Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Definitely This Year

2012

D'Oub plans for 2012.

1) Write more. So far, have written either a flash fiction piece, or the first paragraph of a new short story. Haven't decided which it yet. Have also written a few lines of a blog post. Result.

2) Give up coffee. This one is a toughie. I love my lattes. I reckon the impact on the economy by the end of January could be drastic. But sometimes one has to think of oneself and not ones fellow man. I've been trying to save this stoopid country single-handedly by spending, spending, spending - a high proportion of that on lattes and cake - but so far we seem to be still requiring bail outs faster than the Titanic.So, I must think of my waistline and my wallet.

Iloveyou!Iloveyou!Iloveyou!Iloveyou!Iloveyou!Iloveyou!


3) Go to bed before 2am. I spend much of my days in a sorta zombie haze. I pity my poor children, being raised by a zombie mother. It's surprising that Baby Oubs first word wasn't 'Brainzzz.' But I am such a night owl. I could be crawling through the day, my energy so low from tiredness that I'd sell the children for a half pack of hobnobs, if I could take a daytime nap. But, hit 10pm and suddenly I could run a half marathon. What's that you say Mr Oub? Watch a movie even though its five minutes to midnight and the movie is three hours long? Capital idea!

4) No more over-committing myself. Life had gotten a tad crazy round the D'Oub house by the end of the year. We had the most busy insane six months of our lives. It wasn't anyone thing, just a celestial convergence of events that meant we only had about two weekends free from one commitment or another from August to the end of December. Combine that with me going out roughly four out of five week nights (writers group! pottery class! scrapbooking workshops! Other stuff!) Then combine that with the sleep deprivation and the coffee addiction. How I am still standing I don't know. (It could be the medicinal Christmas Cake that saved me.) So, 2012, I'm saying no. No to doing everything and yes to trying to be a bit more selective. It'll be hard, but suspect it's a good idea.

5) On my bike! Due to the aforementioned schedule craziness, the D'Oub family who had all possessed new bikes for months, hadn't been able to go out on them :( This made us very sad. But, new year, new opportunities. We've been out three times since the new year, Baby Oub has her little bike seat, so everyone is go, go go.

It is amazing that with the giant heads we posses that we were able to find cycle helmets to fit us all. Giant I tells ya.


So, what do you think? Achievable. Should be.

We'll see if Christmas 2012 sees me lithe, literary, alert and latte-free.

Just don't surprised if it's more corpulent, critical, catatonic, and caffeinated.

10 comments:

Niamh B said...

love it... am inspired to maybe even type up a blog post I recently writ out in long hand... Even tho there's thousands of other things I should be doing...

Domestic Oub said...

Is it the post you just posted?

Kat Mortensen said...

I don't want to hear that you've fallen off the latte-wagon and are selling your children for cakes and coffee!
Medicinal Christmas cake was a tonic for me too - fried in butter on the pan alongside some tattie scones and tomatoes.
As someone who hits the hay by 10 p.m., all I can say is, GO TO BED, WOMAN!!!

Kat Zzzzz

Domestic Oub said...

Okay - I had tea when I was out this afternoon, so that is Day Two of coffee sobriety. For me, that is a good score..

Kat, christmas cake, fried in butter! omg. Sounds amzing!

But it's ten minutes to 1am and I'm still up. Fail. It is an improvement on last week where I wasn't upstairs till after one... Can we call it a move in the right direction?

Unfortunately I feel wide awake. I want to fall asleep asap, but it just doesn't feel likely. Gah. I'll feel horrible in the morning.

All tips on how to fall asleep gratefully welcomed!

Rachel Fox said...

I was always a stay-up-late person but in recent years this has changed... not sure how... middle age maybe. I think I try to get at least some thinking/writing/reading done in the day and then I feel like I can sleep at night because I've done something with my brain earlier on (and so I don't have that restless must-do-something-to-prove-I'm-still-alive-an-adult-and-not-just-a-braindead-mother thing). Also I walk the dog a lot so I am physically tired too. And I only drink one coffee a day (and 2 teas...).

Good luck!

The Dead Acorn said...

Best of luck, but I fear that with 2 & 3, you've already broken 4. But the writing/riding goals are tolly doable!

Kat Mortensen said...

Don't eat anything heavy or rich after 7:00 p.m.
Turn off any technology an hour before you want to go to sleep to give your brain a chance to shut down.
White noise helps - a humidifier, or soothing sounds

The temperature of the bedroom is critical - not too hot or cold.

There are other tips, but I'll let someone else get in on this.

Louise said...

You can do it, you can do it ALL, YES U CAN:) Great time of year to set goals!!! xxx

Domestic Oub said...

Dead Acorn - u may have a point. It's nearly 1.30 am and I'm still up.

But do I have to ditch another aim, to try and fix this one. Or do I just need to resign myself to perpetual tiredness? hhmm...

Kat, Rachel, thanks for the ideas/feedback. Kat, i think u are so right on the switching off the pc/tv beforehand - and it's what I totally fail to do. Look, I'm on the laptop! And Rachel, all would love a dog round here - has been promised for when baba isn't so small. Maybe then I'll manage to exhuast myself into good habits!

Louise, be my personal cheerleader! I need the encouragement!

James said...

I would be impressed with one out of five, no point in over extending yourself.