Reflection on 2021 and Resolutions for 2022 - Blogmas Day 10

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. It was a busy year and challenging at times when postponing the wedding, or waiting to get our kitten, and other bumps along the way. These past two years have really changed me and I am sure they have for others too. I know my outlook has changed a lot and what I find important in life. I think this changes all the time even if no pandemic. Today I am sharing my reflection on goals accomplished for the year and plans for the upcoming year.

Reflection on 2021

This year was a difficult one for different reasons, but also one that had a lot of happy memories. We got married in September this year after multiple postponements due to the pandemic. We had a lovely ceremony with a small group of close family and friends, then we went to a restaurant for dinner afterwards to celebrate. We were so happy to finally be able to have our wedding after so long planning it since 2019.

We got our kitten Millie in July and it has been wonderful having her here. She is always around watching what we are up to and meowing up at us. She has her super playful side  and her sleepy side. I had wanted a cat for so long of my own and so happy to finally have her here. She is such a cute kitten too and I love her expressions. She is a chocolate point balinese cat if anyone is wondering and we adopted her from a breeder in the GTA. She is hypoallergenic so this enabled us to get a cat since Liam has allergies to cats.

I  did more yoga this year, and got into a routine. I did yoga mostly every Tuesday and Thursday morning before work. I still try to keep to this routine and do yoga at lunch if I miss the morning.  I liked that when I do yoga, I slow down and take it one movement at a time and focus on my breath. I felt that it benefited me greatly this year in times of stress.

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I started cross stitching this year and really enjoyed it. I got to a point where I made a mistake and didn't pick it up again. I am thinking it would be great to continue.

There are some things I did not do and I was going to go into detail about those too. But what I have realized from these two years where everything was unpredictable and uncertain and nothing went our way, is that all we can do is try again and not to be too hard on ourselves.

Resolutions for 2022

Start trying for a baby -  My husband and I have always talked about wanting to have a baby, maybe this could be the year we get pregnant? That would be so exciting.

Meditate daily  - I meditate here and there right now. But when I was meditating daily I could really feeling the benefits for my mental health. I think that it is good to be in this quiet space daily to clear thoughts and just be present. I want to also try to challenge myself to do longer mediations when I have the time. 

Read 10 books - always got to have a reading goal on here. This past year I didn't read as much and I miss setting the time aside to get lost in a good book. One morning a couple of weekends ago, I spent time in the morning just reading for an hour and haven't done that in so long. Next year, I will prioritize reading again.

Knit a top - this past year I didn't do it, but there are so many nice patterns it would be fun to try knitting something new like a top.

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I will be keeping it simple next year for my goals. I noticed from my goals I made in 2020 for this year, there were so many and I felt bad that I hadn't accomplished most of them. I think I could have prioritized some of them better, but in the end I think we just do the best we can. Next year I feel it will be a great year and full of wonderful surprises and I will be working on developing in knitting and my personal life as well. 

Thank you for stopping by my blog today for blogmas day 10! What did you like about this year or want to change? what would you like to do in the new year? I always love how the new year feels like such a new beginning.

Have a great day!

Blogmas Day 19 - Reflection on 2020, and Resolutions for 2021

 Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I wanted to share my resolutions for 2020, and how I did this year working on them. I shared my hopes for 2020 in last year's Blogmas post on my resolutions here. I am also sharing below what my resolutions are for 2021. I am so excited for a fresh New Year, more than ever this year. A New Year always feels like such a fresh start and full of possibilities. Please see below for my 2020 review and then my goals for the upcoming year!

Review of 2020 Goals:

1. Get Married

I didn’t get married this year – twice! because of the pandemic, the first time the venue wasn't open and the second time there was threat of closures and a reduced guest size to 10 people . So we postponed to next year. We have a tentative date planned for March. Fingers crossed that the third time is a charm.

2.Buy a House or Condo✅

We did buy a condo/townhouse! We moved in in November this year and put down the offer, and had it accepted in August. It was an exciting experience and we are so happy in our new home. 

3. Get to my goal weight 

I didn’t get to my goal weight this year. I did lose weight in the Summer and worked hard eating right and exercising. Then I started gaining again after the move and now it is Christmas time and more difficult to diet. I will start over in the New Year. 

4. Read 15 books ✅

I got to 12 books completed at this point. I have a few books on the go right now that I might finish before the end of the year. I read more this year than other years with being home more often. I mark this one as complete because I am reading those 3 last books and reached my goal to read 15.

5. Knit 12 new projects

I knitted a shawl, two fair isle ornaments, socks, a cowl, scarf as a Christmas gift, a pumpkin, a beanie that I haven't yet finished, and a wreath ornament. I have knitted the ornaments before so they don't count. I made it to 6 items that I didn't knit before. I like this goal and will use it again for 2021.

6. Improve blog✅

I did start following new blogs this year especially at the end because of Blogmas. I followed new knitters on Instagram. I posted a lot more this year around 3 times each week at some points. I was thinking of ways to improve my blog and think of new content to share especially for Blogmas this year.

Resolutions for 2021 

1. Get to goal weight - I will keep working towards my goal weight and trying to be the healthiest version of me. I will read the article called "how to get to your goal weight faster" by SkinnyMs from this photo.

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2. Read 20 books - I had a goal this past year of 15 books and almost made it. So I will aim for 20 this next year! I can do it.

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3. Knit a top - I see so many cute tops on Instagram to knit up. This year, I will choose one to knit up to wear in the summer.

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4. Get married - I hope to get married in March of 2021.

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5. Start trying for a baby - I am really hoping that once we get married, we can start trying for a baby. I am so excited for our future family that we build together. My sister is currently pregnant and due in late April next year. I am excited to be an Aunt, and I am so happy that our family is growing.

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6. Get a cat - I really want to get a pet cat this year, we shall see. It will be a busy year and we have to be all set up in our home to welcome a pet. I have always had cats growing up and feel my home is not complete without one.

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7. Finish decorating home - We still have a lot of furniture and décor to buy for our new home. Hopefully this year we can complete decorating our new home and make it all that we would like it to be.

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8. Start a yoga routine -I want to incorporate yoga into my weekly morning routine to get in shape and healthy. I think yoga is a calming exercise and great way to get mentally ready for the workday.

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9. Start Cross stitching - As I mentioned in my preparing for 2021 post, I am interested in learning how to cross stitch this upcoming year. I saw a cute set on Etsy that I will probably buy to get started. It is always fun learning something new.

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Thank you for stopping by the blog today! How was 2020 for you? It was a crazy year and it is nice to see that even while in a pandemic, I did meet some of my goals and resolutions. What are your goals for 2021? I am so excited for the New Year! Looking forward to celebrating Christmas first. I can't believe it is in 6 days! 🎄 See you again for another Blogmas post tomorrow for day 20!

Have a great day!

5 Things I am Doing to Prepare for 2020

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. We are only one day away from a new year and a new decade! It has been such a good year and I am looking forward to 2020 being even better. It is the year I get married, so it is going to be a busy and exciting year.

I feel like a new year is a fresh start and we can start fresh on our goals, start good habits, and learn new things. It makes me feel like being the best version of myself and I feel like starting strong this year and continuing throughout the year to work on myself and my goals.

There are five things I have started doing and will continue doing tomorrow as well to start 2020 on the right foot. Some have been on my to-do list for awhile and some things are fun and I just thought they would be a fun motivation for a good start to the year.

1. Clean and tidy apartment 
I would like to go around and tidy up some of the Christmas mess that has emerged over the past month.I would also like to put some stuff away and clean up a few areas. I want to vacuum and give the floor sweep, dusting, and a mop. Just to freshen up our home to start the year off with a clean and refreshed space.

2. Write down goals and resolutions and how to achieve them
During Blogmas I wrote a post with a list of resolutions and I will write these down and ways to achieve them this year. I will make a spread in my planner for this to visit throughout the year. I received the Happy Planner below for Christmas from my mom and I have made a first week of 2020 spread as you will see below to motivate me to start the year off strong.

 I have since written in things I would like to accomplish on different days of the week. I feel more motivated now to start the year off right. I love the bright and uplifting stickers and motivational stickers to inspire me.

I love the quote sticker for the week it is so inspiring for the whole year

3. Do miracle morning routine New Year's Eve morning
Doing Miracle morning SAVERS is something I want to take into the New Year and what better way to start something than to do it the morning before to gain some momentum? I have been doing the meditations mostly daily since my last morning routine post, but haven't been keeping up with the other steps and would like to do them all in the morning before the new year. I am excited to read Hal Elrod's new book The Miracle Equation in January to get that extra boost to kick off the new year with more motivation. I loved the first book, so I feel like I can't wait to see what the second one has in store for me. I also received the book good morning good life by Amy Schmittauer Landino from my sister for Christmas and can't wait to see what morning rituals and night rituals they have as well.

Books that will inspire me to have the best mornings

4. Create a vision board for 2020
I have created a vision board in the past, but never for the entire vision of the year ahead. I can see the benefits of this practice. I really think doing this would help me keep focused on my goals and to have a clearer idea of what I want to achieve in the new year. I have shared my vision board below and I am excited to look at it during my morning routines. I really believe that having vision boards are so good to keep you on track and to know what you really want. I have photos below for my wedding, getting that first AdSense cheque from Google, making healthy vegetarian and vegan meals, writing in my planner, reading lots of books, getting in shape, becoming pregnant, getting to be debt free, trying out new knitting stitches, and buying a townhouse. These are a lot of big goals as well as some health and wellness goals. I am so excited for 2020 just looking at this vision board and if you make one, I hope yours excites you too! I will print this out and paste it into my planner to look at each morning.

5. Finish reading my book and writing in Q&A book
I am reading Better Than Before by Gretchen Ruben and would really like to finish my last book of the year. I am enjoying it and really think it is beneficial to understanding how habits can help us to create the life we want. I have a Q&A a day book and I still have some pages to fill in for 2019. I know you are supposed to fill it in daily, but I get behind and then fill it in later on so I can compare the answers I wrote in the year. In 2020, I would like to make it more part of my morning routine like I did at the beginning of the year and it will help me to remember to fill in my answers.

These are the five things I will be focusing on completing during the remainder of 2019. Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope that you all have a wonderful New Year and feel your best!

Happy New Year!

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!

Hat Knitting Progress and Resolutions Updates

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. It was another snow day today and I was able to work from home. I am so grateful to be working in a job now that I can work from home, I enjoy it so much and can avoid going out in bad weather.

As some of you had reassured me that the hat would indeed turn out okay and fit, I am happy to say you were right and it does fit! I am glad I decided to go with the number of stitches that the pattern called for. they say to cast on in the pattern as it just makes following a pattern easier for me. I am loving how this hat is turning out so far and like how the slip stitch every other row and every 6 stitches creates the vertical lines along the hat. I am following the pattern 'Michele' by Sarah Punderson on Ravelry. I also love how the yarn looks in this pattern with the white and the speckles of purple. The yarn is from Fleece Artist and the yarn is Blue Face Leicester DK yarn. I am noticing that I am so drawn to white yarn with speckles of color.

I have been thinking of my resolutions that I made in January. I have been making progress slowly on each of the goals I made. Monday night I was grocery shopping and was glad I brought my reusable bags and also my produce mesh bags I bought at the Superstore. I also almost picked up a plastic bag with baby carrots as a habit because I love having them with hummus as a snack, but I picked up a a few carrots tied together with an elastic band instead to use less plastic. I will take some time today to chop them into small pieces and put them into a container to bring to work. As for knitting a shawl, I have been keeping this goal in mind and will be looking out on Ravelry for a fun pattern. In my reading goal, I have read 3/15 books so far for this year and am currently reading two which are A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult and Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. According to Goodreads I am one book ahead of schedule for my goal of reading 15 books, so that feels good.  For my knitting goal of knitting 12 projects, I am on project 3 now so I feel like I am in a good position to meet my goal for knitting and plan to knit a lot this year. It is always fun to knit some smaller projects as well as one larger one which will be the shawl. I have been looking at some venues for the wedding and there is one we really like so I will probably have that resolution completed soon. We are getting married next Spring so we need to secure one soon. For weight loss, I have been working out a lot and eating cleaner, but I can definitely work harder on both. I haven't weighed myself in a few weeks but have been feeling slimmer. My personal trainer tells me to just focus on how clothes fit more than the number on the scale so maybe its a good thing I haven't replaced the battery in the scale yet.

Joining Frontier Dreams for Crafting On and As Kat Knits for Unraveled Wednesday.

Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope that you have a great day!

Blogmas Day 19: Looking Back on 2018 and Resolutions for 2019

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. This year has been a great year and one of my favorite so far! I found a job I love early in the year, I was maid of honor in my sister's wedding in September, I got engaged last month, and I have felt so happy and stable in life. I feel like this is the feeling I had really wanted for a long time when I was in jobs that weren't right or relationships that weren't right. 2018 has been amazing and I am excited for 2019 that will be even better. 

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2018 

Resolutions I made for 2018 and progress:

1. Get a job 
 I have a job that I really enjoy and I am excited for what opportunities might come from working there. I like my team and the work I am doing. 

2. Get in shape and eat healthy  
I am getting in shape and feeling better. But I did not get down to my goal weight this year. I did not really focus on this goal and take it super seriously so next year will be the year for that as my wedding will be coming up soon. I do however feel like I have achieved this goal because I joined a gym this year and have a personal trainer and feel so strong from doing a lot of strength training and being able to lift a lot heavier weights.

3. Read 20 books 
I got to 8 books this year and maybe I will finish a 9th book, so next year I might aim for less than 20 so I can accomplish this goal next year.

4. Knit different projects
I knitted fingerless mitts and a tank top (I still haven't sewn together oops) and some more little holidays plush decorations. I knitted a ribbed scarf in December.  

5. Try cooking new vegetarian and vegan dishes  
I have tried some more recipes from cookbooks I received for various occasions. I tried making a pasta dish from the Oh She Glows book and also a chickpea dish from a sheet pan meal recipe book. I have tried a recipe my sister gave me that is a taco mix that you eat in a taco shell that is really good. I think there are so many recipes to try I could be making so much delicious and new food all the time. 

2019

1. Use less plastic 
I would like to use mesh bags instead of plastic ones, refuse plastic bags unless I really need them, and limit buying food or other items that are wrapped in excess plastic. I bought toilet paper last week that had rolls wrapped in plastic in pairs of twos, is that necessary? I want this to be more of a focus this coming year. I might have a more tangible goal to reach each month such as only take one plastic bag from a store each month so it is an emergency situation otherwise I need to carry things and force me to bring reusable bags wherever I go. I also want to stock up on more totes I can bring with me shopping like the one below and also purchase more environmentally friendly products like the wooden toothbrush. I did but mesh bags to put my produce in instead of using those plastic bags each time I grocery shop.

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2. Knit a shawl 
 in 2018 I kept thinking I want to knit a shawl and I never did, this year I would like to find a nice shawl pattern on Ravelry and go for it. 

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3. Read 15 books 
 As I mentioned above, reading 20 books was a bit of a stretch for me this year and so I brought it down to 15. I kept it higher than what I achieved this year so I could aspire to get to a higher number because I am almost at 10 and it is doable. Then each year I can work my way up to 20, 25,30 etc. I really love to read I just don't take enough time out of my day to read and usually try to squeeze it in right before bed when I am tired. Once I get started reading, I love it and can read for hours. 

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4. Complete 12 knitting projects 
I would like to complete a new project each month next year. Most years I probably do get to this number, but some I don't and it would be a fun to have a monthly project to work on and help to set time limits to how long I am working on something.

5. Find and secure a venue for my wedding 
 This is a goal that I have to do because I will be getting married in 2020 and we need to find a venue to have the wedding and make sure we secure a location in order to move ahead with other plans. I am looking forward to really getting into planning the wedding next year. This year has been busy since our late fall engagement with Christmas coming and other things on the go. I am looking forward to slowing down in the new year and taking more time out to plan.

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6. Get to my goal weight
I would really like to get down to my goal weight this year and really feel ready for this to finally happen again after years of wanting to but not getting there. I am now part of a gym and have a trainer and should really make better use of these resources. This is the year for it to happen before my wedding. I want to feel and look my best for one of the biggest days of my life. 


What are your New Years Resolutions for 2019? 

Thank you for visiting my blog for blogmas day 19. It was fun writing this post and I love sharing my year reflection of the goals I made more this year and looking ahead to the goals I want to focus on for the next year. 

Have a great day!