Well, Happy New Year to you all. I hope your Christmas was as good as it possibly could have been and the new year finds you well, energised and ready for the New Year ahead.

Who am I trying to kid. This time of year sucks. The time between decorations coming down and Easter. The weather is meh, the days are dark, and January in particular feels like it is about 200 days long. You might even be on some self imposed regime, Dry Jan, Veganuary, a bloody diet maybe which will last until about March. My January is more moist than entirely dry, I don’t eat a lot of meat anyway, and 30 years of dieting has taught me that all they breed is misery. Food is fuel my backside!. Food is joy, the making of it, the sharing of it. Anything less is a travesty in my humble opinion. But, you do you. I am however trying to move more, but given anything that raises my heart rate too much causes the weird dizziness I keep experiencing, for which the Doctor prescribed support tights that do sweet F all, walking is what’s safe and available for me right now. So 10,000 steps a day is my thing. So far successfully for one week. Would you like to know how much weight my husband has lost in this time by just merely existing? 5lbs. Me however, after walking a total of 56kms this week – I have lost, drumroll please….. 200 grammes. I have sworn at him obviously, and while he was preparing cheese and crackers, I punched him square in the crackers out of pure spite. Spread Boursin on crumbs mate! I realise that pettiness is an issue, and I will seek help for this from the requisite professionals….

To counteract Miseranuary however, we are going on holiday soon. Both of us, on a plane, at the same time. This is not to be sniffed at as parents of 4 animals now, but we have a lovely pet sitter and it’s happening people! Although hubs is heading to the states again on Saturday which in my mind gives him just enough time to contract covid and screw over our trip. Yes, I am a worrier. I am aware of this.

This is a different holiday for us, it’s a cold weather situation. Iceland to be exact. We had our 10th wedding anniversary in December and this is how we’ve chosen to mark it. With frostbite. The irony is not lost, that having complained about the weather and the dark days, we’re heading by choice to somewhere with worse weather and even darker days. What have we done…..

I’m kidding. Seeing the Northern lights has been on the bucket list for forever, we want to see volcanos and particularly glaciers while we still can! Waterfalls, and Icelandic ponies and thermal springs and geysers and well, you get the idea. It is posing somewhat of a unique packing challenge though. I’ve never needed a thermal base layer before, or crampons, I have a coat that would successfully lag a boiler. (Well I guess figuratively speaking that’s exactly what it is doing….) In my mind I am performing a public service that not everyone that posts pictures from Iceland is a Scandinavian beauty in a £100K camper van with perfectly straight blonde hair. I am ginger, my massive hair looks ridiculous in a bobble hat and perhaps this is just what the internet is crying out for right? #content

I will of course share our Icelandic adventures, but if anyone has any tips, must see things etc, I’m all ears!

Have the least miserable day possible everyone, this too shall pass xx