Roll on 2013!

2012 was a good year for me. Obviously there were downs (for example, we lost my grandmother just two weeks after Daniel was born), but when I look back the only thing I see is my gorgeous, clever little boy and how rich he has made my life. Nothing else matters; I feel incredibly blessed to have him. 

So what do I want for 2013? Here are a few of my New Year's resolutions, and how I'm doing so far:

Get involved with local HE groups

I've joined a Yahoo group for one, and sent an email to another which I know meets quite nearby every week. Just waiting for a reply, and hopefully I'll be able to actually go to something in the next couple of weeks.

 

Clear the vegetable patch, install a compost bin and plant some vegetables

I had sessions out there yesterday and today, and a big push tomorrow (when dh is around to entertain Little Man) should see the area cleared and ready to cover up for a month or two before I start planting. The brambles are so big Sleeping Beauty would be proud, but I'm definitely winning. The plan is to have squash, onions and salad in the veg patch, tomatoes in gro-bags and salad in a couple of big tubs that were here when we moved in. The compost bin is coming from my parents (they have several and don't need them all now their chicken-keeping days are over) as soon as I have somewhere to put it, which will be soon.

Learn to sew

Hence the sewing machine! My mum came over for dinner last night and then helped me pick my way through the instructions until I had a real line of stitches on some real fabric. This is a huge step for me - I had a bit of a mental block about sewing machines after secondary school, where I was off sick for the lesson where the class was shown how they worked, and spent the rest of my time there trying to avoid having to use the damn things so the teacher wouldn't make my life a misery for not knowing what to do. Also, there were only about 15 for a class of 30ish, and no more than 10 were ever working at any one time. Having my very own (purple!) machine and actually understanding the basic concept of how it works... that's a massive step for me. I'm really looking forward to getting to grips with this, starting with some wash cloths for Daniel and then aiming for curtains by the end of the year to replace the various hideous and ill-fitting ones around the house.

Get more of a grip on the housekeeping finances and budget better

Our finances are a bit dire at the moment, especially with me giving up work, so it's time to get them under control. I may not be going out to work, but I can at least make sure I'm saving us money in the areas I have the most to do with. Starting this week, I have an app on my phone to track our spending on food, cleaning products, etc, and I've set a weekly budget that I'm challenging myself to keep to. I worked out that we were spending about £350 a year just on bread (we get nice stuff from a local baker), so I've halved our order and will try making my own for the other half. One day I'll learn how to do sourdough and replace the whole order, but for now just half will do! 

Meal planning is another part of this, and that's (re)started this week:

Thursday: Squash, chickpea & spinach curry with rice

Friday: Steak & kidney pie, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, Eve's pudding

Saturday: Leak & kale flan

Sunday: Dinner at my parents'

Monday: Fried halloumi cheese, beetroot in sour cream, couscous and salad

Tuesday: Vegetable stew with cheese dumplings

Wednesday: Spice parsnip soup with savoury scones

Keep on top of housework

This is another mental block I'm gradually getting on top of. I don't need the house to be spotless, but it would be nice to get to the point where a visit at short notice doesn't induce panic! I'm there at the moment, just need to sustain it. We're planning to decorate our bedroom over the next few weeks, which will be a first for us, and I'm really looking forward to it!

Lose more weight

I've lost about 2½ stone from my pre-pregnancy weight, just by walking more and breastfeeding. Ideally I'd like to lost up to another stone, so I'm trying to eat more sensibly during the day and get more exercise. This is partly so I look better, but also because I suspect that my weight was part of the reason I had so many problems towards the end of my pregnancy. We want a big family, but I don't want the same stuff happening again, and I think getting fitter, healthier and slimmer will give me a better chance of avoiding the same problems next time round. Of course, once Daniel is walking I'll be kept fit just running around after him, and it looks like that day might not be too far off!

Blog more regularly

What it says on the tin, really. I'd like this to be a record of life with Daniel so I can look back and see how he developed, and how I felt about it. The aim is to blog at least once a week, and preferably every day, though until I get a new laptop that might be a bit tricky. Still, we'll see!

So that's the plan for this year. I think I'm doing pretty well so far! It's my 30th birthday in a couple of weeks and I'm actually pretty happy about it; I wanted to be a home-educating mum by the time I was 30, and I am! I'm in a really good place right now, and I hope that carries on. Watch this space...