Friday Focus - What I Have Learned from 2021

 Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Happy Friday! It is my favourite day of the week and time for my Friday Focus post. Last year sure had some struggles and some things were amazing as well for our little family.  Some of the things I have learned below are more serious and some I threw in there for fun. These past years have definitely changed us as a society and I know I am forever because of it. We were living our lives a certain way before and then this pandemic stopped everything in its tracks. Last year in 2021 so many wonderful things finally happened that I was waiting for, like getting married and adopting our kitten Millie. There have been many negatives but also positives and I will share what I learned last year.

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It's okay not to wear makeup  - I don't think of my outer appearance as much as before the pandemic. I am not going into the office daily or going out as much because of Covid. Now I am used to not putting on makeup to go out and it is actually nice not to have to. No one really sees my face under the mask anyways!

Don't sweat the small stuff -  The pandemic puts things into perspective. I think anything in comparison to dealing with a pandemic seems so small and insignificant. It is human nature that we focus on the little everyday things that frustrate us. What last year taught me with the ups and downs is to be grateful for what is going right or my way. 

I love being home - I have loved so much time at home and really enjoyed last year being home the whole year  and also working from home. We got Millie in July and it has been so amazing being home with her. I always knew I loved being home most of all, but I really have embraced that I am an introvert and this has helped me during the pandemic because I love my alone time and time just doing the things I love at home like knitting and blogging.

Time with family and friends is special and more meaningful - I have found that last year and in 2020 that made me so grateful for any time I have with family and friends. Before the pandemic we could see people whenever we wanted. In 2020 there were so many times we couldn't see people we loved and even in 2021. At the end of 2021 with Omicron we were faced with decisions once again to see family and it always happens during the holidays. 

Make lemonade out of lemons - my wedding was in September last year. We had postponed multiple times and we were so happy to finally be able to have our special day. We had a smaller wedding at the chapel we wanted and we went to a restaurant afterwards. I guess in the end I was happy it was a small wedding and felt so comfortable leading up and during the event. I was in the end in love with our wedding day and realized that it was perfect just the way it was. I would have loved having more people come to the wedding, but given the circumstances that was not possible.  We were positive and grateful for our small wedding it became a more intimate gathering and our closest family and friends. Even then we wondered if we waited longer if we could have the wedding we planned, but it was the unknown and now we are facing challenges again with Omicron and so grateful that we decided to have our wedding last year when the spread wasn't as bad.

Patience - at the beginning of 2021 I thought we would get married right away in March, then that date moved twice. We were adopting Millie from a breeder we started that process beginning of the year and finally adopted her in July due to some misunderstandings with the breeder. I had to learn to be more patient than ever because we kept having to wait. I know good things come with time and in the end we ended up with our perfect Millie and perfect wedding.

It is okay to indulge- Covid 15 or 20 is real and that is okay. With gyms closed on and off it made working out a challenge and staying in and eating way too easy. I was tough on myself sometimes for the extra pounds I gained last year, but I gave myself grace for putting on weight because we were in a different situation than ever before. Our bodies do so much good for us keeping us healthy and safe from the virus, we shouldn't beat ourselves up for 10 pounds. Now I focus on eating healthy and doing yoga more often or going for walks and feeling good.

Thank you for visiting my blog today! What were some things you learned or took from 2021? I hope that you enjoyed today's post and have a good weekend.

Have a great day!

Reflecting on 2019 and Resolutions for 2020 - Blogmas Day 20

Hello Friends,

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I hope you are doing well. Welcome to Blogmas day 20! We are 5 days away from Christmas day now. I am so excited for Christmas day to arrive. I finished my Christmas shopping today with five days left to spare. I am so happy I can just enjoy some time before Christmas to relax and wrap gifts and spend time doing other things other than shopping. It was very busy today in the stores even though it is a weekday and it is bound to get busier leading up to Christmas. I took today off work and Liam was off work too so I did some errands, and then we did some Christmas shopping together.

2019 Reflection

This year was pretty good, there were some bumps along the way, but I can say now that I am pretty content with how the year has gone as a whole. I got a job transfer in May and that took  some adjusting. I got to know a new team and now I feel like I am part of the team and comfortable. I learned a new job and was training most of the year every few months. Also this year was busy for wedding planning. We secured all the vendors we need for the wedding. We are still thinking of transportation and honeymoon location. But other than that, we are pretty set. It was fun finding the vendors and meeting with them. I had my hair and makeup trial in October and loved what they did. Next year will be busy with the events leading up to the big day and preparations.

As far as resolutions go, I think I did pretty well, but I didn't meet them all. I worked on each one this year, but maybe not as much or as well as I had wanted. It was definitely helpful for me to have this list and to keep it in my mind all year. I feel like it drove a lot of what I did and focused my time on. I reviewed the list below and wrote some notes on how I achieved or did not achieve the resolution. I shared my resolutions for the new year below.

1. Use less plastic 

I definitely used less plastic, but I still used a lot. It is a hard habit to stop and this coming year I will continue to work on this goal and make it a priority.

2. Knit a shawl 
I started knitting a shawl but I have not finished it yet. You can see how I am doing with it in this blog post: Knitting an Ornament and Reading On - Blogmas Day 10.
3. Read 15 books 
I did not finish reading 15 books this year. I finished 9 books. I will work on this again next year. I am always reading though and that is the main focus on this goal is to be reading and always have a good book on the go. I love reading and will always make reading a goal for myself.


4. Complete 12 knitting projects 
I went through my Instagram and counted 12 projects this year. I am happy I met this goal and continued to make knitting a priority this year.

5. Find and secure a venue for my wedding 
We found the perfect venue for our wedding and I can't wait to get married next year!

6. Get to my goal weight
I did not get to my goal weight this year sad to say. I did well at maintaining and dropping pounds here and there but always gained it back. I hope to work even harder in the new year and drop some pounds before the wedding.

2020 Resolutions

I feel like 2020 will be a great year and a busy one and I have a lot of life goals and milestones happening this year. I think it will be so much fun and a fulfilling year for Liam and I and our families.

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1. Get Married
This year Liam and I are getting married in May. I am so excited to get married and I think we will have such a fun day and it will be the best day of my life.

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2. Buy a house or condo 
This year we would like to buy a home. We currently are renting in Toronto and we would like to put down some roots somewhere and have more space to start a family one day. I really like townhouses and we have been looking at some in the Greater Toronto Area.

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3. Get to my goal weight 
I would like to lose weight for the wedding. I did lose some this year and would like to continue with this focus in the new year. I am getting happier with how I look and want to keep working towards my goal. I still have time to get to my goal weight before the wedding if I work hard.

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4. Read 15 books
This year I would love to read more and get to my goal of reading 15 books. This past year I almost made it happen but was about 5 books off. Reading is one of my favourite hobbies and I would really like to hit this goal. 

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5. Knit 12 new projects
In 2019, I knitted 12 projects and it was great to knit so many both big and small. I really like to continue working on my knitting skill and developing as a knitter. This year I would like to challenge myself to knitting 12 projects I haven't knitted before.

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6. Improve blog 
I love to see my blog grow and develop over time. I really enjoy seeing new people follow my blog and I would like to try to increase my traffic. I would like to visit other blogs more and meet new bloggers. I would also like to try more blogging challenges and come up with a new addition to my blog this year. I was thinking of bringing Stitchy Saturdays back and maybe another initiative.

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My word for the year is Shine. I want to shine bright this year and make it my year to be my best self! I will revisit this word throughout the year and try to find ways to stand out and be my best self all year long. I saw a Happy Planner that said "It's your year to Shine" I hope to get this from my mom for Christmas. It does feel like this is my year to shine.


What are your New Years Resolutions or words for 2020? 

Thank you for visiting my blog for Blogmas day 20. It was fun writing this post and I love sharing my reflection of 2019 and the resolutions for 2020 with you. I hope that your year was awesome and hope 2020 is even better for you. Please join me again tomorrow for another Blogmas post.

Have a great day!

Why Christmas is So Special to Me & Childhood Memories

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I had a good weekend visiting family and going to a march with my friend. Today I enjoyed having some time to relax today and get a few things done. I was planning on decorating for Christmas, but I think I will be doing that tomorrow. This time of year is always so special and I find myself listening to music way earlier than I need to and most people do (October) and get excited sometimes even earlier in the year. This year I did Christmas in July posts and felt excited even then. I decorated my desk a bit around that time too with my elf and some other Christmas decorations. I am pretty Christmas obsessed and around this time of year I listen to Christmas music everyday, eat chocolates from the advent calendar, and decorate as much as I can.

I was thinking one day that I love Christmas especially because of how much effort my parents always put into making it special for my sister and I. They would put a lot of Christmas decorations up and we would all decorate the tree with Christmas music filling the room.  Growing up, we always had the same traditions every year too which made Christmas so special to my family and I. We would go to church on Christmas Eve, then go to my grandparent's house and open lots of gifts. When we were there, we would always have After Eight chocolates so even today I think of those special moments at my grandparents house when I have those chocolates.

This weekend when I was visiting my parents, they got out many boxes of old photos from years past. They had retrieved them because I asked to take some old Christmas photos for this blog post. Of course, my dad, mom, and I ended up looking through the photos for a couple of hours reflecting, laughing at funny expressions my sister and I had, and looking for some Christmas photos for this special post.

Me on Christmas Eve at my Grandparents '94 (Age 6)

Excited to open gifts

Already playing with my gifts. I remember loving to play with this barn

I have always loved the night before Christmas just as much as Christmas day. When I was a child, the anticipation of Santa coming was exciting and I was so excited to see what presents I would receive. When my sister and I were growing up, my parents used to leave some gifts unwrapped that were from Santa. When my sister and I would go to the tree to open our presents, we'd be so excited to see what Santa had brought us.

Throwing it way back to when I was around two

I love the retro television in the back

'93 (Age 5)

I remember going to the Christmas bazaar held in the gym at my elementary school and being given some money to go shopping for gifts for my parents and my sister. There would be tables set up with items we could buy and I enjoyed looking through to find the perfect gifts for my family. This was always a special memory my sister and I have of being able to go around and shop without our parents at that age and being so excited to bring home the gifts for our parents and then wrapping them.

Around 9 here, loved my denim dresses

Christmas is so special because of all of the family time we have at this time of year and traditions old and new. Every year there are new memories and traditions made and I keep the old ones like visiting my grandparents in my heart and memories. I still love to spend Christmas day with my family, opening gifts for hours, having a big breakfast, and then lounging around all day looking at our gifts.

My dad, me, my sister, my mom, and our first cat Pookie '93

I have memories of bundling up and going outside to the backyard and spending hours building snow forts and having snowball fights with my sister. We would sometimes come back inside from being out in the cold and have hot chocolate. I also remember all of the times my dad took my sister and I sledding and skating. I also went skiing with him a few times. I loved all of these outings and always had so much fun.

My dad's aunt knitted these cute sweaters for my sister(left) and I(right) 

There is so much joy that I feel around this time of year spending it will my loved ones. My boyfriend and I are also making new memories together such as seeing A Christmas Carol the play last year, decorating our tree, going to the Christmas market, and visiting his family. This year I will be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my parents and sister like old times which will be so nice. We still go to church on Christmas Eve, open our one gift of pajamas, open Christmas crackers and have some treats. Of course we end the night with watching the classic It's A Wonderful Life every year. Christmas day morning is busy and fun, looking in our stockings and opening lots of gifts. These traditions make Christmas special to all of us in our family, and I always look forward to the time we spend together.

Thank you for joining me in remembering some of my special childhood Christmas memories and traditions. What are some special holiday traditions you share with your family and loved ones around this time of the year?

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Have a great day!