2018 Thoughts, Resolutions, Re-caps, Bests
It’s that time! I’m running late! My annual blog of thoughts regarding the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019! 2018 was an interesting year. We were faced with a lot of challenges and it felt like a more difficult year than usual.
As always to kick things off, here are, in my opinion, THE *BESTS* OF 2018:
BEST ALBUM: Blue Madonna - BØRNS
(Released: January 12, 2018)
Honourable mentions (in order of release) go to:
Little Dark Age - MGMT (Released: February 9, 2018)
Nation of Two - Vance Joy (Released: February 23, 2018)
Everything’s Dandy - LEEDS (Royston Langdon) (Released: May 4, 2018)
Origins - Imagine Dragons (Released: November 9, 2018)
BEST MOVIE: Bohemian Rhapsody
(Released: November 2, 2018)
Honourable mentions (in order of release) go to:
Isle of Dogs (Released: March 23, 2018)
Tully (Released: May 4, 2018)
Eighth Grade (Released: July 13, 2018)
Crazy Rich Asians (Released: August 15, 2018)
BEST (new to me) VANCOUVER OR TORONTO RESTAURANT THAT I TRIED: Alo
(Chef Patrick Kriss’ contemporary French cuisine served as a blind, multi-course tasting menu ~ 163 Spadina Avenue, Toronto)
Honourable mentions (in alphabetical order) go to:
L'Abattoir (Pacific Northwest fare with a French touch ~ 217 Carrall Street, Vancouver)
Pacific Poke (The best freakin’ Hawaiian poke ever ~ 2151 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver)
St Lawrence (Classic French cuisine with Quebecois inspiration ~ 269 Powell Street, Vancouver)
Vij's (Chef Vikram Vij’s inventive Indian cuisine ~ 3106 Cambie Street, Vancouver)
BOOKS THAT I READ IN 2018:
Yoga for Life by Colleen Saidman Yee
Let Them Eat Dirt by B. Brett Finlay, PhD & Marie-Claire Arrieta, PhD
Mile End Chronicles by Jorge Camarotti
Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella
Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation by Stephen Mitchell
I hope that if you give any of my picks a try that you'll love them as much as I do!!
IN 2018 I TRAVELED TO THESE PLACES:
London, Ontario X 2
Edmonton, Alberta X 2
Red Deer, Alberta
Calgary, Alberta
Bellingham, Washington, USA
Whistler, British Columbia
Sunny Shores, Washington, USA
Clearwater, British Columbia
Jasper, Alberta
Canmore, Alberta
Mara, British Columbia
Muskoka, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario X 3
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Leamington Spa, England, United Kingdom
London, England, United Kingdom
Seattle, Washington, USA
My favourite destination of the year was our trip to London, England. I had missed travelling internationally so much! Plus it was very special to bring Archie with us and to have him experience his first round of “real” travel. We loved seeing and doing and eating everything!
IN 2018 I SAW THESE BANDS PLAY LIVE:
BØRNS X 2
Passion Pit
Hedley X 4
Stars X 2
Chvrches
I’m pretty obsessed with BØRNS at the moment and I loved getting to see him twice in 2018! My favourite concerts of the year! (Not Hedley because those concerts were way too stressful and depressing. But also great, as always.)
WEDDINGS THAT WE ATTENDED IN 2018:
FAMILY/FRIENDS WHO HAD BABIES IN 2018:
And of course... RESOLUTIONS... First let's see how I did with my 2018 resolutions:
~ Get better at BALANCE. I would like to do better at striking a more satisfying balance of being a mother, wife and an individual human. Part of this includes achieving a realistic yoga schedule for myself.
~ Learn how to care for a one year old! Get Archie into a good place in terms of sleep, nutrition, and activities. Most of all, continue loving the shit out of him.
~ Settle into life as a Vancouverite!
~ Celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary in Jasper, back where all of the magic happened.
~ Try to see all of my closest girlfriends in person this year. (Help me achieve this by coming to visit!)
This list turned out pretty well but not perfectly. Finding balance seems to always be a struggle and I do my very best to maintain my own individuality. Sometimes I feel as if I’m succeeding and other times I don’t. I had gotten myself into a pretty great yoga groove while living in Vancouver. Caring for a one year old has been difficult and challenging! It has also been incredibly rewarding. We totally succeeded at getting Archie to sleep well and we had a great routine of activities for him in Vancouver. Vancouver really did become our home and I really did settle in there. I was very sad to leave. We did celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary in Jasper! Unfortunately I did not see all of my closest girlfriends in person in 2018 but 15/22 isn’t too bad.
2018 threw a lot at me. I’m not usually one to complain and I really do try my best to find the positivity in any situation. But truthfully, I’m not sad to see 2018 go. One of my favourite bands was “Me Too’d” while I was seeing them on tour, I suffered through a kidney stone, I had a really awful case of vertigo for two weeks, we got into a pretty bad car accident, Tim still requires physio for his knee injury, our new car got hit & run, there’s been stress over Archie’s development with his walking and talking, I fell down some stairs and twisted my ankle, Tim lost his job, Archie went to the hospital with a stomach flu, Tim’s Dad had brain surgery, we moved across the country (again), and my best friend had to have fetal surgery on her unborn baby. I’M EMOTIONALLY EXHAUSTED!
Don’t let the door hit you on your way out, 2018.
This leads me to... 2019 RESOLUTIONS/GOALS:
~ Find calm, peace and serenity in all areas of my life. Everything needs to settle and I need to return to myself. Self-care is going to be a very high priority.
~ Make a firm decision about whether or not to have a second child.
~ Find a new yoga home!
~ Settle into life as a Torontonian!
~ Visit the Maritimes for the first time ever.
I'm wishing everyone a wonderful 2019! Don't dream it, be it!
