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January health product review

Published by Oana

January is always a “blah” month, wellbeing experts say. The holiday letdown, the extra weight accumulated during Christmas, the dark evenings and cold days, the New Year resolutions that we weren’t able to keep, they all lead to low moods.

This year, we were lucky enough to be sent a number of health products to review, all aiming to give us more energy, keep us in good form and combat those January blues.

We have been avid consumers of vitamin C since we travelled to New York a few years back and we were told by a friend and expert in alternative medicine to “abuse” the use of vitamin C before and after our long flights. “One every hour, on the hour” proved to be precious advice and kept us energised and virus-free. So when I was asked to review the new Californian vitamin mix drink Emergen-C , I jumped at the opportunity.

We were generously sent a mixture of the Super Orange and the Juicy Strawberry effervescent drinks which I put to use almost straight away since I was suffering from a nasty cold.

The press release that accompanied the products sounded extremely promising, with distinct American-style slogans, like “hit sensation”, “making you feel like walking on sunshine” and “loveable personality.”

What did I think of it (and, most importantly, have I seen the benefits of using Emergen-C?):

1. I certainly enjoyed the taste, like the press release had promised. We usually don’t prioritise on taste when buying vitamins but if you have an older child who can’t take tablets (like my Emma) or refuses to drink anything unsweetened, this is the answer for you.

2. I felt better after taking them for a couple of days and my cold eased significantly. Do I put this down to the “impressive mix of 15 key nutrients”? I can’t be 100% but I would say they did no harm, for sure.

3. Price-wise, they compete honorably with similar brand products: a pack of 16 sachets sells between £3.79-£3.99 online, in all health stores and main supermarkets, like Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

All in all, pleasant taste, fair price and most importantly, a lift in the mood and easing of cold symptoms.

The second product we were asked to review this January was the very popular at the moment Kiss Me Organics Matcha Green Tea Powder.

Promising “all day energy with increase focus”, “a metabolism boost”, “137x the antioxidants of brewed green tea” and “improved skin health” the Matcha sounded very appealing to me after a month of overindulging and subsequent skin issues and energy slumps.

I decided to go for the culinary grade one, as I wanted to be able to add it into our baking and our smoothies in the morning.

Both Alex and I loved the subtle taste and flavour it adds to our smoothies. We use it regularly now but we are yet to try it in coffee, as an additional energy boost or in our baking, as flavour.

Would I recommend the Matcha, which retails on Amazon at £18.00 per 113 gram bag as a “cure it all” panacea?

Unlikely.

Would I recommend it as a pleasant powder that can be added to your drinks and baking with the scope of improving the taste?

Most certainly.

A third review product, the last but definitely not the least in my list of favourites is the Dragonfly Tea.

This is not the first time I have tried the beautiful Dragonfly Tea. Back in August, shortly after Georgie’s death, I found anything dragonfly very meaningful. The Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice had a dragonfly wall in front of their chapel, a precious set of images aimed to help siblings understand death at an early age. So when I went one day on Instagram and saw someone’s picture of their Dragonfly tea, I knew I had to have some. To remind me of my own beautiful and precious little Dragonfly.

Why do I love the product?

1. “Dragonflies are symbols of purity, vitality and harmony the world over. They love sunlight and clear fresh water. We believe that these qualities are essential for a truly great cup…” Good philosophy, excellently observed in the quality and the variety of teas provided by the company.

2. Excellent prices, most 20 tea bag boxes sell for £2.00 on the website.

3. An amazing variety, bound to satisfy any taste and preference. I love them all equally, the discovery teas, the rooibos varieties, the herbal and the black.

4. The individual touches. I love, love, love the little individual tags that each tea bag comes with. It is an extra pleasure, added to an already excellent brew:

Would I recommend the tea and the company?

Most definitely! The delivery is prompt, the prices are more than fair and the tea is beautiful!

What have you been trying this month, to keep those blues at bay?

I support Ashers…AND gay “rights”

Published by Oana

If you follow us on Instagram, you’d have noticed that for the past couple of Saturdays the little girl and I have enjoyed beautiful breakfasts at Ashers, a local bakeshop. And just in case you missed our pictures, here is what I am talking about 🙂 :

The pancakes are freshly made, the bacon is beautifully flavoursome and the coffee is generously provided. AND everything is reasonably priced as well.

If you live in Northern Ireland, you’d know that Ashers have been in the news lately over what the press has come to call “the gay marriage cake row.“

Did I start supporting Ashers because of the row?

Yes and no.

Yes, I went in to try their products last week and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and the friendly service.

Do I continue to go because I want to make a political or human right statement?

NO.

I go because I love their food and I think they should stay in business on account of the quality of their services. I also go because I don’t see the point in destroying the reputation of a perfectly good store over an incident.

Be it gay or not gay.

On the other hand, I support the gay “rights.”

Now, hear me out on this one.

REALLY careful and don’t twist my words.

I am not gay. I do not encourage people to become gay. I do not condone immorality. You will not find me on the roads during a gay parade scantly clad and waving a little flag.

BUT you will hear me speak against stupidity and narrow-mindedness.

I will ROAR against pushing people away and segregating against them just because their genes are different than mine.

I DO NOT understand gay people. I DO NOT know why they feel attracted to the same sex. I DO NOT know what I will tell Emma when she will first notice a gay couple.

But does this mean I will not want any contact with gay people?

Does this mean I will class them as different, grotesquely different and make their life a hell?

NO.

NEVER.

I know how it feels to be different.

I know how it is to be told to step down, “to take my time”, to stay away, just because my questions and anger and sadness baffle and perplex. Make people uncomfortable. Shake people’s “faith.” Force people to ask uneasy questions to which there are no logical answers.

So, here I am.

I will support Ashers, as a damn good local business. It provides jobs for the wee local girls. Keeps them out of trouble. Gives them a reason to wake up in the morning. Puts bread on a number of local families’ tables.

I will support the gay, in the same time, as a community of lonely people, who had no choice in the way they feel, who need heard and loved and accepted.

Does that make sense?

I am sure it does, if you listen to your heart. Acceptance and love always make sense over bigotry and hate and narrow-mindedness.

Go embrace someone whom you wouldn’t normally.

If you are gay, go have lunch in Ashers.

If you are straight and prejudiced against gay, bereaved and other “abnormal” minorities, go hug one from the other “camp.”

Have a lovely Sunday.

🙂

Silent Sunday-18/01/2015

Published by Oana

Music to her ears

Published by Oana

Emma has always been a musical child, from when she was a tiny baby girl. We started very early (when she was about 5 months) to attend mums and tots and the local library’s rhythm and rhyme weekly activities.

Music has remained a big part of her life, with her asking Santa this year for a guitar and planning on a violin for next year ;-), so I was overjoyed when we were offered the opportunity to review a number of DVDs and CDs from Kids’ Music Shop.

I was a bit skeptical when they first arrived as the DVDs included nursery titles like “Twinkle, twinkle little star”, “The wheels on the bus” and “Never smile at a crocodile.” I thought Emma would be a bit too grown up for them but at a closer look, I realised I couldn’t have been more wrong!

The DVDs are fun to watch, even for an older child, due to a few key factors:

1. Tony, the artist and singer who features in them is hilarious and looks funny dressed up in various outfits (my favourite is Bev, from The wheels on the bus :-).

2. The DVDs feature school aged children making them appealing to both small and older children. Even babies would enjoy the catchy rhymes and the moving images and smiling faces. Never smile at a Crocodile features pre-teenage children while The Wheels on the Bus feature younger children, making Emma exclaim in admiration “I wish I was one of them, mummy!”

3. Price wise, they are a very wise buy: the music DVDs, with running times varying between 42 and 53 minutes, retail on the website at £5.10 each.

We were also offered the store’s most popular Children’s Favourite Songs Collection: six Cds, with a total of six hours of playing time and featuring all familiar nursery songs and popular tales. The collection retails on the website at £11.99, making it an ideal gift to a smaller, pre-school child or a much appreciated accompaniment to the daily routine in the more formal setting of a nursery or playgroup.

Disclaimer: we were sent the DVDs and the CD set for reviewing purposes but all opinions expressed above are our own.

The day I visited with my son

Published by Oana

Today I had my first complimentary therapeutic session with Action Cancer. The charity offers wonderful support to cancer sufferers and carers throughout and, very important, after a traumatic cancer diagnosis and treatment.

I chose reflexology from the array of complementary therapies the charity offers because I had enjoyed it immensely during an initial session in Daisy Lodge in December.

As a stay at home mum I hardly ever give myself permission to rest and relax. So an hour of pampering, of soothing music and of time with myself and my thoughts, in a relaxed and safe environment, is priceless.

This is the second time I visualise visiting with Georgie during reflexology. In December, I was emotionally exhausted and feeling extremely frazzled during my reflexology session so my tears were carried into my visiting times with him.

But today….Today was beautiful.

I saw my baby boy inundated in sunshine, in a green and lush field. It was spring time and there were daffodils everywhere.

Every time I imagine my boy I imagine him running happily and freely and today was no different. He was enjoying the warmth of the sun rays and the beauty of the flowers.

As soon as he saw me, he ran towards me and he tried to show me something: “Look, mummy, look!” It was a daffodil, a flower I love too. He gifted it to me and I had a sense of joy and loss, knowing that I had discovered something about my son I hadn’t known before: that he loves flowers, just like his mummy.

For some reason, after I cuddled him prolongedly and insatiably, I felt drawn to look at the place where his central line had been. It is strange that I wanted to do that but I felt the need to see the place where it had been inserted, underneath his tiny right shoulder.

There was no central line, of course there wasn’t. Just a tiny little white scar.

Georgie felt me touching it. He knew about it.

He told me, “It is not sore, mummy. But there is someone else here who has the same sort of spots on His hands.”

And in a microsecond, Jesus was there with us. Georgie took His hands and showed me the marks. Not red and wounded, like in the drawings in the Catholic or the Orthodox church. No. Healed wounds. White flesh. Only marks.

And when I looked at them both, I saw the smile. They were smiling, with the biggest grin, the happiest I had ever seen.

And they looked alike. The smile was identical on their faces.

My boy looked like his Lord, just like I had felt it so many times when he was here on earth with us. His joy was identical to that on Jesus’ face.

It was time for them to go. I said my goodbyes. The smile stayed in my memory as Jesus carried my baby boy into the light.

I felt bereft.

I didn’t want to go back.

I wanted to be with them.

I wanted to keep onto my son. Forever.

I felt in my heart, just at that moment, that Georgie was whispering to me: “But you are. Your love for me keeps me alive in your heart forever. Until we meet again.”

But then, I heard Emma’s and Alex’s voices.

And I started walking down this road.

A road that had Jesus and my boy at one end and Emma and my daughter at the other.

And I felt the love. The love from my husband and my daughter. And I saw their smiles too and their inviting arms.

Today, I was visiting with my son. Today, I bathed in the realisation that LOVE is the very powerful link that will keep us all connected until the very end.