That January feeling

My darlings, January can be a shocker.

The misery peaks on January 25^th, one month after Christmas. You’ve forgotten all about the lovely holiday you had, you’ve already broken all your resolutions, your credit card bills have come in and the weather is still grim.

Obviously, you will allow yourself the recessionista treat of a brand new copy of New York Valentine. Out on January 20^th and guaranteed to cheer you up. Find out everything that happened to me when I went to New York with Lana, aka ‘the stroppy teen’.

But I have other cheap and cheerful ideas for you too.

Open all those goody bottles you got for Christmas and enjoy a long, hot, pampering bubble bath.

Give some of the zingier herb teas a whirl. Sadly you can’t drink lattes all day long without turning into a muffin, so swap a few cups a day and you will feel saintly and pure, like Dinah. I’m (almost) loving anything with Ginger on the box.

Go to bed really properly early, with a hottie or a hot water bottle.

Wear a lovely scarf in all your favourite colours. Drape it round you all day long to ward off evil germs and bad vibes.

Phone a friend. Everyone feels rubbish, broke and miserable in January, so ring someone up and have a little gossip.

Visit the oldsters. Especially the golden oldies. Take along a black and white DVD or a big bands CD. Don’t just stick to the chitchat. Ask them big questions, get them talking. Find out what it was like for them when they were your age. Bring out their photo albums…

Get out there and see or hear something completely different. Yes, I know there’s lots of good stuff at the cinema but what about a live music gig? A concert? The cheapest ticket to the ballet? Ed forces me to go and I always love it. Do something different. Shake yourself up a little.

Paint one of your walls an eye-popping colour. One wall is a nice small project and I’m currently loving bright magenta.

Make easy peesy resolutions you can stick to.  Mine are: always drink a glass of water with a glass of wine, always throw a quarter of the chocolate bar away before eating the rest (no, no returning to the bin later!!) and make one small corner of the house as completely shiny, neat, tidy as a pin.

Just say no to feeling sad! Don’t watch the news before bed, that is madness! First thing in the morning is fine. When those depressing, dark thoughts descend, think of some happy ones to shoo them away. Count your many, many blessings. It really could be worse!

Love, Annie xx