New Year’s Resolutions. Three words that immediately make me feel anxious. Every year I make them and more often than not, I don’t achieve most of them. At the start of 2018, I shared four geocaching goals for the year. Looking back on them now, I can only laugh at how spectacularly I failed. In my defence, I found out I was expecting after I wrote that post and needless to say, that dramatically altered my plans for the year (and forever, I guess!).

So what were my 2018 goals and did I even come close to any of them?

1. Finish my Jasmer Grid

It seemed so simple. For my Christmas 2017 gift, my husband planned a trip to Stockholm for us, so we jetted off in March to fill that one lonely square in my Jasmer grid: August 2000. What we hadn’t counted on was a fresh blanket of snow, a frozen GZ and my inability to make it up the icy slope due to being 15 weeks pregnant. You can read all about my most epic DNF in this blog post. I still have that annoying little blank in my Jasmer grid. Will I fill it this year? I don’t want to commit either way at this stage but one thing is for sure, I think a summer trip to Stockholm would be safest – regardless of which summer that may be!

2. Travel More in Ireland

I travelled less in Ireland in 2018 than in any recent years. In fact, I travelled less full stop due to having a bun in the oven. I did manage a trip to Kilkenny in January and a weekend in the city of Derry in June, but generally-speaking, most of the year was spent close to home in Belfast, or close to my mother in Bray. I’m going to stamp ‘fail’ on this one.

3. Vary my Cache Types

My percentage of traditional caches went down from 70.5% to 70.17%. Not exactly a significant change but at least it went in the right direction! 2018 has been my most cache-light year since I started in 2013. Unsurprising since I was heavily pregnant during a heatwave that lasted for much of the summer.

4. Create Video for my Blog

Epic fail here! I’ll be honest, when I looked back at my geocaching goals post from last year and saw this entry, I had no recollection of even writing it. This one never had a chance!

Looking Ahead to 2019

It will be obvious to anybody who has read my blog for a few years that my geocaching habits have changed dramatically in that time. When I started geocaching in August 2013, I was young, free and single, and filled my every spare moment with caching adventures. I’m now married with a four month old daughter and while my husband is a very supportive muggle, my life is full of so many more wonderful things that geocaching sometimes struggles to get a look in. Not to mention my beloved blog feeling more than a little neglected these days.

So what of my geocaching and blogging goals for the year ahead? Let’s just say I’m considerably more laid back this year about everything. Babies demand more flexibility…

Explore more closer to home

Having just been on our first flight with Emer (a short hop across the Irish Sea to England), I can safely say that travelling with a baby is considerably more complicated – not impossible, but definitely a little more stressful. That’s not to say we won’t go on overseas adventures – there is no question I will always love to travel – but I think days out and weekends away closer to home are definitely more likely now and I look forward to checking out more of what the Emerald Isle has to offer.

Continue blogging

‘Just keep swimming’ is the name of the game. I love to write but it’s not easy to do with a baby demanding my attention, so I just need to make the most of those rare moments I have to myself and fill them with the sound of my laptop keys clicking. I have been blogging for over four years now, and it’s become a priceless repository of my adventures over the last few years. It’s something I will always cherish.

Take more photographs

As someone who loves photograpy, this seems like a no-brainer. As it is, rarely a day goes by when I’m not taking pictures, but I always want to improve and I’m going to be more deliberate in what I photograph, so I can refine my skills in areas I don’t have much practice in, like portrait photography.

Cherish every adventure

When I started geocaching, every weekend involved a crazy caching adventure. Now that tummy time and nursery rhymes are more likely to pack my weekends, those adventures are few and far between. That means the days I do manage to fill with geocaching goodness should be appreciated all the more, whether I’m wearing a baby sling or not!

Those are my goals for 2019. I want to focus on people and moments, not things, and just make the most of my maternity leave with my little girl. Have you made any goals or resolutions for the coming year?

Happy Caching!

Sarah

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