My Twenty Wishes for 2017 Revisited

At the beginning of 2017 I wrote a post to outline the wishes and goals I had for the coming year, including wishes for myself, my family, my blog and my business. I thought I would revisit the post today and see how many of these have been achieved throughout 2017.

Me

"To lead a healthier lifestyle."

✓ Success

I started to meal plan, shop from lists, cook from fresh and eat healthier. I also chose to walk when we could instead of driving and do a little bit here and there to try to be better and healthier. I did indulge a little too, I didn't give up chocolate and cake. I still managed to drop a dress size however; so I'd call that a success. 

"To learn to not be so hard on myself."

X  ✓ Neither FAIL nor SUCCESS

In some areas I managed this. When I didn't find the time to fit in a post I wanted to write or was a little late in posting a birthday card I didn't freak out like I usually would. When it comes to motherhood, however, I seem to still find it difficult on the bad days not to feel like a failure. I'll work on that.

"To spend less time on social media."

X ✓ Neither FAIL nor SUCCESS

Although I cut down a little in respect to personal and scrolling through when my children are around, the nature of my business and blog mean that social media is the life line of my income. Thus although I cut down sitting on my phone during the daytime with my girls and tried to schedule as much as possible; I still spent quite a lot of time on social media.

"To have a better control of my emotions."

X FAIL

I am still struggling with this one. The fluctuation of my hormones as my body has tried to right itself after pregnancy and during my breastfeeding journey probably hasn't helped.  Another goal I need to work on.

"To take more photos, or ask for someone to take more photos, of me and my children together."

 ✓ SUCCESS

I have made sure that I have plenty of photos with my girls from the start to the finish of 2017. There are selfies I took with one or both of them and photos that friends and family members have taken too. All that needs to be done now is to pop them into the girls scrapbooks.

"To take more time out for myself."

X FAIL

Yeah, this one didn't go as well as I would have liked. I think that the nearest to me time I got in 2017 was the time that I spent working at the laptop in the evening after the girls were in bed. I can count on one hand the number of relaxing baths I had, and I can't remember the last time I had time out at the cinema or afternoon tea with one of my girl friends.

"To spend more time baking."

X ✓ Neither FAIL nor SUCCESS

I can't say that I did as much baking throughout the year as I would have liked to do but I did make sure that I got all the important baking done... from birthday cakes for my girls and a whole lot of awesome Christmas baking too!

My Family

"For Squidgy to make the transition to preschool without any drama or problems."

 ✓ SUCCESS

I have been really pleased with the way that Squidgy has not only settled into preschool but been so happy to go back after school holidays. I know of plenty of parents who struggle with both the transition period and the start of term (some even the start of a week after a weekend off!) so I am so glad that we do not have any issues with my gorgeous girly loving it as much as she does.

"For my girls love for each other to continue to grow as they bond with each other."

✓ SUCCESS

Whether it is playing together, sharing their toys or even sharing their food, my girls relationship is doing nothing but grow stronger. As they both begin to grow up (far too quickly for my liking!) they are constantly working out new ways to amaze me in how they interact from teaching each other cheeky things to simply holding hands as they walk through town.

"For my husband and I to continue to love each other as strongly as ever."

✓ SUCCESS

Always and forever may be something that is rare these days, but the man that I love and the man that I married is the man that I will continue to choose to be the one I kiss when the clock strikes midnight at the beginning of a new year. We celebrated nine years together and six years married in 2017 and I love him more than ever... and I believe he loves me still too!

"To spend more time doing things as a family, not just sitting at home in front of the TV."

✓ SUCCESS

We spent a lot of time out of the house, whether is was at a local playground or making trips to Ferry Meadows we made sure to get out and spend time as a family out of the house as well as in it.

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"To see our extended family more often."

X ✓ Neither FAIL nor SUCCESS

Although we did see our family at a few big functions (birthdays, weddings and Christenings) we didn't see them outside of those. It's a shame really as my family was so close when I was younger and I miss them!

My Blog

"To grow my social media. My aim is to reach 5k followers on Twitter, 3k followers on Instagram and 1k on Facebook."

X FAIL

Unfortunately it takes a lot more hard graft that I was anticipating to grow social media, and I think I set my targets too high. I have seen growth in all areas however, it is just slower than I had hoped.

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"To increase my readership. I currently have an average UMV (unique monthly visitors) number of 2,534 and monthly page views of 6,694."

✓ SUCCESS

My 2017 yearly average turned out to be around double the previous year. I'd say that's a massive success! 

"By the end of the year I would like my blog to be a sustainable source of income for me."

✓ SUCCESS

I may not be able to afford my dream car but I have certainly managed to start earning enough to get my nails done, order a takeaway or even afford a gorgeous Tiffany desk lamp. Through my blog I have also had a chance to start earning through some freelance writing which means that I have a regular source of income coming in a couple of channels. Onward and upward from here.

"Finally, to not lose my love for writing."

✓ SUCCESS

I still love to write. The fact that I am still cranking out content and even started writing freelance articles is a sure sign of that. The one thing that I wish is that I had more hours in the day to be able to write all the posts I have ideas to do. I run out of time so quickly with so much going on in my life!

My Business

"For Mama Naii's Crochet to continue to grow."

✓ SUCCESS

Thanks to the wonderful blogging community I am now a part of I have seen healthy growth in my business, although I have not really put in the effort to network as I should to see it grow as much as I know it could.

"For it to be just as successful when I re open my order books as it was before I went on maternity leave."

X ✓ Neither FAIL nor SUCCESS

At first I thought this was happening... I returned to an influx of orders from friends, family and some of the blogging community. As we came towards Christmas however, the orders seemed to diminish and I haven't had any in a while. I am planning to try and make a little more effort in 2018 to network and advertise my wares better!

"For me to be able to find the time to dedicate to my orders."

✓ SUCCESS

This I did do. When it came to the orders I received this year, I made sure I set time aside to work exclusively on them. It worked a treat and I worked my way through them like a boss!