I think we can probably all agree that this was a quite ambitious list! And very interesting to see where my head was at the end of 2014 (which is why I do like these annual lists, even if I don’t actually do all of them),

On with the reckoning: TL;DR version – of 12 projects: 6 achieved; 2 partially achieved; 4 not achieved.

Not too bad really. In retrospect I probably should have not grouped a bunch of vaguely connected stuff under a single project heading – that way I would have “achieved” more!

I’m taking a rather different approach in 2016, but that is for another post.

• war on sloth

– running at least 3x per week / daily exercise – core + glutes (even 5 minutes is better than nothing).
ACHIEVED!: FINALLY! This was a real struggle this year – but I managed to end the year on a high note. I’m very pleased about getting back on track.

• war on graffiti

– never let the graffiti on the front of ThePalace(OfLove) remain unpainted for more than 24 hours. Always photograph, always report.
ACHIEVED!: Staggeringly staggering that we remained unscathed during the Xmas/New Year break!

• war on duopolies

– minimise shopping at Coles / Woolies and their associated companies.
– support small, independent businesses
ACHIEVED!: At 31 December it was 372 days since we visited any of these stores! The hardest was finding alternatives to Bunnings (large hardware chain) – we visited an actual timber yard last week. Bunnings tends to be a LOT more female-friendly than the alternatives in my experience (what would you know about fixing/building things, girlie?).

• war on clutter

– get rid of everything we don’t need or want or things we have been holding on to for stupid reasons
NOT ACHIEVED: And it started so well! We need to attack Bessie’s wardrobe this week – it is chaos in there (and a dumping ground for lots of stuff.

• war on chub

– continue with amazingly successful 5:2 diet
– no booze (except for holidays)
ACHIEVED!: We generally give ourselves two weeks off the 5:2 over Christmas, but I’m going to call this achieved because it was planned. There was a fair bit of non-excessive drinking over Xmas/New Year – but yes, holidays.

• war on unnecessary spending

– don’t buy anything that is not absolutely essential – none of this fudging with the definition of essential.
– take lunch to work at least 4 days per week
NOT ACHIEVED: Oh wow, no!

• war on the uncreative

(apologies for the lame project title, alternative suggestions welcome!)
– make one thing per month
– blog at least every second day
– take at least one photo every day
NOT ACHIEVED: I don’t think I did any of this – maybe the blogging at a stretch.

• war on blandness

– read good books | watch good films and television (at least once a week)
– eat good new things (two per month?)
– listen to one improving podcast per week
– avoid reading the increasingly dreadful smh.com.au
PARTIALLY ACHIEVED:
– Food – yes! Two new things! Pavolva (totally counts!) and this awesome pear, rocket and blue cheese salad on New Year’s Eve. Both will be repeated.
– Podcasts – yes. I’ve been crazy for on air with Ella
– Yes, no smh for ONE YEAR. I feel much less ragey (and more smug!) without their clickbait headlines and increasingly questionable “journalism” in my life.
– TV – nope, has been all about the cricket.
– Books – Miss Silver to the exclusion of all else. I’m in the middle of #29/32, the quality has deteriorated a wee bit over the past few – I really loathed #27: the gazebo (my numbers are all out of whack with those listed in various places on the InformationSuperhighway).

• war on the shoddy / shonky in ThePalace(OfLove)

– have the leaks fixed
– finish the last bits of the paintering
– get quotes for balcony sliding door | shutters | conservatory
REVISED JULY: We have an action plan for the rest of the year. It is quite comprehensive and will be somewhat costly.
NOT ACHIEVED:
– replace grout on upstairs balcony (hopefully to prevent leaks into Bessie’s room)
– paint exterior walls on upstairs balcony*
– repair (walls and ceiling) and paint Bessie’s room (though we are leaving the ceiling for a bit, wanting to ensure the leaks are quite fixed)
– install shelves in Bessie’s room
– paint ceilings on our floor (to cover leak stains)
– have air conditioners serviced replace air-conditioners
– draft-proof front door and door to garage
– paint leak stains on Giant Wall
– coat rack for garage
– paint interior doors
– line Joe/Frank’s curtains
– (yikes!)
Eeeep – nothing in December. We’re going to have to carry a lot of this over into 2016 (yuck).

• war on our genX slackerness

– get our finances in order
– get our estate planning in order
ACHIEVED!: Really happy that we got this done this year. Also that we managed to resist the advice of the financial planner from our bank – who was only interested in selling us hideously expensive, gold-plated insurance.

• war on the career (see genX slackerness)

– ramp up the professionalism in dress, grooming and manner.
– just knuckle down and do this advanced manageressing course. FIVE times a week.
– take this “I am expecting big things from you in the next six months” seriously and action accordingly.
PARTIALLY ACHIEVED: I think I have impressed Bobs, the new boss, which I hope REALLY continues into 2016. I feel like he is going to be quite the hard-arse.

• war on poor self-esteem

– just stop entirely reading the social media accounts of those who make me feel inadequate (of course, this is not you dear reader)
ACHIEVED!: This ended up being rather more easier than I would have thought. I just needed to fill that time by reading lovely things by lovely people.