Hi Everyone,

Its that time of year again, new year, new game plan!

Let me start off by saying, 2017 for me was by far the best year of my life so far. So many great things happened, it was jam packed with key life moments, fun, adventure  and achievements and I’m sad to see it go. Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops, it had its moments, but the good times way outweighed the bad and I’ve landed into 2018 in a pretty good place. Although I must admit, I’m a bit knackered… it was a bit of a whirlwind year!

If I can take two things away from 2017, they would be 1. That sometimes you just need to grab life, keep on moving at the speed of light and enjoy everything to the max while the goings good. and 2. That sometimes its ok to know when to stop, or at least slow right down and take some time out to recover from all the excitement and just chill.

As I said, it was a whirlwind of a year. So many amazing things happened that 2017 will always be one to stand out but I have a feeling 2018 will be completely different than last year and I’m ok with that.

When I think of what I want to do and achieve this year the word ‘Zen’ comes to mind. I still feel like I have plenty of exciting things to look forward to this year as I already have some plans in motion. But over all, I would like to get to the end of 2018 feeling just as accomplished as 2017, but a little less frazzled. I want this year to be about having more down time and time and using it well.

I have some goals I would like to achieve this year which are so different to goals I’ve had in the past, and some which I’ve attempted in the past but never quite put my all into. But over all I don’t think my goals this year are too ambitious, they are just a series of small things which I think would enrich my life or make me a little bit proud of myself in the year to come if I were to indeed achieve them.

Fitness and Health

So last year I set myself a goal of doing more yoga, and doing PT classes once a week. I didn’t do much PT but I did do lots more yoga which I absolutely love, along with some weight lifting classes at the beginning of the year which I also really enjoy. I’ve said it before, I love the focus and determination that these exercises require and focus is definitely something I need constant practice at. I have such a wandering mind but it turns out being physical really works for me. I’ve always kinda known this, but exercise was never high up on my agenda. Turns out when you find the right exercise for you, it can be really enjoyable, even if sometimes its super tough to get through or even motivated to start in the first place. So now that I know what I like, I want to improve in some areas and set myself some pretty physical goals, which I never thought I would be doing. Some people might be pretty surprised by some things on the list but here goes anyways…

• Handstands – I’ve been going to handstand workshops and classes on and off for the last couple of months now at Dublin Bikram Yoga in the city centre. You’re probably wondering what thats all about, but basically they are classes which teach you techniques and drills to perform free standing handstands (which are quite popular in the advanced yoga world and gymnastics/performing arts), the more you advance the more variations of handstands you can perform (i.e. balancing on one arm- super duper advanced). My own personal goal is to be able to confidently hold a handstand for 30 secs – 1 min, maybe a Straddle press handstand and stretch goal is to be able to press up into a handstand by the end of the year. I also want to start practicing at home for a few minutes twice a week to help me reach this goal.
• Splits – I really want to work on my flexibility this year and be able to do the splits comfortably by the end of the year. I have very tight hamstrings and hips which makes some yoga poses and also sometimes the handstand drills quite challenging. I really think the splits practice will be beneficial and I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’ve actually already booked myself into a splits and backbends course for the next 6 weeks so i’m interested to see how I get on and my progress over the term!
• Pull Ups – Another very physical challenge. I’ve never been able to do a pull up but I feel like its not impossible! I want to get a pull up bar for the house so I can give it a go whenever the mood takes me 🙂
• Yoga – Go to a class once a week, I love Hot Yoga at Down Dog Studio in Swords or Anti Gravity yoga at Yoga4All in Airside. I also am a sucker for a yoga workshop, I just love having that precise instruction that you don’t always get from a regular class so I want to continue going to workshops when I can.
• Baksasana (Crow Pose) – This is an arm-balancing pose in Yoga, its really popular and kind of what seems like a rite of passage when taking on arm-balancing in yoga, its the one everyone wants to get. I got it once for about 2 seconds and never again after that so I want to work on getting it consistently this year. If I could do it once I can do its again, and again and again.
• Gym – Go to the gym three times a week. I joined Flyefit recently as there is a branch right beside my job, its working out great as the classes are only 30 mins long so are perfect for a quick workout at lunch time or on the way home from work. I like to do classes which focus on building strength as I feel it really compliments my Yoga. I’m going to be a bit flexible on this when I have my handstand classes which are twice a month, and just because I don’t want to over do it if I have other things on.

Lifestyle

One thing I’ve become so conscious of recently is the amount of time I spend scrolling through my phone on social media or shopping websites instead of doing other things. I’m not really talking about procrastination or scrolling when I have other things to do (which does also happen lol), I more mean getting hooked on scrolling out of habit. I find I get distracted by my phone a lot just by checking the time- I look at my phone to check the time, notice i’ve a notification and end up on instagram for an hour in the evening. Don’t get me wrong, I like checking my instagram daily and catching up on insta stories but I want to use my down time a bit better this year.

• Stop Scrolling – Ok so not altogether, but I definitely want to reduce the amount of time I spend aimlessly on my phone in the evenings.
• Just Be – This year I want to keep an open mind and not over plan for the year ahead and have some time to just be. Last year was so hectic with so much planning and organisation (hello hen party, wedding, glastonbury, buying a house, moving house, and moving work offices I’m looking at you) that this year i’m looking forward to some chill time and hopefully much less strategic planning!
• Read More – I think I put this on last years list but it didn’t really happen. I’d like to get through one book a month, and maybe one audio book too. I have an Audible subscription I have been neglecting recently so I have to get back into it, but I really love to read and it is something I have not been giving any time to in the last year. I’ve started a book already this month, and I’m going to try give it a couple of minutes each day.
• Cook one new meal 1-2 times a month – I love cooking and I cook dinner fresh from scratch almost everyday. Exceptions are the odd time I eat out or when I get a take away which is usually once a week. I feel like I’ve become a bit stagnant in the kitchen though and have been churning out the same old thing time after time so I feel like I need to add a few new dishes into my life and actually enjoy the process of creating something new and tasty again.
• Start Baking again – Again I love to cook, and baking is no different. I love creating tasty things to share with friends and family and its something I really didn’t do much of last year. Part of the reason for that is that I am a slimming world member so I generally try to avoid making things which are high in calories. Its not that I don’t eat these tasty things in life, its just that I eat so many treats in work or out and about that I’ve been avoiding making them myself. But I want to change that as its something I really miss. I’l just have to be a bit stricter day to day.
• Slimming Word – So following on from that last statement, a lot of you will already know I’m a Slimming World member, I’ve been attending for nearly 2.5 years now I think and have lost 3st with them and 1st on my own totalling a 4st loss overall. I’ve been managing to maintain my weight-loss fairly well give or take a few pounds here and there. But this year I would like to lose a little more, not loads, I won’t go into how much but I really need to get back to basics, start tracking my food, counting syns properly and just making better food choices day to day. I genuinely feel like there’s no need to give up any food with Slimming world, its just about making better choices. So maybe I can cut out some of my snacking or higher calorie food choices day to day and I can go back to baking and eating my tasty treats!
• Learn to play the guitar – I’ve always wanted to learn, I think this is on last years list too and I didn’t even touch a guitar since I wrote that list. I’m going to try again this year. Maybe see if I can teach myself from youtube and then get a lesson or two. One song is my goal for the year, if I can do that i’ll be happy, any more will be a bonus. Just getting started is half the challenge.
• Go to the cinema more often – There are always movies i’d like to see and I put them off all the time. I’d say I went to the cinema 3 times last year. I’d really like to change that and go more often.
• Go to the Zoo – I love Zoos and its been a long time since I’ve been to Dublin Zoo. I’m going to try make a visit once the weather gets a bit milder.

Big Spends

Spending a lot of money on particular items isn’t really high on my list this year but I definitely want to make some financial commitments so here’s what I plan to do…

• Tattoos – Always on the list lol! I think I would like two new tattoos this year maybe one in the first half of the year which I already have an idea of and another later in the year. So I’ll have to put aside some cash for those!
• Microblading – Yes, Semi permanent eyebrows. I am definitely a victim of 90’s eyebrow over-plucking. They have managed to grow back a good  bit over the last 2 years but I still have a couple of bald patches I’d like to get filled in to bring back the natural shape of my eyebrows that a pencil is just not sufficient for.
• Travel – I’ll outline my plans in the next section, but my plan this year is to put savings away each month specifically for holidays so I’m not panicking when they come around about spending money etc. It makes such a difference to have funds put aside rather than trying to pay for everything out of the one wage closest to your trip. I know this seems like common sense but I’m always saying I’ll do it and then don’t so I’m gonna make it a priority this year.
• Watch – Ok this doesn’t have to be a big spend but I need a nice everyday watch, something that goes with everything. as I mentioned above I’m always checking my phone for the time and getting distracted. so I’m thinking this might help?
• House – Myself and Orey were very fortunate to be able to buy our own house last year, something we weren’t expecting so didn’t have any provisions set aside for renovations. This year I’m hoping we can get our finances in order so we can do up our house and make it into the home we want.
• Braces – Ok so this is really dependant on how the house renovations work out as they are priority, but if the finances are ok I’d really like to get braces later this year. My teeth are ok on the grand scheme of things but I have a lot of crowding in my bottom teeth and it can be very uncomfortable, I’d love to get my back teeth removed and have all my teeth straightened- thats the dream!

Travel

Travel is always something I’m so keen to do more of and this year is no different. I already have a few things in place which I’m so excited about and one or two other things I’d like to do.

Paris – Orey surprised me with a trip to Paris for Christmas as we weren’t able to go last year in the end. We’re going for our first wedding anniversary and I’m super excited! Its up to me to make the plan for the trip so I hope to plan some really nice stuff for us to do.

Spain x2 – I know, twice! In July we have two trips to Spain planned, one for a friends wedding in Nerja and the other for Benicassim music festival outside of Barcelona

Staycation – Good Friends of ours got us a hotel voucher as a wedding present and we were so busy last year we never got to use it so we will be taking full advantage very shortly. Location TBC but it will be somewhere in Ireland.

More? – we’ve no plans for anything else at the minute, but I think thats enough to keep us going for a while. I have a wish list as long as my arm of places I’d like to go but one thing I want this year is the freedom to plan things for later in the year. I usually have all my holidays booked or mapped out by the end of January so it might be nice to have a few days free to plan some winter sun or another city break later in the year. Berlin, Munich and Croatia and Iceland are high on the list. We’ll have to see 🙂

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So there you go, thats my list for 2018. A LOT of physical fitness related challenges to get stuck into, but other than that, nothing too crazy. The real challenge will be trying to do less I think. One thing I’ve started to realise about myself is that I kind of thrive in hectic situations. I love being in the middle of everything and doing and experiencing as much as I can, and I get terrible FOMO. But I also need breathing space.  So I’m writing it all down and my plan is to have fun filled but relaxing 2018 and hopefully learn something new along the way. Whats your plan?

Let me know in the comments or Tweet me (@JenniferOKeeffe) 🙂

Jenny,

Pinkladyxo

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings 🙂 if you liked it please hit the like button below or share away on Facebook or Twitter!You can also follow me day to day on Instagram ❤