For the last few years, the status on my Facebook on 31st December has been:

‘Not making any resolutions, because I end up sh*tfaced, face down in a kebab and drunk texting. So what’s the point!!!’

In the past I have probably made every resolution known to man. The one successful one was back in 2013. I was determined to quit the 20 a day smoking habit I had. I can thankfully say that I have stuck with it since then. Sure, on a night out I occasionally have a cigarette. Sometimes I even bought a packet of 10 to accompany the bottle of wine in my shopping basket. However in 2017 I haven’t bought one single packet of fags and I don’t plan to ever again. I have probably had no more than 4 cigarettes over the whole 12 months. Sure I use an e-cig but I wouldn’t ever go back to cigarettes. I don’t get ill as often, I don’t stink, I feel healthier and if I really needed to I could probably run for a bus.

So, it is the end of 2017… What resolutions will I put in place for 2018?

This is one that is usually on my radar until about the 4th January when I realise that I have nothing to look forward to in the coming months and order a Chinese to cheer myself up. However, since a car accident in 2016 I have put on a little weight and I haven’t been exercising as much as I used to. Combine this with eating like a horse and well… So it is time to be kinder to my body and look after it a little more. I want to lose a stone. That is my aim. I’m going to attempt to go vegan in January. Just for a month. Not 100% as I have a couple of meals out planned and I don’t think being vegan will be easy (plus I do still like meat) but I’m going to try my hardest to do it for as long as possible as circumstances allow.

If you read my blog, you know I go out a lot for dinner. I love to eat out. It makes me happy. However I also love to cook and need to make more time in 2018 to do so. Invite friends around and get out of my comfort zone a little more. Experiment more. This is also where going vegan will help, I hope.

I love to pole dance. When I moved to Nottingham 6 years ago I joined a gym… and HATED it. Pole fitness had always interested me and they ran a class a couple of times a week, so one day I decided to just go for it. I am so glad I did. I met some incredible girls (and guys) doing the sport, watched my pole teacher compete in competitions and actually toned up and got stronger. I stopped after pulling a muscle in my leg. After physio I was all ready to go back when I had a car accident. So I am determined to return and get back to the same level I was when I had to stop.

I’ve learned a hard lesson this year. The people you feel closest to aren’t necessarily the people that feel closest to you. 2018 is a time to focus on the people that care as much for me as I care for them. I don’t see two of my best friends that often as we all have busy lives, but only live 45 minutes apart. I’m going to make more of an effort to make time for the ones that want to spend time with me.

In the last couple of years I have been incredibly fortunate to tick some stuff off my bucket list including travelling around Thailand and watching a Cirque Du Soleil show. Next year I want to do even more. You can have a look at some of my list HERE

I have nearly hit my savings goal for 2017 and am feeling pretty proud. I am excited to see my savings grow slightly each month and I hope to one day have enough saved for a house deposit. I will endeavour to keep to my weekly budget and maybe I will have to stop buying gin for a while.

So those are my aims for 2018. What are yours?