Amanda celebrates the new year in style and talks about reigniting romance

03/01/2010

Happy New Year everyone! I've escaped the British freeze to see in 2010 with my husband Chris and my daughter Lexi in the Caribbean and feel very lucky. I've had lots of time to think about my new year's resolutions, so here goes...

FACE THE FUTURE

I read somewhere that I'd never have Botox again. I actually said "never say never", because who knows what I'll feel like in the future? For now, I'm going to experiment with non-invasive treatments like Thermage, which tightens the skin around the eye by renewing collagen using deep heat. Although I have good genes, the eyes are always the first to go in our family!

LEXI TIME

When spending time with Lexi, I must stop using my BlackBerry and mobile phone. It's so easy to reply to texts and emails every five seconds, like before Christmas when we were watching Mary Poppins and I started tapping away. "Mummy, you're always on your blinking phone," complained Lexi, mimicking what her daddy says all the time. Bless her. I'll be offline during our quality time from now on, I promise.

REV UP THE ROMANCE

Talking of Chris, I need to spend more time with him. On the weekend of his birthday, Lexi stayed with his mum and it was absolutely ace. During a cheeky mid-afternoon drink I was like: "Hello husband" - it felt like a first date! We laughed loads and had a lie-in on the Sunday, watching Gavin & Stacey. Bliss. Lately whenever we've seen each other I'm so knackered from work. For example, Chris treated me to dinner at The Club At The Ivy for our anniversary in December and I yawned all night then fell asleep on the way home. Talk about a passion killer. I'll be reviving romance this year and we'll be enjoying some city breaks - watch this space, Chris!

GET JOGGY WITH IT

Isn't it funny how thousands of joggers hit the parks in January but a month later they've hibernated again? I hope that won't be me. My training for the New York Marathon officially starts next week and I've got until November to get as fit as I was for the London one two years ago. I've done no exercise for over a month and can feel it. I don't weigh myself any more, but can literally tuck my tummy into my jeans!

CURB THE SPENDING

Before Christmas I went to the garden centre to buy fish food. Two hours later I emerged with two fish, poinsettia plants, a "Santa please stop here" sign and a pair of glowing fake reindeers. The moral is to just take cash when popping out for small items! Incidentally, later on, when manoeuvring the reindeers into the house, Chris caught me red (nose) handed. "You're so chavvy," he said. "They're not going outside our house." They ended up outside our cottage in Norfolk where we made a last-minute decision to spend Christmas. Give and take - it makes a marriage!

PS: Don't miss Fabulous' 100th issue next week, I get to grill Simon Cowell - it's explosive! And watch out for the TV ad too - it'll make you chuckle.

What do you think of Amanda's diary? Email her at amanda@fabulousmag.co.uk