Goals2017

Year end review of Goals 2017

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So how did it end up? Let’s see how I did with my goals for the year.

1. Continue to jog/run

I am proud to say I completed 20 parkruns this year. My running has fallen off a bit in the winter as I don’t like running in the dark after work but as our new leisure centre opens in February I can run on the treadmill when it’s dark outside.

2. Take up yoga again

This started well but dropped off very quickly. Again with the leisure centre opening hopefully I can attend some sessions.

3. Eat more wholefoods

I have been eating more veg with our veg box although as my Husband has been eating less meat he has been having meat replacements so I have had those with him. I have been taking my lunch to work almost every day so I have had less processed food out and about.

4. Use less plastic

I have taking my re-usable cup everywhere and by taking my lunch to work I have been using less plastic. Riverford who deliver my veg box have also committed to using even less plastic than they currently do in the next year. I’ve converted to a shampoo bar and using soap. I love Lush’s new naked range which uses solid concentrated versions with no plastic packaging.

5. Be more politically active

I have been taking part almost weekly in Earthlings Experiences with Havering Vegan Action, I’ve also taken part in Southend Anonymous for the Voiceless first two cubes of truth as well as the March for Animals and a few events in London like the Canada Goose protests. I can’t wait to take part in more events next year and I’ve even asked for a flask for Christmas to see me through the winter!

6. Support more independent shops and traders

I’ve only had one drink from Costa and Starbucks each which I’m really proud of. I’ve used Etsy to buy from independent traders online and I want to start using Hive as an alternative to Amazon.

7. Continue “no new clothes” and expand on it

I have done well on this with barely any new clothes at all apart from a few vegan themed clothes which I have also tried to get from ethical, carbon neutral producers. I haven’t bought any big items of furniture but when I do I will try and source these second hand.

8. Attend church more regularly

I have switched to my local church rather than the church I grow up in which means it’s been easier to attend more regularly.

9. Watch less television

This is also something I’ve done well on and just picked particular series to watch rather than just seeing what’s on at the time. I’ve cut down on the reality TV I watch as well.

10. Continue to blog

Apart from a few weeks hiatus in the spring I have continued to blog frequently and my stats continue to improve month on month so I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon!

So there you have it. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved this year. I’m not sure I’ll have as many goals for 2018 but I’ll be sure to continue the good work I’ve started in 2017.

How did you get on with your goals for the year? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

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Year end review of Goals 2017

Quarter 3 2017 Goals Review

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I missed out on my half year update so I thought I better make sure I did my quarter 3 one, so let’s get right in!

1. Continue to jog/run

I have done really well on this one and am currently running 5k three times a week. I have completed 14 parkruns this year including one when I was away visiting family and last weekend I beat my personal best time from when I did parkrun 5 years ago and was two stone lighter!

2. Take up yoga again

I started off well with this one but it has fallen by the wayside in the second half of the year. With running three times a week and swimming once a week there hasn’t been much time for it. Next year our new leisure centre is opening so I’m hoping I’ll be able to fit in a class there.

3. Eat more wholefoods

I have also been doing pretty well with this. I have been getting a UK organic veg box and doing more cooking from scratch. I think I’ll get even more into this as it gets more into Autumn and Winter and I can be making pies and stews.

4. Use less plastic

The way I have been achieving this is by buying less overall. I have also been bringing my own lunch into work and this morning I got my Pumpkin Spice Flat White from Pret in my own bamboo cup. The veg box mentioned above  I had also helped. I have struggled to find alternatives to plastics but by consuming less I am contributing less plastic to landfill and the ocean.

5. Be more politically active

I think I have really come into my own in the second half of the year on this one. I attended a few events at the beginning of the year but it was hearing activists talk at the Vegan Camp Out in July that really inspired me to get more involved. I have attended events in London with The Earthlings Experience as well as regularly attending local Earthlings events in my home town. I took part in Surge’s Down with Dairy event and matched with them as part of the Animal Rights March which saw 5,000 vegans take to the streets of London. I have made some fab friends through activism and hope to continue standing up for what I believe in.

6. Support more independent shops and traders

I am very proud to say I haven’t bought myself a coffee from Starbucks this whole year, and if you knew me last year you’d be very surprised by this! When I do occasionally buy lunch at work there are plenty of great independent food places about. I have also been attending vegan markets and finding out about vegan traders I wasn’t previously aware of.

7. Continue “No New Clothes” and expand on this

I am very happy to say I have been taking part in this challenge for 21 months now. I have bought a couple of items I needed, like a new zip up hoody but I am working on fixing the zip on my coat and stitching up are few bits that have come loose in time for winter. I recently had another little clear out for the charity shop of clothes that I still haven’t really worn in that time. In terms of other items I have managed to keep buying new things to a minimum as I don’t have much room in my flat!

8. Attend Church more regularly

This is another one that I was good at at the beginning of the year but I have let slide a bit over the summer. I have decided to start visiting my local church which is a 25 minute walk away rather than the church I grew up in which is 45 minutes away. The early service at my local church is also a solemn service so I will be home earlier as well.

9. Watch less television

With two evening a week (plus Saturday mornings) being dedicated to running and many Friday evenings doing activism this hasn’t been difficult at all! There are a few shows we regularly watch but it is far less than I used to. We even managed to catch up on BBC Hollow Crown second series (Shakespeare’s Henry VI part one and two and Richard III) which had been sitting on our planner for over a year as we had fewer and fewer regular programmes we were watching.

10. Continue to Blog

I did have a few week gap at the beginning of the summer, but apart from that I’ve blogged pretty regularly throughout the year. As long as things continue to inspire me I’ll continue to blog about them!

So that’s it! I don’t think I’ve done too badly, so I’m pretty proud of myself! Are you still working on your 2017 goals or were they forgotten around about February? Have you started thinking about your 2018 goals yet? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x


Quarter 3 2017 Goals Review

Quarter 1 2017 Goals Review

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Review. Text on the string. Conceptual 3d image

So we are already a quarter through 2017, how times flies eh? So let’s see how I’ve been getting on with my goals.

1. Continue to jog/run

I have slowed down with this one due to not feeling very well recently although I’ve still been running about once a week. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks I will be able to start running a little bit more. I’ve signed up to take part in Bubble Rush a 5k run through foam in the Olympic Park in Stratford in May.

2. Take up yoga again

Again my practice has lapsed a bit due to my energy levels but I did take part in a yoga event in February and I hope to attend more events in the year.

3. Eat more wholefoods

I’ve been doing well with this due in part to my veg box. I’ve bought some tempeh starter to make my own tempeh from dried soya beans. My Husband is trying to cut down on meat so he’s been eating more food with me and made us a lovely dhal the other day.

4. Use less plastic

The way I have been achieving this is just by buying less overall but I don’t feel like I’ve made many substitutions apart from buying the veg box. Obviously buying less is great but I need to do more research when making essential purchases.

5. Be more politically active

I’ve attended two events already this year, the protest against the Great British Greyhound Board in January and UN Day Against Racism in March. I already have a list of events in my diary for the upcoming months and I’ve been taking part in craftivism taking tips from Craftivist Collective.

6. Support more independent shops and traders 

I have been doing well with this. I have only had one chain coffee this year! I went to a lovely little wholefoods shop in Hackney the other day and got some smoked garlic I’m really excited about trying. When I’m in a new area I’m searching my maps app for independent places. I find it the most difficult in stations when I really need something quickly.

7. Continue No New Clothes and expand on it 

I have not bought any new clothes so I’m doing well on that front. I need to source some running tights/leggings as I am a larger derriere’d lady and feel like I need a sports bra for my bum – the jogging bottoms aren’t providing enough support! I keep seeing a lot of vegan branded products I would like to buy but I have been resisting the urge!

8. Attend Church more regularly

This is another goal I’ve been successful with. I have attended church every weekend I’ve been home and I attended on Saturday evening last week as I was busy on the Sunday. I found the local Catholic Church when I was down in Ramsgate and it was really nice visiting a different church.

9. Watch less television

This has been easier than I was expecting. I think because of the eating more wholefoods I’ve been cooking more, leaving less time for TV and as I’ve been fatigued I’ve been sleeping earlier too.

10. Continue to blog

I have also done well with this goal. I’ve been quite active and have had lots to blog about! So hopefully this’ll continue in the coming months. I still have a couple of ideas I’ve been meaning to blog about which I haven’t had a chance to as other topics have come up.

So overall I think I’ve been doing pretty well. There are a few areas I need to concentrate a bit more on so I will try to keep those in mind.

How have your goals been going? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Quarter 1 2017 Goals Review

Goals 2017 – One Month Review

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I wanted to write this post to give you an update on how I’m going with my goals, what’s working well, what isn’t and are there any changes I can make going forward.

If you haven’t read Goals for 2017 you can to see the reasons behind each goal.

1. Continue to jog/run

I have been jogging for 30 minutes three times a week consistently in January and I completed my first Parkrun of the year last Saturday in 40 mins 20 secs. I’ve found this goal easy to do as I feel the benefits from it straight away!

2. Take up yoga again

I have been doing my yogalates DVD once to twice a week, I would like is to be a little more regular but hey sometimes life gets in the way! I’ve got my yoga and vegan food event coming up in a couple of weeks so I’m really looking forward to that.

3. Eat more while foods

I think I’ve been doing pretty well with this. Since we’ve been getting our veg box I find I am planning each meal around what veg we can have rather than around the protein. I still probably have around one lazy meal a week but we haven’t had any takeaways this month.

4. Use less plastic

My real win for this has been the veg box as nothing comes in plastic, if there is any packaging it’s card and you return the box each time which is reused 10 times before  is recycled. I also have my eco cup which I have only used once as I’ve just been going without coffee rather than using takeaway cups. I find it difficult with supermarket shopping to find things not in plastic. I don’t have anywhere I can bulk buy beans/grains in my own containers so if anyone has any tips I’d greatly appreciate them.

5. Be more politically active

I attended my first protest of the year on Sunday which you can read about here. I would have loved to have attended to Womens’ March in London but unfortunately I was in Eastbourne that weekend and I couldn’t attend the emergency march on Downing Street on Monday as I was too tired from Sunday’s protest and I had to have some self care. I plan to attend my first Awakening event in March and I’m sure other events will come up throughout the year.

6. Support more independent shops and traders

Think I’ve done ok with this goal, although I have just been shopping everywhere less (both chains and independents) although when I have I have attempted to use independents. I’ve found a lovely Australian coffee shop near my work and I use the two independent coffee shops near home. I have only had one chain coffee and that was in Eastbourne after church on the Sunday, my cousin and I had tried two independent cafes first but they were both shut so we had to resort to Costa.

7. Continue No New Clothes and expand on it

I haven’t bought any new clothes. I went to a vintage kilo sale on Saturday and bought four items and then a jumper in a charity shop. I haven’t really bought anything else that I’ve needed to source although I have ordered some plates from Magpie who are an independent vegan operation, I had scoured the charity shops before Christmas for plates but the only ones that suited my needs came in huge 24 piece sets which I don’t have the room in my flat for.

8. Attend Church more regularly

I have been to church every Sunday I have been at home and I attended with my cousin while I was in Eastbourne. I am at my in-laws this weekend and I may try to attend on Saturday night depending on what time dinner is!

9. Watch less TV

This has been achieved with the help of American shows going on their mid-season breaks! We have been watching Twin Peaks on blu ray at one to two episodes a day but we have now completed that and the mid season breaks are over. We have a couple of episodes of Homeland on the planner and the DC programmes (Supergirl, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow) have been back on this week. I’m going to try to ration to one fiction and one non-fiction a day at most. I have been listening to more podcasts while cooking/running and travelling and watching more YouTube as well which is more concentrated on content I feel is of more value to me.

10. Continue to blog

I hope if you are a keen follower of the blog you have seen how active I have been in January! I’m planning about 3 blog posts into the future at the moment so I’ve got quite a few ideas bouncing around my head so I’m going nowhere for the foreseeable!

All in all I think I’m pretty much on track with all of my goals at the moment. Long may it continue!

How are you getting along with your own goals and resolutions? Let  me know on the comments.

Plumes x

Goals 2017 – One Month Review