New years resolutions have come and gone – in a dramatic way so I figure it’s time to regroup and reassess my goals. Aiming for eradication of school night wines was a bit ambitious. Losing ten kilos by the end of summer also seems to be pretty unlikely at this point, (yes, I realise that the two may be related). But summer isn’t even nearly over so I figure I still have time to create and smash some more realistic summertime goals. It’s all about attainability at this point and some things can only be done in summer.
1. I’m going to properly clean the bedding: I’m totally going to drag each and every mattress in the house onto the back lawn the second I hear those magic words come out of my morning TV: extreme heat wave. That’s right, I’m going to drag them outside, prop them up against the trampoline and head to the beach. For however long I can last on that burning sand I will feel smug and accomplished knowing that the dust mites are meeting their maker and the kids’ room will smell more like baked grass and less like human for the few days following. While I’m at it I may even chuck the pillows and doona through the wash. Martha Stewart eat your heart out.
2. I’m going to read a book not written by a TV star. Mindi Kaling, Tina Fey and Lena Dunham are going to have to step aside (from my nightstand, not my TV) because I am absolutely-maybe going to reach the last page of a book written by someone who hasn’t been on the Tonight Show. Watch out world, I will bunker down and I will triumph and I will feel more like the pre-children Babs who was yet to let her brain melt out of her ear.
3. I will get the whole meal planning thing back on track. I quite often become a meal planner, quite successfully most of the time but since that week in December when the looming social calendar, cleared bank accounts and necessity to use up the contents of the fridge before going away put an end to the organised weekly shop, I just kind of never got my shit back together. The plan is to use these tips plus this app to make it happen. And I’m going to do it from my beach chair in my new cozies because summer isn’t bloody over yet.
Related: How to Meal Plan Like a Ninja
4. I will deal with the pictures on my camera roll. There are 10 000 of them, 9 000 of which are not selfies of my four year old. They are special and range from the day she was born past her first outfit flat lay right up to the take-a-photo-of-my-ponytail-so-I-can-see-how-long-it-is photo of this morning. I have them all backed up on my computer, which backs up to a separate thingy but for some reason I just can’t bring myself to clear the roll. So now I am missing moments all the freaking time because my phone is as full as my post-Christmas cheeks and refuses to take any more. I will print them, make a picture book or send them to a cloud somewhere. I will do SOMETHING that helps me make peace with deletion.
5. I will learn exactly you’re supposed to do in the case of a snake bite. I was a Scout for my entire childhood and teen years, it was a huge part of my identity and knowing what to do in any situation was something I prided myself on. Now I update my First Aid Cert every three years or so and they always have different rules so I have no actual idea what to do. This is playing on my mind a lot because I have this adorable two-year-old son who likes to stick his arm down every hole he finds and pull off his shoes before doing just about anything. Knowing this information might be more imperative now than ever but if, god forbid, I ever need it I’m going to be wondering if you start the bandage above or below the bite and I’ll be completely at a loss for which direction to head after that. [Edit] Oh, would you look at that, there is a complete fact sheet here. Tick.
5. I will get a pedicure. Seriously, it has been almost six weeks of looking down at my little hobbit toes and it is really affecting my happiness. Ok, so that’s maybe a tad dramatic but it certainly affects my mood for the period in which I’m directly looking at them. I usually run a strict annual pedi schedule, but I missed 2015. I will succeed in meeting my 2016 annual requirement, and I will do it by the end of summer.
What are your goals before summer is out?
More summertime reading:
Image: Barbara O’Reilly
