2012 - It All Becomes Clear

Clarus: the latin word for 'clear', which over time has gone through Italian and French alterations and ended up being Clari (admittedly, not a massive change considering it probably took place over hundreds of years).

But, those are the first five letters of just three things that are going to make a big difference to my life in 2012...

Clarity: No more faffing around! I need a clear idea of what I really want to do with my life, where I want to be and how I want to get there. It will also mean clearing of debt and clearing of clutter - two things which I never fully seem to get to grips with despite convincing myself that my life would be perfect if neither were in it.

Clarinet: My Christmas gift from Mother and suggested by my consultant as a way to help build my breathing up a bit. Originally, this was going to be achieved through opera singing lessons, but - as I'm reliably told by several of my nearest and dearest that my singing 'would scare rats off a bin' - this idea was ditched, even though it was obvious to me that they were simply jealous of my dulcet tones and were lying to cover up their envy.

Clarisonic: You can't take on the world - or learn a musical instrument - unless you're looking your best and having banged on for the last year about how great my skin could be with this little device, Kevin relented and asked Santa if I could have it as I'd been a (reasonably) good girl over the last twelve months. I'll be unrecognisable by the end of January!

I'll keep you posted on whether it's all going to plan, but in the meantime, I hope 2012 brings you a little clarity too. If, however, it's brought you a clarinet, let me know and we might try to get a band together...

Promises to keep - 2011

Happy 2011 and good wishes for the year ahead!

I apologise that they're belated good wishes, but the New Year signals the opportunity for fresh starts and with that comes promises and resolutions - except I've been so busy writing and re-writing the promises and resolutions, that the days have already flown by without a single good deed being done.

Rather rashly, I have now ditched the list and made just two simple promises:

1. See my friends more often.

2. Give the full-on 'Stopping Shopping' experience another go this year and clear the remainder of my debt.

Here we go again - back on the white-knuckle ride...

Out With The Old, In With The New

New Year equals New Resolutions, written in my best handwriting with my poshest pen in a new journal bought specifically for the purpose.

Once done, I’ll blow the ink dry, close the cover and either instantly forget about them or beat myself up for a few weeks at my inadequacy to stick to them.

This year, there is no new journal and my poshest pen has only been taken from its box to write the most mundane of shopping lists. That sums up the only resolutions I have committed to this year:

1. To stop putting pressure on myself with endless lists of tasks and things I believe I should be doing, but know I will never get round to (hence the lack of a new journal to remove the temptation to start a new list in the first place).

2. Take all those things that I consider too expensive / rare / irreplaceable and use them for the purpose they were actually intended and not merely as decorative pieces (hence the reason that poshest pen has been dragged from its satin lined tomb and will be enjoyed at every opportunity).

And apart from my yearly promise to be nicer to everyone and less of a stroppy moo (never manage to stick to that one!), that is it.

Now, you’ll have to excuse me.

I’m going to look out my white fur (faux!) snow boots that have never seen a snow flake in their life. They’ll be just the thing to wear while I’m sledging on the chess board we commissioned about a decade ago but have never got round to finding pieces that matched it.