writer's moll

1. Yes, that old hardy perennial - lose weight. I started fantasising about how it would feel to be back to my lowest ever weight, and remembered Gary Linekar’s quip when asked what was the least he’d ever weighed and he said 7 pounds, so no, not that low. But I’ve just tried to reckon up how many times I’ve lost 10 pounds and I can’t, but I’m obviously losing the same 10 pounds, otherwise I would weigh 7 pounds. I’m not actually that much overweight – If I were melted down and re-distributed I’d be quite happy.
2. Stop wasting food. This isn’t one of those minor adjustments to daily life sort of resolution, but a really life-changing one, because my problem isn’t waste, but indecision - I’m the most indecisive person I know (I think) - so it doesn’t mean eating that extra slice of quiche instead of throwing it away – the sin is in buying it in the first place. If I stopped wasting food I’d have to plan and that’s not something that comes easily to me. Do I fancy chicken or pork, roasted vegetables, salad or broccoli? – tell you what let’s buy it all and I’ll sort it out later but then I find I didn’t buy the oranges to make that pork thingy, so have to make something else instead, which means half the ingredients I did buy are wasted. What should I get for the guests we’re expecting? I could make one of my yummy fish pies because I know David loves fish, but then again Mary doesn’t, so should I make a meaty pie too? And our little Johnny doesn’t like spicy stuff, so should I get something bland as well, and ooh yes, should I get ice-cream, for those unhealthy ones who don’t like fresh fruit too – peaches, pineapple or pears? – not sure, better take them all - oh and what sort of snacky things to eat before the meal? FOR CHRIST’S SAKE, SIT DOWN - THINK ABOUT IT FOR A WHILE – THEN MAKE A LIST. Now that’s something I’m excellent at, there are more lists (oh you know, DIY jobs, people to write to, bills to pay, trips to plan etc) in our house than items of cutlery. So how hard can it be?
3. Change my reading habits. I start with a feast of books, a little notebook by my side to jot down memorable things and a determination that this time it will be different – I will not only r-e-a-d s-l-o-w-l-y, but have several books on the go at once for different moods and times. But instead of genteel bite-size pieces - admiring the presentation as I go, savouring every morsel - once I’ve decided on the tastiest one, I shovel it in like a ravenous peasant, devouring as much as possible in one sitting, choking on the last few crumbs – with the occasional burp as a reminder of the flavour. Then, to know what it really tasted like, I’ve got to read it all again. This new book Previous Convictions is helping me because each chapter is a separate topic, so there’s a natural stopping point, but when it’s gone, I’ll have to go solo.
4. To blog more regularly – I've recently added a couple more blogs to my favourites - Everything is Electric, Wenders and Little Red Boat and I feel really disappointed when I look in and there isn’t a new entry. It made me realise that if you want your readers to stick with you, you have to make it worth their while clicking on to your site.

So, I'm not going to mention how long my New Year resolutions usually last - this year will be different.