Valentines day is coming and the chocolates are being stocked up!

Lots of different varieties. The beautiful packaging shouldn't detract from the quality of the chocolate. If you are giving a gift, always find out what the receiver likes... you don't want to give someone lemon creams or truffles when they have a disliking for the stuff. You can't always help it if it's in a selection but do check. The best in the supermarkets are: Charbonnel and Walker Marc De Champagne Chocolate truffles - I have seen them retailing in Waitrose for around £9.99 Marks and Spencer's do some wonderful truffles. Lindt Lindor red wrapped chocolates always appear to be popular. The liquid chocolate that oozes out of each chocolate tends to be a draw.

New year, new gym memberships and books about cutting out sugar

You might not wish to join a gym or buy one of the plethora of books on cutting out sugar, cutting out tasty food etc. But you might want to try thinking more positively. There are so many articles about January blues, people feeling so down that they book their summer holidays well in advance and so on. When you have a moment where you're standing on a crowded commuter train, or behind the wheel stuck in traffic, think about how wonderful it felt on Christmas Day. Or Thanksgiving. Or a special birthday or some special day when you laughed so much, your stomach hurt. Try to think about that for as long as you possibly can. And if you forget because you are back in a routine, go back to those good-feeling thoughts again and see if it helps. Even just a little bit.