A belated Happy New Year to everyone. I hope that you all had a faberooney Christmas and that you stuffed yourselves silly on Quality Street and Chocolate Oranges- I didn’t receive one orange or any Maltesers from the kids in my class. Class 5, you have sorely let me down- and Father Christmas felt that you had been very good during 2017 and left you some lovely pressies under your tree.

I was going to make a few resolutions for this brand new year, but I then read an Instagram post by the very lovely Lexi of We are Renegrades who had decided to ditch resolutions which as we all know are more than likely doomed for failure before the Christmas decs have found their way into the loft for another year, and use the word intention instead. I looked up the meaning of intention and discovered that it means to aim for,  plan or to refer to a wish that one means to carry out. So reading between the lines there is room for a little flexibility. An intention to lose a shed load of weight doesn’t sound so set in concrete as a resolution would and it wouldn’t be a failure if it didn’t happen. An intention seems do-able and can be achieved but it’s also not a big deal if the goal isn’t reached.  As far as words go, it’s a much more user-friendly word so I’m taking a leaf out of Lexi’s book and making the word intention my word for 2018.

So what are my intentions for the coming twelve months? Well, after the Dreaded Lurgey  that had me almost shuffling off my mortal coil, I realised that it can be so easy to be here one day and not the next. Time is precious and should never be wasted by putting things off. Do what you want to do, take a risk, have an adventure. Don’t let the little things that don’t matter grind you down, live a life where the glass is half full and never half empty. Appreciate and value all that is good and beautiful, love and care for yourself and show empathy and be non-judgmental of others. I look at life differently now and focus on being happy with who I am and care about what really matters and don’t get het up about what doesn’t. My main intention is to carry on being focused and at risk of sounding really corny, love life!

That’s the serious stuff out of the way. I can now share my plans, wishes and aims for 2018. It’s a bit of a wish list and I’m hoping it doesn’t sound like a bucket list. In light of last year’s near miss, I don’t really want to consider things to do before I kick that bucket. I’ll leave that until I’m old and grey!

MY PLAN FOR 2018

1. First and foremost, I am ready to hang up my teaching assistant apron at the end of the school year and take a different path in the world of work. I love what I do, but it’s time for a change. In my ideal world, that change would be working where food is involved. That might be anything from working in a cafe or deli to helping in a cookery school or catering company even if it’s just to wash up-to making bakes as a small business.

2. My WI means a great deal to me, and I want it to go from strength to strength and be an important part of our community as a place where women of all ages can come together, make new friends and be inspired. My intention is to put time, energy and enthusiasm into helping it grow.

3.Get Mr R on a plane! There’s a great big world out there that I would like to explore with him! I will resort to the hitting over the head with a hammer if all other options fail!

4. Social media has been fabulous medium for me to connect with amazing people and inspiring me to want to try new things. I would love to try more workshops, go on a retreat and most importantly meet up with my Instagram followers who have become wonderful friends.

5. In the world of yoga, my intention is to stand up from a downward facing dog gracefully in one flowing movement!

6. I have this stupid idea that I shouldn’t spend money on me. I find it really difficult to buy myself clothes and will only do so when clothes need replacing. It’s the same when it comes to cosmetics or skincare. I’ve never been to a spa and have only ever once had a manicure. I think the problem is that I don’t feel happy about the way I look and that it’s pointless buying nice things for me. My intention is to get rid of these silly ideas and feel worthy of buying and wearing lovely clothes or a new lippy once in a while.

7. Overcome my fear of driving outside of my comfort zone which is within a radius of about two miles. I learnt to drive in London so I should be able to cope with the odd dual carriageway, roundabout and motorway. This fear is stopping me from being the adventurer and explorer I’d love to be. Having the confidence to drive will also stop me relying on my friends to drive when we go out. I’m sure theymust get pretty fed up with me.

8. I need to keep on top of writing posts for this little ol’ blog of mine. As much as I love it, I’m aware that sometimes I’m scratching around trying to think of something to write about. I know the tag line is Notes from an Ordinary Life, but I don’t want it to be so ordinary that my blog is in danger of becoming mind numbingly boring. So my intention is to get out there and turn ordinary into extraordinary. Can it be done? Watch this space!

So that’s more than enough to be going on with for now. My best intention is that by the end of the year I can tick off some of my plans, but if it doesn’t happen it’s really not the end of the world and I won’t lose any sleep. Saying that though, if I don’t get Mr R on a plane, I’m going without him. Big, beautiful world, here I come!