2014 Snapshot

Most people will tell you what a hard/bad/broke year 2014 was - including myself.

Up until September, I was well on my way to successfully realizing a few of my Twenty Wishes. Then a double whammy work bombshell hit and it was downhill for the rest of the year.

Exercise & getting fit took a backseat and I gained 8kgs in a few months.
Besides gaining weight - the additional side effects of not exercising is that is negatively affects your state of mind.

Clearing out my phone and looking through all the photos I took in 2014, I was surprised to discover that work has clouded my mind into thinking that it was all bad, when in fact - it was not.

I heard a wonderful idea on Stacey Norman's show today & she posted it on Facebook. Instead of resolutions, start a "Rememberlution" jar. You write down all the great stuff that happens to you throughout the year and place them in the jar. Then, on 31 December, instead of making promises you can't actually keep, you open the jar and reflect on all the awesome.

I love the sound of this. I will be doing this in 2015, but if I had done it in 2014, my jar would have looked something like this:

5 Things I Can't Live Without...

1. My Cat - He knows when I am sad. He cheers me up when I am sad. He loves me unconditionally.
2. My family/friends - My parents are my rock and my pillar. I cannot even imagine how different my life would have been without there love and support. They do not judge me, they have never hurt me & they are always there for me
    
3. One Direction - Oh snigger away. These guys are more than a boy band with a fun rock/pop melody. They are wildly famous, yet down to earth. They make me happy. I could watch hours of interviews with them for their quirky sense of humour. I even had my parents watching them for a few hours (without complaining) 
   Watch their new documentary This is Us (Directed by Morgan Spurlock of SuperSize Me fame) and then tell me you don't like them. 
   The only thing they have in common with Justin Bieber is their age. Otherwise the have manners and are not spoilt brats.
   Apart from 1D, I just can't do without music in my life. I have to listen to music - whether it is angry rock, or calming soothing songs, or something light and happy - there is hardly ever a time when you will find me sitting in silence.
   
   
4. My camera - These photos I take today will be the memories of my tomorrow and the memories for my future generations. A legacy of who I was and where they came from. I want my nephew to look back at all my travels and adventures and be proud of who I was and remember me for what I was regardless of who I may become.
   It is also important for me to remember my life should anything ever happen to me (Alzheimers, demetia etc)
5. My cellphone - I could not go very long without my link to the world. Whatsapp conversations with my friends. Instagram - to keep in touch with the world through pictures. Facebook and Twitter. Google (how else would I know how to boil the perfect egg?) Also a handy backup to take photos when my camera is at home. A music player when the radio is being boring. My constant companion!

What can you not live without?