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The Fabulous Times- Positive Lifestyle Blog

Sharing #TheFabulousTimes with good food, travel adventures, wellness, business and inspiration for the home and garden!

Setting goals for 2019

Well well, here we are looking out onto a new year. There’s a whole world of possibility lying before us. I’ve been busy jotting down and setting goals for 2019. I thought I’d adopt a slightly different way of mapping out my goals this year, dividing up my goals into the various elements that make up life- with the aim to create a little more balance and harmony.

My new approach to writing my annual list of goals inspired loosely by New York Times Bestseller Harmonic Wealth by James Arthur Ray. I divided my list of goals into physical, intellectual, creative, home, financial, social and spiritual. Some areas were much easier for me to write out, mostly the ‘home’ and also the ‘physical’ as Mr T and I are both transforming the way we approach food and also renovating our home. The area I struggled with most is ‘social’ as I’m a natural introvert, so this area invariably requires a little more effort.

Dividing up my goals this way has given me a broader more holistic overview and helped me to look at the bigger picture. I hope my list of goals inspires you and maybe sparks a few ideas to add to your own list for 2019!..Setting goals for 2019

Physical:

  1. Sleep more
  2. Laugh more
  3. Nourish my body using food
  4. Skin brush daily
  5. Practice having a better posture
  6. Relax as much as possible
  7. Try a caster oil pack
  8. Run a 5k with Terry
  9. Stay hydrated
  10. Find a Nutritional Therapist in Manchester
  11. Try new yoga class (mix it up)
  12. Practice deep breathing
  13. Swim once a week
  14. Introduce more superfoods into my diet
  15. Try meal planning
  16. Do infrared sauna
  17. Get Indian head massage
  18. Eat a low carb diet (ideally reach a state of ketosis)
  19. Continue to reduce refined sugar intake
  20. Stop eating food that comes in a packet
  21. Take a decent Probiotic
  22. Try acupuncture
  23. Introduce more CBD products into beauty regime/ cooking

Intellectual/ Cultural:

  1. Complete my Nutritional Healing Foundation course second year
  2. Pass my exams
  3. Read one non-fiction book per month (starting with The Magic)
  4. Discover new inspiring podcasts (suggestions welcome)
  5. Use phone less/ improve attention span
  6. Visit the Google hub to learn more about SEO and Google/ Ads & Analytics
  7. Get a library card
  8. Visit Yorkshire Sculpture Park
  9. Go and see a ballet
  10. Visit Florence
  11. Enjoy a short break away with Helena and Hazel

Home:

  1. Renovate the hallway
  2. Add radiators to entrance & stairwell
  3. Sand and varnish the living room floor
  4. Continue to declutter
  5. Organise and get a new wardrobe and drawers
  6. Buy a new toaster
  7. Tile the entrance floor
  8. Get a new sofa
  9. Organise the office space
  10. Get spotlights throughout the house
  11. Strip horrible textured wallpaper off ceiling
  12. Improve the feeling of light through the house (making progress, but there’s still lots to be done)
  13. Redecorate the master bedroom
  14. Revisit the Marie Kondo book, currently obsessed with her Netflix series
  15. Insulate & board out the loft space
  16. Organise Mr T’s walk in wardrobe
  17. Get a new shower rail
  18. Invest in a decent full length mirror
  19. SELL THE CLUTTER!
  20. Get a new headboard
  21. Reduce waste/ cut down on packaging (try as much as possible to be zero waste!)
  22. Label all jars
  23. Organise kitchen cupboards
  24. Print & frame a photo of Pickle
  25. Lay carpet upstairs
  26. Appreciate our lovely home everyday
  27. Get festoon lights for the balcony
  28. Grow a Rosemary plant in the new kitchen

Creative:

  1. Paint some abstract pictures
  2. Do some screen printing with Helena
  3. Try a pottery class
  4. Create capsule wardrobe modules inspired by Christie Ressel on YouTube
  5. Create some greetings cards
  6. Reupholster the dining room chairs
  7. Press wild flowers
  8. Print out photos and make physical albums!
  9. Create little scented drawer bags of lavender for the cupboards
  10. Write a love letter to every season (similar to my Ode to Autumn)
  11. Make sauerkraut and kimchi
  12. Try out and share more healthy food recipes
  13. Experiment with low carb/ natural desert recipes

Financial:

  1. Follow Dave Ramsey baby steps! (made a good start last year)
  2. Continue to be sensible (this is an ongoing challenge!)
  3. Save up
  4. Buy less “stuff”
  5. Reduce outgoings as much as possible

Social/ Family:

  1. Host brunches more regularly
  2. Be a better friend
  3. Help Terry organise Frances’ naming ceremony
  4. Invite friends over for dinner more often
  5. Meet more like-minded people/ inspiring individuals
  6. Say yes to more event invitations
  7. Interview inspiring individuals for The Fabulous Times

Spiritual/ Nature:

  1. Practice smudging ceremonies on each new moon
  2. Be more aware of the moon cycles (FYI- full moon this Monday)
  3. Get out in nature at least once a week
  4. Grow herbs from seed
  5. Grow more tomatoes, spinach and veg on the balcony
  6. Climb a mountain
  7. Switch to renewable energy
  8. Embrace my inner hippie
  9. Use only natural beauty products
  10. Be more Frankie Bergstein

I might add a few more goals throughout the rest of January. I’m still very much in the gentle ‘combobulation phase’ of the year, scribbling down ideas, dumping illegible notes into my journal, suffering with a cold and hibernating. Keep your eyes peeled for more goals and or any progress being made!

How is your list looking?

Stay fabulous

Christine

Organic Lifestyle Brand- Green People

When organic lifestyle brand- Green People got in touch I was most excited. The lovely team at Green People challenged me to use their new organic hand cream for a month and report on my experience, so here goes…

The challenge I was set was to use the new Manuka & Lemon Tea Tree hand cream to care for for my hands for a month. Green People couldn’t have picked a more challenging month with the cold weather always drying out my skin and the amount of hands on DIY I’ve been doing during our kitchen reno!

So that I could complete my challenge Green People also sent the Manuka & Lemon Tea Tree antibacterial hand wash which is free from SLS and Tricolsan.

Organic Lifestyle Brand- Green People

The Manuka & Lemon Tea Tree hand cream has been very effective at keeping my hands soft and preventing any dryness over winter. This restorative organic hand cream is excellent for dry, hard-working hands. The scent is fresh, uplifting and has tones of Sweet Orange, Manuka & Lemon Tea Tree.

Green People’s products are made up of key natural ingredients all with a specific functions, the Manuka & Lemon Tea Tree hand cream has clearly been designed with great care. The Lemon Tea Tree oil supports the natural healing of dry, chapped hands, Squalane (from olive) improves the skin’s moisture balance and elasticity. Tea Tree & Manuka are blended for their natural antimicrobial activity. Shea butter helps reduce moisture loss, absorbing fast to nourish hands. It is also made up of 91% certified organic ingredients, Vegan and Cruelty Free. Fabulous!

Organic Lifestyle Brand- Green PeopleI’ve always been impressed with the beauty products from Green People, you can read about my previous experiences in my post about their other ethically sourced natural beauty products. The Manuka & Lemon Tea Tree hand cream and hand wash are no exception, they smell and work brilliantly on dry hands throughout these chilly winter months! After a month of using the hand wash and hand cream my hands feel super soft and ready to tackle the next stage of our home reno and the other various projects 2019 brings!

Stay fabulous

Christine

Did I achieve my 2018 goals?

Hello 2019! As 2018 reaches a close and a new year begins, it’s time to ask that all important question- did I achieve my 2018 goals?! Here’s a look back at my list and a recap/ public shaming to see how I fared. It’s always important to take time to evaluate how you spent your time, to make lists to ensure you’re striving to achieve your OWN goals and not just get swept along, never really doing those things that YOU want to do!..

I first started writing my annual list of ‘100 goals’ back in 2012, back in the days when I still ate gluten and not wearing a bra seemed like a big deal! Looking back reoccurring themes have always been present some I’ve nailed/ some not so much- like eating healthy, thankfully this is just part of my daily lifestyle now, on the flip side there’s my aim to ‘stop biting my nails’ sadly this is still an issue for me…

Without further ado, let’s see- did I achieve my 2018 goals?

  • Start saving for an investment holiday property (long term goal but hey, got to start somewhere!)

Gulp, turns out renovating home is pretty costly! will certainly revisit this one in 2019!!!

  • Design prints for etsy shop

Didn’t find the time to dedicate to this sadly as I found myself pretty busy with work/course/home reno/ blog stuff!

  • Complete my nutritional healing course

YES and still enjoying learning.

  • Renovate the bathroom!

YES YES YES! You can see the end results in our Bathroom Makeover Reveal!

  • Plan and renovate the kitchen

YES! well we’re 75% of the way there, just need to fill a few holes, varnish, paint and get the shelves up!

  • Lay wooden flooring in bedrooms

NOPE (currently debating carpet)

  • Enrol on second year diploma course

YES! Enjoying studying with the Nutritional Healing Foundation

  • Jog once a week

NOPE- Did manage a swim and also yoga, so that’s an improvement!

  • Run a 10k for charity

NOPE

  • Spend agrotourism holiday in Italy

Sadly not but may carry this one forward.

  • Research where to buy holiday home (aka go on holidays!)

NOPE Again a combination of a busy schedule and home reno put this on the back burner (for now anyway)

  • Continue to declutter!!! (it feels so good to have more space and fewer things)

YES! Very happy to report we now have full use of our home office (former storage facility) and have  Ebayed lots and I’m also on first name terms with our local charity shop.

  • Be more sensible

YES, I actually feel like I’ve made great progress in generally being more sensible.

  • Get spotlights fitted throughout the house

OK so the dining room/ kitchen has them, we have quotes for the rest so will get these sorted in 2019.

  • Share my nutritional learnings online

YES I’ve tried to share some of my discoveries such as The Magnesium Miracle, some organic recipes and a little self care motivation.

  • Continue to clear the loft (this is a longterm project! There’s a lot of things up there)

YES This is officially still happening, but we have made some EPIC progress!

  • Pay off student loan (yawn, how have I not done this yet?! ug)

HECK-TO-THE-YES! BOOM!

  • Stop using packaging

Made a gallant effort on this front for sure!

  • Stop drinking from plastic bottles

YES

  • Stop using plastic!

Pretty much cut this one right back!

  • Switch to renewable energy

NOPE Sadly not been able to sort this out yet- as soon as our current contract is up, this is happening!

  • Go life drawing

NOPE

  • Budget better

YES! Totally! This is such a big one! I have become a bit of a Dave Ramsey disciple!

  • Try and overcome my deeply engrained phobia of maths (this is ongoing)

YES I think this is slowly becoming less daunting and I’m more willing to try (instead of sulking and saying I can’t do maths)

  • Stop dining out as much

YES, both Mr T and I have cut right back on dining out, homecooking is so much healthier.

  • Be outside in nature more

Always strive to achieve this, certainly getting out into nature at least once a week.

  • Journal (everynight before bed)

OK maybe not every night but I’ve kept the journal next to my bed and have been noting things down that I’d like to do, goals and random thoughts, which is fun.

  • Go on a yoga holiday/ trip

No, would still love to do this.

  • Go kayaking

Alas not.

  • See the Nutcracker ballet

Didn’t see the Nutcracker but did get to see Swan Lake!

  • Sort out my laptop (it’s sluggish and need fixing so bad)

It has been taking a long time to do this but I have certainly made a decent start.

  • Reupholster dining room chairs

NOPE- still on the agenda though

  • White wash the staircase

NOPE- still on the agenda though

  • Lay carpet in the landing area

Decided to opt for wood, the floorboards are currently propped up against the wall waiting to be fitted!

  • Add a radiater to the freezing cold hallway

The radiator is propped up against the wall ready for fitting in the new year!

  • Jump off a boat into the sea

Sadly not! Did get on a boat on my birthday in Beaumaris, so that’s halfway there I guess.

  • Change fillings to enamel (gross)

YES YES YES! This was so major for me!!! I’ve been vowing to do this for years and now it’s sorted, it was a bit pricey and took lots of appointments but was so worth it!

  • Print a photo of Pickle and frame it

Can’t believe I haven’t done this.

  • Take a portrait of Mr T, me and Pickle once a month (Mr T requested this one) 

I tried but Pickle isn’t always up for group portraits!

  • Spend down time more consciously (as in not slumped in front of the TV)

Feel like I have in some way achieved this, helped along by the beautiful long summer we enjoyed.

  • Watch less television

YES

  • Stop saying negative things

Definitely made improvement

  • Remove all toxic household-cleaning products

Yes, have been trying out lots of different sprays inspired by The Clutter Bug YouTube channel.

  • Try hot yoga

NOPE Still scared of passing out.

  • Cut down on the use of the washing machine

YES

  • Improve general fitness level

YES

  • Simplify my belongings (even more)

SERIOUSLY YES!

  • Be more zen

YES

  • Learn more about nutritious foods

YES YES YES!

  • Experiment with new recipes

YES! Have shared a few, but must start sharing more recipes!

  • Assess and streamline my wardrobe (even more)

YES YES YES

  • Surround myself with natural materials

YES

  • Replace Tupperware for non-plastic

No, will right this wrong asap!

  • Eat more avocados

YES

  • Be more enthusiastic about household chores ( I have a bad attitude)

YES I have really tried, certainly not a domesticated goddess, but hey!

  • Shop locally (support small businesses)

YES

  • Go to an orchestral concert

YES

  • Buy new duvet cover

YES

  • Replace makeup for natural cosmetics

YES currently trying out a range of LUSH Make Up and now only use organic/ natural beauty products in general.

  • Enjoy lots of long baths

YES

  • Be better at storage (more organized)

YES- So satisfying

  • Practice planking

NOPE

  • Invest in soft, good quality loungewear

NOPE

  • Wear more linen

100% YES

  • Do regular gong baths at the Chiron Institute

Sadly not 🙁

  • Try infrared saunas

Sadly not 🙁

  • Try hypobaric oxygen therapy with Mr T

Sadly not 🙁

  • Stop making as many sarcastic comments (tone it down)

YES Hopefully this has improved.

  • Replace houseplant pots with more decorative/ tasteful options

YES

  • Strip textured wallpaper off the landing ceiling

NOPE- still on the agenda though

  • Regulary edit the contents of my drawers

YES

  • Appreciate our home

YES! Love hanging out with Mr T & Pickle, spending time relaxing at home. Practicing gratitude truly transforms where you’re at! Currently reading The Magic Book that reinforces this belief.

  • Knock down walls between living room and kitchen

HECK YES! SO MUCH MORE LIGHT! (Can’t wait to share pics)

  • Surround myself with soft textures

YES

  • Cut down on coffee

KINDA

  • Buy a decent mop

YES

  • Be better at backing up my laptop

YES

  • Clean up as I go

YES Trying really hard.

  • Visit the sea (as much as possible)

YES

  • Get fresh air

As much as I can!

  • Visit the countryside once a week

YES

  • Have friends round for dinner more often

NO! Didn’t really think this through given that we’ve been living amongst the renovation chaos, oops!

  • Buy silk socks

NO- kinda bummed about this.

  • Get some new running shoes

Again, no.

  • Stare at the horizon once a week

YES

  • Visit a financial advisor

NOPE, following Dave Ramsey and winging it!

  • Read more fiction

YES

  • Stop biting nails (almost done this but have slipped up this week, was doing so well- must continue!)

Sadly not, will I ever stop?!

  • Enjoy cultural outings with Mr T.

YES We have been to the Opera, the ballet and several art galleries!

  • Get a pair of saltwater sandals

Decided they were too flat for my feet, so shelved this one.

  • Write more letters

YES

  • Compile an up to date birthday/ address book

YES

  • Invest in set of silver napkin rings

YES found two in the antiques centre, so our collection is growing.

  • Buy a Kitchen Aid food processer

YES Luckily I got one for my birthday, amazing!

  • Get a head massage

NOPE

  • Give to Manchester homeless charity

No, but I will right this wrong.

  • Think positive

YES

  • Practice meditation

YES

  • Develop my aromatherapy oil collection

YES

  • Go foraging- YES

Well then, I roughly achieved 64/ 100 given the magnitude of some of these I’m pretty darn happy with how 2018 has gone! The biggest milestones that I’m feeling pretty good about reaching are the goals that are totally not glamorous at all, infact pretty dull, this just goes to show how my levels of ‘sensible behaviour’ have improved!!! I’m ridiculously happy to have finally paid off my student loan (mortgage next!) and having gotten my teeth sorted (this is a really boring but a big one for me).

I’m also super excited by our home improvements, they have been both exhausting and rewarding in equal measure!

How did your list go? did you make one? 

Now is a great time to start list making if you’ve never done it before. My technique is to dump everything into a notebook, do it over several days/ weeks and you’ll find there’s lots you’d love to do. It’s always good to mentally walk through your everyday and jot down little things you’d like to improve, for example ‘reduce commute time’ OR ‘declutter wardrobe’ don’t be afraid to add the small stuff to your list. Then dedicate a little time to daydreaming, imagine all those things your 10 year old self imagined doing like ‘visit Antartica’ OR ‘see elephants in Africa’ whatever you want to do, if you write it down, chances are you’re way more likely to make it happen!

*Tip- I bookmark my ongoing list on my phone, then every so often I can revert back to it throughout the year to see if there’s anything I’d like to do. Remember, it doesn’t matter if you carry things forward or don’t get everything done, any progress is good and it doesn’t need to be perfect! Also, don’t be afraid to add ‘stop doing’ goals to your list.

Stay fabulous

Christine