It’s a new year, with new hopes, new resolutions… and a new blog!

It’s been a while since I flexed my tiny writing muscles for anything other than assignments or work. I’ve missed typing away for my own amusement, recording my thoughts for Future Me to look back on a decade from now (most likely with no small amount of shame, who are we kidding). I just turned thirty, so this seems like as good a time to get back to it as ever.

Scrubs and I rang in the New Year drinking Amarone with a collection of charming people in a large house in The Middle of Nowhere, County Kerry. The fact that we were positioned in the middle of a Dark-Sky Preserve was entirely wasted on us thanks to the clouds and the copious amount of alcohol, but the view was beautiful, and the pier at the bottom of the garden was just enough of a brisk walk away to clear the head.

The first morning of 2017 was clear and cold. The sun was shining for the first time in days, and honestly that seems like a good omen to me! We drove back to Cork through Kerry, via Glengarriff, Ballydehob, Skibbereen and Bandon. We stopped at Jim’s Coffee House along the way for provisions in the form of a Baileys hot chocolate and a portion of hand-cut fries, but apart from that we just enjoyed the feeling of meandering through picturesque villages without hurry, passing by craggy shorelines and choppy water.

Ireland really is quite spectacularly beautiful when the sun deigns to come out and sparkle a bit. It’s a pity it doesn’t happen more often.

Now that we’re settled into another year it’s probably time to get some resolutions down on paper… or on blog as it may be. If I can wrestle my intentions into the shape of actual words, then I may be more likely to stick to them. So here we go.

1. If I Water Me, Will I Grow?

Whew. Let’s start with an easy one. I need to drink more water. I don’t want to turn into a raisin and I don’t want to keep drinking a litre of milk a day; it’s not really ethical and it’s also probably not the best way to hydrate. I plan on getting myself a little water bottle this week and aiming to drink at least one litre of water a day (let’s be realistic).

2. Best Laid Plans…

Ignore the adage and actually plan things. I don’t really have a choice because living in Cork has really clamped down on my spontaneity. There’s only so many weekends in a month and when you have to divide them up in order to see your favourite people it turns out planning has to be done in advance. Like, way in advance. Like, I-should-have-been-making-plans-two-months-ago kind of advance. Unfortunately, two months ago I hadn’t made this resolution, so here we are, starting from scratch.

3. Proactivate! 

Yes! That’s not a word. It should be, though! I’m trying to be more proactive. My natural inclination is to go along with adventures that other people suggest, so as not to feel like I’m intruding on people’s time. The problem is sometimes that comes across as casual indifference, like I just don’t care enough to bother my ass making plans, and that is not the case So… my wish to not cause offense potentially causes more offense than the alternative. I’m going to try and turn that around this year and make plans with all the lovely people I know. I guess this one is really just a sub-resolution that could be filed under Resolution Two but this one is specifically about friends and family, so I’m choosing to separate them.

This also makes me feel more productive.

4. Back up

I really need to strengthen my back. My lack of back muscles is a serious problem – I carry all my tension in my back and shoulders so any time I get stressed, I get knots and migraines. Not ideal. I either need to get a personal full-time masseuse on staff or else I need to finally bite the bullet and get fit. Since I have not yet become a multi-millionaire despite my best efforts at whispering, “Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease” to shooting stars and fallen eyelashes, it will have to be the latter. I mean, if I could just outrun an axe murderer, or lift myself out of the reach of laser sharks, then that would probably be enough for me. I’d be satisfied with that level of fitness. I’m not aiming for American Ninja Warrior here. Think more… Betty Spaghetti.

5. Thanksgiving

I want to train myself to spend more time focusing on things I’m grateful for, rather than wallowing in the Swamp of Sadness (AAARTAAAAAX!) every time something goes wrong. I can wind myself into such a ball of misery sometimes by fixating on things I’ve done, or haven’t done, or could have done, or should have done… It’s exhausting. In the meantime great things may have happened in my life, but it will take me a few days to catch up and recognise it. I want to speed up that process. I want to be capable of holding those two thoughts in my head at once. Yes, this thing was shit and could have gone better, but also this other thing happened and it was good. I feel like that’s not such a difficult concept to grasp. I think I can manage that basic level of multitasking.

So. I don’t think any of these are unattainable. I feel I’ve done a good job of keeping them all in the low-hanging fruit range, and I’m hoping that will motivate me to actually check them off the To Do list this year. I guess we’ll see. If you’ve stumbled on this page and you have any resolutions, what are they? Do you have a good track record with resolutions? Do you have any tips for how to stick to them? Let me know.

In the meantime, I think I need sustenance. I’m off to go look in the fridge again, see if I can find anything the fifth time round.

Wish me luck!