19 Things in the Year of the Pig : The One + Only Recap

So.

One of the things I wanted to achieve in the Year of the Pig was to blog again. There was a rebirth, a reboot. 

Yeah. 

Nah.

But it's the start of a new year and that fever of naive optimism has infected me once again. I'm already working on a '20 things in the Year of the Rat' list but before I get to that I thought I'd update how I went on the last list. Which basically - and following the exact same pattern of previous years - is not so well...

1. Get back to blogging and writing more in general. I'll count this as a win if I end the year with twelve blog posts and one published article. F-. Okay, so I wrote TWO whole blog posts, both in the first two weeks of January, and then zip, nada, zilch. I did write a profile piece on the amazing Shani and her Breadtag Project for my favourite magazine UPPERCASE though so that's something.

2. Related, get back to taking photographs on a regular basis. I'd like to end the year with at least 52 Instagram posts. B-. I ended up with over 52 posts but almost all of them were from our trip to the Arctic so does it really count? Probably not. Related - do visit my Instagram if you like walruses!

3. Read more. Specifically read twenty books in 2019. A+. Smashed this one! Read 23 books from many and varied genres. Reading is definitely an entrenched habit now, hurrah! You can see all the books I read and my reviews on Good Reads (or on Facebook if you're my friend there).

4. Do 1SE more consistently. B. Did okay on this one, I guess. I ended up with a 6ish minute video that I'm pretty happy with and that the husband enjoyed. (FYI this is a really great app to get if you want an fun, easy creative project for the year!)

5. Learn the piano. E-. Okay, so I was going really well, and then I just...stopped. Occasionally I'll find five minutes and have a go, but not playing it consistently just means those five minutes I find are really frustrating. 

6. Get back to properly learning Italian. F. Niente.

7. Call and message people more. C+. Better but not best. 

8. Visit my Dad at least once. F. Nope, sorry Dad.

9. Visit my Mum. B. Yes, did this and had a blast. My sister came too! Drank gin; watched Fleabag; found out Mum had signed up for a dating app, once; walked the dog; laughed, a lot. Was wonderful.

10. KonMari every drawer in the house. And my office. C. My drawers look great, have tided the husband's clothes and the step-son's clothes, and the kitchen drawers are pretty solid but my office still looks like a total goddamn tip. It may have actually got worse to be honest.

11. Use my large collection of cookbooks more. B-. There's some I definitely use more, but there's a lot that are still gathering dust.

12. Related - expand my veg / mainly veg cooking repertoire. C. Um, sort of, maybe? I think I have but it really hasn't been intentional so who knows.

13. Eat less carbs. B-. Yes, I believe so. And feeling better for it. I've found a few people to follow on Instagram who have really great, super simple but healthy low carb (not no carb) meal ideas. I've always struggled with getting the balance between protein and carbs right but I feel like lately I'm nailing it (more on that in another post, maybe).

14. Eat less sugar. D-. Let's be honest, this should probably be an F.

15. Keep up my steps. A. Indeed. Most days I smash my 12,000 step target. I maybe miss one day a month and that's usually because I'm sick or just really run down.

16. Visit the gym at least once per week. Preferably twice, but once is the goal. F-. If you'd asked me in April I'd get a B+ but things kind of stopped, completely in the last six months.

17. Complete the City2Surf again. A+. Completed, with a bigger team, and raised a heap of money for RMHC!

18. Personally raise $2000 for our local Ronald McDonald House (Sydney). A+. See above, plus another fun run earlier in the year and a few additional donations.

19. Catch up on three years of photo books. F-. No, and it hurts my heart a little. Have started, but am so behind...

So there you have it, actually not all bad. I'll share my new list with you soon (I bet you can't wait). Will this be the year Good Things* actually does make a comeback? Should I start a betting pool?

ps. It does feel a little frivolous writing this while our country is on fire, but I actually needed the distraction, the time out from watching relentless videos of flames and animal carcasses. It is all so devastating and heartbreaking, and at times utterly infuriating, but at the same time there are so many people doing so many good good things. I'm trying to help out when and where I can, it helps me feel a little less hopeless. 

There are a hundreds of posts out there letting you know the best places to donate or volunteer, I won't add to them but if you do want any tips or links just let me know. 

Stay safe x