Looking Back and Looking Forward

Hey, everyone. I know this post is a little late in coming. More than a little late. More like months overdue.

2013 is over. A lot happened that year. I started blogging. I went on hiatus multiple times. I discovered the wonder that is Teen Wolf. I wept when Castiel lost his trench coat. I became very firmly Team Damon. I rediscovered how much I love Johanna Mason, since she previously had always paled in comparison to my love for Finnick Odair. I slept on the street to escape the FBRs and then moved into a new place with much nicer roommates. My laptop screen broke, and my best friend gave me her old laptop. I was finally able to use Netflix for the first time in my life. Helen Fielding released a new Bridget Jones book, and it was heartbreaking! I made the difficult decision to give up a third of my income and quit my second job, which still worries me for the future, but it was the right decision to do. Sometimes I still wake up and laugh happily that I never have to go there again and then immediately freak out because how will I be able to afford living?

Naturally, a lot of my New Year's Resolutions involve finances. I have to cut way back, after all.

So for 2014 I resolve to do the following (so Bridget Jones, every year):

• Limit myself to buying only one makeup or beauty item per month, with an exception being granted to conditioner and deodorant, even if I've already bought something else, because those are essentials one can't live without. I go through so, so much conditioner too.
• Limit myself to buying only one fun clothing item or accessory per month. This month is already allotted to this fabulous bag I saw hanging in the window of Plato's Closet. Boring things like socks and leggings to wear under my jeans to stay warm at the freezer I work at are different because a) those are essential work expenses without with I would be shivering for an entire twelve hours and b) no-one will see them anyway, so how can they count as fun?
• Keep track of finances better instead of getting surprised right before the end of the month when I find I've run out of money.
• Hand-wash clothes more often, instead of letting them build up into a huge pile.
• Actually, that goes for all laundry.
• Clean the bathroom before it gets to the really bad point.
• Cut my bangs more frequently so that they don't get so long I can barely see from under them and have to keep parting them and brushing them from my eyes.
• Actually finish a manuscript and get it ready for publishing instead of bouncing to another project and then another.
• Of course, the prerequisite: lose several pounds. No, I will not reveal my weight. Mainly because I hate weighing myself and don't own a scale. I just want to lose some of the bulging rolls of fat that hang off me.
• Do my taxes early instead of waiting until just before the deadline.
• Look more put together on an everyday basis.
• Post more!

Me in 2014. gif from Tumblr.

 So there you have it: my plan for a new, improved me. Isn't a little makeover something we all want? What are your resolutions? Tell me in the comments below!

Looking forward to a great 2014.

XOXO
Gossip Ghoul.