Time To Reflect




As a teenager I used to roll my eyes as my Mum and Grandma would comment on how fast the year was going, but I realise now that I have turned into them. Seriously how fast is 2016 going? We are half way through September now, so that got me feeling in a bit of a reflective mood.
It's important when time is marching past so fast that you pause, take time to breathe and look back a little on what the year has brought so far. So that is what this post is for me. A few personal reflections - ask yourself these questions too...play along if you like.

What am I most proud of this year so far?

  • Obviously the blog, but more specifically how consistently I am blogging. I'm someone who in the past has tried many hobbies and honestly none have really stuck for very long. The fact I am still going (nearly at 50 posts now and got to 100 followers on Bloglovin') is an achievement I am proud of.
  • My boyfriend (arrrrr) - he is two years into his three year long degree and is doing soooo well. Very, very proud of him. To be clear he is a mature student - I am not a cougar!
  • My mother - this year she faced Breast Cancer and thankfully won the battle. She was so stoic and brave throughout her treatments - a true role model and I confess I found a new level of respect for her. It's easy to take your parents for granted, but this has shown me not to let that happen.

What am I least proud of?

  • My negative times - most have centred around work frustrations to be honest. Sometimes I find it hard to let go and adapt to the changes at work. I am trying my best though and am in a much better place now than at the start of the year. I'm focusing on the positive more and that is having a positive impact.

What am I most looking forward to?

  • Two of our friends get married at the end of October and my boyfriend is the Best Man. It's going to be a good shindig and I cannot wait to share their special day with them.
  • Holiday with Mum - something I have not done in too long a time. In just a couple of weeks we will be spending a few days together in Alicante. A place neither of us have been and I'm really looking forward to spending time with her after her trials from earlier this year. It will also be a great opportunity to spend time with my boyfriends Mum and Sister who are also going. Cannot wait!

I've enjoyed having this little bit of reflection time and it has brought it home to me what a great year 2016 has been so far and how excited I am for the rest of it. Yes I have had some health issues to deal with, but I always remind myself that there are others who are worse off than me and am trying out being more actively grateful. OK I am going to stop now as I'm going a bit too Oprah!

I'd love it if you felt like sharing your answers to these questions.


Happy rest of 2016!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meet My Lucy

Image
Sometimes the struggle of balancing a blog with "normal life" gets the better of us.  Motivation is there but physical energy is low.  I'm having one of those weeks.  I have all these ideas I want to share, but my mind is scattered to a million different places.  I fear I would not do them justice. So instead I decided to share with you one of the loves of my life...my fur baby Lucy: She is a 4 year old English Springer Spaniel and very cheeky. Things she loves most in the world are tennis balls, chewing and rolling in things we wish she would not. As a puppy she was a handful, but she has grown up to be the softest, most gentle dog in the world.   Even our friends who "hate dogs" find themselves falling for her doe eyes and cuddly manner. No matter how bad my day, coming home to her excited wiggly bum always brightens my mood.   I'd be lost without her now. Thank you to my Dad for taking these fantastic action
Read more
Image
At the moment I am trying my hardest to re-establish my daily & weekly routines. Luckily these are routines I'd pretty much cracked before I recently  fell ill , so I am optimistic I will get back in the swing from now. Being forced to take a break from the routines has actually been an opportunity to start afresh and rethink a few things. Why have an evening routine? Well for me it helps set me up for the next day with the right attitude, gets stuff out of my head before bedtime so I sleep better and helps keep the next day a little less stressful. My Current Evening Routine: wash dishes and clean up kitchen counters sweep kitchen floor check menu plan and take out of freezer as required/slow cooker prep. pick out and layout clothes for the next day general house pick up, take stuff back upstairs, put away dry laundry, etc. update my planner and check next day plans put dishes away get ready for bed and relax You'll notice I concentrate main
Read more

July Goals 2016

Image
Given my poor performance in June I have decided to only go for two goals this month. July should be a month of BBQs and beer gardens but in typical UK style the weather is interfering with that plan.  So instead I'm going to use this month as an opportunity to deep clean the house. Yes the whole house. "No way" I hear you cry but there are two motivational factors for me that guarantee I will do it... 1) I have a week off work and will be spending Monday to Friday mostly on my own, as boyfriend is working, so may as well apply myself usefully. 2) I have my too oldest friends coming to stay for the weekend soon.  I cannot let them witness the dog hairs rolling around the floors! So I'm feeling quite optimistic about achieving that one. I've been debating my second goal quite a lot. Swinging from a blog based one to a lifestyle one. The winner is...blog based. Since my May Goals , I have managed to consistently blog twice a week, except for one
Read more