2021 Check In - What a Weird Year

I honestly forgot I had even wrote any resolutions for 2021. 

What started out as a year full of possibilities, off the back of the dumpster fire that was 2020, quickly went downhill once the reality that covid was definitely not over yet sunk back in.

I went on an indefinite hiatus with my instagram freelance work at a similar time to switching day job roles to an online only, social media position. The struggle to not get overwhelmed when trying to do even two things at once, quickly became all too much and I realised that I needed to have that downtime that I had kept from myself for so long. 

Probably the biggest revelation of this year was the discovery that I have ADHD Inattentive Type.  

If you're on the internet a lot, you might be under the impression that "everyone thinks they have ADHD nowadays" which I can promise you is not the case. In fact ADHD is seriously underdiagnosed, especially in women. The ways in which it presents in women, from childhood through to adulthood are often overlooked simply as quirks in their personality. 

The diagnosis came as a massive relief, an explanation for my struggles in both my school years and adulthood. In various aspect of my life, relationships and work. If I get a chance I might write another blog post delving into this topic a bit more, but in the meantime I'm truly doing the best that I have done perhaps ever. Implementing strategies and now daily medication have made a world of difference.

Anyway, now to the resolutions I set myself for 2021. 

Go Vegan - ✓ Yep

In what was a snap decision on my part, I decided to join Veganuary, the go vegan in January challenge. Even though I gave Josh zero warning of my participation, he went to the grocery store and bought vegan alternatives to any sauces and cheeses that I had still been eating. I had only been drinking plant based mylks, and using vegan butter for at least a year or so before that which made the transition in our home pantry relatively straightforward. 

In fact the whole process was so simple, I continued on after January ended and have been vegan this entire year. I genuinely don't miss a thing about being vegetarian, or even further back (5 years?) an omnivore. In fact the only thing difficult about being vegan, is dealing with non vegans. Wait hear me out. 

People are so apologetic, the treats they baked for everyone, they have egg or dairy in them. 

I don't care. I don't expect people to take me into consideration when they cook things. I am just one person. I can organise my own snack or meal and I'm happy to. 

On the flip side, if someone does go out of their way to buy a vegan option, or cook something vegan, I am incredibly appreciative. It's probably right up there with the nicest gesture you can do for me. 

Then there's restaurants not labelling all of their vegan options (or not having any), having to awkwardly ask waiters and then them not knowing so they have to ask the chef. Newcastle is pretty great though for restaurants. I could go on and on, and maybe I will in another post. 

But I'm vegan and it's for the animals. 

Buy Our First Home - ✓ Oh Yeah

Can you believe it! On the very first day of the great NSW lockdown. Our offer was accepted and we bought our first home. A sweet three bedroom fixer upper in Mayfield.  A major life milestone ticked off just like that. Renovation organisations are underway, to begin early next February.

 There will be lots of updates to come, for now you can follow along over at my house insta "Teegly at Home".

Shop Mindfully -  Mostly?

I would like to think that my plan to buy less and buy higher quality is an ongoing resolution. It was also reasonably easy to put my foot down to new clothes purchases when we couldn't even leave the house, and house decor/furniture when I know I will be moving into a new home next year.  

What I did Buy: Skincare, loungewear, activewear, books, video games. 

I would say I bought a lot less this year than I have ever bought. So I think that counts for something.

Plan Our Wedding - Oops sorta

I would like to be the first to blame my ADHD for the progress here. Tasks like this can seem so big that we ADHD'ers just get overwhelmed and kind of shut down and avoid them. This is something I'm hoping that medication can really help with, in fact I made some more planning progress today, so I'm confident. 

We have booked all of our vendors. We did that pretty fast because I was not willing to face any disappointment in that regard. I have my dress! That's right, but Josh doesn't have his suit, he has an idea of where he wants to go for that suit. 

Next steps: Save the Dates - we are actually super behind in this important step. So if you haven't received one yet, that's why. Also the wedding is going to be small, so a lot of people are not invited. 

Become My Most Authentic Self - An Ongoing Challenge

I specifically referred to myself as being "overly agreeable" in my original resolution. Honestly I still am but I think that is who I am? I'm not hiding an argumentative person deep down inside, I will speak up for myself if it's a situation that actually matters. 

I've made time to keep in touch with the people that are important to me. I think lockdown really showed how crucial this is. When you only have limited chances to see people, you want to use the time that you have on the people that you actually care about! I only have enough energy for people I like. 

In what I thought was a introverted trait, feeling drained around people. Turned out to be only true sometimes, because if I'm around the right people I leave feeling energised. 

A discovery that's definitely being true to my authentic self.

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