New Resolutions for a New Year.

I love the New Year. It's a time for fresh starts and new resolutions. Since turning 50 last March I have slowly begun to realise my own mortality. I don't want to sound morbid, but the chances are that I'm over half way in this life of mine. More than one friend of mine has faced serious illness this year and that has made me value my health and family more than ever. Age has never bothered me - it's just a number - but the number I now own doesn't seem to match with who I am... How odd to be a 50 year old! Inside I am far younger. Anyway ... this year I am making resolutions, but not resolutions which will deny myself things. This year I resolve to enjoy every moment of my life. I want to be positive and strong.

I have never been one to live in the past. Nostalgia is really not for me and this year more than ever I plan to live in the Now and yet look to the future. I plan on learning new things, new skills. I am continuing to walk when I can and my husband and I have set a day to swim although this is clashing with my ballet classes... aaagh!. Last year I started yoga and I love it. I plan to keep on practising and attending classes, getting better and more flexible. Part of yoga that I love is the relaxing, meditative aspect and I have been using this to help my sleep. I hope to start running again too. If I can regain my love of it I will be thrilled!

If I am looking after my body with exercise then I need to think about what I am putting into it in the way of food and drink too. I have only one body and so far I have been extremely fortunate to be fit and healthy, but, to be honest, I have been a bit of a pig recently! I love good food and wine and have rather over indulged in both over the last few months!! I am going to try to drink more water and less wine! I want to eat more healthily too... smaller portions, more fruit and veg, more fish, less red meat. I think the key is forward planning and I have been enjoying some delicious recipes recently - full of fresh ingredients, fresh herbs.

In April I am booked onto a Hypnotherapy course and I cannot wait for it to start. I love the thought of learning something new and, eventually perhaps, changing direction career wise. Taking on a year's course is a big challenge and the fact that this is more science based than my usual love - the Arts - is not a little frightening! It is, perhaps, the fear factor that excites me just as much as the thought of a new skill, new knowledge.

self portrait courtesy of christianhook.com

I also plan on visiting more exhibitions this year. Last year I went to a few, but this year I want to see more, in particular Ai Weiwei at the Royal Academy and Christian Hook at Clarendon Fine Art. The older I get the more I realise how little I know!

I want to keep my mind open and push myself to make the most of every day. I am going to keep reading as much as possible and I plan on editing the book I wrote in November during NaNoWriMo. I feel like Ernie Wise talking about "The book what he wrote"!! I enjoyed the discipline of writing and, you never know, I might write something else... although I don't think JK Rowling or Stephen King have anything to fear!! Writing a novel in the month of NaNoWriMo certainly makes one appreciate the skill of real writers!!

I also want to cherish every moment I have with my family. As time goes on I am reminded every day just how lucky I am. My husband is my best friend, my rock and I love his company. I want to spend as much time together as we can. My boys are getting older and the time when they will leave home is drawing ever closer. I want to enjoy time with them too. I am determined to be more fun when we go skiing this year. When they ski over jumps I am going to follow them. Oh God! That really is scary!



So... those are my resolutions. I hope that I can look back in a year's time and see that I have lived a healthy, positive life, full of enthusiasm!! I will try not to be too annoying!!

Happy New Year from Secret Housewife!!

Here we are... January 1st, 2011. I remember when I was a child, thinking that when the year 2000 came around I would be the grand old age of 35. And here I am, 11 years past that landmark. I spent last night surrounded by friends and family, happy, dancing, singing, totally at ease with myself and those around me.

After my last post Bozena commented that life should be spent singing and dancing the way you would if nobody was watching.I took her words to heart and last night I did just that.I was not the most gorgeous, the slimmest, the youngest woman at the party, but I may well have been the happiest.My friend sang Mustang Sally and asked for 5 women to come on stage and dance. I was up there like a shot with 3 of my friends and danced with a smile on my face as wide as the Pacific.My husband sang and had the whole party up and dancing - I was so incredibly proud of him!

Who knows what 2011 will bring.I know that I will write about my life this year and there will be times when I am miserable. There will be times when I am frustrated or bored, but hopefully there will also be more times when I feel the way I feel tonight, comfortable in myself and actually aware of how bloody lucky I am.

I have a beautiful, kind man who loves me and I have 2 boys who are just lovely.I have good friends who accept me for who I am. I know that I am far from perfect. I am impatient and insecure at times. I am lazy and obsessive. But I am also kind and funny, aware of my failings and of course hugely modest!! I have come a long way from the woman who started writing this blog 4 years ago.

I hope that the New Year brings you happiness and comfort in your own skin. I hope that we are able to cope with whatever the year brings us - let's hope its good things!

I have my New Year's Eve frock - must remember not to sing!

It is not often that a girl goes shopping for a special outfit and finds it within the hour. Yesterday, however, was one of those days.Not only did I avoid discovery by my hunky window cleaner whilst trilling enthusiastically, I also found my New Year's Eve dress.

I had rushed into town in the hope of buying something rather gorgeous for New Year, but with no real optimism.Usually such shopping trips end in a trip to a cafe and a large slice of chocolate cake as I attempt to drown my sorrows in carbohydrate based cure. The more normal scenario is me trolling through racks of dresses which are either size 18 or size 8 - none of which are any good to me whatsoever.

Imagine my surprise when I picked 4 dresses, all of which I liked. And, to my joy, they were all perfectly respectable sizes. The one I ended up buying was a size 12 which fits me like a glove. It has the required amount of sparkle combined with a classy sprinkling of demureness ( if there is such a word ) Added to this is the even more important enticement that it was half price. Yes, my friends, half price!!

So, I plan to spend New Year dancing the night away in my cut price frock, secure in the knowledge that I will neither have to crawl to my bank manager or be afraid of losing my décolletage from the confines of a dress that is too small for my burgeoning bod.I do have to remember to avoid the stage though.I happened to mention to my husband's band that I liked a bit of karaoke the other night and God forbid that I find myself on stage with microphone on New Year's Eve. Now that really would be ghastly!!

Happy New Year from Secret Housewife.

It is early on New Year's Eve and I am alone upstairs while the children play with the girls next door on the Wii. My eldest has just been showing them the bridge he built with his wooden train set - a proud 12 year old, bless him!!

I have been cleaning the house like mad and preparing food for tonight.We are having lamb shanks wrapped in foil and stuffed with a rosemary, sage and thyme butter,sitting on a bed of garlic, carrots and onion, with white wine poured into to the foil parcels.They cook until the meat just falls off the bone and I will serve them with creamy mash and probably cabbage.Tonight is the first New Year's Eve in ages that my man has been home. He is working until early evening, but will get home in time for dinner and the celebrations.Lovely.

I have been writing this blog now for three years. My first post was written on New Year's Eve 2006.It seems like longer ago for some reason. That night I was alone and miserable. Tonight I am a calmer woman.I will have my husband with me, and my two boys.Since that night I have done a lot with my life - run a marathon, re-started my Degree, run a household, and generally coped with life.I am pretty happy at the moment. I know that I come on here and moan... and thank you for putting up with all my moaning!! But this blog is a life saver - without it I wouldn't have a place to vent my steam sometimes!!

I hope, wherever you are, that you have a good New Year. Thank you for reading my blog and I wish you health, happiness and fulfilment in 2010.