Happy New Year everyone!  Well, it’s New Year but how many of us feeling happy?

Today’s the first official day back at work for most (although we do appreciate those of you who’ve been slogging away throughout the festive season while we’ve been watching The Gruffalo and eating way too many Quality Street) and we’ve woken up to wind, rain, dark skies and general dismal conditions. If ever there was a day we felt like crawling back under the duvet this would be it!

With the little Boo Boos reluctantly delivered back at school we’ve turned up the heating at  Boo Boo HQ, fired up the computers, deleted all the junk email, rearranged our desks, made endless cups of tea and, until we could put it off no longer, actually got down to some work. Humph…

So how are we going to add some extra cheer to these very short days and long, cold wintry nights when we’re supposed to be tightening our belts – financially and physically? For me it’s good food, sleep and a little wobble in the name of exercise that will make these dreary days a little more bearable…

Cold-busting soup

Nothing beats home made soup – especially the type that takes just ten  minutes to put together but still leaves you with that smug ‘who needs tins?’ feeling. This yummy recipe contains ginger which is great for colds too. Replace the chicken with tofu if you’re veggie.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1869/chicken-noodle-soup

Hot soaky baths
We Boo Boos are definitely grumpier if we haven’t had enough sleep so when nights are long, going to bed half an hour earlier can be really beneficial in the fight to feeling good. “Taking a hot bath before bed can help induce sleep”, says Paul Martin, author of a new book called Counting Sheep. “This is because your body temperature has a strong influence on how fast you fall asleep. A night's sleep is normally preceeded by a slight drop in body temperature and scientists have established that this drop in temperature tells your body to go to sleep.” The theory behind taking a hot bath is to raise your body temperature artificially before allowing it to drop again as it adjusts to the cooler environment of your room. The trick, says Martin, is to take a bath one to two hours before bedtime and keep your bath temperature warm, rather than hot. Oh, and obviously you need to treat yourself to a squeeze of Boo Boo Bath Soak with calming Rose Geranium oil and arnica to help soothe any winter aches and pains.

http://www.boobooshop.com/mummy-skincare/splendidly-soothing-bath-soak-5.html

Read more about Paul Martin’s book here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/apr/26/featuresreviews.guardianreview23

Exercise that doesn’t feel like exercise
We know all the blurb about exercise releasing feel-good endorphins but who really wants to stick on their trainers in this weather and go for a jog, or queue up for the cross-trainer with everyone else at the gym? So I’ve made it my mission to try and do something for half an hour a day, before my lazy brain has registered that it’s being tricked into doing exercise. Even if that’s marching to the post office instead of driving, running around the park with the kids or, yes, I know it’s crazy but I was shopping on johnlewis.com and they were there, buying a pair of roller skates to accompany my skating-mad daughter (obviously with knee pads, bum pads and helmet – you don’t bounce as easily in your forties!)

See you in Feb – hopefully with a smile on our faces and no broken bones!!

Jennifer