A Hippie's journey through health, beauty and spirituality
Month: February 2022
Ok! Beauty box for February, we have more #WildScienceLab Leaf+Seed Shampoo and Conditioner 50ml each. I love these when we go camping (booked for April) so they are perfect. Travel size and rrp £6 each.
#BalanceMe Pure skin face wash travel size £8 I love the size 20ml it’s great to chuck into an overnight bag.
#BellaPierreCosmetics Natural Matt Eyeshadow Palette 4 gorgeous shades ivory, caramel, butterscotch and truffle. Shimmer free. Full size rrp £28.99
Then #VeganByHappySkin a smooth Shea butter and jojoba oil lotion, tired dry skin will thank you. Full size 100ml rrp £34.99
Loving this box this month, I stop and start this subscription and often skip months, I love that it’s that versatile and practical.
#ADGifted all thoughts and opinions are my own, given in exchange for a review.
Ghosts : A Detective Jason Smith thriller
Police officers are being killed in York. The murders are cold, calculated and methodical. This killer leaves nothing behind besides a sense of dread.
When someone Detective Jason Smith has worked with ends up dead it becomes personal, but this phantom leaves nothing to even hint at why this is happening.
The only breakthrough in the case comes from several witnesses who claim to have seen a ghost-like figure around the time of the murders.
Facing ghosts of his own, and on the brink of breakdown Smith is pushed even further over the edge when he discovers the sick reality behind these murders.
This isn’t about murder – this is about something else altogether.
These ghosts will haunt Jason Smith for the rest of his life.
Stewart Giles – Author Bio
After reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live.
In 2014 Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head and I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later.
3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor: Cornwall series.
The Beekeeper was published and soon hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well.
I continued to self-publish the Smith series and Unworthy hit the shelves in 2018 with amazing results. I therefore made the decision to self-publish The Backpacker which is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series which was published in July 2018.
After The Backpacker I had an idea for a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers and The Enigma was born. It brought together the broody, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor.
The Miranda trilogy is something totally different. A psychological thriller trilogy. It is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before.
The Detective Jason Smith series continues to grow with book 16 recently published. The first 5 books in the Detective Liam O’Reilly series are now available.
My Review this one is a complete page turner, I bet most will sit and read this in one sitting!! It’s that gripping. Plot is complex at times so read and give this your full attention, not skim read and watch the television too.
Even with all my wits about me, the conclusion was wild and I had not seen that coming at all. We drive into the characters pure emotion and mental breakdown, you get a physical impression of how he is feeling and that to me shows a damn good writer.
Who wouldn’t fancy meeting up over a pint and seeing York through their eyes, and chat over cases. They actually feel like real life people. It’s incredible.
Not been walking for 12 days in total, the storms have put a stop to them, it was ultimately too muddy for us earlier, but add in high winds and it’s too dangerous to go out.
We had some family things that needed to be done anyways, and plenty of travelling to do too. So we felt it would be better to stay in on the other days, as bodily I wouldn’t of been able to do both a walk and travel for family.
I had hoped after Storm Dudley, and Storm Eunice we’d get to walk this week, but nooooo Storm Franklin is here for a play. So it’s time to get the bosu ball out.
Burpee but will a bosu ball lift. No impact, step back to crouching, then stand. X 5reps
Hip thrusts X 5reps
Hip bridges X 5reps
Hoping these will be ok, it gets very boring fast doing the same Clams and Hip Flexion exercises, but obviously they are the main ones to do religiously.
A week all about family, We’ve had another funeral, and while absolutely heart wrenching, it does bring the family together and it’s lovely to see them. Though we all wish under better circumstances.
Husband ( my uncle) now follows Wife (my auntie who’s funeral was a few months ago) together again. Hoping they are happy to be reunited. ❤️❤️ They will be greatly missed, and remembered by us all.
While there we poured over old photos, and remembering times gone by, marvelling at holding a very old calender! And see all those familiar traits passed down from family member to family member, and each generation.
Avoiding going out much due to storms, storm dudley and storm eunice. Rain like there’s no hope of it stopping, and wind that sounds scary. Let’s hope it soon goes and we get some dry days, they are certainly needed.
This walk mentioned here was done a week or so ago. Been resting ever since.
Sometimes things don’t go to plan, and you just never know how or when. We had an epic new place to have a walk around, the weather was good, and I was excited.
But as I was preparing my coat and bag in the car, I hurt my hand merely twisting the wrist, and I burst into tears. My god this hand it getting hard to live with. This hand was already in a compression glove and splint to protect it, yet I still managed to hurt it.
Village is pretty though, and the location meant there was public toilets too. Bonus.
Getting myself together and forcing the tears away, we set off. Pretty lovely amble at first, until I sank in some mud, thank heavens for boots!
Moody skies and cold winds but the location is beautiful. Fields were super waterlogged and easy to sink or skate on.
We managed to get to the main destination, but it came with a cost of the hip swelling up quite a lot. Clearly it didn’t like this retrain and the challenges I was putting it through. I took more pain relief and grateful I could sit down and properly rest it.
We rested and fuelled up on cheese sandwiches and coffee to warm us up. Glorious views.
After getting to our main part, it was all downhill and through countless more fields, but we stumbled upon a new situation, one that we always have at the back of our minds, Stiles. If you’re lucky you get gates, or tiny passing places, or a well built stile. However I reached one that made me cry, I was terrified of it, it felt too high, too hard, and too unsteady. I was convinced I was going to fall, and we had to shove the leg over. And it meant one hip needed to internally rotate, so I could get a toe hold while bringing other leg over. Now if you have a hip replacement you may know this is a huge No No. I had to trust my 3yr old hip replacement to do this, and it felt boggy, thankfully I got over but the whole experience tipped me over the emotional edge.
Internally rotating hip is not a good idea for hip replacement patients as you run the risk of dislocation.
Knowing we could have many many Stiles, and me already in a state with a swollen hip and emotional nervous wreck, we stopped to have coffee and eat more sandwiches while Mr Moon reassessed the route and changed it for a road instead. We ended the walk much earlier than planned, but I was grateful. It was definitely the right call.
As soon as we got home it was pizza and relaxing, with hot water bottles and ibuprofen gel for the swollen hip.
This week it’s now 17 weeks since I had my steroid injections in the thumbs, and I would say for around 5 weeks they have been getting increasingly painful, and difficult to use! So with them in mind I’ve had 2 new buys, and they have been game changing for my hands, they are getting harder and harder to use, and super painful.
First up is a tool to open 6 different things around the house and kitchen. It opens beer bottle caps, small coke bottles, jars, ring pull cans, and tins of soup. Those awful tiny peel off lids off lotions, creams and yogurts. And then in the handle it has a tiny safety blade to cut open freezer bags, or parcels. Check out the video on youtube showing you how to use it here
I needed some new trainers, but I really really didn’t want lace up one’s, trying to do them up each day just hurts like hell. So I’ve managed to find some beautiful trainers that zip up, so not only do they help me out massively, but they look stunning and totally in fashion too. I found them on TK Maxx https://www.tkmaxx.com
So let’s hope these two new items will help me keep some independence and make life with my hands a little easier.
Winter brings rain and rain brings mud, as well as icy winds. But we don’t let it deter us, and to keep our spirits high we head on out to the glorious Peak District.
Pains aside as they are happening with or without movement, it’s best to keep this leg moving as best as we can.
We head to the magickal kingdom of #LudsChurch we’ve been before, you can read about the history of this place Here
Quite sheltered from the chilly winds here, and you forget how cold the day actually is. But following the church it’s time to head out on the moor land which is open, bonus for views, but very very open to winds.
Views for miles, you can see so much, more so when the clouds lift. Too scared to stand on the rocks, I let Mr Moon do the honours and marvel at how glorious it is.
Hips and Lower back took a big hit in this walk, due to tensing up a lot over the muddy sections. Really felt it in the hip flexors, and back. I’m glad I’ve now got some back stretches to try, and see if they will help in the long run. So rewarded ourselves with hot water bottles once home!!
I was really really looking forward to this month’s box by #LookFantasic and I have a 1 yr subscription, as that makes the boxes cheaper. But after seeing this month’s I’ve now cancelled. I will have to have the rest of the year, but it won’t be auto renewed.
This was the sneak peek product, and was super hyped. Imagine my disappointment at 15ml when it’s usually a 250ml product.
#PixiBeauty is a glycolic acid to buff away dead skin cells and impurities. Helps reduce fine lines and reduce the appearance of pores. RRP for 250ml £18 Here
From #Glov we have 2 gorgeous soft red heart reusable water only face cloths. They are super pretty and kind to the environment too. To buy 7 in a cute case it’s RRP £13.90 from Here
Soft velvety pads you can just add water too, to remove make up.
For tired feet and over worked feet we have a beautiful bootie mask for them, to revitalise and soothe them, while having a wonderful movie night. Marine collagen packs a punch on your feet. RRP £4.95 from Here
These are perfect after a long day on your feet.
A totally new brand for me in #Bybi and it’s a fabulous Gel cleanser 20ml which has both antiseptic and antimicrobial ingredients, all while smelling like a minty forest. For 100ml RRP £22.00 from Here
20ml isn’t too much, but enough to test it out properly on the skin.
#BalanceMe is no stranger in my skincare regime and I’m a firm fan of them, here we have 5ml of a Vitamin C eye serum, to minimise puffiness, and rejuvenate the delicate eye area. For 15ml RRP £21.00 from Here
Not bad a third of the full size, and you only need a tiny amount on the eyes.
My star product in the box was #DrBotanicals Lemon Butter supporting Pride. You get a full size 50ml RRP £14.90 from Here can be used as a treatment or moisturizer, it’s all the skin needs.
Smells divine and feels soft immediately on the skin, no stickiness.
My worst product in the box this month is #Lottie and only because I got one only in December so it feels too soon to be doubling up already. But it’s a very pretty blusher, in the colour Haze RRP £5.95 from Here
I’m only annoyed as I had this exact blusher just 2 months ago, and it’s far from used up. And it’s in the exact same shade too.
So overall it wasn’t a bad box, I was just personally disappointed in 2 items. I have cancelled, but I’m sure I still have a few months left on the contract.
I have recently learnt of another family member that has recently passed, and it’s fair to say it’s taking an emotional toll on both me and my Mr Moon. While the loss was expected, doesn’t make it necessarily easier.
This time it’s my Uncle, the husband to my auntie who we lost very recently. So following this news I knew I needed to get out of the house and breathe in some fresh air, and feel the energies of nature, and it’s Imbolc what better time to focus on death, rebirth and life.
When it was cold and windy the energies here felt bleak and stark, and we called it Quarry Cleaves from Stonewylde (Check out the Stonewylde series by my late friend Kit Berry (sadly passed in October ) Here
As we felt the bite of the wind, a glimmer of sun shone out and we were blessed with a rainbow, something I never expected.
Faint but just about there, and it touched my soul and made us feel happier.
Walking is so good for meditation, your sole focus is one foot in front of the other, so it helps you be present in that moment. And when the weather is so changeable you get to really feel alive. Sounds crazy I know, but there is something life affirming to feel a bitter chill, or the glow of sunshine, and even the hydration of rain on your face. I guess it’s feeling lucky to be able to feel these things.
The area is steeped in history, we’ve been here before, but we revisited the lead mines, found old caves and pump houses. It’s nice to explore and learn history. We stopped to speak to an old gentleman, who was talking about how lucky we are to have this beautiful countryside, and he’s absolutely right!! I’m forever grateful for the hills, the fields, and rivers. It was nice to talk to him.
It was an amazing day and so good for the soul, But I wish I had a different body, and pain levels though. My back was absolutely crippled, and my 3yr old hip replacement decided to throw up a lot of groin pain too.
I’ve been stuck in a flare for about a week now, the hands are being ridiculous, and my back is horrendous!!
But today is time to see my physiotherapist at the hospital, the one that actually listens to me, so worth their weight in gold. I’ll be telling him what the surgeon said and the other physio, to see what we can come up with moving forward. Also I’m hoping he can help refer me to occupational therapy, or rheumatology.
Had my legs measured again,top pelvis bone to ankle bone, and this physiotherapist got 91cm and 92cm so only 1cm difference. Wildly different to the local physiotherapist. Well I’m listening to the Surgeon and hoping more intense physio is the key.
Supine Hip Hitching 5 second hold X (As many as you can comfortably do) originally they said 20reps, but after doing 3 I was physically spent, they are hard and challenging!!
The LLD (Leg Length Difference) is causing back pains, so I’ve been given some Knee Rocks to do to stretch and relax it out.
Keeping the Back planted on the floor, rock the knees together gently to one side and hold, then the opposite side. X as many as you can comfortably do
Knees to chest and hold, I love this position though it takes some time to get into it! Stretches the glutes too.
And once I feel able and strong enough I can try hip hitching using my step. Making sure the pelvis doesn’t tilt or lean, as that defeats the purpose, so only tackled once you have strength to do so.
debbiehipster 