It’s coming up to that time where I start to think a bit more about what I want to try to do next year. I think a large part of that is going to be how I spend my time.

I think the one major thing I need to really think about is motivation and will power. This year has shown me that without driving myself hard enough and just coming out of a routine and being selfish with time set aside for a dedicated purpose I won’t do it. Writing is the biggest example. If I don’t “feel like it” I have stopped doing it, and laziness and procrastinating doing other things has taken over. I don’t want to repeat that next year.

A large part of my year next year is going to be dedicating time.

This year after some time off sick in the summer and seeing how that affects my wages I am looking at a new way of budgeting… It’s like a tiered approach divided into priorities. So far looking at it this way has really helped how I view my finances and the knock on effect. It feels less stressful, although there is always more month than money, I am getting better at not spending it all… almost. This year I learned how to save a little bit better.

With next year on the fast approach I am going to have to start making some tough decisions. I think learning some self control and remaining motivated will be the biggest personal challenge I can possibly give myself.

You would think this would be all about actual orchids, but no. It is about my nana. Something you may not know about my nana is that she has a magical touch with orchids. She is the green fingered member of the family, unlike myself, I can’t even keep a cactus alive.

But I wanted to write this because, I am so very very proud of my nana. She may not believe it or realise it all the time, but I appreciate her being there for me. We don’t always get along and we bicker sometimes, but we still have a great relationship. Over the last couple of years we have really bonded since I’ve been living here.

I don’t know if it is a generational thing but she can go about things in a very inefficient way and that is normally the main cause for disagreements.

I am really lucky, she has good intentions, she does things for the right reasons mostly which means at the heart of it we get along. She is a good person, and I know we don’t always agree but she does have the best intentions.

So right now, being sat opposite her, munching on her sausage rolls with a cuppa tea while she watches bargain hunt I wanted to really remember this, this normality and stability that she has brought into my life. Something I didn’t have before, not when I lived with mother. But I appreciate her.

For Christmas, I got a shelf unit to help tidy up the kitchen to make some more space that I am sure she will fill with her kitchen gadget addiction to frustrate me. But for her birthday even though I am giving it very early, is a microwave that’s green because, it is after all, her favourite colour… my green fingered nana.

I hope she realises just how much she means to me and how much I want her to be happy and have a happy life even if that means tea and bargain hunt.

If I was smarter, I would have been way more organised than I have been.

This time last year all the non-perishables would have been ordered and delivered by now. To be honest, all the non perishables were delivered in November last year, then the next delivery was the weekend before in December. Last year I think I felt more pressure to be organised. I knew what the plan for Christmas was last year well in advance. This year there has been a lot of confusion around where and when everyone is and wants to be organised for.

Still this idea of budgeting Christmas is something I need to be smarter about.

I started Christmas shopping early on as you know, but that was just presents. It’s now time to really think about the food and the cold of winter and really being ready.

I used my nectar double up during the promotion for something that was needed- Pillows for at the other half’s, his were knackered and needed replacing.  I started keeping an eye on nectar.com to increase my odds of finding “vouchers” to boost my nectar points earnings, though this year I have dipped in and out of my nectar points. I want to save them up properly next year and then use that double up scheme next year.

Looking for good deals and ways to save money in the weeks leading up to it, working out ideas of what we need rather than what we want is another way to save money, get the needed and not the fun stuff unless there is room in the budget at the end for it.

This year is going to be a bit chaotic over Christmas. I am looking forward to the time off but trying to be efficient with my budget is where things are going to be trickiest. So the plan is boring necessities, followed by traditional necessities followed by fun. That being said, I am aiming for more of the no thrills basics to bolster some of the order. Brand names aren’t majorly important. I don’t want to buy non-perishables in store for one reason… I don’t want to carry them, so ordering online is my best option, the perishables can be dealt with later.

Note to self, next year, be more organised… Oh maybe I can make a notebook and fill out the stages and shopping lists and be able to share it all with you. That would be more helpful than suggesting going online, working out the shopping lists.

Yeah… No… Not yet.

See that is one thing that is starting to get a bit annoying. People keep asking whether the other half and I have set a date.

No we haven’t.

The thing is we won’t until we are living together.

I am however leaning towards winter, its a nice romantic season, cuddling up doesn’t sound like such a bad thing in winter. Getting married in a cuddle season sounds like a great idea. Especially given winter tends to be cheaper. But the idea I have in my head is fluffy blankets, fairy lights for lighting, nice warm drinks like hot chocolate. Hogwarts at Christmas kind of magical vibes. No fluorescent over head lighting, no massive chandeliers, just lots and lots of fairy lights everywhere, and electric tealights to reduce fire risks. but that sort of romantic lighting vibe. Very soft. A little sparkle. That softness. I would love to just have one of those romantic kind of things.

I would say in an ideal world, have it somewhere where we can see the northern lights, if that was possible to orchestrate. But sort of magical and happy kind of vibe.

As for a dress? I have two very different ideas in mind that I will need to try one day. It just depends on what one feels right.

There is plenty of time between now and setting the date to think about it.