Hello 2022

 

Wow. Hello 2022!

Already made the mistake of writing 2021 instead of 2022. How long is it going to take to get used to that?

Here we are again! This week has just been SO lovely. I've loved having time and space and time at home with James and Shep without any real agenda. I find this time of year very therapeutic, and is really good for my mental health. It's quickly becoming one of my favourite times for me mentally. Time to reflect on the year past and the year ahead. The plans we might have and things we want to change as we head into the new year. I also love to tidy and clean the house and make it ready for the new year. Anything I could get my hands on this week I've tidied and sorted - my make up draw hasn't looked this tidy in a long time! I think I've driven James a little mad with it to be honest.

As always I like to write down some goals I have for the year. These are generally little lifestyle changes day to day, or things I'd like to continue and press into a little more following last year's efforts. As always, I'm not putting loads of pressure on myself if these things don't get ticked off, but they are an incentive for me to push on, look after myself and generally they are things that I want to make time for amongst the business of the everyday.

2022

1. Relationship with Jesus. 

Every year I need to do better at getting to know Jesus. Without this then I can't do the rest of the list below. I need constant reminders that I need to give things to God and know that I can't do them in my own strength but in his. I need to sit at his table and have conversation with Him and getting to know Him. He cares so much about what we do but our doing isn't supposed to draw us away from us being with Him. He calls us to be still. I want to read the bible daily and have time to really get to know who he is and what his plans for us are. Despite the business I need to prioritise time with the Father. When I'm tired this is the first thing to go, and this needs to change.

2. Get home from work earlier.

In order to be able to give time to the things on this list, this needs to be high on the list. Due to the nature of my job, I find that I can be working later than I want to be or bringing things home to make sure it all gets done. This is something I want to get better at going forward, especially as I've generally been really good at keeping work at work! I tend to find myself feeling creative and motivated in the outside-of-work world at this time of year, but when I head back to work I don't have much else to give outside of the classroom. Here's to trying to change that this year!

3. Read more than 15 books.

This year I've read 15 books, which to some might seem like not a lot and to others this might seem like too many. I'd love to keep this up this year, reading more often in the evenings and not just before we go to sleep.

4. Sew nine pieces of clothing.

I've LOVED getting into sewing clothes this year, starting with pieces for the little people in my life and then towards some dresses for me! This year I want to try and buy less fast fashion and use what I would spend on those clothes to buy fabric to make my own. A blog post will be coming soon which outlines my #makenine for the year, eek!

5. Blog Monthly.

Like most resolutions, 2021 started off pretty well on the blog (in January lol) but then fizzled out as life got busy again. I'd love to try and keep the blog going throughout the year as I've got all sorts of seasonal bits to share! Let's see if we can do at least just one post a month...

6. Keep up with the gardening.

I've LOVED getting more green fingered this year and have learnt so much even in our little outdoor space. I've got a couple of good gardening books recently so I'm going to try and keep up to date with growing bits and pieces and caring for what we already have growing. We've already spotted some spring bulbs making their way up and I'm looking forward to getting the sweet peas started again.

7. Film more adventures.

I love watching my youtube videos back of the adventures we've been on over the years. Last year I didn't do such a good job at this (although let's be honest not much happened...) I'd like to have more vlogs to look back over this year.

8. Drink more water.

Every year. It never get's better. Will this be the year?

9. Keep Sabbath.

Saturday for James and I is our day to relax and rest. We started this routine in 2021 but would love to continue it and pursue it a little more. Instead of tidying and cleaning or getting boring things ticked off I'd love to spend the time enjoying the things that bring us joy!

10. Move house.

Quite a big one for us but by the end of the year we'd love to have moved into our next home. I'm so excited to live somewhere a little bigger but I keep getting emotional thinking about leaving our wonderful first little home and how this could be our last Christmas here together.

Do you like setting goals? Or seeing each day in as it comes? Do you have any similar goals to me? 

Here's to 2022!

Emily x