A little late - but surely it's never too late for a little well-wishing? This year instead of my hugely ambitious and bucket-list like list of promises to self and others my resolutions are quite simple and practical - which will hopefully make them more achievable :-) Ever the future-planner I wrote this list back in November and here they are below and an honest review of whether I'm actually sticking to them or not;
- Do yoga at least once a week and stretches at home - I've started yoga again this week so maybe I will achieve this one!
- Run twice a week - err have had a cold for the past two weeks so haven't being going out with D. But with my new running shoes from Laister (the place to gor for any Madrileños thinking of taking up running - they'll do a biometric test to see what shoes you need) and super-discounted Nike leggings from Privalia at least I'll look the part when I get back in the swing of things ;P
- Do a facial once a week - not doing this but thanks to a new daily beauty routine suggested by Cosmetic's Cop Paula Begoun my skin has improved noticeably. While I haven't bought any of her own products I highly recommend her scientifically-based reviews and her advice for different skin types found here. Clinque's Turnaround Concentrate is working for me despite the mixed reviews here.
- Get a gynae check once a year - sorry to discuss this in a mixed forum, but this is important, enough said.
- Bake once a month - haven't. baked. one. measly. cake :-(
- Cook a healthy 'green'/eastern recipe once a week - have fared better on this one. D and I went to the Eastern supermarket in Principe Pio a couple of weeks back and stocked up on dumplings, spring-roll wrappers, lemon grass, fish sauce and more. The prices are great. Made my own spring rolls the other week with a bit of help from Youtube (green and eastern but deep frying isn't exactly healthy!)
- Take lunch to work twice a week - managing to do this thanks to cooking up big batches of one-pot meals at the weekend. Lentils and cocido (Madrileño chickpea stew) have been in my lunchbox recently.
- Cook at least one thing at the weekend that can be eaten for dinner during the week - ditto packed lunches.
- Always have healthy work snacks on the go - sorry to obsess about what I eat at work but I'm there for so many hours that I think it's worth it! Hmmm, not doing so well on this one. Am taking in wholegrain bread to make toast drizzled with olive oil for a second breakfast but not doing any vegetable crudites, nuts etc for the afternoon. On a more positive note am managing to drink more water and making huge mugs of delicous organic Yogi Tea Green Chai. This company have an excellent selection of herbal teas - the best in my humble opinion.
- Make my own cleaning products - err I don't remember how I got so obsessed with this! Probably after reading about how toxic and nastly regular cleaning products are. Anyhow after much research about how to do this I came unstuck when trying to get the necessary 'raw ingredients' in Spanish droguerieas. Bicarb, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide etc have all been easy to come by, but liquid Castile soap - a Spanish invention I would imagine from the name - has proved to be completely elusive!! Plenty of places sell Castile floor wash, clothes deterget etc but no-one seems to stock just plain old Castile soap in liquid format... So please, if anyone knows of a stockist let me know!
- Do something creative; sew/draw up house plans, etc - We have been on the lookout for a sewing machine for some time but have found it hard to find good brands and specialist shops (El Corte Inglés do not have a good selection). There is a specialist shop in Embajadores but really don't recommed it; the owner was pushy, rude, wouldn't even let us take notes about the models, and will tell you the only good machines are his particular brand. Anyway, the sewing-machine hunting has been put aside and my time has been taken up with another creative project - wedding planning! My lovely David proposed at Christmas and we're tying the knot this summer :-) Will post more on this later but I can say now that we're going to have a small civil ceremony (about 25 people) in the countryside. We don't have much time to plan so it's going to be an intense few months! Will be posting more on this soon - needless to say I'm very excited :-)
Well, hope you had a Happy New Year, and thanks for reading my resolutions despite them being an unashamed rouse for announcing my wedding!
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