At the end of every year I like to reflect back and try to remember all the amazing things that have happened. Often my head is already moving forward madly planning for new adventures, which is great, but it is always good to reflect and remember all the things that went really well. Now I won’t mention the things that didn’t go well, as I am an eternal optimist, and fully believe everything somehow happens for some mad reason and there is sanity in retrospect. Or something like that. For now let’s focus on reliving all things awesome for 2022. I will try to make an exhaustive list, so hope you have a cuppa ready to go! And ideally it will inspire you also to reflect on the year that has been, with hope to make 2023 even better.

At the start of this year, I started a glass jar for awesome memories. I managed to write down only 8 experiences but it was certainly a warm fuzzy reading them again. So here goes, in no particular order…

• 1. Worked full time teaching in a job that I loved teaching Art, Home Ec and Health at SIDE.
• 2. Went on holiday to Darwin visiting my Darwin bestie B. Had a great time.
• 3. Started investing in Shares and making good progress.
• 4. Travelled to New Zealand and had a great holiday enjoying Queenstown, Milford Sound, hiking, Mount Cook, Rotorua and Tauranga. 
• 5. Took a long walk in the red wood forest of Rotorua which was so beautiful and enjoyed zip lining and hot pools in nearby places of Rotorua.
• 6. Survived Covid! But it spoilt my Coral bay road trip and whale shark tour, goals for 2023 now!
• 7. Enjoyed lots of scenic and lush green hikes in NZ when on holiday.
• 8. Went hiking quite a bit around Perth enjoying nature and the great outdoors.
• 9. Went camping a few times with friends to various places in South west.
• 10. Stayed away from drinking alcohol for at least 9 months of the year. 
• 11. Installed my bath which has enabled me many relaxing bath sessions.
• 12. Worked hard at paying off my mortgage. Officially half way now in 6 years, hopefully I can have it paid off in only another 3 or 4 years if I continue to work full time. 
• 13. I read lots of great books, frequently going to the library.
• 14. Watched lots of great series on Netflix (does that count??)
• 15. Visited the beach heaps and enjoyed lots of ocean swims.
• 16. Achieved Senior Teacher status in teaching. Extra money: winning!
• 17. Felt more grounded at home and a lot less restless, a huge achievement for me.
• 18. Enjoyed riding my bike more frequently, especially to work.
• 19. Went to Dunsborough for Arts trail weekend with friends and enjoyed seeing lots of great inspiring artwork.
• 20. Spent heaps of time in the garden growing new plants and nurturing older ones. My forest is definitely developing!
• 21. Went swimming regularly at Beatty park with my friend C. Enjoyed this new routine.
• 22. Enjoyed attending a number of different art exhibitions.
• 23. Continued to make my own art fairly frequently. May need to add this one back into the routines more frequently for 2023.
• 24. Went to many cool movies at Luna Leederville, enjoying frequent movie viewing and banana choc tops!
• 25. Went on a great work trip to Shark Bay, having a new work experience on the road. 
• 26. Had a simple but effective birthday celebration with my good friend L having dinner at one of my favourite restaurants at City Beach. And enjoyed smaller gatherings with good friends too. 
• 27. Had a really great Xmas after my plans changed at least 5 times! Enjoying excellent food like lobster and prawns and salads and yummy meringues with really good friends. 
• 28. Went to a really fun beach ball with friends where we run into the ocean at sunset in ball gowns! FUN!
• 29. Even though I haven’t done it yet, on the 31st I am taking a scenic flight of the Abrolhos Islands and snorkel trip with 2 other friends. So that has to count!
• 30. Went snorkelling with seals on an island off Jurien bay with some friends, so fun!
• 31. Hosted many fun dinner parties with good friends.
• 32. Went camping at Dwellingyup.
• 33. Stayed at my friends farm in Collie and enjoyed swimming in all the local water holes. 
• 34. Attended a great dance performance called “Integrate” watching my students perform in their dance concert. 
• 35. Continued letter writing with friends. If anyone else would like to become a new penpal and you live in an exotic part of the world please apply!
• 36. Hosted many great travellers on Airbnb and learnt so many new things from my visitors. 
• 37. Attended yoga in the park at Hyde park enjoying a really great community event with like minded people, and patting dogs before and after as well as enjoying all that good stretching.
• 38. Enjoyed being home more, balancing the racing out the door to do more things with staying home and resting.
• 39. Pulled back on impulse buying and refrained from buying too much of anything this year. And utilised op shops more and buying and selling on marketplace more, reducing landfill and saving money.
• 40. Had many great fun time with friends eating out, swimming in pools, watching movies, taking walks and chatting on the phone, simple pleasures in life.

Okay I think that is it! I had to really squeeze out a few from the memory banks there, but it is such a great exercise to remember a year is long, full of opportunity and ways to make life as interesting, creative, fun and enjoyable as possible. 

Each year I write down a number of goals at the start of the year, and I must say this year I ticked off quite a few of them, which feels great. My word for last year was acceptance. Accepting things don’t always go to plan, letting go of things, people and ideas that do not work anymore or are just no longer running alongside, but dragging behind you and slowing you down. Like a rose that needs a good prune to be beautiful, we must recognise when we need to cut things back, or eliminate completely. 

I was able to change my routines with drinking this year again which has made me feel so much better. Not drinking for more than 9 months this year has given me a bounce in my step, less anxiety, more calmness, more money and more fresh headspace for clear thinking. I like my brain cells working optimally! So that has been helpful. 

I travelled a lot this year, but kept it to weekends away and school holidays. I have so many holidays as a teacher that it may appear like I am off doing something all the time, but no, I just have good holidays. Work life balance is really important to me, as is not feeling stressed at work or feeling so strung out you can’t deal with enjoying life outside of work. For me it is just not worth it! I intend to make a pact to always enjoy my work and if it is not working for me then make the necessary changes so I am at peace and content. 

I feel quite inspired reflecting on my 2022 that next I will write down my goals for 2023. I have already mapped out my major travels for the holiday breaks. Whale shark swim and Coral bay term 1, Darwin term 2 and Tasmania Term 3.  Maybe at the end of the year I will go to Germany and Estonia for a White Xmas! But who knows what could be happening by that time of the year! ANYTHING is possible! 

I hope you have enjoyed my last blog for 2022 and I look forward to sharing more of my writing with you next year. 

Anita xx