New Year's - A Happy One to All, How About Some Resolutions?

As a rule I don't believe in New Year's resolutions, to me they're just a way to put things off. If you want to change start it straight away. However sometimes things can't happen immediately so having a point to focus on in the future is a good way to set a goal.

Now instead of posting a review of one of the many items I received this Christmas instead I wanted to look back at the year and look forward to the next. This year has been a strange one, sadly I lost my Grandfather a couple of weeks back, I spent a lot of time with him growing, up, we were close, his funeral was yesterday and although he was very old it is a loss in my life that I'm still getting used to.

One strange thing about this year is how secluded I've been, it seems so long ago now but the reason I started this blog was to give myself something to focus on. I'd been ill for a while and off work from November 2012 until October 2013, most of this time was indoors and after the surgery I was mainly bed-bound. It has almost been a year that hasn't existed. Apart from my blog I also took up entering competitions, a bit of a weird hobby, it was more that I decided to not ignore those amazing competitions in my favourite magazines or websites under the belief that nobody wins anything, I've been rather lucky in that respect. This of course doesn't make up for a year of doing practically nothing. I can however say that I watched all series of Buffy and Angel back to back, two and a half times. I also played hours of Animal Crossing: New Leaf thanks to my post-surgery 3ds XL treat.

Now I'm back to work, not quite running at full speed but I'm managing a full week, I just rest a lot in the evenings and weekends but I'm still positive it will improve. This is why this year I decided on having resolutions, I knew 3 months back there were certain things I wouldn't be able to do for a while so I promised myself some time to recover and to aim for the new year.

So what is on my list?

• Return to a normal exercise routine and add boxing to the mix. I want to be able to do at least 30 minutes a day of intense exercise but that will be something to build up to rather than leap start. In time I want this to lead to some weight loss. 

• Save money. This is a big one, I managed to get myself out of debt last year but I didn't have any income. My first full pay was today so I've already started this resolution by putting a chunk aside for saving towards a home, eventually. I also have a bit aside for shopping - everything is easier to do when you can allow yourself a treat and a bit aside for The Beast - I'll mention him further down.

• Work through my toiletries. I did start my six month challenge, well about 8 months ago. After the surgery I was bed-bound and cleaned by someone else for so long I didn't use any of my normal stuff as I had to stock up on the non-perfumed variety but I've been keeping an eye on this and saving my empties. I cling onto things for the wrong reason, time to start using things up and doing an update post. This doesn't mean I'll stop buying make-up or even toiletries, just that I'll buy them to use rather than to admire for a while, starting with the Richard Ward keratin sleek shampoo and conditioner - my hair desperately needs a new product, it needs fixing. 

• To budget my groceries, I never stick to a shopping list and I never will, James tends to spend less but he effectively wastes money by missing out on offers, I however stock up too much. Next year I will be aiming for meal plans, plus I need to eat more lentils. I love lentils but I can't even say I have one meal a week with them in. I would honestly prefer to spend more money on anything else but food but I still overload my trolley in Waitrose (like I did tonight.)

• Be more organised in my own home. I know as a hoarder living with my partner at my parents I will never be as neat as James would like but I would like to be more organised. James thinks I like to live in piles, not quite true, I do like to look at my lovely bits but I would prefer having a place to put them. First thing I need to do is replaced my wardrobe that gave up being a wardrobe when the rail came crashing down. 

All in all I have a full on life haul, just done at a snails pace. I also hope that I will be able to take less medication and be able to drink alcohol again. Sometimes it's frustrating to do things slowly but I always think those that take it one step at a time are usually the most successful in the long run. 

Before I go to make myself up for a new year at home with a delicious take-away (If you were interested James and I will be sharing a portion of sweet and sour bean curd with boiled rice and a portion of vegetable chow mein) I should introduce The Beast. He popped up on my Christmas day goodies post but I haven't really spoke about him, well not on here, all my friends will say I talk too much about him.

The Beast is a little black cat that has lived on our road for as long as I've been back so over two years, he is always out, he follows everyone including he postman but nobody is aware of where he has come from. We haven't been able to track down an owner, we're sure they would be on this road as he has always been here, well at least for over two years. He has been visiting us for a while but on the 13th December, actually the day my grandad died so we were all distracted and he just kind of moved in and apart from bathroom trips and the occasional meander he keeps coming back to us.

He likes to rest his head and paws on my hand or arm, sometimes his whole body if he is worried I'll leave

I don't quite feel like he is truly ours yet but I hope we will get to keep him. Even though he insists on sleeping on my chest at night - usually with his face about two inches away from mine, unfortunately he had a sneezing fit two nights ago so I ended up with a face full of cat saliva, I still think he is beyond cute, even after this act. Last night I woke up to find him stroking my arm, not padding but actually stroking it. So I will leave you with a small selection of photos of the little black cat that found a new home this Christmas. 

Happy New Year!