There are several exercise/fitness related things on my list, and for the most part I’m making pretty good headway there. I joined WeightWatchers online, which is something I always debate doing around this time of year. It was free though, via Quidco, so that pushed me into finally committing. And so far, so good. I’ve lost about seven pounds so far, and the novelty of counting points hasn’t yet worn off. I think my main problem has always been portion control - or lack of - and that’s mostly what I’ve been tackling the past four weeks. It’s definitely made a difference - somehow, I still have chocolate left over from Christmas! I… I don’t think this has ever happened before!

I finally put my running shoes back on again too. Pete bought me a Nike+ sensor for Christmas, so I felt I should probably use it. The first run just about killed me. Three months since the last time I ran, and I felt it with every step. It took nearly a week for my legs to stop making me groan every time I stood up. It was only a 1.5 miler too. Not good. A week later though, I tried again. This time was completely different. I managed to run the whole way without stopping, no wheezing, no horribly aching legs after. Sure, I could feel it in my legs the next day, but it wasn’t the agony it had been. Two more runs since then and it’s getting even easier.  February, I think I need to up my mileage to 2 miles per run. I’m hoping if I up the mileage slowly, I will be super ready for the Great South Run (10 miles!) in October. That’s when I’m hoping to check off number eleven on my list - run 10 miles in under two hours.

What else? I tried a new recipe this month! And a new cooking method. Having laid claim to my mum’s old slow cooker last time I was back home, I finally found a recipe I wanted to try. Goulash. And it was so so good. The meat was beautifully tender. I am a slow cooker convert!

Number twenty two has been crossed off. I don’t think I need to go into any more detail there.

I also made an appointment to give blood, although frustratingly I couldn’t get one until the end of February! I assume this has something to do with everyone else making similar give blood type resolutions though, so can’t really complain.

I read only two books this month, but one of them - Grapes of Wrath - was on that BBC book list (a list for another post maybe) so that’s a fifth of the way there for number fifteen! With the added bonus that it was a pretty great book. Very compelling.

I haven’t seen a film at the cinema this month, and given that tomorrow is the last day of the month I’m thinking this isn’t going to happen! I’m determined not to see this as a failure though. Instead, I will just make sure I see two films at the cinema next month. The King’s Speech is definitely going to be one of them (I may have told Pete several dozen times that I want to go see it!).

I also chickened out of enrolling on a five week photography course (again, a discussion for another post perhaps). But hopefully by the time enrollment opens for the next one I’ll be ready for it and bite the bullet.

So that was January, by the list!

1) Redecorate lounge
2) Paint bedroom, hall, stairs and landing
3) Redo photo wall in kitchen
4) Dye my hair
5) Go back to Snobs
6) Learn to knit
7) Learn some calligraphy
Take a photography course
9) Take more photos
10) Get new bedroom curtains
11) Run 10 miles in under two hours
12) Try yoga
13) Take an exercise class
14) Lose at least two stone (28 pounds)
15) Read at least five books from the BBC list (the meme on Facebook) (yes, I know it’s partly made up!)
16) Read more than 35 books
17) Try a new recipe once a month (January - Goulash)
18) Throw a housewarming party
19) Visit friends in Leeds
20) Do something special for my birthday
21) Go to a Farmers’ Market
22) Book a smear (fun fun fun!)
23) Give blood more than once
24) Host Christmas in our own home
25) Plant a vegetable garden
26) Go to the dentist
27) See more of our county on bicycle
28) See one film every month at the cinema
29) Get better at acknowledging birthdays. That means more than just a quick Facebook message at 11:59pm.
30) Make fitness and health a priority
31) Wear more skirts and dresses
32) Watch all the DVDs in our collection we haven’t yet watched
33) Start composting
34) Get back in the pool (swim 2/3 x a week)
35) Have a barbecue in our garden
36) See a new (to me) musical
37) Hang a painting of my dad’s
38) Skype/videochat with someone
39) No crisps or chocolate for a week. Then see if I can do it for a month.

Yikes!

Added 30th Jan:

40) Re-read Anne of Green Gables
41) Run a total of 30 miles in one month
42) Do a Race for Life with my mum