My 2011 to Do list

I must warn you .. I am ambitious and an eternal optimist, so I write this list with absolutely every intention of achieving everything on it.  However I am not without my reason -   as I write I have two voices.  The go getter voice saying go on you can do it and the fearful voice saying for Gods sake don’t write it down woman ! What are you saying?!!

I will enjoy 2011.. and it will be my aim to live life to the full, to love laugh and capture all the joy to be had from my beautiful children and wonderful husband.  Picnics, midnight feasts, long lazy Sunday lunches.  Hot chocolate, snow fights, eating cake in trees.  Feeding left overs to chickens, bouncing on trampolines and sharing ice-cream with cousins.  Top of the list for 2011 is to have fun.  To laugh. 

I shall make more cakes but still make the children eat their greens!

Prepped.  It’s being edited and I have plenty more to do to finalise the details.

I will exercise three times a week.  Not just a little .. proper need a shower afterwards kind of exercise. 

This is the last 8 months of my youngest being at home.  I feel a rush of emotion, an intense sense of pending loss as I sense time slipping away under my nose.  I will spend more time with her doing things.

I shall spend extra time teaching my oldest daughter to cook.  She’s a natural.

I'll judge less and listen more. 

Move house.  To move into a house that has a garden large enough to have chickens. 

Local produce will feature more in my everyday cooking and I shall make extra efforts to keep seasonal  - I know I already do this .. but I am certain I can improve!

This next year I intend to learn learn learn everything I can about producing a radio show with my local BBC station as I have been asked to present a local Cookery / food show from Northamptonshire on Sunday mornings. 

I’d like to learn to decorate cakes using sugarcraft and for it not to look like my 3 year old did it.. . decorating is not my strongest point!

Without TV recipe writers generally don’t get much of an income. I’ve worked out that on average for a typical publishing deal you get about £1 per book.  It’s really not much when you think that the 100^th best selling cookery book of 2010 sold  just 9000 copies.  So.. on my to do list is  to get on to the TV.  Not exactly what I would choose to do .. it has never been my ambition to be on TV.. but it would seem like the only way to draw enough attention to Prepped to make a living. So TV it is then. 

Now that I shall be on the Telly in 2011 my next to do will see my second book written as Prepped will be in the top 50 best selling cookery books of 2011.  (you see  I told you I am ambitious!)

There is no doubt I need to loose some weight.  Hard to do when you cook like me I can tell you!  If I am to be on TV and it adds 10lbs to you then I hope people have widescreen!  Seriously I didn’t get to be a food writer without loving my food .. and my waist line needs to come in.. so to doing things in 2011  -  loose a couple of stone.  There.. .I’ve said it. 

I must make it to France this year.  I cancelled 6 weeks in The Dordogne to write Prepped.. my family are still somewhat resentful about it.  So I will make it to France this year.  I promise.

2011 I must be more organised.  Not waste time. To be tidier and to make the time to see my friends and family I have so neglected in 2010 and lastly I must remember to make the extra effort for the love of my life.. my husband.  I will go out with him at least twice a month on our Thursday evening date no matter how tired I am and how much my bed beckons !