I’ve decided not to make the usual round of oh-so-breakable New Year’s Resolutions. What I’m going to do instead is to pick a whole bunch of random things I wouldn’t get around to if I hadn’t challenged myself, as well as setting some small targets that are easily reachable.
I think I might be in for a fun year 
So here’s my random must-do in 2013 list:
Go to High Tea with friends at a fancy city hotel.
Cook something exotic for which I have to buy ALL of the ingredients.
Take a day off, midweek, and do whatever I want. Yep, whatever I want. ALL DAY.
Keep a daily word count log to make myself accountable. And so I can up the ante each month.
Designate one night a week (weather permitting) as “Kenilworth night.” Cold meats, salads, fruit, nuts, fresh bread… and NO cooking.
Play a round of golf since I never have.
Take my boys on the ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliff.
(as someone else said so well on Facebook) finish the damn book and sub it.
Drink more water, use my treadmill every weekday, and plan lunch instead of snacking on dumb stuff because I don’t have time to stop.
Buy something more than a bottle of bubbles when I achieve something. Perfume or bath-stuff would make great incentives. And nail polish for the nails I WILL grow!
Oh, and I might start by taking my family to Gold Class since there’s nothing like putting your feet up and contemplating what you’ll do when the fun stops and the work begins 
I’ll add more as I go, I’m sure, but it’s all about creating a bit more balance. This year I’ll happily settle for a slightly healthier lifestyle that’s a tad easier to manage, a little more productive, and has a few treats built-in.
Wishing you luck with your resolutions and goals for the year ahead. I’d love to hear what they are.
Cheers,
~ Robyn
Happy 2013, Robyn! Love your ideas. My friends and I sometimes do the High Tea thing, sometimes using a discount voucher (they’re quite popular on deals sites). Here’s a tip though, and I might have told you this previously. Perusing the menu in a pre-sugar rush and *meaning* to order sparkling wine but airily calling it ‘champagne’ in a five star hotel means that you end up with $28 per glass drinks of bubbly. Ahem. And that was the house champagne. Reminder to self: ‘champagne’ is not any old drink with bubbles in it. Champagne is . . . champagne. And priced accordingly.
Hi Doreen. Happy New Year
I remember you telling me about that $28 a glass champagne and will be sure to order carefully. Coffee sounds safe… or maybe liqueur coffee. Somehow I think I’d best budget for expensive drinks before I go, just to be sure.
Wishing you a fabulous 2013 from start to finish.
Robyn, I love your list! And I think maybe high tea with friends in a nice hotel should be doable…in fact…I aim to be in the group! On my list of things to do is to meet you in person!
Hey Maisey, I LOVE your idea. High Tea with you and Jackie and Jane and Rach? *want! I hadn’t thought that far ahead TBH, but I can’t wait to meet you and Jane for the first time at RWA Aust conference, and catch up with Jackie and Rach. August can’t come quick enough!!
*plots ways to get fab coffee machine in hotel room to counteract chronic lack of sleep
Robyn..I always bring all the coffee making things!!
Cool! I’ll pay for half the room and bring extra coffee…