Ooooo, I could crush a grape (except I'm not allowed fruit)

It’s Friday, it’s five to five and it’s CRACKERJACK!

Er no, what I meant was, it’s New Year, it’s January and it must therefore be Diet Time. It’s less fun but just as irritating – but without the lame jokes. Except on this blog of course!

I seriously think I’ve been resolving to lose weight every year since I was about 13. And I didn’t start getting chubby until I was 22 – so go figure, as our US cousins would say. I think the only years I’ve achieved this was when I was 16 and I starved myself into fainting spells and dizziness (and comparative skinniness – let’s not lose sight of the upside) and more recently on LL.

2010 – it’s got to be the Year of the Skinny. Or maybe the Year of the Slender. Hell, I’d settle (happily) for the Year of the Maybe a Bit Over-generously Curvy But Not Too Bad All Things Considered. Which is admittedly a bit of a mouthful. And therefore somewhat ironic...

What 2010 WILL be is the year that I try bloody hard. I need to find out before I seriously consider surgery (or indeed, before it seriously considers me) whether I can somehow, some way, do this without being cut open. Because if I can – and call me a wuss – I’m keener on that.

January will be South Beach month. Basically because I already had the book (although I now discover it’s out of date and I need a new one, sigh) and I know that that way of eating makes me feel perkier. And perking would be a good thing. Scarily though, it’s not that dissimilar to India and Neris’ Idiot Proof Diet which you will recall is not Peridot-proof and which I put weight on on. There are a few things that I’m hoping will make a difference though – low fat dairy (it was full fat all the way on IPD and I did love those coffees with real cream in – mmmmm) and more of a sense of portion control. Well, I’ll give it a month and see what happens anyway. I don’t have a Plan B as yet but I’ve got some time – and doubtless a whole plethora of diet books will burst on to the scene as of, ooooh, tomorrow.

And so, it’s almost the end of 2009. I really don’t like NYE – the pressure to be doing something fun and amazing is just too intense. One of the best NYEs I ever had was when I’d agreed to meet some work friends to go to a club, got home and realised that I hated clubs and it was absurd to travel all that way and spend all that money for something I’d essentially hate. So I put my jim-jams on and watched When Harry Met Sally which happened to be on TV. My family were all going out (I was living in the family home then) and were all terribly sorry for me but I felt liberated and not at all sorry for myself. Although, just so you don’t think I’m a total saddo, my best one was in Cornwall with bf and friends where we lit a real fire, cracked open the champagne and M&S nibbles and played an hilarious board game – going outside to look at the stars at midnight. I’d rather like to organise a big house party for next year but it’s finding friends who are sprogless to come along. Still, I’ve got a while to work on that plan.

Tonight we will be going to bf's sister's house with his other sister and all their families (probably not older children though - under 16s only) and his parents as it's also his dad's 80th birthday. They're all perfectly pleasant but I don't really have anything to talk to them about and understandably they'll all be reminiscing (which will be interesting to hear). I'm also the designated driver. I did volunteer (wrongly as you'll recall) and it only seems fair but I think it will be a long night.

So Happy New Year everyone (for tomorrow) – hope that 2010 is a year you’ll look back on and say “Ah, that was a really good year”. What do you have to do to make that happen?