It snowed, it snowed!

Of course, the boys wrapped up warm and went outside as early as they could (without annoying the neighbours too much).

Stayed outside for about half an hour, then came in cold and wet and miserable.

Oh well. It looked very pretty from the windows though!

Spent most of the rest of the day sorting out the lego into some new plastic drawers that arrived today in an attempt to get the collection under control. It’s taken forever and we still have some left to sort tomorrow. I just hope it all fits in!

2008 was a strange sort of year. I spent most of it looking forward to the extra time and freedom I would have once Li’l Bhaji went to school in September. Then spent September onwards in shock that the reality was so different from how I planned.

Allergies and seasonal depression have also hit harder than usual and I find myself facing 2009 with a real need to draw a line, refocus and re-discover myself now I have two school age children.

With that in mind, my resolutions for the year aren’t particularly earth shattering, just small things to get me focussed on more positive projects:

Massive clear-out / “spring” clean

Over the last year, I’ve tried to just get by on the bare minimum of housework, as I didn’t want that to be the be all and end all of my existence. However, in practice, the state of the house has really started to get me down.

I know part of it is that post-Christmas bleugh when all the decorations are still up and there are no homes for new stuff, making everything feeling cramped and chaotic. Even so, it’s something I really need to tackle, especially as it’s very unlikely we’ll be able to move into a larger house (our previous long-term plan) for a good few years yet.

It’s only logical to make the most of the space we have and also make it more allergy-friendly. I don’t want minimalist show-house quality, just easy-living/easy-cleaning space which means much less “stuff”.

Akra has promised to do some decorating as well at some point this year, and has already made great inroads on the front garden in the last month or so. In just the last week, I have sorted out every drawer and cupboard in the kitchen and had a ruthless cull. If I keep up the same pace, I should have it all done by the end of March, so committing to the end of the year should be easy.

Get a savings buffer

We’ve done pretty well at reducing debt in the last few years, but don’t really have any buffer for the unexpected. We’re fortunate in that Akra’s job seems relatively secure even in the current climate, but we definitely need an easy-access emergency savings pot.

Even if it’s just a month’s joint salary in there by the end of the year, it would be an improvement. With me earning even little bits here and there, it makes building such a pot much more feasible.

Keep up with the exercise

I’ve done really well this year with cycling and strength training, but while I really look forward to going out on the bike, I haven’t really enjoyed the stationary cycle when the weather hasn’t been too good or the strength training much.

As a family, we got Wii Fit this Christmas and that is a lot of fun (and surprisingly hard work – I take back all my previous cynicism) so I’m going to do that instead of strength training or if the weather’s vile.

Take more photos

I have got in a rut where I’m not taking pictures because there’s no particular event to take pictures of, then when there is a suitable event taking crap pictures because I’m out of practise with my camera.

The last two months, I’ve been having fun with the Flickr Group: Monthly Scavenger Hunt. I’m going to commit to doing these every month for the next year. It’ll keep working on my skills without getting too horribly serious to the point where I feel I must be “progressing” or “improving” to make it worthwhile.

Do more things just for the hell of it

And talking of feeling like things have to be worthwhile, I’m going to get off my case this year. I’m going to have fun with things again without mission or agenda.

I’m going to write more on this blog, but not beat myself up for not having lofty novel writing goals.

I’m going to try and learn the guitar with Akra Jr (he’s currently having lessons) but not be too concerned if I don’t manage it for a few weeks or don’t progress as fast as him.

I’m going to play around with my new pen tablet and not expect myself to be creating amazing digital oil paintings by the end of the month.

I want to start a regular meditation practice without feeling like I need to be a Zen Master after a week.

I keep wanting to try new hobbies, but then get annoyed with myself when I don’t reach ridiculous self-inflicted goals so give them up. Well from here on in I am giving myself permission to just have fun with stuff, to do things for the enjoyment of participation rather than the end product.

Remind me of this now and again, would you?