Doing Something Different

I used to love new year's resolutions as an overweight teenager. Every year I would vow to stop biting my nails, lose weight and become attractive to the opposite sex. It seemed so easy and that there was some magic in the air in January that would make it happen all by itself just because it was a new year and a beautiful new calendar hung in my room. Then I grew up, used my head (changed my attitude, thought less about calories and more about nourishing my body and started running) and there's not been a fatty in sight for years. Anyway, I haven't done NYRs for a long time. This year Nick and I spent the time the children were asleep on New Year's day thinking up a load of different things we could do for one week every month to challenge ourselves and stir our routines up a bit (I am learning that when the kids are asleep I must not do housework and that sex, reading or just doing nothing is better. So with wifely duties achieved, ha ha ha, we had time to make lists...). The result is as follows:-

JANUARY, Spend nothing (except for food and fuel)
FEBRUARY, Random acts of kindness towards friends and strangers
MARCH, Wartime rations – investigation to be done
APRIL, Community service – litter picking and anything else that serves others near to us
MAY, More romance! More love! More sex!
JUNE, Bed at sunset, up at sunrise
JULY, Plant something or create something
AUGUST, No TV, do something less passive instead
SEPTEMBER, Vegetarian
OCTOBER, No swearing, learn new words (www.dictionary.com)
NOVEMBER, Watch someone’s favourite film every night – decide the 7 ‘someones’
DECEMBER, Phone a friend – connect through the phone, not e-mails