2022 has gone and we prepare to welcome 2023. I wanted to write my year in review, mainly to look back as a reminder of what the year offered and as inspiration to continue and improve.
What worked for me this year?
In July I lost my brother and 3 weeks later lost my Nana. Nana passed at the ripe old age of 98 and her passing was not a shock. My brothers passing was completely unexpected and I still cannot believe that he has gone. It has certainly made me realise that time is precious and that every day is a gift.
What worked for me this year?
- CHRISTMAS/Holidays
- Christmas was quiet and relaxed, a very happy day and December overall was a good month.
- We started buying ingredients for baking and meals for around Christmas very early in the year, March or April. A lot of the items we buy were available and can be easily stored in the pantry or freezer. Buying what we could early spread the cost over the year and made things much more manageable, even with cutting back there is still a lot to buy and we have to be sensible with how we do it.
- I continued looking for stocking fillers early as I like to get these out of the way. I do need to look at a few new ideas so that the stockings have a bit more interest to them and people are not getting the same things all the time. DS told me that stockings are his preference over gifts so the challenge for 2023 is to really go all out with wonderful stockings.
- I did have $190 on my supermarket reward money so the Christmas budget was a little easier and I did not have to buy too much as a lot was bought before December. I will try and maximise this program again this year, I have started with $60.
- DH and I celebrated our 36 wedding anniversary in February, Easter was one of the best we have had. Pizza party on Good Friday, brunch and family dinner on Easter Sunday. Birthdays were celebrated, we had our annual Bathurst day and our second annual extended family dinner in November was wonderful. Will attempt to do much the same in 2023.
- PERSONALLY
- This year I made a conscious effort to connect with those who mean a lot to me. With people being busy I have taken to writing reminders in my diary to contact people. I don't want to miss connecting with the people who mean a lot to me.
- Mum and I had a several baking days, went for several shopping days and spent some time just chatting and catching up. We still got together every Thursday for either grocery shopping or other projects. Enjoy our times together.
- DS moved away and it was harder to chat with him, we set aside times on Wednesday night to chat and just text when we can. I miss him.
- DD and DSIL and DH and I get together quite often and love spending time with my kids, they are very interesting adults.
- I was selected as an apprentice judge for the DrillDance Nationals and I will be doing some training and traveling in the beginning of the year to prepare.
- I think I found my stride at work. The bosses will never be my friends and it will never be my favourite job but there are days when I no longer hate it. I feel it is a means to an end and I am glad to be working.
- I do a very deep clean twice a year, Autumn and again in September. January and June I just do a "top up" clean. By doing it this way I find that the house stays clean and maintained. In Autumn I do a modified HGP, I follow the cleaning plan but do not include the Christmas prep. This year I did not complete the HGP as we took a few weeks holiday in October and I never got into the swing of the plan. I am glad I did a good clean just before Winter and that and my 5 chores a week keep the house in reasonable condition.
- We finished one room at the farm and are so close to finishing another two rooms.
- Weight control/exercise/diet.
- Weight and exercise was a lost cause. Put on a lot of weight, did hardly any exercise and it is having an effect. My back and knees ache and I have no energy. I need to rediscover my MOJO as I am not happy with how things are at the moment. This is something that I will struggle with for the rest of my life and I need to change things.
- Finances. Money was a little tighter this year. We earn the same amount but with everything going up this year it was hard to keep on track. I rethought how I used my grocery money so that what is left over after my main shop I can then use for a top up at another supermarket the following week. This means I can have the same amount in the budget but spread it over the whole fortnight. This worked well for me and by shopping the 2 different supermarkets it mean I could maximize the sales. I did spend more money at the end of the year but had supermarket reward money to spend.
- I buy too many items for events such as Christmas Eve or NYE. I need to reassess this and try to cut back. We do not need all the extra food, expense or the health implications.
- I worked a lot more in December and as a consequence I could not do as much as I would like. I found it hard to help Mum with baking etc and we did not do any Christmas activities other than a photo with Santa and a nail appointment, It would have been nice to see some Christmas lights or have a lunch out for example.
- Procrastination I did not make any real preparation for moving to the farm, I lost all momentum in the middle of the year and I am in the same position today as I was on NYE 2022
In July I lost my brother and 3 weeks later lost my Nana. Nana passed at the ripe old age of 98 and her passing was not a shock. My brothers passing was completely unexpected and I still cannot believe that he has gone. It has certainly made me realise that time is precious and that every day is a gift.
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