16 in 16

Happy New Year you lovely lot.  Years ago I used to do resolutions usually diet, join slimming world, the gym yada yada ya.........  Usually these would be broken by the 14th of January if I was lucky I would feel bad, beat myself up about it, feel bad a bir more, then move on with a nagging sense of failure.  However, I like goals something to aim for, so when Sophie over at Busy Little Fee suggested 16 things to achieve in 2016 I was in, so I have set myself some goals for the year and if your super lucky I might update you.

1/ Read 24 Books
I used to be a proper bookworm with 2 books on the go most of the time, but after my Dad died I found it hard to read.  I don't know if it was because he was a bookworm too and a lot of the time we spent together was either reading or visiting bookshops.  However, 2 books a month seem nice and achievable.

2/Save for a Holiday.
Last year I was lucky enough to go on a brilliant holiday to Las Vegas and we would love to go back or go to South Korea.  Now whilst I know I won't be able to save all of it in a year I would love to manage to put a decent sum aside for this to make a start.

3/  Cook more.
I used to cook a lot and really enjoy it.  Lately I seem to have lost my mojo this might be a case of my husband going veggie and his shifts mean he is not home for dinner a lot.  So more and more take away and ready meals are featuring more which is less than ideal.  So i want to get back to cooking nutritious, simple and tasty meals.

4/  Aim for Promotion
I have been in a bit of a stale situation at the start of last year, treading water not really progressing or feeling happy and fulfilled.  I now am working for a great company and feel like maybe I am ready to make the next step.

5/ Update Blog
I am a bit hit and miss with this little space of mine but I am going to try and update once a week at a minimum.

6/Sort out Wardrobe
My clothes are crazy i have 3 bin bags I need to sort through from when I moved, it is past time I need to sort that shit out so I know exactly what I have, want and need,

7/ Buy More Indie Brands
None of the big players on the plus scene really scream to me and at times their messages are less than body positive.  So when I adorn my fat little body I will look further afield and maybe this will mean buying less nut at least what I buy will make my heart sing.

8/  Spend less time on Social Media
Social Media is great and I have met some fantastic, rad babes through it.  However, I am letting it become a time sucker spending ages on it looking at life rather than getting on and living it a bit more.

9/  Visit Harry Potter Studios
I have always wanted to go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, as I loved the books and need to go and indulge my inner witch.

10/  Have a Ritzy Afternoon Tea
I have always fancied a lovely super indulgent Afternoon Tea at a Ritzy Hotel, maybe even the Ritz so this is the year I will do it.

11/Dedicate More Me Time
I used to love indulging in facepacks or lovely bubble baths but for some reason this has gone out the window.  So I am going to dedicate one night a week for me time to have a face pack, do my nails and make me treat myself like a princess.  As in the words of Ru paul; "If you can't love yourself, how the hell you gonna love someone else?"

12/  Take More Pictures
For year I avoided the camera which meant I didn't take a lot of pictures, I want to take more pictures so I have evidence on a mean red day of all the good stuff.

13/  Go back to Zumba
I used to love going to Zumba, the movement made feel good and alive.  Then I moved and stopped going, I moved back and still didn't return.  It's time.

14/  Write More
I got into the idea of blogging as I love to write and I wanted a outlet for that.  I have tried writing a book for years, now I don't want to challenge myself to finish that book but I want to get back into the habit of keeping a creative writing journal.

15/  Go to One of The Plus Fashion Events
I always want to go to these but I never get there so this year I need to go to at least one.

16/ Be More Brave
Whilst most people would say I am confident I actually think I am quite shy.  There are several things I would like to do such as: join a local book club and I don't ever get there as I think I won't know anyone and they all not talk to me. Really I need to just do it and if this happens so what, just stick it in the fuck it bucket at least I tried.

So there are my goals, do you do goals or resolutions?  I know other bloggers have done this so do check them out too.

Nikki

Sophie

Daisy

Charli

Kerry-Ann

Tanya

Katya

Kitty

Katt

Lucy

Cathy

Becky

Becky

Katt

Charlene

2015 Goals

I try not to do resolutions but I like to set Goals for the year, stuff I wanna do, places to go, where I want to be as a person.  So without further ado here is my list for 2015.

No diets
Sounds simple, but every so often something gets in my head, like people talking about cutting down or trying some new fad and I think it is habit as I spent about 20+ years of my life joining slimming clubs, doing crazy diets (Carol Vorderman I am looking at your detox one) I think it is sorta programmed in me, over the last year I have managed to let it pass through my mind and go again, so long may this continue.

To have a spend free few months.
Basically Christmas has wiped me financially but in the run up I also was a bit more spendy than usual indulging myself in little treats and clothes here and there and just putting things in my supermarket basket without thinking.  So for the next month or two there will be a menu and a shopping list, no take outs, taxis, clothes, make up and only buying things I actually need.
Within this I accept that we have moved back to our house and we need to do stuff to the place, so I accept I will have to spend money around this.

To go to a city or town I have never been to.

To focus on the good stuff.
I tend to dwell a bit on the bad stuff and all the good stuff in my life tends to get lost, so I am gonna try to reframe and think about the positive stuff.  Which leads me to my next goal.

To do a Rememberlutions or memory jar
Which is basically a jar you decorate  that you put all the nice things in like, compliments, good times etc. in.  This piece on Buzzfeed explains it better.  I know I should have done my jar all ready but life has been Christmasy so on my next full day off on Monday it will get done.

To read 24 books this Year.

To Blog more often.
I don't know how much more but I would like next years posts to exceed this years.

To be fucking fabulous at 40.
I turn 40 this year and I intend to embrace it with gusto, love it and celebrate it in style.

To take more photos

Get a Network Card.
As I often want to do stuff but the travel can make it expensive so I think this might help

And finally go back to Zumba.

I think that is plentiful for me on the goals.  Do you do goals or resolutions?  If you do or have done a post please share cos I am dead nosy.

39 before 40!

So as you may have seen I recently celebrated my 39th Birthday, so that means I hit the dizzying heights of 40 next year (I always imagined I'd be so much more grown up by 40)  So I thought to celebrate this momentous occasion I would set myself 39 goals and challenges, some of which are scary arse big and others are ridiculously small.

So without further ago I present to you my 39 things I want to do or achieve by 40 and maybe a few days.

1. To eat fruit and veg every day - Cos if I'm honest I don't and it can't be good for me to eat like a 15 year old at my advanced age.
2. To move back home, last year I moved to Swansea to be with my Mum following my Dad dying and it would be fair to say I don't love it (Sorry Swansea)  Now Mum says she will move back to Kent, we can all go back.
3. To get a new job (necessary for the move to Kent)
4. *Disclaimer*  I am not a dieter and have no intention of dieting properly, but a goal of mine is to get back into my Limb dresses, as I love them and they cost loads and currently don't fit my body as I may have been feeding my unhappiness in Swansea.
5. Have a Brit Pop themed 40th Birthday Party.
6. To start Burlesque Classes again.
7. To update my Blog at least 6 times a month.
8. Finally finish a shitty first draft of my book I have been writing like forever.
9. Go back to Zumba, as it was fun and good exercise.
10. Get better at accessorizing, as I can do bags and shoes but I struggle with belts and jewelry at times and I do get a little bit green eyed at other Blogger Babes brilliance at this.   
11. To get something from the Blackheart Creatives Live Fast Die Yum collection.
12. I think I should probably learn to drive as I have been trying to learn for like 19 years on and off, so I think it might be time.
13. To feel better and healthier at 40 than I did at 39.
14. Master putting on false eyelashes
15. Following on from False eyelashes, I would love to perfect Cats eye eyeliner flicks.
16. Get my 1/4 sleeve done.
17. Do something to raise money for charity.
18. To have a photoshoot, as generally I feel awkward and most unpretty in photos and I would love a kick ass set that I feel proud of.
19. To go to London more, as it is only down the road and when I lived in Kent before I only went for hospital appointments or with work.
20. Go for afternoon tea with my girly friends (well I am Twee)
21. Take more photos.
22. There is a bit of a poser in me, deep down and I would like to do some Plus Size Modelling.
23. To be more of a positive person - as I can be a bit negative and oh things are only gonna get worse.
24. See my brother's children, as he has 2 lovely children I have yet to see, as he lives in Norwich and I lived in Kent and then Swansea.
25. Whilst I'm at it, to be a better Aunty as I am a bit haphazard with Birthdays and the like (Sorry kids)
26. Grow a herb garden.
27. Get a Wonder Woman Print Dress
28. As a bit of a foodie I would like to eat in a Michelin Star Restaurant.
29. To wear a pair of shorts, as I don't think I have worn a pair since I was a kid
30. Start Saving to go to the Winter Olympics in South Korea.
31. Have a midnight picnic on the beach.
32. Go on the Harry Potter Studio tour (Would love go Harry Potter World at Universal but don't think I can afford this before I am 40, maybe for the 49 before 50)
33. Find a wig that suits me
34. Sort my garden out so it is a lovely Oasis, rather than a hideous eye sore.
35. Visit Deal Castle, as I have lived there mainly since I was 15 and have never been.
36. Go to Atomic Burgers in Bristol.
37. Visit the National Portrait Gallery.
38. Go to Harrods, cos well I have never been and feel like I should see it once.
39. To actually go to a Bloggers Meet Up and meet some of the most stylish people I know in the flesh

I know they are not the most earth shattering goals, but I wanted things that were achievable in the space of the year, and of course I still want to go to places like Tokyo and Harry Potter World.

So what about you is there anything you want or feel like you should have achieved by 40?  Or is it just another bloody number?