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New Year’s Resolutions-2018 Review

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So it’s the last day of 2018 and I thought I’d reflect upon how I did with my New Year’s Resolutions in December and also do an overview of how well I did throughout the year. So here’s a look at how I did.

1-Eat Healthy & Exercise

Yes and yes! At the start of 2018 I felt unfit, unhealthy and unhappy with my weight. On the first day of April I decided to change all of that and committed to frequent exercise and a healthier diet.

I’ve kept to it and I’ve lost over two stone.

2-Read More

My aim was to read one book a month, so twelve for the whole year and I managed to read ten in total.

I was going well until the end of the year, when I started a new job and a lot of other things were going on, so I’m still pleased with my efforts.

I read:

-Lonely Planet Belgium & Luxembourg

-Lonely Planet Pocket Bruges & Brussels

-Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2018

-The Man Who Didn’t Call by Rosie Walsh

-I See You by Clare Mackintosh

-Zakynthos & Kefalonia Pocket Guide by Berlitz

-The Party by Lisa Hall

-His Other Lover by Lucy Dawson

-The Woman Before You by Carrie Blake

-Lonely Planet Pocket Copenhagen

3-Do 2 New Things Per Month

Every month I did two or more new things, so I successfully achieved this goal.

In December I did these things for the first time:

-I went on holiday to Denmark. It was my first time in the country and therefore my first time visiting the capital city of Copenhagen.

-Whilst there we did many new things, such as see the Little Mermaid statue and go Tivoli amusement park.

-Ate at Wasabi for the first time. I got the vegan tofu curry and noodles.

-Spent my first Christmas with my partner’s family (as we usually go away with or stay with my family for the holidays.

4-Visit three NEW countries and three NEW cities (Any towns and villages or any extra countries and cities are a bonus)

Achieved!

In 2018 we visited six countries:

-Belgium

-Finland

-France (NEW)

-Barbados (NEW)

-Greece (NEW)

-Denmark (NEW)

(Four were new countries for us, as we’d been to Belgium & Finland before)

We visited three new cities:

-Ghent (Belgium)

-Bridgetown (Barbados)

-Copenhagen (Denmark)

We visited five new towns:

-Margate (UK)

-Ramsgate (UK)

-Marne-la-Vallée (France)

-Oistins (Barbados)

-Windsor (UK)

We visited three new villages:

-Bathsheba (Barbados)

-Agia Effimia (Greece)

-Fiskardo (Greece)

In total we visited fifteen new places, including four new countries and three new cities.

5-Use Up What I Have Before Buying More

December wasn’t my best month for this, as I treated myself to skincare and bought some things I probably didn’t need. Overall in 2018, I did really well as I bought a lot less than the previous year.

Bonus Round

December wasn’t the month for ‘me time’. Work was too busy, my grandad was in hospital and then sadly passed away. It’s been a sad and stressful month where I haven’t looked after myself too well.

Throughout the year I did okay at giving myself time to read and exercise, but I need to focus on giving myself more time to relax and unwind.

Bonus Bonus Round

I never put this as a resolution this year, but in 2017 I set myself and my partner a target to watch a certain amount of films. Our target this year was 20 which we have just achieved, so I thought it was worth mentioning.

Let me know how you did with your 2018 resolutions.

Happy New Year’s Eve. I hope you all have an amazing night!

A Day at Windsor Castle

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Last weekend me and my partner drove to Windsor to visit the town and it’s famous castle.

Windsor is just outside of West London and around a one and a half/two hour drive from where we live.

Car selfie on the way.

After parking, we made a beeline for Windsor Castle which is a royal residence and the longest-occupied palace in Europe.

Windsor’s had a lot of media attention lately, as the on-site St George’s Chapel is where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and (even more recently); Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank got married.

Near the entrance of Windsor Castle.

One of the first sights you see is Windsor Castle’s striking Round Tower, built in the 11th century by William the Conqueror to be a fortress, just like the rest of the castle.

In 1110 Henry I became the first royal to use the castle as an actual residence.

Us listening to the audio guide as we explored the castle.

The beautiful views, cobbled roads and countryside feel of Windsor’s grounds, felt like I was walking around a village not a palace!

It’s such a beautiful place, I can see why so many members of the royal family have got married at the Chapel in Windsor.

Me with one of the guards.

Whilst at Windsor Castle we visited the State Apartments which were used by Charles II and his wife Catherine. Charles II designed the rooms to rival his cousin Louis XIV, who created the stunning Palace of Versailles.

The rooms were later changed significantly by George IV.

Whilst at Windsor we also got to see ‘A Royal Wedding: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’, which is an exhibition that runs until the 6th January 2019.

We saw Harry, Meghan, Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s outfits for the royal wedding, as well as listening to Harry and Meghan talk on the audio guide.

Sadly we couldn’t take any photos inside the buildings, but we really enjoyed ourselves.

After visiting the castle, it was time to explore the town.

Windsor is a beautiful town, with lots of nods to it’s royal status.

Crown shaped Christmas lights.

After shopping and wandering around, we headed to Wagamamas for dinner.

We started with some yasai steamed gyoza.

Before ordering a kare burosu for me and a yasai katsu curry for my partner.

Mine was tofu, vegetables and udon noodles in a curried broth, whilst the katsu is breaded vegetables, rice and a curry sauce. The food was amazing.

After a wonderful day out and bellies full, we jumped in the car and headed back home.