Hmmmm - no shoe buying didnt last long.
I made an accidental purchase of some very pretty sandals I'd had my eye on for almost a year - but they were in the sale..... so does that count?
On the upside, I started reading The Twits - the girls seemed to enjoy it and it wasn't as scary as I had thought.
And dinner time has been pretty successful, veggies in every meal and not a tin in sight!
I was all set up for a magical christmas - presents had been well thought out & pre-ordered, and my children (4 & 6) the perfect age to appreciate the festivities and be wrapped up in the magic of believing..... Then my beloved grandmother suddenly died 6 days before christmas - on her birthday.
I was, am, beyond devastated. We were very close and very regularly in each other lives - it was an enormous shock for all the family. Christmas was a wash out, and time seemed to stand still waiting for the funeral - which didn't take place until yesterday. There has now been a massive emotional release for the whole family, we all feel an enormous loss, and I am consumed by guilt and grief, then just numbness.
However, I need to find a way to move past it and carry on, and in that vein I'm making a list - not of resolutions (they are ripe to be broken) but of aspirations, things I am aiming for this year.
1. Read out loud at night to my children.
A simple task, one I should already do - but don't. Whilst I love to read i've always seen it as my private time, and I have never been good at reading aloud. I read simple stories to them but on a recent holiday they were enchanted by a Roald Dahl story being read chapter by chapter.
2. Stop relying on Baked Beans!
In the past few months, since The Husband moved away for work during the week, I've become lazy. Cooking has always been my hobby, something I enjoy - but repeated rejections of food by the Small People, combined with laziness have meant my reliance on 'things from tins' has grown. I want to try and reclaim proper cooking.
3. Be less sedentary!
Im not going to write 'exercise more' - as quite frankly I don't exercise at all, so walking to the cake shop would be "more"! However I am mid way through my third decade and whilst less chubby than I used to be I am particularly unfit - something I must attempt to change (note I am not using the word Want). My aim is a 30 min walk 3 times a week - so 3 times more than at present....
4. Spend Less.....
2013 the year of austerity - for frivolous purchases anyway... We are already committed to a holiday in early summer, and a trip near next Christmas - so I'm not going to attempt a totally frugal year, however non essential shoe purchases will be curtailed.
I think thats it for now, I don't have aspirations to write the next Great Novel, enter politics - or become a size 8. But appreciating what I have and trying harder to be less slovenly will do!
Love you. Miss you. xx
