34 before 34 - did I manage it?

Today is my birthday! So, I thought today was an appropriate time to take a look at my 34 before 34 list and see what (if any) I’ve managed to tick off and what’s rolling over on to my 35 before 35 list.

To the list…

Move house – complete! Big old tick next to this one. We moved into our new house in February and are so much happier here than our old flat.
Pass my roller derby minimums – kind of complete. I passed my league’s minimum skills so I could progress to Wreck League. With this also came my first ever roller derby bout!
Photo by Dallimore Photography
Go ice skating – I never managed this. I think I’ll roll it over to next year and hope that I can manage it early at Winter Wonderland today!
Visit Cambridge – Nope, we didn’t manage to get away to Cambridge this year. We did manage a city trip away but it was in Liverpool and I’ve definitely been there before.
Lose two stone – I’m pretty sure I can say yes to this. I’ve definitely lost more than two stone; the only problem is the weight I lose I keep putting back on and I have to lose it again.
Bake at least once a month – I baked a little bit but not nearly as much as I’d planned to. I was hoping having this as a goal would encourage me to do it more, it didn’t.
Get a new tattoo – Tick. I did get a new tattoo this year. It wasn’t the one I was intending on getting, in fact, it was a bit of a surprise to everyone but I got a new tattoo on my ankle.
Go on the London Eye – Nope. Another miss.
Go on a spa weekend/day – Another one I didn’t manage. Maybe I’ll treat myself as a belated birthday present.
Get a new job – Whoop. Yes, I’ve been working as a copywriter and social media manager for a new company for a little while now and I’m pretty happy here. Yay!
Be the host – I did it! We hosted a birthday party for Cece at our house in April. I don’t think I was the best host but it’s encouraged me to do it a little more.
Get some event experience – I never managed this one. With starting a new job and stuff, I missed the boat a little. I’m definitely rolling this one over.
No fast food for a month – Nope. That’s awful, isn’t it? This is another roll over to next year. It has to be.
Read 12 books – I read a couple of books on holiday but that was about it. I’m going to add this to next year’s list too. I’m hoping to change my phone scrolling habits to half an hour of reading in bed will not only help me sleep better but also encourage me to read more.
Complete a monthly Instagram challenge – I’ve done two of these!! I did a photo an hour for a day and in November I managed all of Fat Mum Slim’s prompts too.
Go away overnight – I’ve done this a couple of times this year. In January, Tom and I went to Crazy Bear in Beaconsfield to celebrate our (belated) wedding anniversary, we went to Wales to see Tom’s friend get married and we had 24 hours in Liverpool. On top of this, I’ve had a couple of nights away on my own for work too.
Visit Hampton Court – No, sadly never made it here. Maybe in the summer?
Visit Kew Gardens – I drove past the turning for this the other day on the motorway and remembered that I wanted to go and still haven’t been.
Go back to Hogwarts – big old tick. We celebrated Cece’s first birthday at Hogwarts. She even opened the doors the The Great Hall. That’s were every one year old wants to go, right?
Take Cecilia to see Father Christmas – Done and we’re going back to Winter Wonderland today to do it again. Anyway, we went to Winter Wonderland last year and Cece saw Santa and we’re going again this year. I’m pretty sure she won’t be as pleased to see him this time. Wish me luck!
Go to the cinema four times – I didn’t manage it. Stef and I did go to Backyard Cinema to see Pitch Perfect and there is a plan for a trip to see something this weekend but that’s still only two!
Go blonde again – I did it and added a tiny sprinkling of pink to it too. I’ve now stepped away from the bleach again and am sporting a fresh look but at least I saw a blonde me for a little while.
Take more photos – I definitely think this is ongoing. I want to count it as a win but I want to expand on it in the next year too and take even more.
Go to the zoo – Big fat no. There were no zoo trips for Laura this year and I am sad about that.
Up my social media game – I have upped my Instagram and Twitter game but not as much as I’d like so this one is going to be a rollover too.
Eat at ten new to me places – Nope, I managed a couple. We had breakfast in bread at The Bargehouse, had a couple of girl’s nights at Barbacoa and Duck and Waffle (I’m a bad blogger and concentrated on having a nice time rather than capturing them), celebrated Tom’s birthday at Eat 17, celebrated Stef’s birthday with afternoon tea at The Berkley and went for tea at Red’s True Barbeque with Stef. Not quite there. I liked this one though and will be rolling over again.
Get a new laptop – Mummy to the rescue here. In my time in limbo between being made redundant and starting my new job, I managed to pick up a little bit of freelance work. I had an ancient laptop that took forever to get anything done so my mum bought me a new one that meant I could get some pennies coming in.
Make a video – I haven’t managed to get this one off the ground yet. I wanted just to do some vloggy stuff to ease myself into things. Maybe a little weekend vlog here and there but I never quite managed it.
Go on holiday abroad – Yay, we went to Spain for a week in June to celebrate my dad’s 70^th birthday. It was just dreamy. I even picked up a little bit of a tan.
Run 5k – Hahahahahaaaaaaa. Oh. Running is so far off my radar that I don’t even know how I’d go about it. I run like Phoebe from Friends and even then, that’s only if a bear is chasing me!
Have a makeup lesson – I never managed this one either but it’s still something I’d love to do.
Cook something from scratch – I’m getting good at this now. I joined Slimming World and had to ditch the jars and it was a revelation. I even knocked up a lovely pasta salad for a picnic. I’m much more confident in the kitchen now – when I can be bothered getting in there.
Stop bedsharing – This is my new year’s resolution!
Bake something that isn’t cakes or biscuits – Nope, I never strayed away from the sweet stuff when I did bake this year. I dabbled in vegan recipes but still stayed sweet.