidence and belief in myself that anything is possible and for that hour each week, there’s nothing else going through my mind other than stretching, toning and breathing. It’s sheer heaven and I can’t wait to go back this month.
- Master two new hairstyles. Even if one of them is just straightening it – I’m a wash ‘n’ go girl. Not the shitty shampoo but the “I’d really rather sleep so my head will look like a puffball” kind. It gets washed, dried and then out the door to work and that is all I ever do, and have ever done. So it’s time to change and experiment. If 2015 was the year of the nails which I finally stopped biting after 35 years, then 2016 is the year of the hair.
- Learn something new – no idea what this involves, perhaps breaking out my sewing machine which has been lying around untouched for years. Or take up a small craft or hobby with all the spare time I have (!) but learning something new, no matter how big or small, is definitely an aim for this year.
- Finish watching The Affair – this is an easy one. In fact I could do it today, but there are the last 5 episodes of Season 2 currently unwatched on our Skyplanner and if I don’t watch it soon I’m sure Pete will delete it when I’m not looking.
This post could go on and on but this is probably enough to be going on with. This year is going to be a great one, I can feel it in my Nutribullet 😉
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I love that you have a complete mixture of goal. We don’t really set ourselves any resolutions, but as you know we have a lot of home improvement goals we’d like to achieve. Our more personal goal that seems to make it to every years list is travel more. I guess it’s going to be a tough goal this year with the amount of home improvement projects we’re planning 😉
Great list! There are some lovely dog-friendly holiday cottages out there – we went to this one in Derbyshire about 6 years ago and it was a delight: https://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/accommodation/p1860724
Good luck!
What a fun list! I’d really quite like a kitten, too. I think I might work on my husband. My littlest starts school in September so some fluffy company would be quite nice xx
Happy new year lovely, love that last sentence – I almost spluttered out my tea 😉 xx
What a cute pooch. I hope you find the right kitten soon.
Thank you so much, yes she is cute but also knows it 😉 Fingers crossed the kitten will be here sooner rather than later X
A really interesting post to read with the different types of goals you’ve got! So pleased you’re starting to feel well again 🙂 Will read your forays into replacing the ceilings with great enthusiasm as we have a few of those artex arseholes to contend with in the future! X