And peeling off the wrapping on 2013

I still think my theory holds true.  Well, it does for me, anyway.  The first six months of the year are all about energy, getting new things off the ground, having a go.  The second half of the year is the business end of the year - getting stuff done but not trying anything new because it is the end of winter moving into the time of the year when the calendar is overladen.  And so here I am at the start of the year, full of energy - amazing what a few days of laying on the sofa reading a very good book at every possible opportunity (and even stealing a few of the impossible moments) straight after Christmas will do for you - and ready to try some new things.  This is what I'm looking forward to for the year ahead.

Letter writing
This little storm has been brewing for a while.  I do like letter writing very much.  I like writing to friends and I like writing to people who do their job well to say thank you.  I had two little bursts of letter writing last year (and I received some very lovely mail in return) and have decided that this year I want to write one letter a month.  It may end up being more.  But I don't want it to be less.  It is such a relaxing and lovely thing to do.  And it will mean keeping up good Bible reading and good general reading...nothing good in, nothing good out.   And I shall return regularly to Ally's amazing pictorial post about letter writing and the other lovely Ali's post about letter writing for inspiration - just gorgeous.

Bible reading
Going to try out a near relative of my old favourite reading plan.  This year I am going for daily Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.  This plan will get me through the lot once in the year.  I decided to throw in daily time in the Proverbs after studying this book for six months in a Bible study group during 2012. 

Practising the principles of How to Really Love Your Child

Lots of eye contact - and not just when we are staring them down because we are cross, but lots and lots of warm, happy eye contact.

Lots of physical touch - and Ross Campbell gives a lot of time to the subject of appropriateness in this department and how appropriateness changes as a child gets older.
Lots of focussed attention - not the "I'm half listening to you and half writing my blog post" sort of attention...ahem...

S'pose I better try a bit harder with the cooking...
I got a cooking magazine and have earmarked three new recipes to try this week...jumping in boots and all before I get to the middle of the year and the "getting stuff done and not trying anything new" thing kicks in.  One thing I really want to achieve this year is one of these...



Taken from here.

Not necessarily this one exactly...I am imagining strawberries rather than raspberries.  I'll keep you posted.

And there is one more thing. 
It may or may not have something to do with this.


Taken from here

But I'll talk about that another day, lest it is sounding too much like a New Year's resolution.