I have re-read my Aim and Goals for 2019 blog post and I am happy to report that I didn’t achieve most of it.
Well, maybe not happy, but definitely not surprised. Despite
having a new job I actually put on weight (2kg) and went up a clothes size. By
the end of 2019 I felt more unfit than ever. My knees, hips and back ache and
seize up quite often, and my lungs don’t seem to be able to hold as much air as
they used to.
Over the festive break I challenged myself to hula hoop for
at least ten minutes every day. I was off work for 2.5 weeks, and I hula hooped
for most of them. There were six days that I didn’t hula, but on some of these I
did other things like swimming. Since January started I have been doing some
30-day challenges that I downloaded from Google.
I am doing a water challenge (I tick off how many cups I have
drunk during the day and try to get at least 64oz / 1.8L a day), a squat challenge (starts at 20, ends at 100), a push up challenge (starts at 15, ends
with 40 – this one is going ok so far), and a plank challenge (start with 20sec
and end with 5min).
Some are going better than others (15 days in)! I am not
drinking as much as I should but I am being restrictive over what I include to
tick off. I don’t include the milk on my breakfast, the hot chocolates, or any
wet fruits such as orange, pepper, apples or grapes. The plank challenge is
exactly that – I held a plank for 1 minute without breaks but am struggling to
get past a minute. Squats are definitely helping my knees but I can’t do more
than 30 in one go. I am still hula hooping, and Momma P and I have gotten back
into swimming once a week, and we’re also trying to go for a brisk walk each
weekend. I now also have a mountain bike so David and I are going to start
cycling too. I am now taking cod liver oil supplements which I think are helping.
So goals for this year in terms of fitness are:
·
Walk
every weekend with Momma P
·
Swim at
least twice a month with Momma P
·
Cycle
with David. I haven’t been on a bike for nearly twenty years so this is
scary.
·
Keep up
with squats, planks and push ups
·
Start yoga
and go at least twice a month.
Another rather large aim for this year is to actually,
properly, definitely move out!! I have been saying and wanting this for years
but it just hasn’t been possible without the risk of throwing myself into major
debt. David has had some money from his pension pot which means we can afford a
deposit now, so we just need to iron out some details and find somewhere to
live…
My allotment is ten years old and still floody, so a goal
for this year is to get more raised beds built towards the bottom of the plot
so that I can actually grow things. I have been quite good at the plot this
year, budgeting money for it each month absolutely has helped and made such a
difference. I am going to keep doing this during 2020.
Life goals then for 2020:
·
Move out
·
Cycle more
and get confident at it
·
Not go up
another clothes size
·
Keep
saving money no matter how little
·
Actually type
up my Tree Warden notes. I’ve been saying I’m going to do this for at least
six months so this year I will actually do it. I did start over the festive
season but my laptop is so clunky it doesn’t motivate me to do anything.
·
Be brutal
with tat. I love tat. I love junk and crap and STUFF. Over the festive
season I sorted out SO MUCH and sent six large bags of things to a local
charity shop and one black bag to the tip. I still have so much that, at the moment,
I am holding on to – but why? They have been shoved in a cupboard for a few
years and they will probably remain shoved in a cupboard. So this year I am
going to try not to accumulate more tat and junk, and then maybe have another
brutal sort out when David and I move.
·
Finish at
least four overdue crochet projects. Ahhhh, WIPs. I have so many of you.
Bunting, Willendorf Venus, body warmer, granny square blanket, random stripe
blanket, little hearts. Some of you WILL get finished this year!
David and I saw two starling murmurations last year which
was another of my goals. We didn’t make it to Scotland and we didn’t climb any
mountains either. I also didn’t get my hair cut more than once a year (there’s
a surprise) – Momma P did it for me in the bathroom just after new years.
