Resolutions for 2012 & Beyond ...Well Maybe !

Well as I sit here on the eve of New Year 2012 I'm thinking how sad and down in the dumps I am ! I hate New Years Eve, always have to be honest. You see I love Christmas so much that Dec 31st just reminds me that all the sparkle, excitement and anticipation of Christmas is over and done with ! January has always felt like the start of another long haul, back to work, school, college, rubbish weather and 'normal' food and drink ( I want champagne and chocolates and twiglets ALL YEAR ROUND ! ) Then there's the world and their (puggle) dog banging on about New Years Resolutions ! Am I interested?.....er NO ! Do I think you'll all more than likely fail at keeping them...YES.  Do I ever make any...NEVER ! But then I begin to wonder...... what if I make resolutions which I may have a fighting chance of actually sticking to, then I will be able to make 2012 my year of achievement and champion myself as an example to all others who fail to keep theirs ! So here you go and after much consideration I came up with my list ( approximately 10 mins whilst sipping coffee in Krispy Kreme Doughnuts)

1. Maintain my current weight albeit 3-4 lbs over the 'ideal' for my height ! I am refusing to diet and torture myself, I'm too old to deny myself the lovely yummy things that I enjoy. Besides I received a Christmas card from my local curry house, one of the few 'actual' cards that was posted through my door and not sent via e-mail. I'm not giving that up, and if I stop visiting them on a Sat night, I'll definitely be off the 2012 card list !
2. Drink more alcohol ! I'm only little about 5ft and I always find myself thinking it doesn't take much to get me drunk, but have I really tried ? No ! I am so gonna give it a proper go next year. I reckon if I practice I'll be able to hold much more than 3 rum and diet cokes and not fall over or throw up ! Besides if everything in the world is either animal, vegetable or mineral and alcohol is definitely not animal or mineral, then it has to be a vegetable and therefore one of your five a day..... along with fruit pastels !
3. Cancel my gym membership ! It will come as no surprise to you that I hardly ever go and even when I do it's only to meet Mr Poshbird after he's played squash. So by cancelling I can save myself £35 per month and all the extra cash I spend drinking coffee in the gym cafe.
4. Continue my current success at severely embarrassing my teenage daughter! I've excelled at this over 2011 and I've no idea how this has come about? As far as I can recall I haven't had to commit to early morning training sessions, restricted diets or rest days? I have been utterly brilliant at it by simply.....existing !
5. Read less and watch more 'junk' TV ! I need to educate myself on the ins and outs of 'celebrity' lives, ie Kerry Katona, Katie Price and any other BB house mate or X Factor contestant. I've felt at such a disadvantage when reading a magazine, newspaper or watching telly and not knowing what the hell people were talking about !
6. Spend more time with loved ones and friends......BUT NO TIME with the people I don't like or who annoy me , bore me or take advantage of me ! Life is too short and I'm not going to waste a moment of it with people who don't deserve my time and effort !



? probably not !

7. Finally I'm going to start smoking !!!!! I've led a life of abstinence when it comes to smoking ( well most things really ) so I NEED a vice ! something to waste my money on, which allows me to take 'free' breaks at work every hour and enter the special outdoor area of the pub where the smokers have a TV outside on the wall ! I want to huddle in a wet, rainy, freezing corner puffing on my ciggy with my co-smokers and feeling like I truly belong ;)

So there you have them, my goals for 2012 ! Are they achievable ? Am I being serious? Who knows? ! However if you are going to make New Years Resolutions then I wholeheartedly wish you every success in achieving them and also my best wishes for 2012.

So what are your resolutions ?? please check out these lovely other bloggers posts :)

http://www.judewharton.co.uk/
Ben at Mutterings of a Fool
Steph at I’m Counting UFOs
Lena at A Mum on a Mission
http://fathersonandtheoddblogpost.blogspot.com/2011/12/man-with-no-resolve.html

HAPPY NEW YEAR
& BEST WISHES FOR 2012

Are You In Touch With Your Prehistoric Side?

As mum to 16-yr old Miss C, I can’t deny that life is sometimes extremely difficult and quite often emotional! There are hormones, tantrums, sulking, and fits of uncontrollable tears, many of which are mine and well quite frankly Miss C often looks at me, her poor mum, with an expression of both compassion and mortification on her face! In spite of this and although frequently challenging, living with a teen can also be immense fun, rewarding and on occasion very surprising. Take last week for instance when I found myself having the time of my (prehistoric) life!

Last Monday started much the same as any other evening, that is until Miss C suddenly decided from out of the blue that she was now a Velociraptor! In her pre-historic guise she came bounding into my bedroom with an energy (that I’ve not seen from her for about 2 years) and landed on my bed with a loud squawk! Doris, the cat, dozing quietly on the bed, raised one slitty eye and when realising that Miss C was too big to stalk and kill, promptly nodded back off to sleep. It seems that our feline friend’s reaction wasn’t quite what Miss C was hoping for and so instead I seized the opportunity to join in and bond with my teenage phenomenon!

SQUAWK !!

Miss C, thrilled at my obvious enthusiasm, set about teaching me the basic skills of how to be a realistic Velociraptor (only of course after ‘Googling’ them)…. So off we set, we crouched low, shortened our arms, stuck out our bums and began to peck chicken like about the bedroom. Now I must admit, the Squawk took slightly longer to master (it did however leave me with a raspy/sexy voice, which I kind of liked!) but at last I was ready to showcase my new talents, so off we went to show Mr PB and little Miss H!

Now it’s fair to say that little Miss H was delighted with this unexpected arrival of dinosaurs in the house and needed no cajoling to join in. Soon we were all cavorting around the house totally immersed in our fun and enjoying every second of being a fully fledged ‘dinosaur’ family.  It was then while in full flow, that I stopped and took a step back to see my two children (who normally lead very separate lives due to their 7yr-age gap) ‘playing’ together, just like when they were small.  Now this is a rare and tender moment and the sight of it fills me with immense joy and pride… oh please, please, please don’t let scenes like this, between two very different sisters become ‘extinct’!

‘Table for one, Madame? ’ … HELL YES!

God, I realise that I must be in a minority, but I do just love Monday mornings! Now I know most people don’t and to be honest that’s not surprising, as for them it’s the start of the working week, but for me it’s just a wonderful time. For me it’s a time to cherish and to regroup from the weekend, to relish the stillness of my house, the peace and quiet and the fact it’s now just me and Doris to keep each other company.  Of course and without doubt, I adore my family, but sometimes, just sometimes, the noise, bickering and occasional out and out ‘war’ wears me down in the way a toddler high on smarties would!

Still every weekend I try to succeed at being an accomplished wife, parent, cook and all of my other various roles and so to that end, the pinnacle of our weekend is our Sunday Lunch/ Dinner. Regardless of what it’s called in your world, I’m sure it’s not just me that aspires to producing a glorious meal for my picture perfect family to all sit down together and enjoy!
 
I know there are statistics out there and so called experts who champion the importance of eating together as a family, but I wonder have they actually ever tried it. I mean, not just in theory, but actually in ‘real life’ with proper kids…. well in this case, my kids! Or could it be that all the research carried out on this subject has been conducted in a top-secret laboratory somewhere off the coast of Russia, using computer-generated children, whose moods, reactions and behaviours, unlike mine, could at least be slightly predictable?