We had huge storm today and it (along with being the first day back at work) has truly blown away any notion that the holidays are still with us.

Goodbye chocolates for breakfast, afternoon naps and turkey sandwiches. Hello to waking before the sun does, laying out your next days clothes the night before and a hustley-bustley office.

It’s all OK though. I’m excited – there’s a whole new year stretched out in front of me; all shiny and new and untrodden. I find Christmas a difficult time to engage my brain in anything more than studying TV listings and working out the best way to crack a brazil nut (not possible without power-tools), but now I have the rhythm of a working week back in my life I am finally ready to begin plotting and planning.

Now I am ready now to properly fill out Susannah’s FREE Unravelling workbook (go and have a look – it’s a fabulous resource for planning your year ahead from someone who really knows their stuff). I mentioned before that my word was STRIVE, but I need to start padding this out with specifics. I’ve sharpened all my pencils, I have cracked open a new notebook. Let’s do this!

Time management is one of the things I will be investigating as part of my plan – when you work full-time as well as inhabiting your own creative universe you have a number of time-related challenges to overcome. It can (and WILL) be done though. I’ll let you know if I discover any good tips as I know I’m not the only one in this boat (and do let me know in the comments if you have any advice to share).

All these photos – I took them yesterday. Before the storm. It was so calm and bright and… tranquil.

This is the beach near my house so I get to visit it a lot. I get to see how it changes through the year and right now I am loving the skeletons of the plantlife that inhabits the salty, shingley shore.

Whilst these dead weeds may be beautiful memories of the past, I think it’s the now and the future where the true beauty is.

Here’s to the future!

It’s been such a lovely day today – my last day of freedom! A clear blue sky, even on a crisply cold winters day is a hugely uplifting thing, don’t you think?

And these red branches were glowing like fire  - a real contrast with the blue (are they dogwood? I think that’s what they are). I don’t think it really matters that they were in a car-park, outside the public loos – in fact I think it makes them even more beautiful…

And underfoot, to dazzle along with the blue and the red is this beautiful emerald green velvet, used to pad out the paving slabs – how decadent!

Photos taken with my Canon 5D MkII, a 50mm f/1.4 lens & a 135mm f/2 lens

I hope this doesn’t come across as showing-off or bragging but I thought I would share with you some of the favourite christmas pressies I was lucky enough to receive this year (I must not have been as naughty as I thought). I know I’m always nosey intrigued about what others have got so I thought you might like to see.

First, my fave smell of the moment (always happy to add the McCartney coffers)…

A brilliant scarf; it’s so soft and knitted into a complete circle so I don’t have to worry about if one end is longer than the other (and can wrap it round twice for super-cold days)…

Cookery books – yum…

A couple of new/old film cameras (not strictly gifts but picked up at bargain prices a few days after Christmas – more on them in a later post) plus a lovely new bag (another addiction)…

Finally, two Polaroid-y pressies which I am particularly excited about; a calendar with a Polaroid image for every day of the year – that’s one big, chunky lump of photos!

And, after lots and lots of hint dropping by me, I got the brilliant Death of a Polaroid – A Manics Family Album which looks amazing and has totally inspired me already and I’ve only really flicked through it so far…

Cool huh! How about you, did you get anything nice?

Did you manage to stay up and see in the new year last night?

[OK, I have just read what follows and it's all a bit stream of consciousness-y but bear with it - I get to the point eventually].

I am always up past midnight so it was easy-peasy for me to enjoy the celebrations. I’ve hated having to go to bed ever since I was a kid; never wanting to let go of the day and only interested in the ‘now’.

Hmm. where’s this going? I think I am trying to say (to myself as much as anyone) is that I am going to try and buckle down to making plans and seeing them through beyond the initial exciting ‘now’ stages and out into the magical mysterious beyond of the future. By doing this maybe I can achieve some bigger and better things!

I have a million plans and even more ideas. Schemes? I have two million of those. I’m going to pick the ones that jump out the highest – that need the most attention ( I am looking at you, bathroom scales) and apply myself with endeavour and passion (I’m looking at you, writing desk).

So if I was going to pick a word to see me through the year (which I am in my head right now… OK, got it) it would be STRIVE.

How about you – any resolutions (or revolutions)? Maybe a word to live by, to help you through 2012?

Happy New Year, lovely ones! x