All posts filed under: Reviews

Tips on surviving Blue Monday

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Blue Monday seems to be a popular theme today with articles published in the Telegraph and rumours in the Metro that Tesco is going to hand out fruit to improve the mood of its customers so I decided to do a take on the subject too. The not-so-scientific studies that lead to naming this particular Monday as the bluest in the whole year take into consideration the lack of good weather and the level of financial difficulty people find themselves mid-January, with bills pilling up and very little natural light to lift our mood. How do you make yourself feel better then? By working with your senses to create a holistic sense of well being for yourself, if you ask me! Sense of smell We all know that certain smells lead to certain moods so do remember the ones that make you feel better and use them in the house. Both hubby and I love coffee and there is nothing like the smell of freshly ground, good quality coffee to lift your mood on a …

Realistic plans and tools for getting fitter in 2016

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Since losing Georgie, I lost my zest for life and last year was all about pure and raw survival. All I managed to do, on a daily basis, was getting Emma up, dressed, fed and the house tidy; dinner cooked and myself washed. I had very little energy for self care due to not sleeping well at night and constant headaches during the day, all because of crippling grief and emotional pain. Due to the lack of motivation, which led to a crass lack of exercise and binging on comfort food on a regular basis, I started accumulating weight which in a year and a half ended up being almost two stones (10 kilos). Although this second Christmas was not easy by any means, it did feel a little bit more manageable as it was something I knew I would be able to survive, since I had done it in 2014. I also found myself wishing to decorate the house a bit more, not only to keep a sense of normality for Emma but for …

Coping Toolbox for the Bereaved

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The other day I saw this image on the Facebook wall of a post-traumatic stress disorder support group and it got me thinking and realising that instinctively, I have created in time a coping bereavement box for us, as a bereaved family. Things in our virtual box have changed as our grief continues to evolve and integrate into the fabric of our lives. In the first year after Georgie died, we had a memory box downstairs with memorabilia people had so kindly given us in his memory: little glass dragonflies, sympathy cards, wee trinkets from the hospital, some of his name tags from when he was born, flower seeds… Emma was allowed to open it every time she needed to and add things into it so after a while, it did over spill with angel drawings and scribbles, notes she wanted to send to her wee brother in heaven. We had also a memory wall which I had put together and which brought me (but not Alex) great comfort. One day, in a fit of …

Diary Doll – Letting Girls Enjoy Being Girls

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Being a girl is hard. No matter how much we refuse to subscribe to, acknowledge or admit it, we are born in a world where girls are told, from the word go, that there are certain standards they need to meet. We need to be good and kind, we are told, as soon as we can walk and talk; this is, at the end of the day, the ultimate description of what a girl should be . We need to do well in school. We need to help our siblings and share our parents with them without any resentment or hard feelings. We need to be well-mannered but also street-wise. We need to learn how to cook and run a household. We need to aim to get a good job and bring at least the same amount of money in the house, as our other half does. We need to be able to bear children, look immaculate, never complain, stay slim, keep a job, all at the same time. These messages bombard us from everywhere, …

Expedition Tech Jacket by Scruffs Hard Wear – A Review

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As I said in my previous blog post, all of us were in desperate need of appropriate clothing this autumn. Of us all, hubby probably the most. He works as a housing surveyor; during a normal working day he would be climbing into lofts, measure wall and insulation thickness, check boilers and windows so it is a very hands on, physical job. He had been complaining not only about being cold while working but also about the danger he exposed himself to when wearing inappropriate gear. Working in such conditions means he needs to always carry a torch with him, to wear high visibility gear and for this gear to be highly breathable yet quite warm, so he can move freely. We had been trying- unsuccessfully- on several occasions to find him appropriate work gear. The items we looked at in B&Q were impractical, the wrong size(he wears a small) and the rapport price-quality extremely poor. So when I heard that Scruffs were looking for bloggers to review their autumn-winter collection, I had to give …