2011 in Review

Borrowed this from the lovely Leah... it is great to do just for some personal reflection!

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? 

Start planning a wedding, create a joint account with someone, Christmas shopping for the in-laws as well as my own family, go to the trots (and see a friend's dad take out the evening!), celebrate Christmas with my french "sister" C, understood rugby, modelled in a photo shoot... I'm sure there's plenty more but that's what comes to mind!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? 

I did well with most of my goals - 

• I lost weight - not as much as I had wanted (about 12 kg this year)
• I was more active
• I am a far more organised, decluttered person
• I moisturised more (I'm definitely a lot more vain than I used to be)
• I read (to date) almost 90 books - won't make 100, but better than the 50 I thought was possible.
• I got out of debt
• I did NOT keep clothing purchases under $60, despite my best efforts!
• I did make more and we have had many more home cooked meals this year than in previous years.

For next year I plan on making intentions rather than goals - the things I am aiming for are not necessarily as measurable as those I aimed for this year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? 

Yes, my bestie! Little J is just the cutest little guy and when I cuddle him it makes my ovaries explode - clucky much?

4. Did anyone close to you die? 

Yes, a friend from high school died very unexpectedly on his flight back to NZ. It shook many of us who knew him to the core and made us all appreciate that we don't know how long we have on this earth.

5. What countries did you visit? 

None, this year was a year of saving for us! We did manage to get in a couple of domestic holidays this year in Northland and in Tauranga as well as a long weekend in Wellington. We will be spending NYE in the Coromandel (1 night in Tairua and 1 night in Whitianga) and we are hoping to get up and visit SB's aunt in Kerikeri some time before the wedding. Then it will be save save save again before the honeymoon!

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? 

Balance... 2011 had some epic highs and epic lows. There were times when I felt that I had very little to do and times when I was working 13-15 hour days. It may be foolish to think that this is possible in a year where we are getting married, but I hope that this year is more balanced than the last.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

22nd of February - SB's birthday and the Christchurch earthquake. I remember sitting at his parents' house, terrified that I had not heard back from some of our friends and thinking the worst. Luckily, everyone was okay!

14th of May - the day we got engaged! 

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? 

Getting out of debt (aside from my bulky student loan) - it is a huge burden off my shoulders and makes me feel so much more positive about merging our finances.

9. What was your biggest failure? 

Not losing more weight - I always knew that PCOS would make the weight loss difficult at some point, and have stagnated around the same weight for three months. I'm now on medication to combat the insulin resistance so I'm hoping to see some positive changes in the new year. I have between 8-18 kgs to go (doctor designated healthy weight range) so would at least like to hit the 8 kg mark before the wedding!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? 

Not substantially - I did however do some physio to strengthen what has been a problem knee joint for me ever since I had an accident at 19. I learnt some very interesting things about my body and muscular structure so I think that this was a good thing!

11. What was the best thing you bought? 

I really didn't buy a lot this year... hrmmm. I got a fabulous dress at Pagani that looks vastly more expensive than it was and has already had three outings in the three weeks I have had it!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

My students who attended night classes to improve their exam results, SB who did not complain when he barely saw me for weeks on end, my cousin who was called back into ICU (previously worked there but is a public health nurse now) on the night of the Christchurch earthquake and dealt with an unimaginable amount of horror and strain.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? 

All the dirty politicking around the election - it seemed like no party was immune and that just made me sad.

14. Where did most of your money go? Debt repayment - le sigh. But now I am out of overdraft and CC debt and plan to never go back there!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? 

16. What song will always remind you of 2011? Party Rock Anthem – LMFAO

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) Happier or sadder?

Happier, for the most part

b) Thinner or fatter?

Thinner, although nowhere near thin.

c) Richer or poorer?

Richer, both in knowledge/experience AND financially

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? 

Exercise! That's one of the reasons my bubble butt hasn't disappeared.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? 

Worry about things that I cannot control

20. How will you be spending Christmas? 

It was pretty hectic - bacon sandwiches for breakfast and present opening at our house, Christmas lunch at Mama & Papa Scribs and then Christmas dinner at SB's parents... it's funny to see the cycle move round. Instead of our parents racing everywhere to please everyone, it's us!

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?

Fell deeper in love, as I hope to be doing each year for the rest of my life.

22. What was your favourite TV programme? 

Home and Away - sad, I know! We also started watching Parks & Recreation which I really enjoy!

23. Do you dislike anyone now that you didn’t dislike this time last year? No, not really… although I'm finding I have vastly less time for people with negative attitudes and those who expect me to do all the work in the friendship.

24. What was the best book you read? 

Women, Food & God by Geneen Roth - a really interesting look at the psychology behind emotional eating. Not as spiritual as the title sounds

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I'm not sure this counts but I was blown away by Nicole Scherzinger singing Christine's role in Phantom of the Opera on the Royal Variety Show... who knew she could actually sing?!

26. What did you want and get? 

Engaged to my darling SB - cannot wait to be his wife!

27. What did you want and not get?

An extended contract at the school I was teaching at this year - loved the staff and loved the students. Still, I am grateful that I have been given a permanent position at a new school and will be able to make my home there!

28. What was your favourite film of this year? 

X-men First Class - loved seeing how it all began. I also was really intrigued by the movie Moon (released in 2009) and will be using it as my film study with one of my classes next year.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 

Worked, and I turned 26. When you are a teacher, you don't get your birthday off work. SB's birthday is a week before mine so in the weekend between we had Thai with a group of dear friends.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? 

Reaching my weight loss goal (are you sensing a pattern here?)

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

My French sister told me that I was elegant and I think that sums up what I have been aiming for this year. Modest, understated elegance.

32. What kept you sane? 

SB, my blogger friends (including some particular ladies, you know who you are).

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? 

I don't do wild celebrity crushes but I'll post the attraction that makes SB laugh the most - Patrick Stewart. I could listen to that man talk for hours!

34. What political issue stirred you the most? 

Nothing really - what irritated me most was when people tried to make things into political issues that weren't.

35. Who did you miss? 

I think the people I miss the most are still there, I just miss the closeness that we used to have. It's part of life though, friendships rise and fall and not every single one is forever.

36. Who was the best new person you met? 

My Welly girls - it was great finally meeting them face to face, including Leah who I managed to catch before she flew off to her new adventure!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011 

That my personal values include honesty and integrity and that even when it seems counter-intuitive, those values still work for me.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year

"Life is a rollercoaster, just gotta ride it" LOL

20 + 10 for 2010

Coming to the end of the year, I find a lot of my time is spent looking back over the year and looking forward to the future, wondering will happen... here's my list of 20 goals and 10 hopes for the year 2010.

Goals

1. Get a teaching job - hopefully this will happen before 2010, but if not, it is my hope that I will be able to pick up a permanent role during the year.
2. Take a yoga class - my work place (that I am leaving just before Christmas *scared face*) offers one for a decent price so I really don't have an excuse
3. Get fit - we are getting a Nintendo Wii soon and once we have a place that we know we are staying in next year we will be getting a treadmill - no excuse of crappy NZ weather.
4. Go on an overseas holiday - at the moment, it looks like New Caledonia for the win. SB is not fond of flying so we're taking it in baby steps.
5. Be more zen/foster patience - I know this is a huge character failing in myself and something I definitely need to improve on.
6. Do little, often - this year, I have often been guilty of coming in and dumping notes in areas and having these massive cleaning binges in the holidays. Next year, when we are settled, I need to develop a better system. Everything has a place and everything is in it's place
7. Buy a filing cabinet - see 6 above.
8. Develop more pride in myself - multiple reasons have led me in the past to think that I am not very good looking and this has reflected itself in my neglect to put myself together in a spectacular way. This stops now - I have a slammin' wash and wear hairstyle, now I just need to sparkle up my face and make sure I put together gorgeous outfits. Style mavens, I'm looking at you.
9. Be creative - so many of the handmade projects on the web inspire me. 2010 is going to be the year that I start creating them on my own.
10. Give consciously - think about the best solution for an issue and work towards that. Start in my own community and group of friends and move outwards
11. Bake more - one thing both SB and I love from our childhood years was how there was always something yummy of mum's baking around. I need to get into the habit now of creating these delicious treats (and then SB doesn't need to take so many processed snacks to work!)
12. In the same vein, I need to learn how to decorate cakes better. Have this brilliant idea for a Bachelorette party cake and NO idea how to execute it.
13. Take more photos - for some reason I didn't take as many photos this winter - I love having a photo record of the fun times I have and the beauty I see around me... loads of memories for when I'm gray and old LOL.
14. Leading on from 13 above, create some scrapbooks! There's not much use in having all my memories stored digitally - they need to be out, tangible and beautiful for people to see.
15. Buy a sewing machine - it doesn't need to be a flash one, I'm just a beginner. Looking forward to perhaps trying to construct skirts that flatter my oddly shaped figure.
16. Make more meaningful connections with people... this is a hard one to describe in detail. I feel like I know lots of people but only know a select few... I want to get to know people better, find out what drives them, excites them, makes them tick.
17. Post more frequently to Scribbles - I've let life get away on me somewhat in the past year, so aiming for at least two posts a week in 2010 - that makes 104 little doses of me, which I'm sure you can tolerate :)
18. Throw more dinner parties! There's nothing I love more than getting a group of friends together for a delicious meal. The dinner party we had this year was superb (even if it was a make-your-own burrito bar) and I want loads more repeats please!
19. Start writing fiction like I have always planned to do... I'm not going to set a goal of even trying to get published next year but I need to start working towards it as a future goal. Because of study and because of the needs of my future profession, NaNoWriMo is never going to be an option for me but that doesn't mean I should not write.
20. Write more letters - this is a bit of a selfish one... I like writing letters because I LOVE receiving them. Far better than boring bills.

Hopes

1. That my mum responds well to whatever chemotherapy she ends up with
2. That SB and I continue to grow in our relationship together
3. Well, it's not exactly a secret that I want to spend the rest of my life with the boy, so a little sparkly would be the icing on the cake (mmmm maybe this should be 2b - only if SB feels like extending himself LOL)
4. That the bachelorette party I am planning at the moment turns into a kickass night that the bride remembers forever
5. That the bogan-themed party that SB and I are planning for our birthdays (a week apart) is a success
6. That as packed as my February & March calendar is next year, I take the time to breathe, enjoy the moment and love every minute of the time I spend with my love and my friends.
7. That SB and I have a great time on our mid-year tropical sojourn and it is everything I hope it will be.
8. That I can look back on 2010 and be proud of all I have achieved.
9. That my creative spark gets fired up and I have a lot more interesting blog posts to write on the Scribbles site yet :D
10. That 2010 sees more and more of my friends achieving their own goals and seeing their hopes fulfilled, whatever that may be.

LOL now that I look back on this, it looks an awful lot like a meme. So fill it out Scribblettes, either in the comments or linking me to your URL on your blog. I would love to know what you have planned for 20 + 10 for 2010!

Tagged!

The darling MissB tagged me to share seven random things about myself so you lucky Scribblettes get to delve deep into my psyche today!

1. When we were young, I managed to convince my younger sister that she was adopted. She has olive skin compared to the white, white skin of my parents and I... strike 1. There's a photo of me at the hospital with Mum when I was born, ChChSis only has photos of her once she had arrived home... you get the picture. A sign of a future debate queen? Or evil?

2. I take the tomato out of my burger, yet I'm happy to eat it by itself.

3. I'm more sure than I've ever been before that what I have with SB is what I want forever and it occasionally terrifies me that I will do something to cock it up.

4. The number one reason I want to be a homeowner so I can own a dog! I'm not sure what type yet, something small and very cute. My auntie has an shi tzu with the best temperament ever so I'm leaning in that direction.

5. I cannot believe that I have almost finished my teaching diploma - it seems like yesterday that I was handing in my resignation for my marketing job, yet so much has happened in the last two years.

6. It frustrates me when the first thing people ask upon meeting me is "How's your mum?" - I sometimes get fed up with being "that chick whose mum has cancer". I want people to ask how I am, yet that makes me feel guilty.

7. Em was right, despite the ups and downs. 2009 has definitely been my year!

I tag any of you all that want to participate - leave a link in the comments to your page! Love to learn more about you.

Interview by Jenn(uinely)...

The interview meme by the lovely Jenn of Jenn(uinely) Rambling

The rules are as follows:

1. If you want to participate, leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” (And your e-mail address, please.)

2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

1. Tell me about your oldest friend. When did you meet? Are you still in contact?
My oldest friend is actually in my blog roll (good luck investigating that one, those who are playing along at home). I met her while she was in her womb and I was in mine. We fell out of touch while we were in our teens but have become better friends recently and I'm so pleased. She's blossomed into such a wonderful young woman who really enriches my life with her presence.
2. What is the best book you've read? In the last year? Ever?
Oh no, this is like asking me to pick my favourite child or something... I'll have to go with books that have sort of blown my mind with their wonderfulness when I read them. In 2008, that was Stoppard's "Arcadia". Ever... I honestly couldn't tell you. I own over 150 books and I swear I've read at least ten times that number. I simply devour books. The fact that both Piers Anthony and Terry Pratchett are still alive, kicking and writing kick-ass novels makes my heart sing though.
3. What's the best thing about being a NZ blogger? The worst?
The best thing is that it doesn't cost the earth to meet up with other kiwi bloggers - I got to meet up with the lovely Andrea just last week! The crappiest thing is that you make friends from all sorts of places around the world and as a poor student I have no money to visit. I am in Sydney this July though and I am planning to make it to Perth in Summer 2010 if the Perth girls can hold out that long!
4. If you had one million dollars, and had to spend it all (no savings allowed, no matter how silly that is!), what is the first thing you'd buy? And why?
A new car... I want a 2L Automatic, preferably a Suzuki Sx4... my current car gets me from A to B, but definitely not in style. Then I'd have to sit and think and plan for a fair while...
5. What is something that not a lot of people know about you but that you wish more people could know?
I wish that more of my "real world" friends knew that I was not as brave and strong and confident as I appear to be... it makes me feel like there are these burdens and expectations on me to keep on carrying on no matter what. But on the other hand, I'm a really good faker and not brave enough to open up to most of them and tell them that's how I feel. So they don't realise how sad and lonely I can get and it perpetuates the cycle. With my blog friends... I don't know... you guys tell me what you wish you knew about me!

If you would like to interview me, ask me a question or request an interview for yourself, leave a message in the comments!

Tag-ginity!

I was tagged for my first meme ever by the wonderful Ems of "Lick my Cupcakes" - the fourth picture meme stealing my tag-ginity forever :D

The rules of the meme are very simple:
Go to the fourth folder in your ‘Pictures’ & to post the fourth photo from that album. Tell us the story!

LOL I think I have some es-play-nin to do. My youngest sister is intellectually handicapped and when she was smaller we couldn't have a Christmas tree as she would keep pulling it over. Having two only-marginally-older children, not having a Christmas tree at all was not an option for my parents. Being creative, they came up with this solution - a crepe paper cut out Christmas tree stuck to the wall with drawing pins. Youngest sis couldn't pull it down and we still had a pretty tree around which to put the presents. We've been having a big cull of stuff over the summer (encouraging the whanau to live the simple life) and my dad pulled out out of a closet - I just had to photograph it for posterity!

I tag A Cat Of Impossible Colour, Kiss Me Kate, Tres Lola and Jenn(uinely) Rambling if you haven't done it already! All you others out there, I like doing memes *hint hint*

She sells sea shells by the sea shore!

No, this isn't a post on tongue twisters, this is part of an awesome meme as seen on Hope Dies Last. The letter Hope gave me was S!

The rules:

You leave a comment on this post, and I’ll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it at your place. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on.

1. Smoothies from Shakeaway! It's the only place I know in NZ that will make you a vegan smoothie. I've missed thickshakes so much since I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance and now I can have them again!

2. Samoa! I've never been but my grandfather was born and raised there (although not a native Samoan) so it holds a special place in my heart. I intend to visit there one day and track down where the plantation he lived on was.

3. Schools - just as well as I'm going to be a teacher :D

4. Satay Sticks from the local bakery. I've had an addiction for so long that I don't even need to ask for it when I go into the bakery now, they just get one out of the cabinet for me.

5. Sarcasm - my humour tends to be rather scathing and dry. Back when FirstLove and I were dating, our group of friends had a really bad habit of sarcastically commenting with the prefix "I wish I..." - say if one of our friends fell over a small child in the mall, we'd say "I wish I could fall over infants in the mall and make a complete ass of myself. This all ceased one day when we were watching TV with FirstLove's parents. There was an insurance ad on that had a young man walk in on his mother-in-law whilst she was bathing. FirstLove pipes up "I wish I could walk in on my girlfriend's mum in the shower..." - his mum cracked up laughing and his dad would not stop giving him shit "Really [FirstLove], do you really wish that? What does [Scribble's Mum] have to say about that? Have you told her how you feel?"... Sarcasm FAIL.

6. Smaggle Style - Lady Smaggle always looks immaculately put together whereas I'm lucky some days if I wear the same shoes on both feet as I head out of the house. I'm in awe of all of you that manage style post and ashamed at my own lack of style - thus there will never be any outfit posts on Scribbles... well, that and also that I blog anonymously - not so anonymous when you can see my face :S

7. Sushi - anyone who thinks that globalisation is a bad thing has to realise how boring and monotonous our diets would be without ethnic foods. St. Pierre's Sushi rocks the schizznit!

8. Shopping - of any kind but it's been particularly nice lately to finally do some "fun shopping" for myself. I got a gorgeous snuggly cardi and a ginormous handbag that already appears to have been nicknamed the "Tardis" by Mr.Rock.

9. Scents - I'm super-excited about the bottle of Viktor & Rolf "Flowerbomb" I'm getting for Christmas but I also love the scents of freshly cut grass, sheets after you bring them in after drying them on the line and the smell that rain makes on an extremely warm pavement... delicious. Other favourite smells are chocolate chip cookies baking and pork roast - yum!

10. Smiles - wear one plastered on your face whenever you can! It will make people wonder what your secret is...