Welcome to 2012

According to Wikipedia, there is a New Age interpretation that says that 2012 may mark the beginning of a new era. I quote... "this date marks the start of time in which Earth and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation".

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On the other hand, it also says that there is a suggestion that this is the year that the world will end.

Crazy stuff. I have no strong belief either way but what I will take from each theory is that, whatever happens, 2012 should be a big year.
On December 29th, 2011 I completed the remortgage on my little house. Hooray! The next day my ex moved the rest of his things out and gave me his key back. Hooray hooray! What a way to mark the end of a long, tough year! It was funny though, because having spent 6 months building up to that day, all I got was a text message from a solicitor as my closure. I'm not sure what I expected (a fanfare, maybe?!) but it left me feeling a little deflated.

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So I allowed myself a few days to adjust. New Year's Eve came and went. I celebrated with friends, danced like a lunatic to some Kinect game or other and accepted a 'bake off' challenge. I did not enjoy midnight or coming home to my empty bed, but 2011 was done and dusted and it ended very nicely.

I'm fighting the feeling that I need to make a list of resolutions. I like lists. I have a brand new notebook just waiting to be written in. But after years of planning my future but still not ending up where I expected, maybe it's time that I just go with the flow? I can't promise that I won't write a 'to do' list before the year is out, but for now I've just decided that 2012 is going to be a year full of adventure and new possibilities. One day I will meet a man (I hope) and settle down (I hope) and have lots of lovely babies (I hope) but when that day comes I will undoubtedly look back wistfully on this tie-free single girl time and I don't want to be wishing I'd appreciated it more.

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Closing the joint account gave me a little extra cash in my pocket that I hadn't accounted for and I've chosen to spend it on little things that I couldn't otherwise justify buying - silly things like new hand towels (I've just worked out that my current ones are at least 5 years old...), a coffee date with a friend and a picture frame I liked in the sales. Having this house is fantastic, but it does mean that every penny of my wages is accounted for - if it's not paying bills it's rebuilding my savings, so I've decided to try and make myself a little extra every month to enjoy life with.

So it's over a week into January. What have I done so far? Well...

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- booked flights to visit my brother in Chamonix...I leave in two weeks time!
- taken down the Christmas trimmings (except for the garland on my mantle because it is just too pretty!) and cleaned the house top to bottom
- found an old ring from a jumble sale jewellery stash that I will send down the cash for gold route (I've never done it before, but at the current price of £9.80 a gram for 9ct gold it'll make me a bit extra for my holiday!)
- sorted through the pile of Wii games that I never play (they came as a job lot with the console) and discovered that they're worth almost £50 in cash at my local Cex store
- laid an off-cut of vinyl flooring in my under stairs cupboard (ok, so not massively exciting but my DIY skills are terrible and it now means I have somewhere clean to store my hoover!)
- set a date for my mini housewarming party...I'm planning to get the girls round, eat cake, drink wine and celebrate both my fresh start and the wonderful support I have received from them over the last 6 months

I'm still fighting the urge to make a list of things I'd like to do this year but if I've managed this much in three days without a list I'm feeling pretty positive about the rest of the year!

I'll stop rambling now, but I do hope that 2012 brings you everything that you hope and dream it will. I look forwards to sharing my year with each and every wonderful follower and friend I have gained along the way. Let's make it a year to remember!!