Showing posts with label New Years Goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Years Goals. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

New Years Goals



 Picture courtesy of here

The start of a new year is such a funny time – there’s the reflection that come as one year closes as well the opening expanse of possibilities of a brand new year. I’ve enjoyed 2012 – we’ve renovated and settled into our house, Little B has loved and thrived during his last year a kinder, I made new friends and we’ve had the peace that comes from digging in and making a home.

As I look at last year’s goals, we didn’t do too badly. We started a vegie garden at this house but had no chance to expand it. We kept our electricity usage to a minimum and our latest bill with solar has us in credit (yay!!).  I did find alternatives to more items from the supermarket and have settled on a little local independent supermarket as an alternative to the duopoly of Coles & Woolworths for those things we just cant change because of Little B’s allergies. And I did learn more crafty skills (I learned to crochet, to sew a wider variety of items) and hey I learnt to plaster on this house ;-)

And I was kinder to myself. I’ve let myself wander in mind and thought – read more for fun than information, caught up on old movies, and spent some really concentrated time with my family.

So as I enter 2013, I’m focussing on 4 simple goals:

* Improve my posture – after my fall in July, my body is still struggling to recover. Turns out I pulled my psoas muscle which controls your hip sockets and is kind of hard to work on. But my physio and I are aiming for full recovery by July this year (which sounds like a long way away but it’s sort of a little by little process)

* Move more – said hip injury has made me a couch potato, but a few thoughtful Christmas gifts means I can get back out into the garden and canoeing more.  I’m a moving kind of gal and I want to get back to that.

* Grow more – after our successes this spring/summer with our limited vegie beds, I’m inspired to branch out and grow more of our own. We are aiming to put in more vegie beds and to put in an avocado tree, and another pear tree as well.


* Be more creative –I've purposefully left this sort of open ended because I want to think outside the square for so many different areas of my life and I'm not quite sure where I'll end up. I guess creative to me in this instance, is to look at things in my life with a different set of eyes.

* Remember more - Time passes so quickly and perhaps I feel more nostalgic as I get older, but as we slow down on our sustainable journey and as my little one grows, I want to document our family memories more. I hope to write on this blog more, am aiming to join in Jodie's (from Che & Fidel's)  52 A Portrait A Week project, and to spend more time with my lovely son and husband. We've done so much community work this year, that I want to spend 2013 focussing that little bit more inward.

And as Jodie quotes Gretchen Rubin from The Happiness Project, I want to "slow down, stay patient, take photographs, and play Hide and Seek". This year I want to live and soak in the moments of my time with my loved ones.
 
Let's see what 2013 brings!!

Saturday, December 31, 2011

New Years Goals

 The final frontier - part of a very unloved garden at the new house - currently last on a very long list of renovating projects

As the year draws too a close, I sit here munching leftover cake from Little B's birthday this week, and reflect on the year that has been. It's been so much better than the year before, and really how could it not be. We've faced the challenges thrown at us, we've grown closer as family. We've sold a house, bought a house, embarked on a renovation.  Did I mention I'm in love with my new house and we're not even living there yet :-)

And so I reflect on last years goals. We only expanded our vegie beds by one (yummy asparagus) but we did put in 3 new fruit trees (cherry, plum and almond). I've focused more on preserving the foods that we could (but not as much as I've liked) and amazingly improved my health ten fold. I'm still not where I'd like to be but I'm sure intent on getting there.

So here is my list for 2012:
* start and expand the vegetable garden at the new house
* to keep our electricity usage at the new house to a minimum (it has a smart meter but solar will go in asap)
* to spend more time crafting and gaining more skills in this area
* to find alternatives to the products we currently still buy at stupidmarkets and shop more often at farmers markets
 
My word for this year is "Embrace"...

* I'm going to embrace my last year as a stay at home mum
* I'm going to embrace the opportunity to start a new veggie garden from almost scratch
* I'm going to embrace being a renovation queen for quite a long time to come (we think)
* I'm going to embrace what life brings my way

I've decided that again this year I am going to be kinder to myself and generate less internal stress, enjoy more simple pleasures, I want to find more time to craft, to garden, to live sustainably and enjoyably.
 
I like the look of Tricia's skipping supermarkets challenge and will watching this with avid interest. We're investigating as many opportunities as we can to use viable technology alternatives to run a mainstream type of house. 
 
Bring on 2012!!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

New Years Goals


It's that time of year again ;-) On New Years day I sat down to reflect over the last year and contemplate last year's goals. I'm happy to say that we managed to do most of them except plumbing our toilet and washing machine into water tanks, and getting new fruit trees.

I love how far I've come with my knitting and I loved our first "real" holiday with Little B in South Australia.

So here is my list for 2011:
* increase the number of our veggie beds again (we'd like to have 8)
* since I didnt get any new fruit trees last year, I'd like to add an apricot and plum tree this year
* to expand on and improve my sewing skills
* make more of my own and Little B's clothes
* preserve more food (home grown and store bought)
* to keep improving my health

My word for this year is "Enjoy"...

* I'm going to enjoy my last year as a stay at home mum
* I'm going to enjoy my sewing and knitting
* I'm going to enjoy spending more time in the garden
* I'm going to enjoy more time with Mr B (thanks to his new part time job)

I've decided that this year I am going to enjoy more simple pleasures, more colour, and investigate my arty side.

2010 was not the best year for us, so we are looking forward to the changes and adventures that 2011 will bring :-)

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

New Years Goals

In the spirit of Kelly at Taurus Rising, I’ve decided to put down some goals / aims / aspirations for 2010. One to have them in writing and two for some accountability ☺

So in 2010, I would like to:
• work harder at reducing our plastic waste
• extend our vegie gardens and plant more fruit trees
• to reduce our electricity usage even further (11kwh and counting)
• to have our toilet and washing machine plumbed into the water tanks
• to develop my knitting skills
• to stress less and relax more
• to socialise more with our friends, and to entertain more at our home
• to go on our first serious holiday with Little B

My key words for 2010 (as per Eileen at Consumption Rebellion) will be “Relax” and “Surrender”. My aim is to reduce my stress levels and to surrender to the natural ebbs and flows in life rather than try to control them at my own peril ☺