Review: Little Daisy Self Care – 100 Days of Menopause Affirmations

We were sent the 100 days of menopause affirmations jar for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

I’m a really big fan of the power of positive thinking in helping you on your way towards a happier outcome in life. Back in 2012, I had a bad accident and ended up needing two emergency surgeries on my back. At risk of permanent damage and paralysis, I spent nearly a year in excruciating pain and unable to function. The experience left me in permanent pain, with nerve damage and numbness throughout my lower body.

With a whole raft of physical problems to deal with, my mental health really suffered and I found myself in a very dark place. I was sent to rehab to help get me walking again, and slowly I began to recover myself physically and mentally. I would never be the person I once was, but I made a decision to not let my pain define me. I decided to focus not on the things I’d lost, such as being a more physically active mum, I lost my career and it damaged a number of important relationships. I chose instead to look at the good things which had come out of it all. Like being able to spend more time with my son, being able to be there every single day after school and during the holidays, plus it gave me my blog which took me to all kinds of places and it introduced me to so many new and amazing friends.

Little Daisy Self Care - 100 Days of Menopause Affirmations

Positive thinking really helped get me out of that hole, so when I find myself in a tight spot, or a dark place, I try and think of the lessons that situation is teaching me, or the people it is showing me who are there for me. I’m by no means Little Miss Sunshine, but being able to see the stars from the gutter is a gift I really appreciate.

Which, long story short, brings me to the 100 Days Of Menopause Affirmations jar from Little Daisy Self Care. I’m 47 now and like most of my mid-40s friendship group, I’m experiencing some menopause symptoms. I’m not quite knee-deep in night sweats and HRT, but there are changes happening which need managing.

As I said previously, I try and tackle all the bumps in my road with a positive, let’s try and see the bright side attitude, so that’s what I’m trying to do with my very impending menopause. I am reassured, just like Fleabag, that the menopause is usually pretty bloody awful, but once you get to the other side, life begins again and all kinds of good stuff is waiting for us. And that’s very good to know, but easy to forget when you’re in the thick of it.

Little Daisy Self Care has an Etsy shop which stocks, amongst other things, little jars full of affirmations for various times in our lives. There are journal prompts and mindfulness prompts, and many more. I’ve done daily affirmations for various things before, and whilst not every affirmation will be useful, I generally find it’s a good exercise to engage in, especially if you’re trying to be more reflective and positive in your approach to things.

Little Daisy Self Care - 100 Days of Menopause Affirmations

The Little Daisy Self Care jars have been created by Alison, an experienced councillor. She’s helped many ladies work through their menopause and through that work she was inspired to create the 100 days of menopause affirmations.

There are 100 affirmations printed on little colourful pieces of card in each jar. Each card has a different affirmation related to menopause symptoms and positive thinking. The jar also comes with a QR code, so you can access a breathing technique demonstrated by Alison to help you with your self care.

Some examples of the menopause affirmations include:

I will take the time and space I need to adapt
I love myself exactly as I am
Some days can be difficult and that’s okay
I listen to my body and give it what it needs
I am just hot stuff!

I have been enjoying dipping in and out of this jar. I’ve popped it on my desk at work, so when my mood drops, I can pick a card of positivity out of the jar and reflect on it for a few minutes. If a card doesn’t hit the spot for me at that moment, I’ll pick another one and put it back, because in a few weeks or months time, it might just be what I need at that point.

Whilst we will all approach the menopause differently; a good vitamin regime, HRT or other medical or alternative therapies will form the main thrust of your approach to dealing with the menopause. I do believe in the power of positive thinking, and if these little daily affirmations can help you over a bump in the road, or help you see a glimmer of sunshine through the clouds, then that can only be a good thing.

I really love the branding too, and that’s it’s presented neatly in a jar. Each little colourful card is a scrap of potential joy. It’s just nicely put together and I like that you can scan a QR code for some extra self care if you need it.

Little Daisy Self Care - 100 Days of Menopause Affirmations

Each jar costs £12 and would be a useful gift for someone experiencing the menopause, or a small treat for yourself, especially if you’re looking to approach menopause positivity.

Little Daisy Self Care jars are available from Etsy.

12 Things I love about my teenager

A few years ago, I wrote a blog post called 12 things I love about my son. At the time of writing, he was a soft, squishy five year old, and absolutely the apple of my eye. He still is, but he’s now a gangling 12 year old, just finishing his first year of high school and he’s busy cultivating a moustache and an attitude.

What with him slap-bang in the middle of puberty, and me on nodding terms with the peri-menopause, our house is a lively hot bed of hormones. Between us there’s enough shouting and crying to script a Latin American soap opera.

Despite this, we still find plenty to like about each other, and teenagers often get a bad rap, so I thought I’d list some of the things I like best about him, if only so I can look back and read it when he’s locked in his room loudly sulking to himself and telling me to go away.

12 things I love about my teenager

He may eat us out of house and home, but he appreciates my efforts to fill his hollow legs, always says thank you and compliments my cooking.
When he gets home from school he always gives me the biggest and best hug of my day.
He always asks to watch funny dogs YouTube videos with me before bed, so we can laugh and wind down together.
He carries my bags home without needing to be asked.
We share a hobby, and although we don’t have much downtime, when we paint together, it’s special for both of us.
He always rushes home to tell me about the small victories in his day; house points won, things he has achieved, jokes he’s told which made people laugh.
He still shares his sweets and treats with me.
He takes pictures of things he thinks I will like when he’s out and about. This week it was a large puddle with a dramatic sky reflected in it.
He asks to spend time with me and suggests interesting things we could do together, like trips on the Metrolink to new places, or he likes coming swimming with me.
He is always coming up with new jokes to try and make me laugh. Some of them are remarkably clever.
As awkward as so many of the growing up, birds and the bees, “all of these strange things happening to you body are actually perfectly normal” chats are, he does listen, engage with me and ask questions, which is such a relief and a good thing. Awkward as heck though.
Sometimes, if no one is around, he will hold my hand while we are walking down the road. No one must ever know this.

12 things I love about my teenager
Those are just twelve of the many reasons why I think he is awesome. I think it’s nice to think about some of the ways the special people in your life make you feel special too, or the things you personally marvel at about them. I know the next few years won’t be plain sailing for either of us, hormones being a big factor in that. But as long as we remember that we love each other, and that we have each others backs, we will hopefully come out the other side relatively unscathed and hopefully not needing too much therapy.

Whatever happens, I wouldn’t swap him for the world. He’s my best boy and always will be.

Review: Revive Collagen Enhanced Plus

We were sent a supply of Revive Collagen Enhanced Plus for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

A couple of months ago, I was sat chatting with my friends about menopause (that’s a hot topic and will be for a while), when one of my friends said she’s been taking liquid collagen and she felt it was making a difference to her. Naturally we all immediately leapt on this and quizzed her further. She had apparently been taking it for about a year and her hair, nails, joints and wrinkle situation had improved considerably in that time. We were all very, very interested and I imagine everyone did what I did, which was go home and do some reading up on collagen.

Review: Revive Collagen Enhanced Plus

The benefits of taking collagen are pretty clear, there are a million articles on the internet about the upsides to this wonder supplement. Collagen provides structure, support or strength to your skin, muscles, bones and connective tissues and is said to help plump and smooth the skin, add volume to hair and strengthen nails. I’ve heard of sporty friends taking collagen and after a few months of use reporting that they feel suppler and stronger. With my bad back and face that’s starting to show my age, I thought it was high time I staged a personal intervention.

Typically for me, I’d looked around at what collagen supplements were available, got a bit paralysed by indecision and did nothing. Thankfully fate intervened and I was offered a months supply of Revive Collagen Enhanced Plus to put to the test. I’d read the reviews and looked at some before and after photos and liked what I saw, plus what harm could it do?

Revive Collagen is a beauty brand founded by Amanda Holden, that aims to deliver real results for women of all ages. As our body ages, our natural collagen levels deplete which results in our skin losing tone and elasticity, and showing an increase in fine lines and wrinkles. Revive Collagen produce liquid collagen that can be taken once daily for the best results. The collagen drinks by Revive Collagen have been shown to have an absorption rate of 90% to 95% which is considerably higher than regular collagen tablets, of which only 30 to 40% is absorbed by your body.

Revive Collagen Enhanced Plus is a “Hydrolysed Marine Collagen Drink”. I was sent a 28 day supply which contained 28 little sachets of the tropical flavoured fluid. Each sachet contains 10,000 mg of marine collagen, vitamins B6 and B12, vitamins C and D, keratin and retinol. I’m no scientist, so I’m just going to assume they’re all good things. What this product isn’t is, vegetarian or halal, though there is a vegan version available on the website should that tickle your fancy.

With a month to put this to the test, partly to see if I got on with it, and partly to see if it made an actual difference, I set to work. The trick is to remember to take it each day, so I kept my sachets by the kettle, so when I go for my morning brew, I have my morning shot of collagen too.

Review: Revive Collagen Enhanced Plus

Each dose is in an individual pouch with a twist off top. It’s ideal for throwing in your bag if you need to, or keeping by your kettle, like me. It has a tropical flavour and it tastes a little like undiluted squash. It’s absolutely fine if you’re ok with just necking it back. They suggest that you can use it like squash and dilute it with water. I think it would also be lovely stirred into Greek yoghurt or similar. It’s not as liquid as water, a little thicker and it’s not at all an unpleasant texture.

I’ve been taking it for a month now, and although I suspect it’ll take longer than that to notice a real change in my wrinkles and general health and vitality. It could well be my imagination, but I do feel physically a bit looser. I feel like I’m taking fewer painkillers for my back and unusually for November, when I look in the mirror, I think my skin looks like it has a bit of a glow. The eczema on my hands, which gets worse in winter looks a lot better than usual. I don’t have any cracks on the pads of my fingers, which makes typing this so much more comfortable.

One of the reasons I decided to take collagen was to help counteract the drying effects of menopause. Over the last year or two I’ve noticed I’m more prone to skin dryness and if daily collagen shots can help keep that in check, without it developing into a patch of something requiring a steroid cream, then I’m all up for this. Drinking a sachet daily can help to rebuild and restore your collagen levels. It’s not cheap, but then if you shop around, it’s on a par with other similar products.

I think for me, it’s about making an investment in myself. I’m a mum, I work hard, I have a busy life and I don’t have an awful lot of time to spend on myself. In gentler times I treated myself to regular spa days and facials, now it’s all I can do to exfoliate in the shower twice a week. Whilst knocking back a shot of collagen isn’t the kind of spa level pamper I might be craving, the results, or the intended results are to me, worth investing in.

Review: Revive Collagen Enhanced Plus

As I approach menopause, I know I need to treat myself better, differently and find ways to nourish myself from within, rather than topically treat things externally. If taking a dose of Revive Collagen Enhanced Plus each day is one of the tools in my armoury which keep the effects of aging at bay, and not just the cosmetic sides of growing older, then it is a worthwhile investment. And if you don’t want to take my word for it, there are around 214 reviews on the website that would largely agree with me.

After a month, I’m perhaps starting to sense the green shoots of recovery. I will keep on taking the Revive Collagen Enhanced Plus shots each day and see how I get on with them in the long term. It’s not an instant thing, but one worth persisting with, and persist I will.

You can buy Revive Collagen Enhanced Plus directly from the website, but it’s also available from places like Boots and Holland and Barratt