Any excuse...

Despite all of the financial doom and gloom lurking at the moment, there are a couple of good excuses for celebration on the horizon.

Tonight of course is Burns night. I can't lay claim to any Scottish heritage that I'm aware of, but that won't deter me from having a wee dram later on in honour of the Scottish bard. I believe it falls under the "rude not to" category.

Tonight is also Chinese New Year's Eve as tomorrow sees the arrival of the year of the ox. Again, I'm quite certain I can't lay claim to any Chinese ancestry, but I understand the ox symbolises prosperity though hard work so let's hope that we can all look forward to some fruitful rewards for our efforts this year.

Had I realised earlier, I would have used the excuse to have a play in the kitchen. I've yet to try haggis and I've frequently knocked together a sweet and sour something-or-other, but yesterday I made a delicious steak and ale casserole that I'm afraid I can't wait to finish off.

Closer to home, we've one more celebration pending. It's Emma's birthday next weekend and seeing as I didn't get to the pub for Christmas, New Year or my birthday, I'll be out on Saturday night for a long awaited reunion with the pint glass.

Only a short-lived reunion though. I've finally got the running machine back into my daily routine after a four month break so I'm hoping that I can finally start chipping away at the weight again having managed to maintain last years weight loss. However, if this last weeks results are anything to go by, it's not going to be as easy...