Year in Review – 2023

1. What did you do in 2023 that you’d never done before?

I taught Drama at a year 11 and 12 level, for the first time. It was fun and daunting at the same time. I am so very proud of what they accomplished and hope I can replicate similar, if not better results this coming year.

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

I only made one and I did not keep it, however I made progress on it. I decided to just focus on losing weight by putting into practice systems over the year. My goal was a kilo a week – which was overly optimistic. I kept it similar to a bullet journal in which I tracked certain factors. I found that using the Apple Watch health features was a solid motivator and tracking Kilojoules to try and stay under 8500 has lead to roughly half a kilo a week. I will be sticking to this next year, again using a paper based journal to track my progress, with the aim of building systems that leads to half a kilo, consistently, per week.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? 

Not this year, but acquaintances have.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Not this year, but again, acquaintances have.

5. What countries did you visit? 

None. I am not really a traveller, although if the opportunity ever arises, I want to take my husband to Japan.

6. What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2024? 

A house. I am really looking forward to our home being built this coming year. I am impatient. We are trying to figure out a name for the house and something like patience, or perseverance, or victory, needs to be incorporated in some way as we have had to work for it.

7. Which date from 2023 will remain etched upon your memory, why? 

There are many but Remembrance Day is going to be with me for awhile. My students spent eights weeks of constant rehearsals, discussion, research and play, to come up with and perform our Remembrance Day presentation. They each took on a character that experience World War One and shared their experiences with the students and teachers. They were marvellous.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? 

My biggest achievement was to return to my equilibrium. I didn’t journal through 2022. It was a very difficult year for me and I struggled with a difficult group of young people that were very easy to love but very hard to guide. I became increasingly bitter and isolated within myself.

Considering how topsy turvy this year turned out to be, it’s interesting how I can say that I returned to my equilibrium? I think it is more that I was able to handle that topsy turvy-ness with a more can do attitude instead of focusing on the negative or being ‘woe is me’.

9. What was your biggest failure? 

Not taking care of my daughter’s therapy sooner. One of my daughter’s has some social and physical delays. We were able to acquire NDIS funding of this but I didn’t manage to get her therapy in the areas she needed it until late November. I am unsure if it is helping, but doing something is better than doing nothing.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? 

So, although I did not ‘get sick’ this year – I have been ridiculously healthy with no colds or flus – I have been dealing with a womb issue. They think it is adenomyosis, it is a ‘cousin’ of endometriosis, where the endometrium grows into the lining of the womb. Basically I have been having a continuous period for over twelve months. We went through hormones treatment and that didn’t work. We have stopped hormone treatment and will see what happens in the new year.

11. What was the best thing you bought? 

A house, to be built, this coming year.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? 

My husband’s. He is an amazing man who suffers much for his family. I am incredibly blessed to be his person.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I do not wish to discuss this question.

14. Where did most of your money go? 

On a house, to be built, this coming year.

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

Our house, to be built, this coming year (It’s a really big deal)!

16. What song will always remind you of 2023?

I can’t think of one because I don’t really listen to radio or popular music. I can’t even think of a song connected to a movie I watched this year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?  – Happier
ii. Thinner or fatter? – Thinner
iii. Richer or poorer?  – Richer

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

Read. I read a lot using my library app, but I miss my physical, hold in my hand, books. To compensate, I am thinking of keeping a reading journal. I am also thinking of starting a read through of classic literature under the guidance of this fellow: https://www.youtube.com/@closereadingpoetry

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

Doomscrolling. I have deliberately deleted a lot of social media off my phone but I do find myself reaching for it more than I like.

Two years ago I brought an iPad with the idea of getting into digital planning and everything. But it’s just not for me. I am reverting back to my childhood and find myself wanting to have a dumb phone, and notebook. Just going old school. I can’t in some situations so I will be doing a digital reset over January to clear out applications I don’t use or need or work as distractions.

20. How did you spend Christmas? 

With the parents in law, eating one big meal over six hours. It was lovely and restful (well, at least for me).

21. Personal goals for 2023, completed or not? 

Again, not. I wanted to complete a Cert IV in Career Development, and even though I have completed the main interactive modules, the remaining units have still yet to be done. I have exactly 35 days.

22. What are your personal goals for 2024? 

Not New Years Resolutions, but goals I want to try and establish or complete to a certain point by the end of the year.

1. Establish systems that allow me to lose at least half a kilo a week.
2. Have a date day, once a month, for my husband and each child.
3. Go to church every week
4. Complete a virtual pilgrimage based on my kilometres travelled every month.

23. What are you most grateful for in 2023?

My support system.

24. How was your relationship with Murphy this year? 

Oh he visited, but spent more time with other people than myself. I ended up dealing with him messes still.

25. What was your favorite TV program? 

My husband and I finished a rewatch/first watch of Star Trek Enterprise but we also enjoyed the final season of Picard, Lower Decks and are very quickly finding Strange New Worlds to be a firm favourite.

So Star Trek anything.

26. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Nope.

27. What was the best book you read? 

I read a good amount of books this year, but none of them stood out as the best or particularly moving.

28. What was your greatest musical discovery? 

Dark Academia playlists on youtube for study and concentration.

29. What did you want and get? 

A house, to be built, in the coming year.

30. What was your favorite film of this year? 

Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse

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

I actually can not remember, but I was 47.

32.What would you have liked to have had in 2023 to make it a better year? 

A house, built THIS year.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2023? 

Trying not to look like a fat woman wearing a sack.

34. What kept you sane? 

My husband, routines, faith.

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

None

36. What political issue stirred you the most?  

I want to say the referendum but it didn’t really. It stirred up the country more than anything.

37. Who did you miss? 

I missed a lot of people. Too many to list here.

38. Who was the best new person you met? 

I am sure I have met a new person this year, but I can not remember or choose favourites.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2023:

Be me. Just be genuine.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: 

I don’t have a song lyric but I do have a song riff – Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name Of” – I listened to it on repeat a little while ago and now it is stuck in my head.

Reflection – January and February

JANUARY – Daily Devotions

My commitment to better systems in January was to use the bible application on my phone and just do the devotions that are provided. This has been very successful. I have not missed a day and it has become a habit in that, when I haven’t done it within in the first hour of waking up, it niggles at me until I do complete it.

It is still not at the depth I would like to commit to but it is working for now. To improve further, I think I would like to include a weekly bible study that provides the depth I am seeking. Something were I can really dig into the Word and explore it’s meaning and how it is speaking to me.

Something that helped was I decided to share scriptures form those devotions on facebook. This provided a level of accountability I needed. Now, no one knew they had to keep me accountable, it was just my way of knowing I was doing okay.

FEBRUARY – Thirty minutes of exercise a day.

As you can see from the image, I was not 100% successful in establishing this habit, however I am not counting at a failure. My lack of time and energy levels means there were days when it was just not going to happen… and then other days when my normal running around at school provided me with the numbers I needed.

Some things I have learnt about myself from this process. I do not like incorporating my children into these moments. It is draining, and makes it harder when I have to spend half the time counselling them from killing each other or – and because it normally happens as so as we get home from school – a melt down from either one, or both, occurs.

Another thing I have learnt is my default exercise of choice is walking. I loved walking when I was a kid. I would wander off into the bush regularly and it was a distressed for me, even at 12.

To improve I think I might need to set my daily limit to 45 minutes, but I think I will not do this until I can close ALL of my exercise rings in a month without too many troubles.

The Next Step

MARCH – Monitoring Munchies

This month I am focusing on food. As of tomorrow morning I will be doing a fast. It is not a particularly hard fast, just no sugar (including fruit) for 10 days. But I wanted to start with an attitude of handing this part of my life over to God. I am not good at self denial when it comes to food. I eat well in during the day, but once everyone is in bed, I binge sweets and chocolate. It is a very, very bad habit that I have now passed on to my son.

During my fast and after it, I am back to counting carbohydrates, and to keep me accountable, I will be recording what I eat. I don’t like doing it, not because I fail but because I find it time consuming.

The aim is 2-3 carb exchanges per meal (maximum 45 grams), and 1 carb exchange in a snack (15 grams).

2022: The year of building systems

My left eye is twitching. Almost all of the time. I have no idea what that means – secret stress? What secret stress; I am a mother of two small children, wife to an over achieving husband, mother of a teenager who is soon to turn 20 and finding out what he wants out of life, and a teacher.

Every year, usually on the 1st of January, I post about my goals or aspirations for the next year. You can see them catalogued here on this blog, and every year is a report on my failure on achieving said goals.

This year I am doing something different. I have already started in fact. This year I am going to work on building systems to help me manage my life so that it better shaped to my success.

I could go on about what systems are, their connection to habits, and how they are better than goals, but you can find out all about it reading or listening to Atomic Habits.

Photo by found at https://explore.easyprojects.net/blog/how-effective-project-milestones-planning-can-influence-your-projects-success

For me my plan is to try and build a new system every month. If I am even successful at one, I will call it a success.

January: Devotions – either first thing in morning using the Bible app, or more in-depth studies conducted at night. The second is preferable because I believe that devotions should be deep dives into the word, but I may no have the time.

February: Exercise – doesn’t matter what it is but thirty minutes a day. Doesn’t have to be strenuous as my body has deteriorated a lot, but I have to do something. This will be revised to consider what type of exercise to do, increasing intensity as health permits.

March: Food – even though I am still keeping an eye on what I eat, I really want to actually start counting carbohydrates. My most successful time losing ‘weight’ in my life was when I was pregnant with my daughter and had gestational diabetes. It’s not a ‘no carb’ diet but it is a restricted carb diet that requires a certain amount to be eaten at a time. It helped my weight but also my energy levels. I really need to get back to that.

April: Water – I don’t drink enough. My husband is a Koala and can survive in drinking coffee and maybe juice and is fine. I need two litres or more, or I get dehydrated which then leads to my sinuses becoming inflamed and I have a migraine.

May: Garden – regularly spend time outdoors to maintain the vegetable garden. For the past three to four years we have been trying to grow our own food, we have not been that successful because gardening is more than putting seeds in the ground. We need to weed regularly instead of once every now and then so we are not spending hours getting it set up. This also means getting my worm farm back up and running.

June: Personal time with each child – I am unsure how this would look, but I want to have a ‘date’ with each of my children. Kinda thinking that if there are four weeks (roughly) in the month then I can do one weekend each. I may even have a date with my husband factored in, that is not shopping for groceries.

July: Cleaning – Re-evaluate the systems I already have in place to better maintain my house because I need to have a clean and tidy house to function… and I need to function.

August: Personal Physical upkeep – I have no sense of fashion, but if I have some sort of unified idea of what I like to wear and how I wish to present myself, I might find it easier to just get up and put on clothes and be comfortable in those clothes. That’s it really. I know I will not wear make up, but moisturiser every morning should be as routine as cleaning my teeth… anyhoo, I will address this one when I get to it.

September: Writing – one little thing a day, maybe a certain amount of words, maybe world building, I am not sure. Again, I will figure this out when I get there.

I am leaving the rest of the year clear as this is more than enough to deal with. I will be putting in a lot of time with work, so when I am home I want the system building to be organic and easy to maintain, otherwise I will see it as just another thing to do.

Of course each month will include a reflection on how the system I built the month/s before a going and make changes accordingly.

Here’s to a new way of doing things.

YEAR IN REVIEW – 2021

1. What did you do in 2021 that you’d never done before? Believe it or not, it was to buy a sewing machine and that was only a couple of days ago. Most of this year has been very much rinse and repeat. I also had some personal revelations this year that I have not had before… but that is not for this platform.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? See pending post that goes up tomorrow.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Close friends have, as have some beloved work ladies.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Not this year.

5. What countries did you visit? I actually don’t want to discuss this. My lack of creativity has gotten worse, not better. I am no longer a desert but a desert is prolonged drought.

6. What would you like to have in 2022 that you lacked in 2021? Motivation. Perseverance, Patience, sacrifice.

7. Which date from 2021 will remain etched upon your memory, why? Nope, not doing this one either.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Surviving it while acknowledging I need help.

9. What was your biggest failure? My relationship with my children.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Just feeling Blah most of the time. I am currently sick with a head cold… yay…. (not). 

11. What was the best thing you bought? The pair of jeans I am wearing now? I am not a things person and this question is one of the hardest to answer.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? My husband. He is awesome.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? FACEBOOK, SOCIAL MEDIA, EVERYONE’S – sigh –

14. Where did most of your money go? Food, definitely. Since my husband and I had essential work all this year, we decided to spend more money locally and invest in our local businesses during this time.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? My mum coming to visit.

16. What song will always remind you of 2021? Shadowstep by Hillsong.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Sadder
ii. Thinner or fatter? Fatter
iii. Richer or poorer? Richer, always richer. We are in a rich country and I count my blessings for it.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Complete things that I started. Cleaning… like deep – my house is clean not just tidy – cleaning.

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

20. How did you spend Christmas? Eating and cleaning up lots of paper.

21. Personal goals for 2020, completed or not? Let’s see – Please see pending post tomorrow.

22. What are your personal goals for 2021? As Above

23. Did you fall in love in 2020? Well I am still married…. Hmm, maybe I need to come up with a different question here. 

24. How was your relationship with Murphy this year? Murphy has been popping in from time to time. He hangs around and then disappears until he jumps out of my closet when I least expect it.

25. What was your favorite TV program? BLUEY!!!

26. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Nope.

27. What was the best book you read? I visited a lot of old favourites.

28. What was your greatest musical discovery? Nothing this year. 

29. What did you want and get? Continual Existence.

30. What was your favorite film of this year? I really enjoyed Black Widow.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I honestly can not remember.

32.What would you have liked to have had in 2021 to make it a better year? Motivation hahahahaaaaa *sigh*

34. What kept you sane? I don’t know.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Nobody stands out or comes to mind.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?  Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope… not going there.

37. Who did you miss? Heather when she was on maternity leave.

38. Who was the best new person you met? New colleagues at work. New additions to our family tribe. No names. 

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2021: I am not answering this one either.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: From ‘Shadowstep” Hillsong

You met me at the sinner’s table

I found you waiting by the well, unexpected

you are always there

Tracing all my steps.

Week Three: The settling

Sunday – Nothing. I was exhausted from prep work the night before and the night before that so it was an early bed.

Monday – sigh. Another designated public holiday today (YAY) but due to not working the night before, I still had to get necessary lessons and resources made. Unit plans still not finished, assessments still not written. Panic has now settled into disappointment at, once again, not being able to hit due dates as required.

Time Check: 4 hours.

Tuesday – Day went well and I feel like I achieved something, although one particular class was a fight to get through.

Time Check: 8:30 – 4:30 plus 8:45 – 11:30pm equates to 10 hours and 45 minutes.

Wednesday – Exhausted from the night before and another RUBBISH day. Thought about quitting again today. Beginning to hate Wednesdays. Sigh.

Time Check: 8:15 – 4:15 plus extra hour that was necessary but now I really need to sleep, equates to 9 hours.

Week Two: The Panic

Sunday – Nothing

Monday –

As a mandated public holiday here in Queensland, the amount of work will be minimal. My plan is to at least plan ALL of my lessons for the coming week and to have the resources ready to do so. In the background is my growing panic about not having the unit plans for one my subjects done.

People might say ‘you have a whole day’. You are right, I do… however it is a day when my husband and children are actually home and time with them comes first.

‘But you had Saturday and Sunday…’ Ah yes, I did, but they were days put aside for other commitments. As the wife of an ex-serviceman, ANZAC Day is more about supporting him and what he wants to do than anything else. We also had friend commitments.

Then there is this nebulous time when I somehow keep house. I can already hear other voices telling me a clean house is not important. To them I would answer; ‘it is to me’ (I was thinking other words, you can extrapolate). I do not function in mess. My house is in no way spotless or without its piles of ‘issues’, but if there is stuff strewn everywhere, I can not think. When it gets so bad that I HAVE to clean, I call it ‘procrastocleaning’. I am doing chores to clear my mind to better work on what I need to do.

All that said. When everyone went to bed, I did the work I needed to be prepared for tomorrow.

Time Check: 8:30pm – 12:30am – 3 hours.

Tuesday –

Last night was about 5 hours sleep in the end and then I had an accident at school (ankle collapsed on me and I land on my knees – thought I was going to puke there for a moment. According to one student I was turning green). Its 10:14 and I have been working for two hours since my darling kiddo went to sleep. I am wrecked but I have done the job, I have a lesson for tomorrow (VICTORY!)

Time Check: 8:00 – 4:10 plus 8:15 – 10:15pm totals to 10 hours and 10 minutes.

Wednesday –

Rubbish day. RUBBISH DAY. These are the days when I sit and wonder why I bother trying to do what I do. These are the days when I am the worst teacher and the two hours of work I had put in the night before were meaningless and a complete waste of time. These are the days I wonder why I am not staying at home, keeping my house clean, sewing my projects, painting, crafting and tending my garden. These are the days I contemplate quitting. They are also the days I don’t work after hours simply because I need to recover my equilibrium.

Time Check: 8:10 – 3:10 totals 7 hours.

Thursday –

Still a little raw after yesterday’s disaster day, I managed to lighten up a bit better. However it was interruption after interruption so my to do list didn’t get touched until after school (thursday’s is my planning and administration days) Which means I will be working tonight. On a plus, all my resources for tomorrow are sorted, printed and ready to go. I am ahead, by a micro leap.

Time Check: 8:00 – 4:20 plus 8:30-10:15 gives a total of 10 hours and 5 minutes

Friday –

A good day today where my lessons either ran well or the students were lovely and I didn’t have to work to convince them to do what they were supposed to do. Friday equals no work at night. YAY.

Time Check: 7:50 – 3:40 gives a total of 7 hours and 50 minutes.

Saturday –

A day of shopping and an evening of work.

Time Check: 4 hours and 31 minutes

Overall time working this week – a 4 day week I may add –

42 hours and 36 minutes

Week One: The Rush

Monday –

I was sooo late to school, arriving almost bang on 8:30 when we start. With that in mind I was at school until 5:15 and almost didn’t stop to have lunch.

It’s now 10:53pm and I am beginning to wind down. This will take me an hour to pack and prep for tomorrow morning, wash and other personal ablutions that help me too centre and still so sleep actually happens.

Time Checks: 8:30 – 5:15 and 9:00 – 10:30 means 10 hours and 15 minutes working today.

Tuesday –

Become more and more dehydrated through out the day, I can always tell because my sinus’ flare up and I get awful headaches.

Made it to school by 8:10 and left at 4:30 after the meeting. Wasn’t going to be at the school the next day because of other commitments so I needed to do to put together work for my classes (this constitutes instructions, handouts, technology based teaching – what ever is necessary) but my headache was making me physically sick so I opted for bed at 8:30pm.

Time Check: 8:10 – 4:30 means 8 hours and 20 minutes working today.

Wednesday –

I woke up at 3:30am and started almost immediately gathering the resources I needed and writing up the instructions for each lesson. For most of them it was an email of instructions sent directly to the students but for one class in particularly, I had to make up the work I wanted them to work through as well. Thankfully I got it all done before my family woke up and wanted my time.

Made it to school by 7:50am to fight and argue with technology and photocopiers and was bad home for my alternative teacher duties by 9am.

Worked on an off through out the day to a tune about about 5 and half hours.

I am not doing any work this evening as I prepped for Thursday’s class in-between the other teaching stuff I was rostered to do at home. Edit: I forgot that I needed to have a wreath put together for ANZAC. To be honest I don’t think of things like this as work. I enjoy crafting and find it soothing, however I am including it as it is for school. So that’s another hour. (Wreath comprises of wire hanger, rosemary from our out of control bushes in the front yard and paper and button poppies).

Time Check: 3:30 – 6am, plus 7:50 – 8:30am, plus the 5 and half hours, plus the hour of ‘wreathing’ gives a total of 9 hours and 40 minutes.

Lest We Forget

Thursday –

I took the night off. Thursday is my favourite day as I have two lots of spares, which gives me the time to settle into the work that is necessary to set up the rest of the week or lead into the next. This Thursday was productive but not as much as I wanted, however the immediate things were accomplished. The problem is the work that needs to be done later (and thus getting ahead) if not done, becomes the immediate stuff. *sigh* The goalposts keep moving.

Time Check: 8:10 – 4:20 means 8 hours and 10 minutes.

Friday – FriYAY!

The ANZAC chapel was deeply moving and I am so stupendously proud of our students understanding the gravitas surrounding this ceremony of remembrance. I started crying about half way through the message and didn’t really stop until after singing the National Anthem. It’s hard to sing at the octave I tend to settle into due to always singing it there when we were kids at school (and I could reach those notes and maintain them), trying to sing it while crying is not fun.

I DO NOT work on Friday nights. I am done for this week.

Time Check: 8:05 – 4:40 means 8 hours and 35 minutes.

Weekly Total: 45 hours.

Next week, Term Two, Week Two, Starts on Sunday Night.

PERSONAL GOALS 2021

Well, the new year arrives and I naturally come to reflect on how I preformed on my goals from last year. To remind you, here were my goals for 2020:

1. To be around 65kg and around a size 12/14 by the 31st of December.
2. Commit to set devotional and work out times and routines.
3. Edit and complete In the Shade of You by posting one chapter a week on WATTPAD.
4. Create a writing journal that records the ‘practice’ of writing. Make it pretty using coloured pens, pencils and washi tape.

How did I do?

1. To be around 65kg and around a size 12/14 by the 31st of December. – is a complete failure. I am the largest and the heaviest I have ever been. Which is more than this time last year when I wrote the exact same thing. It is literally killing me.
2. Commit to set devotional and work out times and routines. – This past month I have started walking. It is incredibly painful. My leg muscles are simply knots on knots on knots. So I am not a complete failure at this. Out of all of my GOALS, this one is the one that needs to be the focus of all my efforts in the future.
3. Edit and complete In the Shade of You by posting one chapter a week on WATTPAD. – actually did this, until I hit the points in the narrative that were not completed. So the first third of the novel is up on WATTPAD but not the rest of it. *sigh*
4. Create a writing journal that records the ‘practice’ of writing. Make it pretty using coloured pens, pencils and washi tape. – I brought it and the materials and then NEVER TOUCHED IT. I stared longingly at it for a bit but no, not done.

What can I say, the same things get in the way every time, school and family. They come first because they need to come first. I need to be able to do my job well because there are many people who rely on me to be good at my job (There are days when even being a mediocre teacher requires tons of work). As for Family; they are hands down always first.

Thus, my Goals for 2021 is rinse and repeat.

1. To be around 65kg and around a size 12/14 by the 31st of December.
2. Commit to set devotional and work out times and routines (and actually do them).
3. Edit and complete ANY creative project by posting one chapter a week on WATTPAD.
4. Create a writing journal that records the ‘practice’ of writing. Make it pretty using coloured pens, pencils and washi tape.

What needs to happen if for me to maintain my motivation and not crawl into my hole and hide.

God Bless everyone, here’s praying for breakthrough and protection for 2021.

Year in Review 2020

1. What did you do in 2020 that you’d never done before? Same as everyone else, I dealt with a Pandemic. That is not something you ever expect to say or experience – it is literally the stuff of films – As an introvert it was not that much different from my real life. As a teacher it was… enlightening, for myself and my students.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? See pending post that goes up tomorrow.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No, but two friends are pregnant and will be giving birth next year. Very excited.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Luke’s grandfather passed away.

5. What countries did you visit? None, not even in my imagination. This year has been a desert of creativity.

6. What would you like to have in 2021 that you lacked in 2020? Time to do things other than housework and school work. I need to put systems in place so that I can find a better balance. This past year I have gotten better but I still haven’t quite got it right yet.

7. Which date from 2020 will remain etched upon your memory, why? So many. It’s more like months with a list of disasters attached rather than any one day, or moment. I am grateful that this is so hard actually. It does mean that in the year that was filled with bad news, none of it was so intimate that it impacted me to the point it is seared as one moment that stands out. Also, not all of it was bad. Joseph, my son, graduated this year and did well.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I don’t think I achieved much this year. I was this year. I existed.

9. What was your biggest failure? My personal goals were not … well see post pending about New Year’s Resolutions.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? So the mysterious illness… exhaustion due to sleep apnea. I was basically dying everytime I slept. Lack of oxygen and deep sleep led to my body being in survival mode nearly all of the time. I am grossly obese so the losing weight thing is now to become a very high priority.  

11. What was the best thing you bought? Definitely my CPAP machine, potentially the Apple iPad Air and Pencil I brought to help with becoming more tech savvy with school.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My son’s. Joseph has done great over the last two years to complete his final year very well indeed.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Mine. Always mine. But also some of our other fellow human’s choices.

14. Where did most of your money go? Food, definitely. Since my husband and I had essential work all this year, we decided to spend more money locally and invest in our local businesses during this time.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Nothing comes to mind.

16. What song will always remind you of 2020? Joy by King and Country. There were times when we just had to choose Joy.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier
ii. Thinner or fatter? Fatter
iii. Richer or poorer? Richer, always richer. We are in a rich country and I count my blessings for it.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Other than work on my Personal Goals, READ.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Sit and stare blankly at screens

20. How did you spend Christmas? Breakfast at home with the family then Lunch and afternoon with the extended family down at JaDe Park.

21. Personal goals for 2020, completed or not? Let’s see – Please see pending post tomorrow.

22. What are your personal goals for 2021? As Above

23. Did you fall in love in 2020? Well I am still married…. Hmm, maybe I need to come up with a different question here.

24. How was your relationship with Murphy this year? Murphy has been decidedly quiet on a personal level this year. Perhaps because he was having too much fun with others to visit.

25. What was your favorite TV program? Mandalorian and Discovery and BLUEY!!!

26. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Nope.

27. What was the best book you read? Out of the books I did read this past year, I have found the works of Maria V Snyder to be very interesting. Looking forward to reading the rest of them… when they come out.

28. What was your greatest musical discovery? Nothing this year.

29. What did you want and get? Better health

30. What was your favorite film of this year? This one is hard because hardly any films were released this year and we don’t tend to watch films at home. Mulan was a disappointment, although I can complete see what they were trying to do.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 44 and lockdown had started so we had take-out, at home.

32.What would you have liked to have had in 2020 to make it a better year? Motivation.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2020? Desperately trying to fit into my clothes.

34. What kept you sane? Routines, the fact my daycare centre stayed open and so did my school. The idea of working from home with my little girls terrified me. they are getting old enough to play more by themselves, but they are also getting old enough to destroy the house and kill each other.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Nobody stands out or comes to mind.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?  Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope… not going there.

37. Who did you miss? A certain co-hort of students. I taught all year levels again this past year (8-12) except the year 9s. I really did miss them.

38. Who was the best new person you met? New colleagues at work. New additions to our family tribe. No names.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2020: I am very disconnected from people and the world on many different levels.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: Joy by King and Country

Lately I’ve been reeling
Watching the nightly news
Don’t seem to find the rhythm
Just wanna sing the blues
Feels like a song that never stops
Feels like it’s never gonna

Gotta get that fire, fire back in my bones
Before my hard heart turns into stone
So won’t somebody please pass the megaphone
I’ll shout it on the count of three, 1, 2, 3

Oh, hear my prayer tonight
I’m singing to the sky
Give me strength to raise my voice, let me testify
Oh, hear my prayer tonight
Cause this is do or die
The time has come to make choice
And I choose joy
Let it move you
Let it move
Let it move you
Yeah, I choose joy
Let it move you
Let it move
Let it move you

Yeah, back when I was younger
My eyes were full of life
But now that I am older
I live at the speed of light
Feels like the cycle never stops
Feels like it’s never gonna

Gotta get that fire, fire back in my bones
Before my hard heart turns into stone
So won’t somebody please pass the megaphone
I’ll shout it on the count of three, 1, 2, 3

Oh, hear my prayer tonight
I’m singing to the sky
Give me strength to raise my voice, let me testify
Oh, hear my prayer tonight
Cause this is do or die
The time has come to make choice
And I choose joy
Let it move you
Let it move
Let it move you
Yeah, I choose joy
Let it move you
Let it move
Let it move you

Though I walk through the valley in the shadow of night
Oh with You by my side, I’m stepping into the light
I choose Joy
Let it move you
Let it move
Let it move you

I need that joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay
I need that joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay

But I choose joy
Let it move you
Let it move
Let it move you
Oh, I choose joy
Let it move you
Let it move
Let it move you

Though I walk through the valley in the shadow of night
Oh with You by my side, I’m stepping into the light
I choose Joy
Go let it move you
Go let it move
Go let it move you
Oh, I choose joy

Joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay
I need that joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay

Still here

I am still here.

I had a Martha day today, when everyone was Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus and I was the one who carried the load or making sure everything was as it should be.

Husband sent me to bed for a nap and I slept for two hours.

I have not worked a normal week this week and was completely unmotivated to work this weekend, instead spending time with my husband and using the quiet hours when everyone else is asleep – like now – to tidy the house and prep food for the week without interruption, or another mess being made.

Week working hours: 42

Weight lost this year: 0