Hurrah and hooray. It's a new year and I'm finally back home after much travelling, jet lag and exhaustion. Steph's still off travelling, though, in Oxford for a conference, so it's a bit lonely here. Nika and I are just lazing around not doing much. I think Nika is bored, or maybe just missing Steph.

Nobody here got much sleep last night. We got to bed late then couldn't drop off: too much caffeine and too long driving. We then had to get up at 6:30 to get Steph to the station on time.

Fun things at home: no hot water, as the boiler is screwed and we can't get a plumber out until Monday, and a phone that won't hang up at the end of a call unless you unplug it from the wall. Funny how things go wrong when you're away.

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Our holiday in Michigan was good fun. It was good to see Steph's family again after so long, and we spent loads of time in coffee shops. It snowed for Christmas so we went out skiing and sledding. By the end I was completely exhausted and grouchy, which can't have been much fun for anyone else.

We didn't get much time with my family this year. We spent a couple of days before Christmas at my mum's house, but most of that was spent shopping or travelling about. We just had a couple of days down there again, but seemed to be off again as soon as we got there. I think I saw my older brother for a total of about one hour this Christmas. Next year we'll try to balance things better.

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New Year's Writing Resolutions:

1. Try to write at least something every day.
2. Finish a new novel.
3. Market my children's novel to agents and publishers without remorse or let-up.

Number 2 almost failed yesterday, but I got in about 20 minutes sometime after 11 pm, so it worked out. Today I've written a couple of pages of a story that's been waiting to be finished for too long. I'll see if I can polish it off tonight. I know what happens. I just have to get it on screen.

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I've been reading a really great book over the last couple of days: The New Rulers of the World by John Pilger. John Pilger is an investigative journalist and documentary film maker. His work is incisive, hard-hitting and tough to swallow for anyone who believes what they read in the newspapers. On top of that, he is an exceptionally good writer. There is no doubt he is angry, but he never lets that distract him from his arguments. I would recommend this to anyone.

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Now I'm going to see if I can make our phone work so I can phone Steph. Then food, writing, dog walk, procrastination and bed.