LIFESTYLE // A 2018 Roundup and those dreaded resolutions

Hi there!

The amount of times I have sat at this keyboard thinking 'today is the day I'll write a new blog post' is not endless but if I had £1 for every time it happened I'd probably have a new pair of shoes.

However, like anything, I'm going to take it slow for the time being rather than going in all guns blazing. I'll be honest, I thought I'd go to the gym three times this week but after a harder than expected Boxercise class (also known as Fight Club - but I wasn't told I couldn't talk about it) I'm now shuffling around like a penguin and couldn't even make it down the stairs. So, for this reason alone - I'm not going to be a lean, mean, constantly writing machine throwing out posts like confetti. We'll ignore the lean bit.

If I focus again, what did I even do in 2018? I remember it started off fantastically well and tailed off into a nightmare from September onward when the 3rd year of my PhD hit (but we'll get onto that later).

January: It started off with my first academic conference where I gave a keynote talk in some sassy boots that jingled when I walked. After my first year where I had seen people travelling near and far to present their work I was super excited to finally do the same. Few things are more motivating than talking to other academics who are interested and provide useful feedback on your work. I'm pretty sure I ran back to the lab after that.

February: The month of luurve. Celebrating both Valentines Day AND my anniversary makes for a potentially expensive month. However, I'm never going to day no to a fancy meal out or a trip somewhere. We spent the weekend in London drinking cocktails, eating food and seeing shows. I finally got to see The Phantom of The Opera after almost 15 years of wanting to see it and definitely didn't cry (I did). 

March: March was the month of snow. Even when it was snowing outside I was managing to get my butt to the gym 2-3 times a week and I was loving it. I didn't love that the back door of my old flat didn't seal and I had massive piles of snow in the kitchen. That was not my idea of fun. March did end with a trip to Reading to see a friend though which was infinitely more fun. 

April: On the first of April I decided I wanted Timbits so I hopped on the train to Cardiff just to go to Tim Hortons. Okay, that's a lie. I went to the passport office in Newport and jumped on the train from Newport to Cardiff just to get Timbits. They didn't disappoint. I also FINALLY got to go to the WB Harry Potter Studio Tour with an old friend from my year abroad. It was so much better than I expected and now I want to go at Christmas too. Oh, and another conference! 

May: At the beginning of the month I somehow found first class train tickets to Norwich for under £60 so traveled back to the place I did my UG to see some friends who had moved back to the fine city. I had waffles, rum and dog walks and it was bliss. I'll be honest though - I definitely prefer Bath to Norwich #sorrynotsorry.

June: June was a VERY busy month indeed. The month started with the 3 Minute Thesis competition final! I somehow condensed my research so well into 3 minutes I bagged a place in the final. I may not have won, but I had fun doing it. Later in the month I had two conferences in one week and then went on holiday to Lanzarote. Travelling to 4 places in 5 days is exhausting but a week on the beach definitely made up for it. I'll be honest, I'm already looking at booking a summer holiday because I need the beach back asap.

July: After losing 2 weeks of June to conferences and holidays I had to actually do some work. I am doing a PhD after all. I went to the cinema because they had air con, did more yoga than ever and celebrated a friend's wedding by having our own party and live streaming the ceremony. I made half of a wedding cake for the occasion and it was only majorly over baked.

August: The most exciting thing about August was moving into a new flat with my boyfriend! We managed to nab the last flat in a gorgeous building that has double glazing, wooden floors and heating that actually works. Believe me, that's an achievement in Bath. Now all I do is spend money on the flat (and buying baskets) because I'm so happy with the space I live in. I also went to a family wedding which was beautiful and super fun and meant I could wear a sparkly dress.

September: Back to work I went. My working hours went from 9-5:30 to more like 8:30-7:30 which was an absolute killer. I'll be honest, it stayed that way until November. I did have the most amazing Thai food in Bristol to make up for it through. Almost. 

October: Work, work, work, work, work, work. I lie, I did a surprising amount of not-work too including a trip to Frome Independent Market and frequenting wine bars. I also went to my first pageant to support my brother's girlfriend and even got on the catwalk myself. No idea how that happened but now we are here. 

November: My birthday month - yay! I somehow managed to turn my birthday into a 2 week affair this year without even trying. I went home for the weekend, spent a couple of days in London and had a fantastic time. After all the long days I was working I needed it. The highlight was probably seeing The Play That Goes Wrong which had me crying with laughter. I would 100% recommend if you want to see a show in London that isn't a musical. I laugh thinking about it now! The month ended with a trip to Las Iguanas to try the new (very yummy) menu and see the beautiful refurb on the Bath branch followed by a visit from my best friend Amber. We wandered around the Christmas market, drank a few too many cocktails and stumbled across the cutest, most instagrammable coffee shop in Bath - Good Day Cafe. 

December: Let's be honest - as soon as December 1st hits it is officially Christmas time in my brain. I tried to get so much work done but everything failed on me at the last hurdle. At least to make up for it I had plenty of Christmas parties, lots of dressing up and presents to wrap. I spent Christmas with my boyfriend's family which was lovely followed by a second celebration back at home with my family. I finished off the year with friends in London drinking gin, playing games and watching Netflix which is exactly how I want to spend it every year now.

So, that's my 2018 wrapped up in a neat little bow but what did I learn from this?

1. Yoga is great but Body Balance is better. I miss those 7 am classes on a Tuesday and wish I was closer to the gym. I'm doing it at home now to make up for it but it's not quite working.

2. I had a lot of fun last year even though it felt like I did nothing at first. Now, if I could continue to have fun and have chemistry that did what I asked it my year would be 11/10

3. My favourite months were those where I saw friends I hardly see. I tried to see as many people as possible but work can get in the way. 

So for this year what am I planning to improve? I'll call them resolutions because even if I don't - realistically they're still resolutions. However, I'm keeping it simple this year.

1. Keep active: I enjoy it. I need to make time for it. End of.
2. Take breaks: Everyone needs them. I'm more productive when I have them. It's simple maths really.
3. Be more consistent: whether that be with my work, Instagram, blogging or catching up with friends. If I can gradually introduce all of this into a routine, maybe it'll be easier to fit in everything I want to do.

Welcome back to long post central and a massive thanks to those of you who stuck it out to the end! I'd now finish off this post with a catchy statement like 'I'm back bishes' a la Belinda Blinked but instead I'll ask a question or two:

What did you get up to last year? Do you refuse to make New Year resolutions? Let me know!