I am always wary of supplements even though I tend to be a sucker for them. Sounds like a contradiction? It is, but I won’t put just anything into my body. I had heard of Happy Mammoth and the reviews I have read are brilliant. So I jumped at the chance to review their Hormone Harmony supplement.
I can’t say how impressed I am. I have had three babies and the youngest is two. Losing weight has been hard, especially around my belly. I had an emergency C section and I also have an underachieve thyroid. I exercise as much as I can and try to eat enough protein. I took Happy Mammoth Hormone Harmony for a month and my stomach is flat. It definitely reduced my bloating and fluid retention. While supplements aren’t for everyone this one definitely worked for me. I loved it and I’m considering using it long term. Great stuff.
Contains a blend of plant extracts shown to relieve symptoms of Menopause, decrease symptoms of premenstrual tension, and support reproductive hormones.
Reduces bloating and fluid retention in 1 to 3 days
Eliminates hot flashes in as little as 4 to 7 days
World Book Day is upon us and The Gruffalo a first read for 1 in 8 children.
The Gruffalo most popular first read for British children as nation prepares to celebrate World Book Day
One in eight children have The Gruffalo read to them as their first book
The Very Hungry Caterpillar and That’s Not My… series complete the top three
44% of parents read to children from birth
However, those parents who were late to reading themselves could be stunting their own child’s progression
As the nation prepares to celebrate World Book Day on March 7, a new study has unveiled that The Gruffalo is the go-to book when it comes to reading to our children for the very first time.
The survey, commissioned by The Works, aimed to uncover reading habits among parents and children and whether our own experiences of reading influences how we read to our children, as well as the top books we read to children today.
And the results proved overwhelmingly favourable towards Julia Donaldson titles, with The Gruffalo taking the crown as the number one read book to children. Joining The Gruffalo among the most popular, but just outside the top 10 were the likes of Zog and Room on the Broom, meaning one in five children have a Donaldson book read to them as their very first story.
Donaldson books were joined by some old favourites, including The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which is still the second most read book to children as a first read despite being over 50-years-old, while the That’s Not My… series, written by Fiona Watt, is the third most common set of books read to children as their first reads.
The full top 10 first books parents read to their children:
The Gruffalo
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
That’s Not My…
Guess How Much I Love You
Peppa Pig
Spot
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Dear Zoo
Winnie the Pooh
Harry Potter
When it comes to the age in which we’re reading to our children, book lovers will be pleased to see that 44% of parents pick up a book to engage their children in storytime from birth, while a further 27% of parents do so from under the age of two.
However, the study also revealed that 10% of adults today don’t remember reading their first book until they were in secondary school, resulting in parents 20% less likely to read to their child under the age of two. Alongside this, less than one in five parents that don’t recall reading until after the age of 12 will introduce reading to their own children from birth.
World Book Day takes place on Thursday March 7, 2024. The Works are supporting the charity and are encouraging children and parents to bring their £1 book token into stores between February 15 and March 31 to exchange their token for a book from the World Book Day 2024 range.
We love bringing music to people’s attention that they might not have come across. Bad Habits have a wonderful gritty punk-rock feeling and I’m a huge fan. Bad Habits consist of a husband and wife, alongside their son. Their new album, Hotel Hell is out now. Here is the band in the own words:
“Music saved my life but it was also my cover and nearly took it.” – Bad Habits’ Martin Red Butane. He writes dreamlike songs often with a nightmare reference. Creating landscapes and images with his lazy vocals and guitars. You are drawn into his stories and you really feel you are in the plot of the characters, you can touch danger but escape. Accompanied by his family on occasion (3 piece/duo/solo) his wife Glo Butane produces, engineers and plays bass/guitar/keyboards and their son Dakota Red is on cajon/drums. A family of music under his owned trademarked brand Bad Habits (since first used in the 70s). Martin Red was medically retired from his undercover job with PTSD, now with health conditions and injuries from his past life; So he has to sit/use support to perform. However it was not always like this, ” Back in ’78 I was going to give it up while playing a blues jam at the Onslow pub, Southampton when a grubby man came up and asked to jam.” he continues, “he asked if we knew Black Magic Woman? We started to play and it was @Peter Green. After I asked him where he lived he said Salisbury. I asked him how he got here? He said he walked so I took him home to his sister’s house; Pete told me, “Play music for yourself and if other people like it its a bonus.” since 12 yo music was always my centre but life took me to a very different world where I could not be in the limelight. Finally I am free and making music to help my mental health and hopefully other’s as well”
This is a very organic process. I play live and drive my wife the producer/engineer up the wall as I see every song as a story that I have to emote immediately. We don’t overdub except on the electric guitar parts. I play and sing completely live. My wife uses 3 microphones on me because I can’t double myself every take is different as every gig I play will also be; first one 20 July at Bush Hall, London W12 more dates to follow in support of Mens Health Charities as I’m a disabled musician.
When Estella’s Revenge arrived at Frost HQ I made an audible gasp. The gorgeous cover, the fact it’s a retelling of Great Expectations, Miss Havisham’s daughter is the main character…, I mean, come on. what is there not to love? Was I let down? Not even a little. The writing is exceptional and the story is dark and delicious.
It is obvious that a huge amount of research went into this novel, but also a very deep love for Great Expectations and the characters. The love and knowledge is obvious in every single page. This book is original, gothic and completely unforgettable. It belongs on the shelf next to Great Expectations itself. When reading the novel it feels like not much has changed for women, yet there is hope in this novel. Of women saving themselves and enduring. Of survival. A must-read.
The Memory of Us is a fantastic book. How long did it take you to write it? The Memory of Us took approximately one year to write. I don’t write particularly quickly and would panic if I had to produce a book any faster. When I gave up work to write full-time I thought I’d begin at nine o’clock and work through until five (with an hour for lunch, of course). It wasn’t long before I realised I’m not disciplined enough for that. People might be surprised it takes me twelve months to write a book, but I’m just amazed it doesn’t take even longer!
Where did the idea come from? My books have recurring themes of love, family, and friendship, often set against a life changing moment or event. From the outset I knew I wanted this story to feature two sisters and the unshakeable bond between them. Lexi and Amelia were a joy to write, and I miss spending time with them.
The book has many themes. How did you manage to thread them all together so well? I’d like to say it was a result of meticulous planning – except I don’t plan at all. However, I knew the important plot points, so it was a matter of letting the story unfold naturally and trusting everything would fall into place.
What is your writing routine like? My day starts with a dog walk, when I’ll formulate my plan for that day’s writing and often get ideas for conversations between characters. Before I begin, I go back and edit the previous day’s work. I know many authors prefer to keep their eye on the finishing line, but I’m not happy going forward if I think there’s something that needs fixing. Mornings are not my most productive time, so it’s mid to late afternoon before I usually hit my stride. Before turning off my computer I read that day’s work out loud. I find this to be a useful way of checking both the pace of the story and the authenticity of the dialogue.
What advice would you give writers who want to maintain a career? First, to keep reading in many different genres. Seeing how authors tackle a story, handle the pace, the dialogue and the plot can be very inspiring. It motivates you to bring all you have to the table the next time you begin to write. Next, is to just write. Don’t tell yourself that ‘one day I’ll write a book’. Do it. Do it now. It’s easy to think you don’t have time to write, but you just need to be disciplined and determined. Don’t set impossible goals. If you aim for just 1000 words a day, in three months you’ll have a novel. Lastly, write the book that’s in your heart. It’s more important to be aware of current literary trends than it is to follow them. At the end of the day, you must write the book you want to write and tell the story you have to tell. Perhaps it isn’t the same one that everyone is reading right then; perhaps you are bucking the trend… but it’s just possible you’re starting a new one.
What’s next for you? My next book is well underway and has a working title of PROMISE ME – although I’m sure that will change – they usually do. It is another emotional drama with some strong characters who I hope people will fall in love with every bit as much as I’ve done. I don’t want to reveal too much more, but I will say that I made myself cry writing the very first chapter, which was a first for me.
The Memory of Us’ by Dani Atkins is just published by Head of Zeus in hardback. I loved it. It is a beautiful and heartfelt novel which takes many themes and ties them together beautifully. The characters are divine and I adored the love story. I was fully immersed in this beautiful book. Superb writing mixes with a novel that keeps you guessing all of the way. I can’t recommend it enough.
Who hasn’t had the daydream of travelling for free, or even making money while travelling? This daydream is a reality some travellers are experiencing today thanks to unique work arrangements that allow them to make money abroad.
Let’s look at the two most popular avenues for making money abroad and see if one of these could offer you your dream lifestyle.
Work Contracts Abroad
Finding your next career move is a big task: the stars need to align for the right company, location and career advancement opportunity. This process becomes even more difficult when you zoom out from focusing on your home country and look for jobs in other countries.
Instead of trying to land your dream job in another country, you can make money abroad by taking on a temporary contract outside of your field. Some popular industries include:
● Teaching English as a second language
● Tourism/hospitality
● Agriculture
● Yachting
The variety of work opportunities available will probably surprise you. Did you know that you can get paid to work in Antarctica?! It might not be your dream job or a calculated escalation of your career, but it’s a strategic way to leverage your 40-hour workweek to allow you to travel.
An alternative to paid contracts abroad are work exchanges. These are arrangements where you volunteer your time and are given something free in exchange, such as housing or food. Explore these work exchange platforms:
Not all work arrangements require you to pause your career building in order to travel. If you have the ability to work remotely, consider travelling as a digital nomad.
The term digital nomad refers to remote workers who use their flexibility to work from anywhere. Digital nomads typically fall into one of these categories:
1. Fully remote employee
2. Hybrid employee
3. Self-employed
Beyond the varieties in the type of work, there are a few different ways that this lifestyle can manifest:
1. Mental health break: get permission from your employer to temporarily work remotely for your mental health
2. Working holiday: secure remote work and go away for a few weeks/months of the year with the plan of returning home
3. Working gap year: seek a remote job and travel for a predetermined period of time
4. Fully nomadic: secure remote work, move out of your home and travel indefinitely
I first became a digital nomad in 2017 because I felt like life was passing me by at the nine to five job. Since then, I’ve moved between the labels of digital nomad, expat and immigrant. The journey had twists in the road: I’ve taken on work exchanges and in-person odd jobs when necessary to get by, and ultimately spent years building a business of my own.
It all started with the realisation that I had more options than deferring all of my travel plans for “someday.” If you dream of travelling, I hope that you can leverage technology to turn your world upside down in the same way.
January is always a bit meh. We’re supposed to reinvent ourselves but it’s cold and dark. We need all of the help we can get. 52 weeks of wellbeing is a fantastic book written by an author who is smart, original and full of fantastic advice.
The authors personality is shot through with an incredible amount of research. This book is so inspirational and I will be dipping in and out of it for the rest of the week. Brilliant.
52 Weeks of Wellbeing to Transform Your Life - from ‘Kintsugi’ to embrace your flaws to ‘Cold Therapy’ to boost stress tolerance & ‘Timebox’ to handle email overload
A simple wellbeing technique for every week of 2024 – to go from frazzled to fulfilled
WHY THIS BOOK MATTERS
Three billion people are miserable at work according to Gallup. And, unsurprisingly, anger, stress, worry and sadness hit record highs in 2021 and have been rising for 10 years
The book is packed with 52 simple, practical, accessible habits, techniques and tips – one for every week of 2024 – that ANYONE can do to cultivate a happier life and make you your priority
After a rugby accident left him unable to walk for a year and suffering from depression, suicidal thoughts and bulimia, author Ryan Hopkins embarked on a mental health mission
Now Chief Impact Officer at pioneering mental health platform JAAQ and Deloitte’s former Future of Wellbeing Lead, he delivers talks everywhere from TEDx to Microsoft to Jimmy Choo on mental health and regularly writes for everyone from the FT to LinkedIn
Ryan Hopkins is on a mission. He wants to reach 1 billion people to transform our wellbeing – from the toilet. That probably needs some explaining…
Many of us prioritise work over wellbeing. A third of UK workers eat ‘aldesko’ (aka at our desks) and 67% feel pressured to be available at all hours of the day. Global unhappiness has risen by over a third since 2010. Something needs to change.
Back to the toilet then. After a rugby accident left Ryan wheelchair-bound for a year and suffering from severe depression, anxiety, bulimia and suicidal thoughts for nearly a decade afterwards, he began building doable wellbeing habits and techniques into his everyday life. They’re so simple ANYONE can do them, even on the loo, but, combined, they have the power to radically improve our wellbeing. To prove it, he created his now viral ‘Toilet Break Wellbeing’ video series – which has reached tens of millions of people and counting.
In his new book 52 Weeks of Wellbeing: A No-Nonsense Guide to a Fulfilling Work Life, Ryan reveals a simple wellbeing technique for every week of the year to help transform us from anxious and frazzled to happy and fulfilled. Combining the latest academic thinking with his powerful experience of recovering from rock bottom, the book is a highly practical, accessible, funny and engaging guide to improving our mental health.
To make real, lasting change, wellbeing and self-care should be something we proactively make space for every day, not only addressed reactively in response to a problem. Packed with small, smart wellbeing habits you can easily fit into even the craziest of busy days, they accumulate to make drastic change. They include:
Breathwork for stressful times
The Japanese art of ‘Kintsugi’ to embrace your flaws
‘Cold Therapy’ to boost stress tolerance
‘Timebox’ to handle email overload
Cosmic insignificance theory to combat anxiety
Bringing back the Great British Tea Break to kickstart productivity
Wellbeing is a lifelong pursuit – some weeks it’s easier to master than others – but armed with the knowledge, tips and tricks from this book, Ryan hopes to provide 1 billion people with the tools needed to lead a healthier, more fulfilling life at work and at home.
“The ultimate guide to a better you. A fascinating and inspiring read.” Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer for Google X
“Ryan combines his trademark sense of humour with a pragmatic view of well-being, making this an engaging and informative read.” – Dr. Clare Fernandes, Chief Medical Officer, BBC
“A book of bite-sized bits of brilliance.” Isabel Berwick, Financial Times
52 Weeks of Wellbeing by Ryan Hopkins is published by Kogan Page, 3rd January 2024, RRP £12.99
One of the best things about being an editor is the opportunity to try lots of exciting things. I love Blake Lively’s films and was excited to try her range of drinks, Betty Buzz. The range is gorgeous. They look great and taste even better. They are fresh and original. Almost like they have been home made. I will definitely try them again in the future. Here are three mocktail ideas from Betty Buzz.
Betty Buzz is made with fresh ingredients, free from artificial preservatives, sweeteners, colours and flavours, resulting in the perfect mixers for easy at home mocktails.
Betty Buzz Ginger Apple
1/2 bottle Betty Buzz Ginger Beer | 50ml Cloudy Apple Juice | 15ml Lemon Juice | Cinnamon Syrup | Apple Fan
Combine ice, apple juice, lemon juice and cinnamon syrup. Shake well and strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice. Pour Betty Buzz Ginger Beer over top. Garnish with an apple fan
Betty Buzz Ginger Beer – Clean, fresh ginger taste with the perfect balance of spice and bubbles. RRP: From £2.50 per 266 ml bottle Available from: Whole Foods Market
Betty Buzz Sparkling Grapefruit Spicy Sparkling Faux – Loma
Salt the rim of the glass (if desired). Fill shaker with ice, jalapeños and lime juice. Close and shake generously to combine. Pour into a lowball glass over ice and top with Betty Buzz Sparkling Grapefruit. Garnish with jalapeño slices
Betty Buzz Sparkling Grapefruit – made with 24% real Pink Grapefruit juice this delivers a tangy, lightly sweet and fresh citrus hit. RRP: From £1.80 per 150ml can and £2.50 per 266ml bottle and as a multiple pack from Amazon 24 x 150 ml cans from £29.99
Add ice to a highball glass and add a splash of Grenadine. Pour Betty Buzz Sparkling Lemon Lime over top. Stir together gently. Garnish with cherryBetty Buzz Sparkling Lemon Lime – Refreshing with deliciously authentic flavours RRP: From £1.80 per 150ml can and £2.50 per 266 ml bottle and as a multiple pack from Amazon 24 x 150 ml cans from £29.99
