Hi! How’s your May been? Mines been a little better than my Sucky Month of April! I’ve decided to do something a little different this month and record you a lovely (long) voice note of me waffling on about all the things I wanted to update you on. Enjoy!🎧☺️

Then do come back for a teeny bit of ‘other news’ and this month’s recommendations and playlist!

🗞️In Other News

The ebbs and flows of life will keep on coming, as they do. One day you’ll walk out to a car with a flat tyre and the next day you might wake up with awesome and magical bed-hair! Such is life 🤷🏻‍♀️

I do feel like I’ve got a bit of the ‘old me’ back this month and have had many fun and joyful moments with the kids and friends new and old. I finally got my arse in gear with the garden and we now have some beautiful little flowers in tiny pots hanging on the fence.

Isn’t it amazing what a difference having a bit of colour in the garden makes. I do feel a bit guilty getting my 80-year-old dad to mow the lawn, but hey... he offered so… Thanks dad! ♥️

I had a note that went “viral” – well, kind of. Can we call 34 likes ‘viral’?! Maybe not, but it was fun to see so many people enjoying it.🥰

In case you missed it…

I’ve created an online art gallery (just for fun and because I can’t stop creating things in Canva – I’m obsessed!🫣) to showcase some of my paintings and drawings… and I love it! Feel free to have a browse, but be warned, if you’re browsing from your phone it might look a bit shit – Building websites on Canva is quite a new thing and they haven’t made the mobile version editable just yet.

Visit my Art Gallery

My latest addition to the gallery was this little guy… how cute is he?! 😍

I’ve also added some stuff to the travel page on my website. It was fun to do but took me way longer than I’d anticipated… as do most things in my life. I definitely have time blindness!😆

My website is almost finished now, just the photography section to go. I’ve really enjoyed building it and having an online space to hold a lot of my passions in one easily accessible place. For anyone who feels like they’re all over the place, I definitely recommend it!

Visit My Website

And Finally

I got thrown out of my own house by my teenage daughter (and the 10yr old joined in of-course🙄)! I brought it on myself really, as I’d said she could have some friends round for a BBQ (the weather has been unusually hot for May here in the UK). Anyway, I (mistakenly) thought I might sort of mill about in the background… maybe even join in a bit… what a fool I was! Of-course they didn’t want their old, cringy, loud and embarrassing mum around! So, after assessing that they were indeed completely capable, safe and had everything they needed… off I went, like a sad Eeyore not really sure where to go or what my purpose was anymore!!

⭐️Recommendations

1. The Mother’s Load, does it ever end? by

2. If You Can’t Stand The Heat… come moan with me under the air con –

3. The Life Changing Magic of a Not-to-do List –

4. I feel vulnerable, insecure and Exhausted. Help! – talking candidly about her book launch

5. Some Awkward Questions for Literary Agents – - Very funny… and so true!!😆

1. Anna Warton on a lifetime of Feminist Writing – Bibliotherapist Podcast

2. A Conversation with Jill Halfpenny – FAB first episode of ’s new Podcast!

3. Slowing Down Without Starting Over - – I love how Amy talks about not having to overhaul your entire life but refine the one you already have!

4. Do Authors Still Need Gate Keepers with and . This was SUCH a great chat and led to me feeling compelled to write the following in the comments… AND EMMA REPLIED!! 😉

5. It’s fun when an author you admire replies isn’t it? 😄

1. I very much enjoyed this little clip of Jo Hutton talking to Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2 (from a while back). I love Jo and watch Jeremy most morning on his TV chat show – Jeremy Vine, so to see them interacting and having a giggle together was just delightful!

2. I’ve also been enjoying watching random brilliant movies, like Titanic and Aladin and just letting the tears roll on down, as one daughter looks at me like I’ve totally lost the plot and my teenager insists that “they have PROVEN that they could have BOTH fit on that door!” To be fair, I have always thought the same… BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT!!🤣

👀Random Extras

7 Gorgeous Meditations to Try This Week –

I Will not Apologise for How I Prioritise my Art –

8 Minutes to Feel Calm – Joyful with Chloe Markham – New discovery!

10 Unusual Ways to Use the Notebooks You Keep Buying –

Why “just do it” is the Worst Advice for Anxious ADHD Brains – Open Tabs Club

🎶Music

I always like to share a playlist with a few of the songs I’ve been enjoying each month, because why not. There aren’t very many this month and yes I have been deliberately playing my Whitney Houston records (and by records, I mean ACTUAL physical records) and either sobbing into a pillow or dancing around the room waving a half-drunk glass of wine around – Bridget Jones style! 😆

Oh Shit, The Work Stuff!

If you’ve listened to the voice note from me at the top of this newsletter, you’ll know what I’m on about. If you haven’t listened, basically I’m reaching out to tell people what I actually do (for paid work) and shamefully begging asking if people wouldn’t mind taking a little look and/or sharing with anyone who might need any of the services I offer.

Substack Services

1.82MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Editing Price List

111KB ∙ PDF file

Download

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Well, helloooooo beautiful people! It is the end of the month and therefore time for me to hit you with my Monthly Newsletter. I know, how is it the end of April already?! We are officially a third of the way through the year… it’ll be Christmas again before we know it! Sorry, too soon? 😆

April Has Been Kind of ‘Sucky’ for Me

I’m not gonna lie, this month (usually my favourite of the year) has kind of sucked!

This is for a number of reasons, of which I won’t dwell on for too long, as this particular newsletter is meant for happier things and purely for entertainment purposes. If you’re looking for more reflective, possibly sombre material, you can delve into my Personal Essay section. If you’re reading on the App, you can access it HERE.

🗞️News From My Life

The Sh*t Bits

A quick list of reasons for my ‘sucky’ month, just in case anyone is actually interested!

1. I’ve split up with Mark (the boyfriend) and he has moved out.🥺 It was a (kind of) mutual agreement and definitely the right decision, but it still sucks arse and has been enormously sad and difficult! 😢 But I’m finding strength and support from family, friends and some of the wonderful communities I’m a part of here on Substack.🧡

2. My car exhaust nearly fell off – leaving me with no car for FIVE days! Obviously this gave me fresh gratitude for said car and I was extremely thankful that it didn’t need a whole new exhaust! They managed to somehow ‘weld’ it back to safety, only setting me back a “mere” £250.😫 The timing of it was really shit though – why do these things always happen when you’re going through some kind of personal crisis?! 🙄

3. My landlady has been toying with my (already delicate) emotions by deciding to serve me a Section 21 before the law change on 1^st May. Leaving me with a whole heap of anxiety I really don’t need… even though she has said we can stay (on a new contract without Mark on it), at the moment there is no new contract in place, so legally she could decide to turf us out after the current 8 week notice period. So I’m basically trusting her to honour the promise of a new contract. Again – mega shit timing! 😕

The Good Bits

Now for the less painful (joyful even) parts of my month. Again, just in case anyone actually gives a shit! 😉

1. I organised a little 3 day ‘writerly retreat’ for myself, close to my home and it was fucking fabulous! I booked a room in a cosy pub not far away and just relaxed, read, wrote and ate lovely food. It was LUSH!

You can read (and/or listen to) more about my mini self-made “retreat” here…

2. My new Podcast – ChatStack ‘Live’ is going really well and I am SO proud of myself for turning up week after week, no matter what state I’m in! You’ve all seen me without make up now, so how much worse could it get! My guests so far have included , , , , and .

🎥 You can find replays of all the episodes so far HERE or HERE (if on the App)

I’ve yet to book a guest for next week (5^th May) - oh, how I love leaving things to the last minute – nothing quite like the pressure/panic of a deadline! I can however reveal that on Tuesday 12^th May (at 1pm of-course) I’ll be interviewing the fabulous , in preparation for the launch of her first book! I’m super excited (and slightly nervous) to welcome Toni onto the podcast and very much look forward to hearing all about the book.💛

3. I’ve been enjoying the blue skies and spring flowers – It seems like a small thing, but I’ve been really appreciating the return of sunlight, blue skies, feeling warmth on my skin and the gorgeous array of flowers springing up everywhere.🌷☀️♥️

4. I taught my daughter to fly a kyte! – Again, quite a simple thing, but the look of sheer delight on her face when she got the hang of it, as she was staring up in awe at the colourful kite flapping in the wind, was pure joy! If only we could bottle these fleeting moments.🌈🥰☀️

In Other News

Hay Fever Season is Back - Horray!🙄

Are you, like me, a sufferer of hay fever? – Or a “Histamine Hostage” as describes it in her hilarious article – I am Allergic to Amsterdam – I’ve honestly never felt more seen!😆

If you’re a fellow sufferer and looking for tips on how to manage it, you might enjoy this little gem from the lovely – Hay Fever Season is Upon Us (and by us, I mean me)

My Personal Website

Yes, I’ve gone and bagged myself the domain evalydon.com - why not eh? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’ve been having some fun building it myself - did you know you can do this on Canva now?! If you enjoy creating on Canva, give it a try, you’ll LOVE it! I wanted one place to ‘house’ (or hold links to) the many strings to my bow... Writing (of-course), Photography, Art, Travel, etc. It’s still under construction, but I thought why not just publish what I’ve done so far. I’m really proud of it - Take a look and let me know what you think! Be nice! 🫣

⭐️Recommendations

🎬 Film

“And Mrs.” – Trailor – A heart-warming British romcom that might touch you more than you think it will. With some really rather beautiful acting from the wonderful (and hilarious) Aisling Bea and a knockout supporting cast. If you fancy a little laugh and perhaps a cry too, then this is the light, but gently life-affirming movie for you.

🎬 Film

“Yesterday” – Trailor – A 2019 Rom Com, directed by Danny Boyle and written by Richard Curtis. I forgot how much I loved this film the first time round and watching it again did not disappoint! Clever, funny and extremely “British”. With top notch performances from Himesh Patel, Lily James and (my personal favourite) Joel Fry. Complete with guest appearances from Ed Sheeran and James Cordon, no less. Perfect feel-good stuff!

📺 TV

“Love on the Spectrum” – Season 4 Trailor - A new series of the funny (for obvious reasons… yes, I’m going straight to hell… and I’ll see you there!😉) docudrama. But also beautiful and very sensitively put together. Following the journey of those on the spectrum, setting out to find love. An eye-opening and truly touching documentation of the trials and tribulations of knowing you’re different, needing a lot of support from family and friends, but having the same desires for love and connection that we all experience.♥️

🧡On Substack

At Last a Purpose to my Existence by Georgina Bruce

The UK Is Falling Out of Love With Social Media by Daisy Buchanan – A brilliant article about being visible online, feeling exposed and vulnerable and cringing hard when anyone refers to our social media posts as ‘content’. I love how honest (and funny) Daisy is in this article and so much of the way she feels about this topic really resonates with me.

Yes, Daisy… I for one am hopeful that this is the direction we’re heading in.☺️

I’m Fine! - The Space Between What we Say and What we Feel by Tracey Fenner – You know when you read something that just resonates so much you have to share it? That’s how I feel about this article.

👀 New Discovery

Still Becoming Magazine - - Stop Being the Good Girl. You’re Over 40 – A great article about turning 40 being “the beginning of honesty” and actually asking ourselves, ‘what do WE want?’. How small changes can help us feel more present and intentional about the things we do and letting those things be enough. Andi writes so women like her can come and feel something, be moved to take small actions and remind us we don’t need permission to go do our thing!

🎙️Podcasts

Full of notions – Daring to dream bigger than she was told she could – interviews Lynsey Hanratty and they discuss (among other things) how Lynsey has used Selina’s “Goodbye, Hello” journals (last few in stock - 40% off!) over many years to successfully turn her big dreams into reality. A really lovely chat and a welcome reminder to allow ourselves to have notions, gently push against the status quo and listen to that little voice that says, “This isn’t right for me.”

Need a little kick towards going after your dreams and the life you really want to live? This is the chat to listen to! Made even more enjoyable by Lynsey’s gorgeous Irish accent! 😉🇮🇪

Imperfectionist and the power of ‘dailyish’ habits – with Oliver Burkman as a guest on Rosamund Dean’s Podcast – Rosamund writes ‘Well Well Well’ on Substack (also a new discovery). This was a great (not too long) listen. Among other things, Oliver (who’s writing and insights I love!) talks about how to apply some of the tools from his fabulous book, “Meditation for Mortals” – which I read last year and also highly recommend.

🎵Music

That’s a Wrap!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to pondering some of the more important questions in life… (and also have a good cry into my pillow, because break ups are hard and I’ve been suppressing tears all good damn day!)😭

1. Why don’t bubbles get bubbly in an already run bath?

2. Why does my chin disappear the minute anyone wants to take a photo?

3. When we trip on a tiny step or an uneven piece of ground, why do we look back scowling at it whilst muttering to ourselves, “who put that there?!”🤣

Also – Does anyone else have a table that gets like this?

Thanks so much for reading! ♥️

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Dear Readers, So, my month started extremely badly… with a bloody awful hair cut!! Oh no, poor me, first world problems, bla bla bla…. I know… BUT, this was SO BAD!! Honestly, THE worst hair cut ever! Why can’t hairdressers cut hair?! 😤🙄

It was FAR too short… it was roughly around “tit length” before hand and I said, “go for it” whilst pointing to (quite a bit) BELOW my shoulders… but somehow she cut it TO my shoulders (ok, maybe just resting on them, but definitely way more than we had agreed).

What could I do? I couldn’t say, “Oh wooops, that’s far too short, could you just get some off the floor and glue it back on please.” I was fucked! I had to accept it and hope that she would do a nice job layering it, like I had asked her to.

Nope! She couldn’t do that… I still don’t understand why (I was pretty vocal and clear about explaining how I wanted the style to be) but she did it all one length! Great, I was a triangle!!

After explaining (nicely and calmly – with perhaps a tiny hint of passive aggressiveness) that I’d really rather not leave there looking like a mix between a triangle and an 8-year-old girl. I tried saying things like “Could we perhaps thin out the bottom a bit” (knowing very well that yes “we” could, as I’ve had that done loads of times) and “chop into it, make it wispy” – you know, all the usual hairdresser chat.

She then proceeded to vaguely snip at the ends a bit and a few extra strands of hair floated away from my head, barely visible to the naked eye. Which resulted in me giving up, saying something like, “Ok, lovely that’s better, thank you” before being robbed blind and going home and thinning it out myself! Never buy your own thinning scissors ladies, it’s very dangerous and very bad for your hair – trust me!

You are reading ‘The Feeling of Life’ and this is the Monthly Newsletter - Containing stories/updates from my life and what I’ve been reading, watching and listening to. I share recommendations (with links) and new discoveries that might interest you. If you’d like to receive this newsletter directly, hit the subscribe button below. Thanks!

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In Other News

Out With The Old

I got some new trainers after realising that I’d had my current pair for a few years and, well… the state of them compared to the new ones is just embarrassing! See for yourselves… 🫣😳

I got the new ones from Vinted, which I absolutely love and could easily get hooked on, so I try not to go on it much. But it’s so great for getting new and/or branded stuff for (often) half the price! Recycling at it’s best 🌍♥️

Farting Dog in Theatre

Yes, there was indeed an (assistance) dog in the Brighton Dome, sitting by the feet of the person right next to me and it kept dropping the most foul, eggy, potent little stink bombs ALL night! I’m assuming it was the dog anyway! 🤭

We were there to see Aisling Bea, who is fast becoming one of my favourite comedians. I just love her blunt and silly humour and her story telling is just fabulous! Her gorgeous Irish accent really tops it all off perfectly.

Tattoo Glow Up

I got my tattoo a little “upgrade” and got some fine lines and detail added by an awesome tattooist, who lives near me. The original tattoo was done in Thailand in November last year…

“We opted for the “traditional” Thai tattooing method, which involves the (extremely impressive and talented) art of using a thin stick of bamboo with a teeny tiny “dagger” on the end of it and “stabbing” the ink into your victim client’s skin hundreds (probably thousands) of times! Fun!” 😭

Anyway, I’m now extremely happy with the extra detail and thankfully it didn’t hurt nearly as much this time around. Phew!

Mouse in Dip

Bit of a strange one, but I opened up one of my favourite dips recently and was horrified to see there was a teeny tiny MOUSE sitting in it! How it got there I have no idea, but it was fine… he was quite cute really… I just ate around the little fella.😋

And Finally - New Drugs

Yup… more medication for me… fantastic! 🙄

Although this one is really rather lovely - she says as she feels increasingly “floaty” whilst heavily medicated but staying up late to finish this Newsletter - at the last fucking minute… again!! 🤦🏽‍♀️

Basically, for those who don’t know, I have a fuck tonne of medical issues. The latest of which is a herniated disk in my neck - which I got from doing a big sneeze back in March last year… I kid you not!

Anyway, it’s caused all manner of problems, one of which being “Cervicogenic headaches with migrainous features” which are real pain in the… well, neck! But also the head and FACE, which really sucks arse!

If you like knowing about medical stuff, you can find out more HERE.

So, due to it being a year since the ‘fatal’ sneeze and everything taking so flipping long to deal with (love the NHS, but it is in dire need of some serious shit-hot management - but let’s not get into that right now), I have developed some neurological issues, due to the entrapment of certain nerves that start up in the neck area.

Again, for anyone interested… here is what it said in my latest doctor’s letter. If you want to work out what the fuck any of it actually means, please be my guest… and let me know too will you! 😉😆

“The electromyography showed left-sided chronic neurogenic abnormalities of mild to moderate severity affecting C6/C7 and C5/C6 in a myotomal pattern, indicating the changes are arising from the nerve roots in the neck.

She has ongoing symptoms consistent with cervical radiculopathy affecting the C5/C6 and C6/C7 nerve roots, as evidenced by the electromyography findings showing chronic neurogenic changes in a myotomal distribution.”

⭐️Recommendations

Onto the recommendations… This will be a bit of a shorter one this month, due to the medication mentioned above and the fact that it’s 12:30am… and my fucking parents are visiting tomorrow! 🙄

Substack Articles

1. You Should Get to Know: Matrescence by Mothershould

2. The Unseen Arithmetic of Chronic Illness by Emily Forbes

3. I’ve got a Right Wobble Going On Over Here by Emma Englefield

4. On Being Married to Mr Incredible by Emma Simpson

New Discoveries 👀

It Only Took 35 Years by Wendy Hannah of - A great article about memories tarnished by trauma and finally feeling able to remember the good times without immediately revisiting the trauma.❤️‍🩹

Unhinged Holiday Stories – I loved this article by The Hopeful Hun

I’ve not listened to a lot this month… perhaps because I’ve been so busy producing my OWN Podcast - ChatStack ‘Live’!!! 🎉💬🤗

“The podcast with honest conversations, zero editing and plenty of tangents. Brought to you through the powers of Substack ‘Live’ every Tuesday at 1pm.

Featuring a variety of guest authors, writers, creatives, business owners and all-round lovely people. With minimal planning and a very loose structure, nothing is considered “off topic”.

If you’ve not caught any of it yet, why not have a listen to last week’s episode, where I have a lovely, honest and fun chat with the fabulous 🥰

P.s. I had a hell of a job selecting a decent paused moment to publish as the thumbnail for this. Here a couple of the ones that didn’t make the cut, but are too funny not to share… (sorry Selina) 😆

Something Interesting 🤓

Check out “What Gives People Hope (AI) | Mark Schaefer” from You Are The Media - which by the way is a fab community if you live in the South of England.

Something Beautiful & Relaxing 😌

David Attenborough’s Life in Colour Series on BBC One - With THIS particular clip of poison dart frogs (the size of a fingernail) having a little fight, being a personal favourite. A great one to watch with the kids! 🥰

Something Funny 🤣

1. Last One Laughing - Watch the Trailor – Staring (among others) Romesh Ranganathan, Alan Carr, Diane Morgan (love her!) and the infamous Bob Mortimer! What’s not to love! 🤩

@primevideoaunzthey're better than i am ☠️ #LastOneLaughing #LastOneLaughingUK #FartPoem #AlanCarr #PhilomenaCunk #DianeMorgan

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2. Greg Davies is absolutely hilarious in his show “Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog”, which we happened to stumble on the other night - so good! 🤣

Some Music 🎶🎵

I’ve been enjoying quite a few new (to me anyway) songs lately, so I put some of my favourites on a playlist for anyone who might want to listen…

And, That’s a Wrap!

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this edition of my monthly newsletter. If you did, please do let me know by clicking on the little ♥️ at the bottom Thanks! 🙏

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Dear Readers, Yes, this ‘February’ Newsletter is arriving in your inboxes in March, which (according to my daughter) is “not good” - I can only apologise for this terrible mishap and hope and pray I won’t now be destined to go to hell! I’m so sorry and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me! 🙄 - Oh, hang on… that’s right… No One Gives a F*ck!!! 🤣

So, February’s a short month, eh?!

Suddenly we’ve officially arrived in Spring - Yipeeee! 🎉

As with the month, this Newsletter will be a little shorter than usual as I’m in a wee bit of a hurry… so let’s get straight to it!

🗞️News From My Life

There was Valentine’s Day, which was actually really nice and (due to having zero expectations) because we don’t get go out very often - we’ve got really good at making a night in cosy and fun. However, this year we DID manage to get out for dinner… TWICE in one week… woohooo! 🥳

Look at this pudding I had on one of the nights… It was ENORMOUS and insanely delicious!! Sticky Toffee Pudding Ice-cream Sunday!!! 😋 Yes, I ate ALL OF IT!! 🐷🤣

I particularly enjoyed all the little gifts Mark got me - and flowers too (well done babe 😉) - but the card was the real show-stopper…

Aw, bless him… so hopeful! 🤣

Talking of cards… I was delighted to receive my Letter From The Wild from as part of her ‘Snail Mail Club’ trial - It was SO lovely receiving an “actual” letter (with no obligation to write one back) and the handmade artwork Kelly included with the letter was a real treat. Thank you Kelly! ♥️

“Analogue” Life

Yup, I’m going there… I know ‘analogue’ is the buzz word for 2026 and I get the sentiment behind it, but I’m not really one for jumping on the band wagon with trends…

Although, with this one I would argue that I’m way ahead of the game, seeing as I removed all my social media accounts (apart from Substack, obviously - if you count that as social media - which I guess it is, but I still refuse to download the app onto my phone… I’d never get anything else done! 🤣).

Anyway… if you ARE embracing the new ‘trend’ this year and love the idea of receiving/writing actual letters, there are a couple of lovely places you can that.

1. From Me To You Letters is a great charity set up in 2017 by (unlikely) friends Brian and Alison - following the interest they received after sharing their story on BBC Radio 4. The story of Brian’s cancer diagnosis in 2010 and how Alison’s letters became key part of his recovery, is so heartwarming and a lovely reminder that a simple gesture can mean so much more to a person than you might think.

You can write (anonymously if you like) to a cancer patient (never the same one twice) and help brighten their day or maybe even leave them feeling less alone. There’s lots of guidance and ideas for what you could write on the website and Alison is really lovely - we chatted on zoom for a bit - and is happy to help! 🤗

Find Out More Here

2. has started a Pen Pal Club over at her With Ease publication here on Substack. Paid subscribers (£6 p/m) can join the club and be paired up with someone else to write to, and you can write to each other as little or as often as you like.

If you don’t fancy the pen pal thing (I decided to wait a bit to join, as I have a few personal (and health) things to deal with at the moment and didn’t want to let anyone down)… However, I would recommend joining Tanya’s membership anyway…

…Every Thursday at 1pm, we get together for 45 mins and Tanya gives us a variety of journal prompts and sentence stems. There isn’t time to over think it, so you end up writing what first comes into your head, and it can be very interesting (sometimes surprising) what emerges.

I love that it’s short and snappy and look forward to the sessions every week. I also know that if I’m not feeling great, I can still show up with my camera off and with no pressure to say anything at all. I always feel better afterwards. 🥰

Here is a little something that came out of last week’s session…

Process

“Trust the process, that’s what they say isn’t it? I do trust it, I guess… but I didn’t think it would take quite so long! But that’s the problem isn’t it… the mistake we make… there is no end point. Life IS the process and the end point is death. To know this, is it freeing or depressing?”

In Other News

One glorious Saturday, whilst hanging out in the living room with the rugby left on in the background… THIS glorious moment happened… Watch for the “cracking reveal” as the men in pink are mid-scrum 🫣😆

And… in case you missed it (or you’re unable to watch the video just now)…

Lovely stuff! 🤣 Now onto this month’s recommendations…

⭐️Recommendations

📚Book - ‘Glimmers’

I’m currently listening to this on audio, which is lovely and soothing because it is read by the authors themselves and they have nice gentle, calming voices.

A book with straight forward guidance on the nervous system, how it works and why it’s important to manage it well. With plenty of practical tips and simple strategies to help you on your way.

You can watch recent interview with and Katia Narain…

💛 The Shelf Help Clubhouse

[REPLAY] Nadia Narain & Katia Narain Phillips on embracing Glimmers and caring for our Selves and our nervous systems

Hello everybody…

Listen now

4 months ago · 16 likes · Toni Jones, katia phillips, and Nadia Narain

💻 Substack Articles

Bringing Back The Best Elements of 1980’s Parenting by

Lauren Bravo has Book Reccs for You – My forever favourite takes on the author questionnaire by

12 Reasons Why February is Actually Awesome by

That Purple Lid by – This Life 💜

👀 New Discovery

The Therapy Room - written by - with this particular article resonating strongly for me. It’s basically what I’m in the process of trying to do at the moment… get back in touch with signs and signals of my body and intuition.

The Forgotten Art of Interoception

📺 TV - ‘The Big C’

I’ve totally fallen in love with Laura Linney’s character - in this fabulously dark comedy about a woman who has coasted through to midlife, but never really lived. Her cancer diagnosis sees her realising this fact and soon has her doing something about it in some of the most marvelous, funny and heartfelt ways.

Laura Linney’s performance is simply outstanding and the show has nailed the delicate balance between light and shade throughout, with plenty of humour at just the right moments.

Phyllis Somerville adds a delightful touch to the dynamics of the show, with her stand out performance as the grumpy old lady across the street. Who of-course becomes an integral part of this beautiful, life affirming story. A must watch!

🎙️Podcast - ‘The Romesh Ranganathan Show’

Trust me… just pick any episode and dive in - shear brilliance! 👌😆

And, That’s a Wrap!

That’s all folks for this month, I hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of the Monthly Newsletter - it’s a bit of a shit name isn’t it? ‘Monthly Newsletter’ - Boooooring!! 🥱😆 Fuck it, let’s do a quick poll - why not eh?!

Thank you for reading “The Feeling of Life”. ♥️

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Buy Me a Pen 🖊️

How’s everyone doing now that we’re fast approaching the end of the longest month of the year, with its 139 days?! 😉

Slow & Steady

I’ve really been embracing this ‘slowly does it’ thing and although slightly uncomfortable (and itchy) at first, on the whole it’s been great! So, I decided to make it my “mantra” for the year! I’ve been thinking about a word for the year too, but it seems to keep changing. So I’m satisfied with my mantra for now.

“Slow & Steady” – Inspired by the wonderful and her lovely membership at Generosity of Spirit. Check it out, if you haven’t already… Here’s a little ‘label/card’ thingy that I made as a reminder to myself… and well, because… Canva addict! 😆

You can click on it to go to Emily’s Substack.

🗞️ News From My Life

Breast News!

For those who might not know already, I found a lump in my breast a couple of weeks before Christmas, which I decided could wait until the new year to be checked by a doctor. With Christmas being an already busy and stressful time, I merrily stuck my head in the sand until we were a week or so into January.

On the doctor’s examination it was confirmed that there was a “cause for concern” and he made an urgent referral to the local breast clinic. I was seen in the clinic the following week – amazing, I know! There are very “hot” on breast health here in the UK at the moment apparently, so I was very lucky to be seen so quickly.

The mammogram (which I have to say, wasn’t as painful as I thought it might be) confirmed “structural changes” (whatever that means) and a mass of 5cm in my left breast. The doctor – who was an absolute dick by the way – a woman, no less... then carried out a further exam and poked and prodded my boob (obviously), chest, armpit and surrounding areas.

During her prodding frenzy and whilst I was (understandably) anxious and nervous about the fact that I have a (not that small, potentially cancerous) lump in my tit, and I know that she is feeling for further lumps that could indicate cancer in other areas, she casually says (and I shit you not), “you’ve got something on your arm”.

Oh fuck, she’s found another lump… oh my god it’s cancer, I’m going to die!!!!!

“Have I, oh that can’t be good”, I say as I look at her whilst fighting back the tears. “Oh… no… I was talking about that” – the fucking moron was pointing at the tattoo on my other wrist!

For f*ck’s sake woman… think!!! 🙄

Anyway, with no other lumps actually found (phew!) she then drew a circle around where we established the lump was and sent me off for an ultrasound. The rather long and intense ultrasound revealed “nothing I’m overly concerned about” and back to doctor-dick I went! Then, after all that, and with a half-hearted attempt at (barely) an explanation.

“There is a lump, but we think it’s “glandular”, so we’ll get you back in 6 weeks to take another look and perhaps take a biopsy, just to be sure”. Or something to that effect. “Right, thank you doctor” and with that, we (me and Mark, not me and my tit – although my tit did come with us of-course) headed to the door – all the while fighting back the urge to say “all the breast” on the way out! 😆

I Bought A Diary

I bought a diary for 2026, something I’ve not done in many years. I couldn’t resist the ridiculously cute dachshunds (yes, I had to google how to spell that!) and gorgeous pastel colours on the front cover – I know, what a sucker!

Anyway, I was reminded the other day that it might be nice to actually write in the damn thing, so I did. I decided to be ok with the fact that my first entry was written on Tuesday 20^th January. Here it is…

Yes, I know… years! I contemplated this and asked myself (for quite a while after writing it), “is that really true?” And, after many hours of letting that question sit and percolate, I concluded (rather sadly) that, yes that was indeed true.

I wonder, when was the last time YOU gave yourself time and space like this? If it’s been more than a few weeks, months (or even years, like me)… It’s time.💛

Reflecting & Planning for 2026

With all this lovely space and time I’ve allowed myself, I’ve done plenty of reflecting and planning for the year ahead. With the help of some brilliant prompts and a couple of workshops, provided by some of the writers/coaches I’ve come to know and love here on Substack… I’ve gained a LOT of insight into the year gone by and how I want to progress into this year.

Ironic that my word for last year was “clarity”, most of which has come in the first few weeks of THIS year. Still, better late than never! 😳

Alongside noting my highlights and achievements from the past year (which I’ve realised always tends to be more than I thought), I found it extremely helpful to pin-point the moments/days/times where I felt my best... My favourite places to spend time in, what really mattered to me throughout the year and what I want more of in the year ahead. And my favourite question (of-course) was…

“How do you want to FEEL in the coming year?”

Are there any from that list that jump out at you? Let me know in the comments, I would love to hear.💬

If you’d like to read more about my recent reflections you can do that here…

In Other News

Hearing Loss

My hearing is most definitely on the decline - confirmed to me for many reasons recently, but not least by this little gem...

I was talking to Mark in the kitchen and started to wonder off into the living room mid-chat (as you do) and - forgetting that this would take me ‘out of range’ - said, “hang on, I’ll come back”. To which he innocently replied, “You’ll come back”. But… I heard… “You cunt bag!”

Which was (I thought) hilarious for two reasons:

1. That’s where my head immediately went when clarity was unavailable.

2. That I didn’t question why on earth he would be calling me a cunt bag! 🤣

Casually Insulting The Ex-Husband

It’s been pointed out to me recently, rather astutely by my fabulously observant boyfriend, that I have been inadvertently and subtly dropping mild insults at my ex-husband every Saturday evening when he drops the kids home.

It would seem I was blissfully unaware of these casual insults falling out of my gob at the exact same time every week. Don’t worry, they are never quite the same and there are quite a variety to speak of - which I’m not (not) proud of to be fair. 😉

Here are a few for your enjoyment:

• “Hi, you’re looking a bit pale, everything ok?”

• “Is Liz (new wife) feeding you alright? You’re looking very thin.” (nice - insult the wife too - two for one!)

• “Wow, your hair’s getting long, you can really notice the greys now.”

• “I suppose you really need a hat in this cold weather now that your hair is thinning out.” - only repeating what the girls have told me! 😇😆

• On returning from his holiday - “Wow, too hot for you in the sun was it… where’s your tan… did you even go away?!”

✍ Writing Life News

I was quite proud of myself for being brave and getting a few submissions out there (into the ether) in December and early Jan. It’s horrible… isn’t it horrible? I feel so vulnerable and exposed putting my stuff out but also feel that it is highly unlikely to get seen, let alone be chosen. However, if I don’t start getting brave and submitting my work, it is 100% likely not to be seen! So, you know… got to go for it, right?!

• Rejections to date: 5

• Submissions awaiting responses: 5

• Writing Submitted: Mini-Memoir, 2 Poems & 2 Picture Books

• Picture Book Mentorship Application: 1

Fingers crossed – You never know right!

⭐️ Recommendations

As these newsletters tend to be quite long and because I’m embracing the “Slow & Steady” approach this year, I’ve decided to reduce the amount I share here. So instead of providing another list that you may feel pressured to “get through” (as I do with lists), I’ll focus on around one to three things for each category.

Less is more… quality not quantity… bla bla bla! Here goes…

I’ve been really enjoying “Younger” on Netflix - recommended by in her latest ‘Slow Sunday Scroll Picks’ and she was bang on! It’s fabulous! It’s wonderful escapism and made all the more enjoyable by the fact that you get to feast your eyes on this guy… I know right… YUM!! 🤤

I really enjoyed this great chat between the lovely of The Shelf Help Clubhouse and - Addiction Expert and Author of The Kindness Method here on Substack. Also the title of her first book, which comes highly recommended.

As does (her third) book - How Diets Make Us Fat - Here she is discussing the book, along with spilling the beans on behind-the-scenes with the Diary of a CEO man himself, Steven Bartlett and THIS incredible interview with Davina McCall!!

💛 The Shelf Help Clubhouse

[REPLAY] Shahroo Izadi on How Diets Make Us Fat (and making changes that last)

Hello everybody…

Listen now

5 months ago · 4 likes · 1 comment · Toni Jones

I also loved listening to Fearne Cotton and Joanna Page chatting on the Happy Place Podcast about all things motherhood and juggling a career alongside it. Joanna just cracks me up with some of the stuff she comes out with and you can tell Fearne and her are genuinely enjoying hanging out together. Just LUSH! 💛

📖 Book

‘Wintering’ by Katherine May

I’ve just finished reading this gorgeous book, which complimented my slow January perfectly. Katherine has a beautiful way of pulling you into her brilliantly descriptive narrative. She balances the book perfectly, with the acknowledgement of the hardships of winter and stories of joy, hope and wonder. A truly wonderful journey of empathy, acceptance, hope and joy. I highly recommend!

Articles

🧠 Interesting

• The vicious truth of self-care for parents of SEND children by

• You Can Change Your Life. You Don’t Have To. But You Can by

🤣 For Laughs

• Why French Women Don’t Get Fat by

• 2025: A Personal Performance Review by

• The Only Resolution Worth Making by

👀 New Discoveries

• ‘Smotherhood’ by – When every cup is the wrong cup

• ‘The Art of Feeling it All’ by – I’m scared of being called Lazy

• ‘Queen of Oversharing’ by – A Life Unfulfilled

❤️‍🩹 FREE Wellbeing Resources

• Tiny Ways I Weave Yoga Imperfectly Into My Day by

• Growing Roots: New Year Journalling for 2026 by

• These are a few of my favourite things – by

And That’s a Wrap!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the ‘new-style’ recommendations section this month - do let me know in the comments if you have a sec.👍

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Buy Me a Pen 🖊️

Dear Friends, How’s everyone holding up during this strange period between Christmas and New Year? Where the names of the days have long been forgotten and if you’re anything like me, you’ve had a constant battle in your head between this:

“This is the bit of the year where you are SUPPOSED to rest/do nothing/eat loads/binge watch TV, etc… it’s ok… you ARE allowed - Embrace it and enjoy it!”

and this:

“You lazy cow… how dare you sit around on your arse doing fuck all - you useless piece of shit! You’re a slob and a waste of space.” - Ouch!

Is anyone else’s brain as mean to them as mine is? I am aware not everyone has an internal dialogue, but if you do, you likely know where I’m coming from.

Anyway, I’ve been soothing myself with ’s Calm Christmas Podcast and her gorgeous Winter Writing Sanctuary (there’s still time to join - it’s FREE), which has at least made me feel more like I’m doing something “worthwhile”. 🙄

🗞️News From My (riveting) Life

I’m currently huddled in the corner of my favourite pub, where I’ve set myself up for the afternoon, because I needed to get the fuck out of the house I’ve temporarily run away from home, to get some space and soak up the joy of being in a new environment. Yipeee!

A Brief Write-Up about ‘WRITE UP’

So, WRITE UP Christmas Edition happened on Sat 13th December, where I was one of eight writers chosen to read/perform a piece of our own writing… and get paid to do so! I know! 😮

This wonderfully supportive and inspiring event was created by the lovely and brought together beautifully with the help and support of , and many others.

I was so honoured to be reading my poem - ‘Doorway Domes’ (originally called ‘Stay Away from the corners’ alongside other writers such as , , and … just to name a few.

It was an absolute joy to catch up with some familiar faces - met along the way on my Substack journey (of nearly two years now) - such as and - Who’s Podcast I’ve subsequently listened to and enjoyed very much… this episode in particular:

The Her Handmade Hustle Substack

The Night We Drank Rum and Solved Small Business Problems

I was gonna save this podcast episode for my Christmas special but since it's already December, I'm throwing it out there a couple of weeks earlier than planned. And I have a feeling I’m gonna regret it…

Listen now

7 months ago · 1 like · Joanne Pearce

And…

I now have a bit of a girl crush on the gorgeous - who is giving off serious Kate Winslet vibes in these photos… Don’t worry Jessica, I’m not stalking you - honest! 😆

‘Doorway Domes’ - My Poem

I chose to submit this particular poem to WRITE UP, as I believed it could potentially evoke strong feelings from the audience and a deep connection to the words and meaning behind them. I also felt it was a great fit for a performance, as it is a piece that works best in the spoken word.

‘Doorway Domes’ was inspired by the thoughts I often have for those who have found themselves to be homeless, particularly at this time of year. It invites the audience to consider the fine line between the safety of home and the vulnerability experienced on the streets.

Note: I’ve shared my poem below for paid (and comped) subscribers to read. 💛

In Other News

Hmmm, what else… nothing of much interest to be honest… a few doctor/hospital appointments, my daughter’s 16th birthday (which was actually really chilled and lovely) and then just the usual stress before Christmas…

Like when your child’s school suddenly decides to send you five million emails a day and they need a different “donation”, “costume”, “themed” something-or-other every FUCKING DAY… in the BUSIEST MONTH OF THE SODDING YEAR!!

I swear they do it on purpose to try and break us! 🤯

A Technological Nightmare

I’ve been tinkering about with a few of the fun Substack settings and what not. Changing the colours, banners and tidying things up a bit to make it more inviting/accessible… Basically just avoiding doing anything actually worthwhile towards my writing career… like sending off my children’s poem to Tyger Tyger Magazine - whose deadline for submissions is tomorrow!

There was a brief moment of shear panic a few weeks ago, when I thought I’d lost upwards of 33,000 photos, when I decided to back them all up to One Drive. I think it was following the short “Cloud Outage” experienced here in England, which subsequently saw me backing EVERYTHING up to a physical hard drive… just in case. 😬

There was also a very frustrating WHOLE DAY of trying to access my (Squarespace) Website and manage to amend the “phone version” of the site, which I realised was all messed up and looked a complete shambles - Embarrassing!

Oh well, all fixed now. Phew! 👍

Have a "Nose" at my Website

Houdini Mail

Like a lot of people, I do a fair bit of my Christmas shopping online. Anyway, in December our house starts to resemble a sorting office and it’s hard to keep track of all the various packages.

We know things can go missing and parcels end up in strange places… including the “safe place” (i.e. the front doorstep) that you never specified/gave permission for.

However, even I’ve never experienced this one before… a small parcel, wrapped in an official “royal mail” plastic cover - Ah, it’s been raining… they must have been protecting it from getting wet. No, no… it had the following message:

Oh, what condition… oh, the parcel is a bit damaged/ripped…

Ok, let’s check shall we…

EMPTY!! ABSOLUTELY ZERO CONTENTS! 🤣

Moving on…

Naked Dating - That’s Fun!

I mean I haven’t tried it personally, but has anyone seen the new dating show… they are literally ALL TOTALLY NAKED - All of them! And… weirder than that though… NOBODY MENTIONS IT!!!

Ok, perhaps they’ve got used to walking around stark-bollock naked with everything hanging/swinging about, but WE HAVEN’T! There are so many questions…

1. Why are they all so fit… and tanned?

2. More importantly… where is all the body hair?! 🕵🏻‍♀️

3. Where are the ‘real’ bodies? I guess we don’t want to put anyone off their dinner - Although the only thing putting me off, was when the men sat in the “diary room” with their bollocks squished up between their legs in that way that makes them go all shiny and veiny! Yuk! 🤢🤣

Anyway, worth a watch I recon - particularly enjoyable for us bisexual fence-dwellers. 😉

And with that… moving swiftly onto my other recommendations of the month…

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Recommendations

🤓Great Reads

• I Haven’t Been Writing – Permission – Ingrid Fernandez

• Conversations as a Probation Officer (part 2) – The Flagging Dad

• Mummy, Where Are My Glasses – Baby Brain

• I bought a Pizza Oven and Opened a Portal to Hell – Pandora’s Box of Shit

• Parents Have Feelings Too by Melinda Wenner Moyer

• Chronic Anxiety is Anxiety In Disguise by Dr. Amber Writes

• Gratitude in Hard Times by Kate Harvey

• How I Built a Writing Practice Rooted in Slow & Gentle Living by Emily Male

• Are All Emotions Valid by Dr. Amber Writes

• The Loneliness of Being the Perfect Parent by Kathryn Barbash

🎙️Great Podcasts

• Letting Your Life Catch Up with You – The Soft Power of Patience with Ruth Cooper-Dickson

• Sarah Raad on Identity Shifts, Soft Rebellions and Starting Over – with Lisa Bolin

• Why Do We Write Memoir? (with Elizabeth Gilbert) – Emma Gannon

• The Cost of Being Multipassionate – The Everything Podcast

• The Night We Drank Rum and Solved Small Business Problems – Joanne Pearce

• Awaken Your Life: Gift yourself a tiny moment to make 2026 your year – From Inside The Hive

⭐️Great Resources

Note: Also shared in my recent Christmas “Gifticle” Post

• Letters from V.V – Monthly Mix - Playlists 🎶🎵

• Yoga Nidra Network – FREE Yoga Nidra Library

• Moving house? Order used cardboard boxes for a fraction of the cost! – www.reuseabox.co.uk

• FREE - Tonnes of FAB Guides, Advice & Help for Young People and for Parents – www.youngminds.org.uk

• Parenting Advice from Child Mental Health Experts – www.parentingsmart.place2be.org.uk

• FREE Recorded Webinars (about 15 mins each) – Practical tips for parents – www.anitacleare.co.uk

• Positive Parenting Project – Thinking Parenting Blog

✨ A Special Mention ✨

I couldn’t finish this month’s Newsletter without mentioning the lovely and her great Substack Publication (Un)Learning…

I was lucky enough to bag a free 45 minute taster session, which introduced the FLIP method and helped me to find so much clarity on something I’d been feeling stuck on for a LONG time!

I really enjoyed our session and felt so comfortable and relaxed to talk openly straight away. I was amazed at how much we managed to cover in such a short session, but it wasn’t overwhelming… Lee just knew exactly how to get straight to the “blockage”.

Amazing - I highly recommend considering Lee, if you’re thinking of trying out some life coaching in the new year.

Visit Lee's Substack

Sunday Skies - Lee's Website

‘The Feeling of Life’ Playlist 🎶

And That’s a Wrap!

Ok, that’s all folks… see you next time… and don’t forget New Year’s Resolutions are SH*T and never work! Just assume you are already doing enough and you are just fine the way that you are. 💛

If you need a clearer reminder and fancy a giggle, there’s always my “famous” (I wish) Article - Originally published in January 2024, but still packs a punch… even if I do say so myself! 😉

P.s. If at any time you just fancy some light reading and perhaps a laugh or two, you can find all my potentially humorous posts in a new handy category I’ve named “May Cause Laughter” - Enjoy!

Until Next Time,

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‘Doorway Domes’ by Eva Lydon

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Dear Gorgeous Friends, How the devil are you all? I’ve recently returned from my trip to Thailand, which I may have mentioned once or twice! I can literally ‘feel’ the eye rolls! 🙄😆

What a bump back down to earth though! Not the plane landing, that was actually very smooth as it happens… does anyone else find it incredible that we now regularly get on these HUGE chunks of metal, shoot off into the sky like a rocket and hurtle around the globe at a ‘mere’ 700 mph and call it NORMAL!! WTF?! 🫣🤣

No, the bump down to earth of which I speak is the fucking cold weather… damp, dismal and freezing! And… the stark reminder (as we landed and the plane began to blast out merry seasonal Bublé tunes) that it is in fact nearly SODDING CHRISTMAS!! Aaaaaah!! 🤯

Anyway, here we are and it’s great to be back in so many ways of-course… Apart from the chapped skin, dry lips (face ones only, luckily 😉), lack of sun and the return of muscle tension, clenched teeth, stress and overwhelm… Oh joy! 😆

🗞️News From My Life

Well, there was Thailand, did I mention?

If you’re not rolling your eyes and would like to know more about my epic trip, you can read the first edition of my series I’ve (cleverly) called “Thai Diaries” – Original, ha 😄

New Tattoo

Yes, I did the unthinkable (sorry mum) and got a tattoo abroad!! 😲 It’s ok, I’m fine… it didn’t get infected and I haven’t died of sepsis, despite the horror stories one used to hear about these sorts of things… hence my mum’s concern.

It did however HURT LIKE HELL!!

Now, this is not my first rodeo… as the proud owner of 8 other tattoos (9 if you count the one that was covered up – it’s a long story) and I’m of-course well aware that tattoos are definitely NOT “licked on by kittens”…

However, I’ve concluded that the reasons for the severe unbearable pain are twofold…

One: We opted for the “traditional” Thai tattooing method, which involves the (extremely impressive and talented) art of using a thin stick of bamboo with a teeny tiny “dagger” on the end of it and “stabbing” the ink into your victim client’s skin hundreds (probably thousands) of times! Fun! 😭

Two: the poor unsuspecting area of my body that I chose (after thinking about it for all of five minutes - joking 😉) to get my “traditional” stabbing tattoo, has to be one of the most sensitive (visible) areas of the body you could opt for… the underneath of the forearm… Youchy!! I mean… childbirth, pah! This was another level of stingy pain… I was biting down on my hand FFS! 😳

But it’s done… I got through it… and I am of-course delighted with the results… I mean, what’s a mere two hours of unbearable-micro-stabbing-pain when the result is a life-long piece of gorgeous artwork, embedded in ink under your skin, right? No? Not for everyone… fair enough. 🤣

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My Phone Died

Yep, my already very tired phone finally gave up the ghost while we were away. To be fair, it’s been through a lot over the last (I think) FIVE years – that’s a long life for a phone these days right? 🤔

As our phones are now our cameras, it did get a fair bit of usage on the trip. But the final straw was when I put it in one of those waterproof pouch thingies and dunked it underwater to get an “arty” shot of the cliffs above us, whilst having a dip in the sea.

It then proceeded to have some kind of aneurism and went all kinds of crazy, before dying a slow and painful death! But not before capturing this (now my absolute favourite of the entire holiday) beautiful shot…

In Other News

Mum is doing great… infections are all cleared up and she’s no longer short of breath when sitting still… her heart seems to be ticking along nicely, her spirits have lifted and she’s back being her lovely, kind, yet feisty and opinionated self… we’re all delighted! 😉

Mark and I celebrated our 5-year Anniversary… FIVE years! How did that happen.. well done babe! 😆 We had a quiet time celebrating at home (as my joints were sore) but a lovely time, nevertheless. I was a bit shit/delayed with card and pressies, but we got there in the end. ❤️

My youngest turned 10! Which makes me feel ancient! 👵🏻 My eldest is turning 16 just before Christmas and is busy applying to Colleges… Fuck me, how did THAT happen?! She’s absolutely smashing through her mocks and is doing so well, yay! 👍

My car FAILED it’s MOT yesterday – whoopsie! 😬 But luckily wasn’t a big thing, so didn’t cost the earth to fix… Phew! Aren’t cars so bloody expensive… but really fucking useful, so… 🤷🏻‍♀️

I had a lovely catch up with Laura of Laura Shakti Yoga – Laura has been helping me put together a wellbeing plan, incorporating some of her many wonderful skills as a Yoga and Breathwork Teacher. Laura is so lovely and has so much to offer and is now someone I’m proud to call my friend 🥰

Laura is offering a FREE Breath Workshop THIS Sunday 30^th November at 3pm and you can sign up HERE… I’ll be there and I’m sure many others from the fabulous Another Way Club on Substack, run by the brilliant 😍

Visit Laura's Website Here

I attended another wonderful Substack Meet Up – Curtesy of the FABULOUS and her beautifully organised and enriching experiences at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith (where I was born, funnily enough). A wonderful evening catching up with familiar faces and meeting some lovely new ones 😍

I’ve just booked my ticket for FREE Party in January – I’m a big fan of Claire’s wonderful work over on Sparkle on Substack and her unwavering support and generosity for her community (and beyond). The party should be great fun and a great way to kick start the year! 🤗

Get Your FREE Ticket Here

✍️Writing Life News

ONE: BIG NEWS! I’ve been chosen as one of the 8 writers who will read a piece of their writing at WRITE UP: Christmas Edition!! 🎉🤗⭐️

My Poem: “Doorway Domes” is one of my favourites and I’m so proud of it… especially now it’s been chosen! Of-course, I am now ever-so-slightly shitting myself about getting up in front of a big audience and reading aloud, but I feel confident I will be well looked after by Amy Beeson and her fantastic team. 🥰

There’s still time to Pledge Here… and/or GET Tickets Here!!

Whether you can be there or not, why not take this WONDERFUL opportunity to support an event built tirelessly by the fabulous celebrating the words of a diverse range of writers.

Bringing people together and highlighting the importance of giving new and emerging writers a platform to share their words and being paid for their work! 🥰

TWO: There’s nothing quite like a holiday and a digital detox to get the creative juices flowing. I’ve had a FANTASTIC idea for a children’s book… SERIES (no less) on the plane out to Thailand (did I mention I went to Thailand? 😉). Anyway, I had this (brilliant) epiphany whilst in the teeny tiny plane toilet – I KNOW!

I hurried back (don’t worry, I wiped) and frantically scribbled away my ideas in my notebook… Whilst Mark looked on, a little confused and ever so slightly nervous… that his ears (the left one in particular) might soon be on the receiving end of a bombardment of information. Ideas which slowly took form and developed excitedly throughout the holiday. Yay! 🎉

Children’s Picture Book Ideas

*Delivered to you directly as it was scribbled in my notebook, which I am well aware will need lots of refining before I pitch it to anyone*

Idea #1

“Poo has a problem… he is feeling ‘stuck’ and ‘sluggish’, but he has a long ‘journey’ ahead. Illustrations are from inside the body (think ‘Inside Out’). There’s something holding Poo back… what is he afraid of, anxious about? His ‘friends’ seem to slip right past him (intestines like a water slide).

What can he do? He meets ‘Relaxy Maxy’ (?) who shows him how to relax and ‘go with the flow’. The pair travel together… Poo is unsure, but he decides he doesn’t like feeling stuck, so he goes for it! Victory! He is free!”

Title: ‘The Poo Who Got Stuck’ – On feeling the fear, friendship, support, relaxing and letting go.

After writing down this first one, another idea swiftly followed and then they just kept coming…

Idea #2

“Poo gets left behind (dog poo) and feels ‘abandoned’… he doesn’t want to get squished by one of the scary giant shoes he’s heard rumours about (‘flatteners’?). He needs a kind human (child) to pick him up (safely) and get him “out of harm’s way”… but… be careful… “I’m dangerous to human’s bare skin” – lesson in safe poo collecting.

But… then the child gets ‘attached’ to Poo, but he knows he can’t keep him, he belongs outside and is a bit smelly… he also has to complete his “mission” of nurturing the soil. (Lesson on Poo’s important purpose). Can the child let him go? Will Poo get to complete his mission? What about Poo’s ‘friends’ who get put in the bin? They all end up back in the soil eventually… End result… beautiful new grass/flowers”

Title: ‘The Poo Who Got Left Behind’ – On attachments, letting go and trusting the process.

Other Possible Titles 💩

1. “The Poo Who Was Afraid of The Loo”

2. “The Poo Who Took a Wrong Turn”

3. “The Poo Who Got in a Twist”

4. “The Poo Who Hitched a Ride on The Shoe”

5. “The Poo Who Ran Away From The Zoo”

6. “The Poo Who Escaped From The Farm”

7. “The Poo Who Got Left Hanging” – The well-known poo bag hanging on the tree branch – Why?!

8. “The Poo Who Learnt To Swim” – The ‘floater’

9. “The Poo Who Made Friends With A Sock” – Dog ate a sock!

10. “The Poo Who Ran Away With The Wind” – The ‘wet fart’… or the better-known ‘shart’!! 🤣

The possibilities are endless!!! 🤓💩🎉

What do you think?! Please let me know in the comments👇

🤣Things That Have Made Me Laugh

There are many things that make me laugh, as I stumble haphazardly through my life. Mostly Mark is the one who has me in stitches most days, but occasionally I spot something random that really tickles me. So I thought it would be fun to share them with you here.😄

First, the ones that need no introduction…

Now for the ones my best friend randomly sends me… and always gets them SPOT ON! Love you Cara! ❤️

And finally… My daughter drew me a lovely picture with a welcome home message on it. However, as I climbed into bed later that night and the bedside lamp shone behind the paper – I suddenly saw something entirely different! 😳🍆🤣

🎨That’s a Bit ‘Sketchy’

So, the idea with this little section of the Newsletter is that I share any artistic endeavours with you… no matter how shit! 🫣

Lately I’ve been pissing about with using fine line and colouring pens together and it’s been a lot more fun than I thought it would be.

I’ve also been doing some drawing with my daughter (one of our favourite things to do together🥰) and she asked me to sketch a couple of the characters from her books.

Note: Dave the Pigeon (with book for reference)… AND… First person to reference the correct children’s book for the second picture in the comments, gets a little prize 🎁 Oooo, fun… GO! 😆

⭐️Recommendations

I haven’t got a huge number of recommendations for you this month, purely because I’ve spent the majority of the month off tech! However, there are a few I just HAD to mention…

🤓Great Reads

The 2025 Big Journal Gift Guide by

How I Built a Writing Practice Rooted in Slow & Gentle Living by

The Loneliness of Being the Perfect Parent by

When The Mask Falls Off by

Thing Worth Sharing by

Chronic Indecision Is Anxiety In Disguise by

The Myth of the ‘Big Breakthrough’ by

📚Books

‘Meditation for Mortals’ by Oliver Burkeman

‘Small Talk – 10 ADHD Lies and how we stop believing them’ by Richard & Roxanne Pink

🎙️Podcasts

Flucking Flourishing Podcast by
Sue Reed is Writing Her Way Back

The Hyphen by
Why Do We Write Memoir? (with Elizabeth Gilbert)

I Need to Finish This Before I Die by
WRITE UP Chat with Matt Taylor

Espresso With Coops by
Boundaries Aren’t Walls, They’re Invitations

🎶A Playlist Invitation

Here is a great little playlist I’m putting together and often listen to when I write this Newsletter 👍🎵🥰

You are invited to join the playlist and add any songs to it you wish to – I’ve not invited people to a Spotify Playlist before so I’m hoping the following link will take you to the right place! 👇❤️🤞

And, That’s a Wrap!

Thank you so much for reading 💛

Looking for more Newsletter Editions? Click HERE or HERE (if on App)

For more brilliance from me, subscribe - it’s free!
You can help me get more 👀 on my writing by sharing it.
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Share The Feeling Of Life

Buy Me a Pen 🖊️

This is my first newsletter since coming back from my summer break/mini midlife crisis and boy is it good to be back! It’s been a little while hasn’t it? Of-course I couldn’t help dipping in and out of reading on Substack, when my brain became less scrambled and would allow it. All the while being very careful not to get overwhelmed again. It’s been a tricky balancing act, but one I feel like I’ve got SO much better at over the last three months - wow, has it really been that long?! How have you all been?

SO Much Has Happened!!

I’m conscious that I don’t want this Newsletter to become too enormously long, but at the same time I’ve got so much to tell you! What I’ll do is leave a little directory here at the top and you can click on the bit of news that sounds most interesting to you… like a contents list of a very small book… Ooo, I love it! 👏

📋List Of Newsletter Content📋

🗞️News From My Life

1. My Burnout & How I Coped

2. Glastonbury & Hair Resembling Haystack

3. A Quick Round-Up of The Rest

4. Goodbye Summer

5. No More Social Media!!

🎨That’s a Bit Sketchy

Check out my latest attempt at drawing/sketching wildlife - or in this case - Birds! 🐦‍⬛

⭐️Recommendations

1. Great Books I’ve Read

2. Interesting Articles

3. My Current Favourite Podcasts

4. Writing & Wellbeing Resources

🎶A Member’s Spotify Playlist

• A playlist for us to build together (I’ve got us started)🤗

🗞️News From My Life

1. My Burnout & How I Coped

As you know, the thing that sparked this recent (very long) break from Substack / Writing back in June was that “lovely” thing we keep hearing about these days - “Burnout”!

I was exhausted, highly emotional, extremely reactive, totally overwhelmed and generally not a fun person to be around. I was snapping at the kids at the drop of a hat, absolutely everything felt like too much to cope with and I found myself not knowing where to begin… with anything!

I was unable to make decisions about even the smallest thing, I was buzzing around all over the place, but not actually getting anything done - I was broken - I needed to stop - So I hit PAUSE… on EVERYTHING!

Read More…

If you’d like to know more about my personal experience including details of The 6 Key Lessons that helped me on my journey to recovery, you can do that in the following post…

2. Glastonbury & Hair Resembling Haystack

Yep, I made it to Glastonbury, can you believe it!! It nearly killed me, but I did it! It cost me nearly a whole week in bed though. Was it worth it? I would say NO, not really… sorry I know I'm being negative about it, but I really should have known better… as a 46-year-old woman with chronic health issues… than to expect to be able to deal with the gruelling endurance exercise that is the most mental festival in Britain!

There were of-course some extremely fun and memorable moments that I will always look back on fondly… and… Mark was super happy that we got to go, as it was his first experience of a festival - Talk about jumping in at the deep end! I was happy because I managed to prove that in some lame way I've ‘still got it’… which I’m always keen to do, given the 10-year age gap! Yup, I have indeed nabbed myself a ‘toy boy’… god I hate that expression… but it does make me laugh… mostly because the ex-husband is now married to someone 10 years older than him.. Ha ha! 😆

Anyway… best bits… Lewis Capaldi was incredible, the atmosphere was electric and emotions were high… there were a lot of tears… it was pure magic to be there for his return to the stage, after his heart-breaking experience of Glastonbury 2023.

Prodigy were absolutely nuts and the crowd went a bit crazy at times, but nowhere near as crazy as the time I saw Guns and Roses at V Festival - honestly nearly got trampled on… it was so scary!!

I LOVED RAYE and Nile Rogers was awesome too… there was lots of amazing food on offer (I was actually pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food). Too many acts to mention… Jarvis Cocker (of all people) was surprisingly fabulous! Scissor Sisters were great… along with many others. The 1975… Total SHITE!! 💩

But by far one of my favourite moments of the entire festival was when I woman wearing literally nothing but a tutu and the skimpiest bikini top you can imagine, walked past us strutting and wiggling her bum with delight… when we noticed the single square of toilet paper, flapping gloriously in the wind as it clung to her right butt cheek!! So good!! 🤣

Hair Resembling Haystack!! 🫣

It was SO hot that weekend and my hair was sticking to me and driving me absolutely nuts, so there was only one thing for it… braids! The last photo is when I took them out after the weekend 😳🤣

3. A Round Up of The Rest

I'll just do a quick round up of the rest, because… well, I want to get this out to you and I'm getting bored of writing in detail about stuff that happened months ago! 😉

There was Dad's 80th Birthday Party which consisted of lots of “forced fun" and expectation to look, feel and behave in a certain way - so that was fun! I do love my family, but fuck me are they hard work at times - just relax!! 🙄

I did manage to make dad cry when I gave him his gift, which was a win! That sounds bad, but these were tears of joy and appreciation, you understand… sparked by my extremely thoughtful and touching present and kick-ass message in his card!

There was the Happy Place Festival, which was glorious! I met Donna Ashworth and chatted to her bestie for a while… then made a tit of myself after waiting in line for a signed copy of her book - ‘To The Women’ - I went all nervous and weird and kept getting my ‘merds’ in a ‘wuddle’ (see what I did there😉) and generally behaving, looking and feeling like a complete twat! 🤦🏽‍♀️

I also felt like the size of a fucking dinosaur next to Donna with her teeny tiny frame - Still it was great to meet her and wonderful to amble around with my bestie looking at all the wonderful stalls and trying some classes - Bliss!

What else? My Birthday happened and was gloriously quiet and uneventful, which is exactly what I needed at the time - still recovering from burnout and being careful not to cram in too many events (the three big events above were already booked and/or kind of unavoidable). By far one of the best presents I (have ever) received was my record player… I LOVE it!! 🥰

Oh, and there was Robbie Williams!! He was incredibly gorgeous, entertaining, cheeky, funny and just brilliant! I feel so lucky to have been feeling well enough to go and our seats were in a fab spot too - We had a bit of a nightmare with our dodgy “hotel” room, but that’s a story for another time perhaps - An all-round great night! 🎉

4. Goodbye Summer

I know I said I love Autumn, but there are parts of summer I will definitely miss… the long balmy evenings that turn into star gazing nights ✨ Delicious BBQ meals, enjoyed in our “outdoor living room” (it feels like that because we have one of those outside rug things)… the smell of the washing after it’s been drying in the summer breeze… and the kid’s chalk drawings, among many other things. 💛

5. No More Social Media!

And finally… I have officially QUIT SOCIAL MEDIA!! Wait, does Substack count as social media? I’m still not quite clear on that one 🤔 Anyway, I came off Instagram and Facebook sometime last year, but found myself creeping back in occasionally and then being sucked in the vortex of doom! Suddenly two hours had gone by… and all I’d gained were a few little laughs, a massive plate of guilt and a fresh side salad of comparison and self-loathing! Not good!

So, I thought why not just take it all away to stop myself being tempted. I removed the Apps from my phone and iPad and poof, my life improved dramatically! No more fast paced “noise” entering my brain multiple times a day… no more comparing myself or my life with the shiny illusion of others… no more beating myself up for failing at staying off it, yet again! Hooray!! 🎉

Oh and just to be really sure, I have now deactivated my accounts! Next step delete… Ooo, that makes me feel itchy… it’s so FINAL.. and all the photos!! 🫣 Would you delete your social media accounts if you stopped using them, or is that a step too far do you think? Let me know in the comments if you like.👇

🎨That's a Bit Sketchy!

I've been continuing with my attempts at sketching wildlife and promised myself I would share any of my creations here in the Newsletter every month - regardless of how shit they might be… who remembers the weird little monkey? 🙈

To be fair I'm really quite proud of these ones… just not quite brave enough to share them on Notes.. maybe I will soon. It seems I really like drawing birds and flowers… people, buildings, landscape… forget it!!

⭐️Recommendations

1. Great Books

• Tilly Fox’s Fabulous Midlife Crisis by

• Raising a Happier Child Mother by Anna Mathur

• Disappointing Affirmations by Dave Tarnowski

• Is it Just Me by the Wonderful Miranda Hart

• Rosie Lets Herself Go by (yes, again 😳)

• Mind Over Matter Mother by Anna Mathur

• The Way We Heal by (Read with The Shelf Help Club)

2. Interesting Articles

• “High Achievers, Here’s How to Escape Toxic Productivity” – Jennie O’Connor

• Latest Article from ‘The Imperfectionist’ - Oliver Burkman

• Acting because you don’t have to - The Imperfectionist

• Lemon Jelly Press – What happens when you let kids write the ending

• Rise & Vibe – Importance of Beliefs in Your 40’s

• Alex Elle – Stop Healing Yourself Into Oblivion

• Emily Male – Taking Back Your Energy

3. Favourite Podcasts

• I’m ADHD, No You're Not - Episode with Stephen Fry!

• Another Way - Pep-Talks with Selina Barker

• Espresso with Coops by Ruth Cooper Dickson

4. Writing & Wellbeing Resources

• Insight Timer - FREE Meditation App - It’s AWESOME!!! ☺️🧘🏻‍♀️💛

• World of Books - Buy & Sell Second Hand Books 📚🌍❤️

• Reedsy Live Replay – Writing book Proposals with Noah Charney

• The Author’s Guild – Meta’s Book Heist – What Authors Need To Know

• The Author’s Guild – Practical Tips for Authors to Protect their Work from AI

• Our Wellbeing, Our Voice – Get Involved – National Wellbeing Programme

• The Business Nest – Women with a Businesses – Networking Events in Berkshire

• Substack Extensions – Tech Tips – Letters By Burk

• Publishing Advice - from Writers Online

• Charlotte Dover, (Maybe) ADHD – Everything Page!

🔗In Case You Missed It

• “NOT Another To-Do List” - The Importance of Community

• My Podcast Episode with Jane Galloway at Quiet The Hive

• Great Little Podcast - Easeful Conversation with Tanya Lynch

• Welcome to the New ‘Book Reviews’ Section

• ‘The Feeling of Life’ - Welcome & Changes

🎶Member’s Playlist

Thank you for reading and CONGRATULATIONS for making it to the end! 🎉😆

Looking for more Newsletter Editions? Click HERE or HERE (if on App)

For more brilliance from me, subscribe - it’s free!
You can help me get more 👀 on my writing by sharing it.
Or, if you’re keen to show your appreciation with a monetary
donation, you can buy me a pen. Thanks!

Subscribe Here

Share The Feeling Of Life

Buy Me a Pen 🖊️

Dear Readers, How has it been another month already? That went so fast! Anyway, firstly and probably most importantly… The vote was 100% unanimous - Yay! 🎉 So not a single one of you arseholes gives one tiny fuck if my Newsletter is late! Thanks!! 🤣

Apparently People Confuse Easily!

This is usually the bit where I give you a full run down of all the weird, wonderful, (possibly) boring, mundane shit I’ve been up to since my last Newsletter. However, this month will be a little different… as I feel like a kind of “re-introduction” is in order.

This is due to the realisation that I tend to swerve and/or pivot (PIVOOAAAAAAAAAT! Friends reference… if you know, you know😉) occasionally (Ok, quite a lot actually) and some of you may be a tad confused!

Firstly, Do You Belong Here?

If you are here by mistake or you’ve arrived and thought, what exactly goes on here at Great Little Insights - I’ve got you covered. First thing’s first - if you are here by mistake, or you have changed your mind, let’s get you out of here… 😄

I want to Leave, but I’m not sure how

Ok, no worries at all and absolutely NO hard feelings, I get it. The online world is a fucking busy place and overwhelming at the best of times, so the last thing you need is some random middle-aged, parent with ADHD over-sharing in your inbox!

(By the way, you can choose to receive my posts in the App only and limit your inbox invasion - More on that later)

There is a little Unsubscribe button at the bottom of EVERY email - It’s very small… but it IS there… 🕵🏻‍♀️ 👀

Or… if you’d rather just get out of here RIGHT NOW…

Thanks to the fabulous and her publication Unstack Substack, I have recently learned the easiest way to direct you out of here - i.e. Unsubscribe… and I’m going with the “Captain Obvious” approach - thanks for the inspo Kristi! 🤣 Clickable image👇👇👇

A (Re) Introduction

Right, now that’s done - A huge thank you to those of you who have chosen to stick around in my (highly🙄) confusing online space and read my fabulous writing! 😉

So, What Exactly IS ‘The Feeling of Life’?

“A great little place to come and feel heard, understood and laugh often. Read insights from a midlife, chronic over-sharer, parent with ADHD, who is all out of fucks to give! An honest, kind, compassionate, calm, supportive, fun and judgement-free zone.” ♥️

I started this publication in January 2024 when I heard about Substack from the gorgeous , who’s writing/poetry I absolutely adore. I was tired of all the hustle on mainstream social media and wanted somewhere more meaningful and inspiring to hang out.

I also needed somewhere to publish my various musings/poetry/articles that I’d been writing (on and off) for over a decade - Since I divorced the “co-founder of my children” (copying here 😉) and found my voice again.

What I Write About

I write about the conflicting battles we face as we navigate through life's challenges and the pressures we feel from family, society and the wider world. Particularly around topics such as; life balance, work, parenting, guilt, self-sabotage, midlife and managing our mental wellbeing.

As a highly sensitive and observant empath, I share my own experiences and insights with raw honesty, compassion and a healthy dollop of humour.

Who is this space for?

• This space is for anyone (parent or not) who might be overwhelmed, a bit lost, lacking in self-esteem, beating themselves up regularly, a people pleaser, over-achiever, perfectionist, or all (or any) of the above.

• You might want a refreshing, re-assuring take on life and to feel seen and understood, valued and heard.

• You are able to laugh at yourself and the shit life throws at us… or you WANT to be able to at the very least.

• You’d like insights, recommendations and links to useful resources to help you navigate life as a parent, perimenopausal woman, self-sabotager or chronic-inner-critic-listener.

• You’re a person who (like me) thinks they might just be on the edge of running out of fucks to give!! 🤪

Who is it NOT for?

This space is NOT for the following types of people…

• Those who might be easily offended, don’t like swearing, truth bombs and/or mildly inappropriate jokes/comments.

• If this is you, there has been a terrible mistake… please make your way to the Exit sign above! ☝️🤣

• People who don’t like emojis - I’m obsessed!! 🙈🫣😜😳😆🤓😎👍🎉❤️🥴

• Folks who take themselves too seriously and/or can’t (or aren’t even open to) laugh(ing) at themselves! 🙄

• Anyone looking for regular, heavily scheduled, run-like-clockwork, predictable posts/routine from me and my writing - That shit just DOES NOT WORK FOR ME!! Sorry… nope… NOT Sorry!! 😉

• Those who are quick to judge and/or have zero tolerance for forgetfulness, lateness, scattiness, or a person who embodies ALL of those things! But is also kind, thoughtful, funny, accepting, warm and welcoming ☺️

Subscribe now

People Saying Lovely Things About Me

What Subscribers Get

I think this might be the bit people get confused about - Because of the afore mentioned scattiness in my delivery… Ooopsy! I’ll admit there has been some flip-flopping about with what to offer my paid subscribers, but I think I’ve finally nailed it/kept it simple… for now! 😬

Disclaimer: This is subject to change at any time, due to changes of heart/mind or resurrection of that fucking inner-critic - Jiminy… the BASTARD!! You have been warned! 😉

Side Note: My biggest and worst habit is getting over-excited/optimistic and promising to deliver the world (because I genuinely would LOVE to and often truly believe that I can), only to “realise” (again 🙄) that being in midlife, running a business, parenting a teen & tween and managing a chronic illness aren’t exactly the best conditions in which to offer to give ALL of myself to you fuckers!

Free Loaders Subscribers

You tight bastards currently get the following…

1. Random Articles/Poems - Occasional articles/poems/other random shite that I feel like writing and leaving out from behind the paywall.

2. “The Parent Pod” - A Mini-Pod - Short 5-10 minute (unedited) weekly(ish) voice notes from me talking honestly about the highs and lows of parenting!

3. The ‘Great Little Podcast’ - Access to my monthly(ish) podcast Episodes - Next episode due to drop soon and my guest this month is the gorgeous - so keep an eye out for that! 👀

Subscribe for FREE Here

Paid Subscribers

Paid Subscribers (also sometimes referred to as ‘Members’) - You wonderful people currently get ALL of the above - PLUS the following…

1. Access to the more personal ‘private’ posts, poems and essays, including stories from my own life and excerpts from my writing, diaries and journaling.

2. A Monthly Newsletter - Towards the end of each month (roughly) - Containing the usual shit - News from my (highly riveting😉) life, recommendations and links to useful/interesting resources I’ve found along my highly-distracted, ADHD-driven pathway.

3. Access to the Private, Member’s ONLY chat space - Join in with our random shenanigans AND claim your FREE Welcome Bribe Gift! 🎁

Become a Paid Subscriber Here

Where to Find Everything

Ok, now that’s cleared up… Another thing that people (apparently) get confused about is where to FIND everything!! Which I personally blame on the whole Desktop vs App confusion - Not cool Substack! 😉

Desktop Vs App

I personally work from the desktop version of Substack to create, write, organise, direct people with links, etc… and the App for the (awesome) CHAT function (like a WhatsApp group, but less annoying! 😆) and to check my notifications, read other’s work, comment, re-stack, share Notes etc… If you’re already confused, let me try and help.

Sections!

I’ve created different “Sections” of my Publication and here are the links to each of them… A Mini-Directory if you will. Do save this Newsletter in your inbox (email or App) so you can refer back. 👍

The FREE Stuff 🆓

The Public Posts - Free to read and share

The Parent Pod - A Mini-Pod for parents

The Great Little Podcast - A variety of great guests!

The Paid Stuff 🔐

‘Members Only’ - Personal Poems & Essays, etc

The Monthly Newsletter - Packed full of entertainment!

The Private Chat Space - On the APP!

It’s Too Much!

It’s all too much! I never signed up for all this shite! But I don’t want to Unsubscribe completely - What do I do? Help! 🤯

Don’t panic, I’ve got you… you have choices! 🎉

Oh, Toggle Off!

You can choose which “sections” you want to be subscribed to and here is how to do that…

1. Go to the DESKTOP version of Great Little Insights HERE

2. Click on your Profile Pic in the top right corner

3. Click on “Manage Subscription”

4. Toggle On/Off the ‘sections’ you want to read/receive in your inbox

Get Me Out of Your Email Inbox

As previously mentioned - (what now seems like 100 sodding YEARS ago in this fucking enormous Newsletter/Instruction Manual) - You can choose to just receive my emails/posts/articles/podcasts/whatever in your APP ONLY. Yay! 🥳

explains it best HERE - Thank you Kristi! 🙏

And, Lastly! - Thank F*ck for that! 🤪

Recommendations & Notes

One of the most popular (apparently) parts of my Newsletter is the recommendations I include - I absolutely LOVE to share and re-stack other people’s work/writing and/or resources and spread the love/information/joy! 🥰

I genuinely enjoy supporting others and sharing things that I have found to be inspiring/uplifting/useful/nurturing/etc… and try to do this as often as I can. However, keeping a separate list of these gems is proving to be one thing too many. So… I will continue to share, but from now on I will do this via “Notes” ONLY.

Head Over To Eva's Wonderful Notes

Resources/Articles Discovered Elsewhere

I will of-course continue to share any gems I find AWAY from Substack, in the form of LINKS included towards the end of my Monthly Newsletter.

That’s All Folks!

Ok, that’s a wrap! 🥳 As you were.

Until next time (and with NO idea when that’ll be),

Take care of yourselves! 💛

Ways You Can Support My Writing

❤️ Let me know if you enjoyed reading this post by clicking the little heart! 🙏

💬 Leave a comment - I read them ALL… Ok, most of them 😉

🙌 Share or Re-stack this post to help other people find it - Spread the love 💕

☕️ Buy Me a Coffee - Ok, it’ll be a diet coke/some kind of alcohol, in all honesty 🙈

Share

Hi! It feels like it’s been a while… maybe that’s because it has… Yup, I’m late getting this out to you, yet again… sorry! 🤦🏽‍♀️ The thing is, my mind flip-flops between… “I really must write my Newsletter - My readers are waiting for my brilliance” 😉 and… “Get over yourself, nobody gives a tiny rat’s arse!” 😆 Maybe it’s time for a quick poll… why not… Everyone loves clicking buttons, right?!

News From My Life

This is the bit where I tell you what I’ve been up to over the last month, whether I think it sounds interesting or not, so if you’re not here for that, feel free to move swiftly onto the recommendations further down… No hard feelings! 😃

Mother’s Day

That sucks a bit doesn’t it? All that pressure to make your mum feel appreciated and buy her flowers that have been hiked up to five billion times their usual price! Not to mention that you’re supposed to relish in the fact that you are in-fact a mother yourself (if you are) and squeal with delight when your child brings you some kind of paper crafted flower… that she made in a panic that afternoon, when she realised you actually probably DO give a shit that it’s mother’s day, despite repeatedly saying that it’s just another normal day and not to worry about it - My poor kids - All the mixed messages!

Side note: I am of-course joking about not appreciating the paper flower and I do love my kids dearly - Just in case there was any doubt.

I also really appreciated walking in on yet another blocked toilet, as I dragged myself blurry-eyed out of bed, after a lie in of approximately 2.3 minutes! 🤣 I’m afraid that’s a lie… my kids are 15 and 9 years old… I got a three hour lie in!! To those who have younger kids, I’m sorry, NOT Sorry!! I DID MY TIME!! 😏 Oh, by the way, the blocked toilet was (unfortunately) NOT a lie… Look away now!

I should say, that after many, many prompts from Mark (the boyfriend), the girls did get their shit together and pop to the shops to get me some of my favourite chocolate and a really cute heart ‘palm-pal’ (If you know, you know😉). They were so proud of themselves, bless them. ❤️

Subscribe for FREE Here

Spring-Time Walks 🌺

Ok, it was one walk… but that’s an achievement for us! Believe me, we would love to go for more, but unfortunately it’s quite rare that I’m able to walk further than to the end of my road, without either feeling faint, too hot, breathless, all of the above, or being in so much pain it’s just not worth it! 🙄 (For those wondering what the hell I’m talking about, you can read about “Why My Life Sucks” HERE)

Anyway, the one walk was absolutely gorgeous and I really do love Spring with all the pretty flowers popping up everywhere. The blue sky and sunshine re-appearing after the long dreary months of winter is really so wonderful… and I love that it is not too hot yet for my perimenopausal body - Perfect! 👌

That’s a Bit Sketchy!

This is the bit where I share any Art & Crafty things I’ve been working on - You might remember the dodgy Monkey sketch from March’s Newsletter - Yikes! 🙈 Well, I’m happy to report I had a bit more success this month and I’m actually super proud of my colourful crocuses - I usually just stick to pencil, but got brave and added some colour this time and I’m so glad I did!

The Process

Some of you lovely people have asked to see more of the process of my sketching, so I have included this here for those who were interested - Thank you so much for asking, I love hearing from my readers by the way, so do reach out anytime. 🥰

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A Gorgeous Art Retreat

I was absolutely delighted to be able (and well enough) to attend ’s gorgeous Flow & Flourish Retreat which just happened to be taking place very near me in Farnham, Surrey.

Helen is an Illustrator, watercolour artist and creative workshop host and you can find her here on Substack and on her Website, or read more about her HERE. I can 100% recommend Helen as a fantastic host to have at one of your events, where she can paint live portraits of your guests! 👩‍🎨

It was a real honour to see Helen in action on this lovely day retreat, which also included a calming breath-work session at the beginning, to get us all in the right head-space for creating beautiful artwork. As well as a beautiful Calligraphy workshop from the lovely Jodie Rose, who is a Modern Calligrapher & Engraver.

Great venue, great hosts, great food… Great Day! Thank you & Jodie!

Recommendations

Books

I’ve been reading two great books recently… One is a self-help, parenting book… Oh no, not another one! 🙄 I know I’m always banging on about the fact that there are far too many of them, and that as a result we’re all so fucking confused and have been reading ourselves out of having any of our own instincts anymore! BUT… this really is a great one (I’ve read them ALL, so you don’t have to! You’re welcome!) 😉

Raising a Happier Mother by Anna Mathur is great because it’s more about what we can do as parents to care for our own wellbeing and catch ourselves snapping, etc… and see this as a ‘warning sign’ that we’re lacking in something we need… be it sleep, food, five minutes to ourselves, etc…

Anna talks about the importance of caring for our own wellbeing and how that positively impacts our children too. By modelling effective self-care and prioritising ourselves, we are showing our children that it is important to care for ourselves too and that we are worth looking after. The ripple effect can be very powerful indeed. ❤️

If this has made you want to take a hop skip and jump to order this book - support local bookshops (and me 😉) and use THIS link. 🙏

The second book I’m really enjoying at the moment is Checking Out by Nick Spalding - I may have mentioned Nick a couple of times before and it’s no secret that I’m a bit of a fan! Every book of his that I’ve read (and there have been a few), I’m immediately pulled into the story and usually laughing out loud after a couple of pages. He just has this way of writing that is instantly relatable and his observations about situations and people’s behaviour is absolutely spot on! 👌

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Film & TV

No movies to report on this month (I know, booo!) and just one TV show that really stood out for me. I’m going to get a bit serious for a minute I’m afraid and I was in two minds about whether or not to bang on about this particular topic on here. But it’s important, so I thought “Fuck it… People can take it or leave it”.

“Buy Now” – Netflix

I can’t remember who recommended that I watch it, but I did and I was shocked to the core! It’s a very cleverly created and impactful deep dive into the worsening issues of fast fashion and over-consumerism. It highlights the issues that keeping up with this “demand” creates. Such as, the speed at which a new trend immerges and how that creates an UNIMAGINABLE amount of clothes/products ending up in landfill/the ocean. A lot of which has NEVER BEEN worn/used… NOT EVEN ONCE!!! 😢

Side Note: For those who don’t know, I’m a little into doing what I can to help the planet and I am by no means saying that everyone else should be doing this too. I do it because I enjoy it and I’ve made the time for it. But it’s often quite difficult (and expensive🙄) to replace products with eco friendly options. I have tried and tested quite a few over the last few years and if you WANT to know more about those, I made two little (really embarrassing 😳) videos HERE and HERE.

Anyway, back to “Buy Now” - Basically, it’s a great eye opener, brilliantly produced, entertaining, shocking and really quite interesting… in my opinion.

If you want to get really depressed about what a dyer situation we’re in, take a deep dive into The Dark Side of Fast Fashion.💔

Warning: Be prepared to feel an immediate and powerful urge to “break up” with several of the big companies, who are the worst culprits of some of these dreadful effects that people and the planet are facing. Amazon being one of the worst - Nooooooo! It’s so bloody handy! Damn it! Yes, I have indeed broken up with Amazon! I’ll write about it in a separate post, because it’s too long to go into it now. Phew! I hear you think… 😆

Favourite Articles

In no particular order, here are some of the favourite/most interesting articles I’ve read over the last few weeks - Not all from Substack, but mostly.

• “Mind The Gap” – Article from ‘Access Art’ about the Gap in National Curriculum in Art for Primary Schools and Ofsted

• “Unleashing Creativity” – 10 Key Take Aways for Parents from “Your Brain on Art” Written by

• “Creative Wrestling with AI” by of Wonderlust

• Slow & Steady – April: “Believe” – Great Tips and Prompts! by

• The Imperfectionist – No Escape & Be a Disappointment Two GREAT articles… I love how he just says it as it is!

• “Honour Your Sensitivity while Writing on Substack” – Great Tips from and her new Publication Therapeutic Writers on Substack

• The Journey Back – Should we Revisit Old Journals - Great Prompts! Thank you 🥰

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Favourite FREE Resources

1. Your Cool Self-Care Ritual – You are not Alone by (Complete with a Gorgeous 8 Min Meditation)

2. Without a doubt one of the BEST free resources I’ve come across recently (recommended by - Thank you Anna 🥰) is…

   The Anti-Burnout Club

   This AWESOME space is run by the absolute legend Bex Spiller, who is the founder of the club and author of The Anti-Burnout and Overcoming Overwhelm Journals (pictured below - yes I bought them both - but not from Amazon 😆).

   

   The Anti-Burnout Club is FULL of FREE stuff - like meditations and journal prompts - and well worth a look! 👀 There is an App too, so you can have everything handy on your phone. There’s a really lovely community of like-minded people, simply there to feel less alone and take some time to care for themselves and feel supported. ❤️

In Other News

Spring Clearing

We’ve been busy clearing out the shed (I had to pester Mark about it a few times, but we got there in the end 🙄)… Every year I’m like, “what the fuck is all this shit, where does it come from!” Then as we’re clearing it out onto the lawn, I’m like, “Oh, yeah… most of this is mine” 🤣 Anyway, so that’s done for another year, yay! 🎉

I love the middle one with Mark admiring his handy work… we both kept walking around in there saying things like, “It’s like having another room” and “look at all this space!” and “We have to keep it like this” - Then both looking at each other thinking “Yeah, right!” 🤣

Then, just as we’d recovered from the shed fiasco, I started pulling all the stuff out of Child no.2’s room and moaning about the epic amount of CRAP that piles up in there! When I say “crap”, I mean endless “lovely” creations made out of paper, cardboard and five million rolls of cellotape! 😏

Anyway, we finally got her a new (proper) bed - She’s been in one of those “shorty” beds since she was a toddler… She’s now 9! 🤣 We needed more storage for all the afore-mentioned “crap”, so we got one with tonnes of drawers - Yay!

Some Good News!

I may have mentioned (once or twice) that Mark and I don’t often get out for meals (or any other “normal” thing a couple might go out and do). Luckily, we quite like being at home and have a great time just hanging out… mostly laughing at people on TV! 🤣 Anyway, we made it out for lunch one gorgeous sunny day and it was lovely! My favourite - Pizza Express - Never fails! 🤤

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That’s a Wrap!

Blimey! I feel like this month’s Newsletter has gone on forever! I’ve had a lot of fun putting this together though and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it. Just before you go, I put a little playlist together of some of the songs I’ve been listening to whilst writing and here it is… a little gift from me to you… Enjoy! 🎶🥰

In Case You Missed Them

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Until next time! 😃

Apologies to the astute of you, who may have noticed that this month’s Newsletter has arrived a little later than usual. Oooops! 🙈 And a very warm “Hello” to those of you who are new to The Feeling of Life - There have been quite a few of you lately, and you are so very welcome! 🤗

How the devil are you? Spring is on it’s way at last, Hoooraaaa!! 🌼🎉🌷The light is creeping back in and that grey haze that has engulfed most of England for weeks on end is finally lifting. It’s not that I actually even mind the cold, I mean I’ve recently come back from Lapland, where the average temperature at the time was -8°C! 🥶 It’s the drizzly, dreary, damp that comes with the bitter cold wind throughout winter in Britain that I find wearing after a while.🙄

Our Trip To Lapland! 🇫🇮

Ok, this was FABULOUS (obviously)! But I’ll tell you about it another time, because what I have to say (complete with a funny story about a mad woman with absolutely NO awareness of personal space) is too long to include in this already pretty long newsletter. So, for now - a few pics 😊 Other stories to come will include those of the “Naked Brits” of whom I mention in the title of this Newsletter. 😆

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Alnwick Story Festival

Again, I have many a story to tell about my gorgeous little weekend in Alnwick (in Northumberland - for those who have no clue - just as I didn’t 🙈) and I look forward to (perhaps) sharing these with you at a later date.

What brought me to Alnwick (actually pronounced “Annick” by the way) was the beckoning of a weekend of celebrating all things books, writers, authors and stories. A promise of sharing, supporting, uplifting and connecting within the most welcoming, warmest and wonderful of communities - and it did NOT disappoint! ❤️

I connected with many wonderful souls and delighted in inspiring, nurturing, loving conversations and heart warming (sometimes hilarious) tellings of stories and experiences. I also endured a shower that apparently only had two temperature settings - A bit too cold and scolding hot! 🙄

The Highlights

1. Meeting the wonderful - Founder of The Story Fest and the Heart Leap community here on Substack.

2. Catching up with and meeting some fabulous new faces during an afternoon of drinks and yummy Italian food. 🇮🇹😋

3. Meeting , hearing of her harrowing journey through cancer and her inspiring mission with the Allyson Kent Award.

4. Seeing my gorgeous friend talking about her FABULOUS new book - Breaking Waves 🌊 - Which I have almost finished reading and I can tell you it is absolute delight! 🥰

   I was lucky enough to grab a few minutes alone with Emma, when she took time out of her busy schedule to come and check I was ok, after I’d been suffering with a migraine all morning. Thank you Emma ❤️

5. Hanging out with , her LOVELY husband, a couple of Emma’s friends and in one of the cute little pubs in the village - The Tanners Arms - with a tree growing right through the middle of it! Very cosy indeed 🥰

Recommendations

Books

My two favourites from the last month… ‘Tender’ by and ‘The Woman Who Ran Away From Everything’ by . Very different books, but both wonderful in their own way.

As you have probably gathered by now, I’m a huge fan of Fiona’s books and I’m making my way through them steadily. 😆

If you’re interested in reading my recent review of ‘Tender’ you can do that here…

Film & TV

“Mad About The Boy”

Bridget Jones is back!! And damn it’s so good! What a treat for the eyes, spirit and soul! Be sure to take tissues!! 🥹🤧🤣

“Amandaland”

The fabulous spin off show of the extremely popular “Motherland” (both available to watch on BBC iPlayer) and what a delightful treat it is! I was a bit of a fan of Amanda’s hilarious character in ‘Motherland’ and Lucy Punch seamlessly carries Amanda’s tragic, yet highly relatable story through to the new spin off show in epic style.🥰

Along with her fantastic co-stars of-course, Joanna Lumley (no less) who plays her “mummy” and Philippa Dunne playing the part of the accidental, loyal and gloriously hilarious best friend, Anne. Give it a go… you won’t regret it! 👍

A Quick Random Rant

Sorry, I’m just watching the Brits in the background whilst I’m formulating this month’s list of recommendations… Why are all the ladies practically naked??!! 😲 I mean, Jesus… does no one want to leave anything to the imagination any more?! Ok, yeah I probably am jealous of their, quite frankly, ‘banging’ bodies… but come on… there are even nipples on show! Only covered by a thin mesh of see-through material!! 🙈😆

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that these artists feel like they have the freedom to express themselves with these amazing fashion statements. However, my problem lies with the double standards - Can someone please take a moment to explain to me, how it is perfectly acceptable for a lady to show up on the red carpet practically NAKED and this is admired and applauded. Yet, if a man were to show up with his nuts hanging out, everyone would be outraged and he’d be shamed, ridiculed (and no doubt “cancelled”) and most likely labelled as a pervert! I don’t get it… my mind seriously boggles! 🥴 Anyway, where were we?

Favourite Comedy Piece

My favourite Substack read of the month has to be the hilarious of Pandora’s Box of Shit 💩🤣 There are THREE parts to this piece, be sure to read them all!

💩 Pandora's Box of Shit

I accidentally had 3 kids in 2 years (Pt.1)

I want to preface this whole essay series by saying, yes, we were incredibly lucky to conceive so easily — TOO EASILY IF YOU ASK ME. I want to honour the fact that falling pregnant can be extremely hard for many (including some of my close friends), and I do not mean to diminish that in sharing my story…

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a year ago · 93 likes · 44 comments · Sara

Favourite Poem

I really loved this short poem, written by of Writing Life, Writing Fiction here on Substack. 🥰

Writing Life, Writing Fiction

A birdless sky

We walked beneath a birdless sky…

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a year ago · 10 likes · 5 comments · Penny Harrison

Favourite Thought-Provoking Piece

I LOVE the way talks of the importance of protecting your own wellbeing and putting secure boundaries in place in order to do so. The power of saying NO and prioritising maintaining healthy relationships. Something that is very close to my heart. 🥰

Your Favorite Self

I said no.

I said no, my dearest reader…

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a year ago · 3 likes · 1 comment · Shirley

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Favourite Podcasts 🎙️

1. This is a truly beautiful and inspiring chat between from ‘The Burnout Rebellion’ and of ‘Quiet The Hive’ and ‘The Coaching Cafe’ here on Substack. Discussing the importance of self-worth, sisterhood, the life-affirming nature of grief and “living courageously on your own terms”. I thoroughly recommend. 🥰

2. I really enjoyed this fabulous, uplifting and joyful chat between who has the fantastic Substack and Podcast “Another Way” and Jo Fiddy - Confidence & Menopause Coach - Website: Rise & Vibe with Jo. During their hugely interesting and inspiring chat, Selina and Jo delve beautifully into all things perimenopause and menopause, and Jo shares some fascinating insights that will blow your mind! 🤯🤣 Just have a listen… you won’t regret it! 😍

Best FREE Resource

I LOVED this great workshop from from What Are The Chances? Andrea has had a long, award-winning career as a copywriter and corporate communicator. She has a huge wealth of knowledge and experience to share. This workshop is packed FULL of great tips and useful information and is easily digestible - so won’t take up too much of your time. 👍

What are the Chances?

Recording: That's a Helluva Story - Writer's Workshop

Hello, hello…

Listen now

a year ago · 5 likes · 1 comment · Andrea Hoffmann

A Little Highlight

I’ve been very touched recently by some of the wonderful things a few of my fellow writers on Substack have said. Their kind and supportive messages really warmed my heart and gave me a little boost during a difficult week. ❤️

That’s a Bit Sketchy!

Yikes! What the fuck is that?! 🤣

As promised, in this section I will share whatever artistic/creative endeavours I’ve been trying and/or failing at - I started out thinking, “Fuck Me! This is the worst sketch I’ve ever done” - but I’ve been brave and shared it anyway, in the spirit of celebrating the most important thing here, which is that I’m doing it! Right? I’ve actually grown quite fond of this weird little guy! 🙈🤣

A Quick Update

I’ve been working a lot recently on getting clear on my ACTUAL capacity and time I can dedicate to this publication. So, below I have included a realistic rough schedule of what you can expect going forward. The numbers represent the weeks of the month, but I may switch things around occasionally to allow for some flexibility around illness, etc.

Underneath the schedule, I have included a “bare minimum”, which I will endeavour to deliver come hell or high water… rain or shine… you get the idea! 😉

Schedule for Great Little Insights

1. Podcast Episode – Guest Chat

2. Book Review and/or Essay/Article

3. Newsletter – Including Recommendations

4. Member’s Hub – Personal Essay & Links to Resources

Bare Minimum

1. Newsletter – Including Recommendations

2. Member’s Hub – Personal Essay & Links to Resources

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In case you Missed Them

1. The first of the Member’s Hub Posts - FREE for all!

2. Episode #1 of The Great Little Podcast

3. My recent Guest Piece

Written for and published over at the FABULOUS “Flucking Flourishing” 🥰 Thank you for having me Lisa! 😘

Flucking Flourishing

Come Into the Light—But What If I'm Not Ready?!

Eva Lydon. The woman I ended up talking to for nearly two and a half hours on our first zoom call! Someone who makes me laugh, snort, and weep, all at the same time. Writer, poet, editor, mother of two, and a…

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a year ago · 7 likes · 9 comments

Thanks for so much for reading! 🥰

As always, if you’ve enjoyed reading this Newsletter, I would really appreciate a like, comment or share… It helps other people find it, apparently 😉 Thank you! 🤩

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Dear Readers, for a long month, January was pretty uneventful really. I went viral (not in a good way) and had one cold after the next (it seemed like). But, within that time some good stuff happened too I guess. You might find this next bit boring, but I want to remain authentic and real, so I’m literally going to tell what’s been happening in my life for last few weeks. It won’t take long!

News From My Life

I stopped eating cheese… because… well, this!

I’ve been lactose intolerant for as long as I can remember and cheese (if I eat a lot of it, which I usually do, because YUM) makes me look like I’m about 6 months pregnant! Yes, I have been mistaken for being pregnant on more than one occasion. 😳

Although one might think that would be reason enough, it’s also because it’s an inflammatory food and therefore can exacerbate my arthritis – Yay! 🙄 So, goodbye cheese 😭 Well, mostly… I had some last week.. oh, wait and on Wednesday. Hmmmm.

Anyway… I mostly used January as a month to hibernate and let my thoughts and aspirations for the year ahead marinade in a sort of calm-but-also-guilt-laden sauce. I joined some lovely online workshops and ‘gatherings’, organised by some of the fabulous ladies here on Substack.

There was also another Meet-Up in Hammersmith, London. Organised by the extremely friendly and welcoming , where I got brave and read my children’s book that I wrote last year to the group. Which, to my absolute delight was very well received! Now to find a publisher… I’m on it!

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The online stuff also included ’s fabulous “Big Online Share”, which was a hugely inspiring and joyful gathering of people filling out (and sharing) bits of our “Goodbye 2024, Hello 2025” journals – which I’ve yet to finish actually – Ooops! 🤦🏽‍♀️

I’ve also been immersing myself in lots of really nurturing stuff and attended a couple of ’s gorgeous workshops – which include “Yoga Nidra” – One session of which induced floods of tears out of nowhere, I mean I must have needed to cry… but what I wasn’t expecting was that the crying would last for TWO days! Yup… TWO whole days of a crying, snivelling wreck! I was a mess! 😭

Poo Nails 💩

When I finally got my shit together, I went to get a pedicure (because why not) and I floated out of that salon feeling refreshed and happy… only to swiftly have the kids tip me right off my happy stool as soon as I got home. They looked at my feet and said, “Why did you get them done in poo brown colour?” Thanks kids! 😒Have they got a point? If you don’t like feet, look away now…

New Desk Space - A Definite Highlight

After moaning about not having a fixed place in the house to write, get creative, leave supplies out, etc… and having to stop/start and move from room to room… Mark very generously decided that it was time that I adopted his desk (set up in the corner of our bedroom) as he usually only works from home two days a week, which he can do from the kitchen table.

I was initially very moved by his very kind offer and after briefly crying (again, I know), I was like... “Great, move aside sucker!”, as supplies slowly started to appear out of the woodwork – that I may or may not have been squirrelling away in hope - to adorn my new workspace sanctuary. Hurraaaaa! At last! 🥳

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My Writing Life

Well, things are hotting right up in that department and I’m trying to immerse myself in all things publishing to learn everything I can about writing book proposals, finding an agent, the process with kid’s books and also memoire, etc… which is all going really well. It is A LOT of work though, and there is so much information to absorb. Thanks to a lot of wonderful people here on Substack I have managed to compile quite a list of websites, directories and other very useful resources.👍

🎨That’s a bit Sketchy🎨

This is the section of the newsletter where I share anything creative I’ve been doing. This month I have just one little sketch to share with you (which you may have already seen on ‘notes’ – due to the lovely encouraging me to be brave and get it out there. Thank you Ruth! 🥰

And Finally

I’m actually heading off on a short little trip away to the far Northern Hemisphere next week. Me and my 9yr old are off to Lapland!! I’m beyond excited (as is she) to go to such an amazing place and actually see some ‘proper’ snow! I’m also praying that we will get some clear skies and be lucky enough to experience the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). Although, we won’t be staying outside for too long in temperatures of -20ºC!! 🥶

I’ve been lucky enough to have been to Lapland once before and I did see the Northern Lights on two of the nights I was there – Simply stunning! Just to make you green with envy… Look where we’ll be staying! (Please don’t hate me!) 😉

That’s a Wrap!

Right, that’s it from this month’s newsletter. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed creating it and thank you so much for being here! I’ve been absolutely blown away by all the cheerleading and support, from so many of you on this wonderful platform, and by how many of my fellow ‘Sub-stackers’ have said YES to being on my Podcast! Thank you all so much 🙏🧡

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In case you missed anything…

Here are some of the things I’ve published since the last Newsletter went out, so if you missed them you can catch up here…

Have a fabulous weekend! 🥰

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Welcome to the first ever edition of my Monthly Newsletter (written in January 2025). Complete with my latest recommendations, to help you through the most depressing month of the year! (Relevant any January).

It will be a monthly feature including news from my life, what I’ve been reading, listening to and enjoying… an inevitable funny story / mishap or two, as I stumble through midlife as a mum with ADHD and a sieve for a brain! 😏

To receive my monthly musings directly in your inbox (so you never miss one), you can Subscribe for FREE just here…

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I will continue to publish essays / articles / poems, as and when I feel the urge. But with no regular schedule, to allow for flexibility in my life – which is unfortunately dominated by a chronic autoimmune condition – yawn! 🙄

Anyway, onwards with the newsletter… yay! 🤩

How Was Your Christmas?

How are you? How was your Christmas/New Year… bla bla bla… Are you (like me) a tiny bit very glad it’s over? I don’t mean to sound all negative, but I’m afraid Christmas is fast becoming my least favourite time of the year 😒 and these are just some of the reasons why…

The heaving shops, excessive spending, parents scrambling to get their kids the latest trending toy/game/device, the guilt that comes with not being able (for whatever reason) to get said toy/game/device… The pressure to go to every event, teamed with the guilt and inevitable FOMO that descends if you can’t.

Then there’s the expectation to spend an inappropriate amount of time with the people you try to avoid most of the year (yep, there’s a reason for that)… the arguments that then ensue (for obvious reasons)… the excessive eating and/or drinking, which then propels you into a pit of shame and self-loathing…

…which is all perfectly timed of-course for the barrage of the “New Year, new me” marketing tactics of money grabbing companies worldwide… delightfully taking full advantage of our semi-depressed, sad and useless state, as we enter the most depressing month of the year.

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So, if (also like me) you are looking to avoid the highly predictable, and quite frankly tiresome, influx of suggested resolutions, goal setting and instructions on how to shed one’s skin and “get back to the real you” – now there’s an image.. bit random.. sorry about that, I type as I think 🫣 Longest sentence ever!

Anyway, if you are that person (and even if you are not that person) you might be interested in a few of the fabulous, easy-going, refreshing and alternative starts to the New Year that I have attached towards the end of this Newsletter - Enjoy! 😊

So, what have I been up to?

A bit of reflection/journaling

Well, actually (quite ironically after my little rant) I have genuinely been enjoying ’s beautiful “Goodbye 2024, Hello 2025” diary/book/journal thingy… It really is FAB! I’ve only filled out a small section, but in the interest of taking things SLOW this January (as Selina has advised in her lovely article – ‘SLOWanuary’)I am not putting any pressure on myself to “get it done” by a fixed date. Yay me! 🎉

Vision Boards

I’ve been very inspired recently by and her fabulous ‘Flucking Flourishing’ Newsletter – Do check it out if you haven’t already, she is really great and such a good laugh. 🥰 Anyway, she did a lovely little workshop on making a vision board in Canva, and I couldn’t resist getting involved – Any excuse to create something – Canva addict! 🙋🏻‍♀️ Just me?

You might notice I’ve made sure there is lots of room for rest and healing in my year ahead, the reason being, I have been denying myself getting enough of these things for far too long, in the exhausting on-going attempt to prove my worth and get external validation from the answer to that dreaded question… “What do you do?” Urgh! 😏

Loving gifts that bring me joy

I’ve been taking the time to take a look at the lovely gifts I received at Christmas and slowly appreciating each one individually. I love to take my time finding just the right spot for a gift and in doing so, I noticed how many little gifts I have around me that bring me so much joy and remind me that I’m loved.

I know that sounds so cheesy, but I spend a LOT of time at home (due to that long-term illness I mentioned) and it really lifts me to have these little reminders around me. So, if you’re ever thinking (oh, it’s only a little thing) please be sure to give it anyway… you never know how much of a positive impact your “little thing” could have on someone. ♥️

Oh, and this little guy👇… which was bought for me by my “delightful” children, who were absolutely beside themselves with excitement to be able to buy me a teddy who encapsulated the essence of ‘sleeping mummy’ – Yes, this is “Dino-Pig” – a name inflicted on me due to a very nasally year or two, during which my snoring could be heard from ANY part of the house/garden! 🦖🐷🤣

Snow, Pad Thai and Hot Chocolate – Yum!

A strange combination I know, but bear with… (does everyone else immediately think of Miranda when saying “bear with”?) Anyway, the other night we had some snow!! This is extremely exciting for us Southern Brits, as this happens so rarely and usually when we do get it, it turns into dirty sludge within hours because of the rain that swiftly follows.

Therefore, as SOON as it started to hit the ground, the girls shrieked with excitement and started ransacking the hallway in search of the right kind of coats, gloves, etc… and ran into the garden to enjoy it.

It was dark, it was late, but it was wonderful!

They got me out there too and I instinctively lifted my face towards the sky and breathed a sigh of contentment, as the freezing delicate flakes landed on my face like a refreshing gentle hug I didn’t know I needed.

Snowballs were thrown, a small snowman (named ‘Bob’ apparently🤷🏻‍♀️) was made and there were delightful shrieks and giggles wafting in from the garden until 10pm – when I suddenly realised that the neighbours might get pissed off, so I called out to their bright red, drenched little faces to “come on in now please”.☃️ (Bob was a blob by midnight 🥺)

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Pad Thai and Hot Chocolate (with a double Bailey’s, no less)😋 – Made by my “personal chef” – aka Mark (the boyfriend)🫠

What I’m Currently Reading

‘I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest with You’ by Miranda Heart… is absolutely bloody brilliant! I feel a detailed book review and/or an entire article on its way, inspired by the awesome “Treasures” she discusses in the book. Honestly, life changing! 🥰

I’ve also just started ‘Tender’ by … on my shiny new kindle, yay! 🎉 Two chapters in and I’m totally gripped already, I think I’m going to enjoy this one… and also feel I may shed a few tears at some point 🥺

Right, That’s enough about me!

This Month’s Recommendations

There are only a handful this month, as I took a break from all things Substack over the Christmas period, to help keep me present with Mark and the kids. Yes, it did work and I very much enjoyed reading my more of my books instead. Oh, and I got given a kindle for Christmas (thank you Mark), so I’m looking forward to loading that up with 99p books from Amazon – Steady now 🤪

So, without further ado (is that how you spell that? Looks weird 🤔), here are my favourite Substack articles (and one fabulous podcast) from the month so far…

Please note: these recommendations are from January 2025, when this newsletter was originally written. As with this edition of my newsletter, I’m sure many of them are still relevant and useful/helpful in any January. 🥰

Great Substack Reads for January

1. Spreading Joy at 2:30am by

2. Instead of Resolutions, Try for Intentions by

3. Welcome to ‘SLOWanuary’ by

4. What if There is Nothing Wrong with You? by

5. An Alternative to New Year Goals and Resolutions by

6. What I Did at Christmas by

7. A Could-Do List for January by

8. New Year, New Labels – Choosing Words That Lift You Up by

9. Success is None of the Things I Thought it Was by

One Fabulous Podcast!

The Bibliotherapists Ep #8: Tamu Thomas - with & Discussing toxic productivity / positivity – A refreshing start to the new year! 👍

One Very Short Book Review

‘Tis the Damn Season’ by

I had a wonderful time right before Christmas getting stuck into this gorgeous little tonic, which really actually got me in the mood for a cosy festive season. This brilliantly written book is so expertly delivered that I could imagine it as a movie! 🎥

Highly gripping, funny, refreshing, heart-warming, relaxing and cosy – A Christmas (or any time of year) must read! 🥰 I can’t wait to read another of Fiona’s books (of which there are many)… Next up… “The Woman Who Ran Away From Everything” – Perfect escapism… see what I did there.. 😉😆

And That’s a Wrap!

Ok, that’s it! The first of my monthly Newsletters done! I hope you have enjoyed reading it and I will probably come back and add an audio recording at some point – because I did promise myself I would do more of that this year 😬 Oh, and I’ll be starting a podcast in February too, so look out for that – I can’t wait! 🎙️🎉☺️

Update Jan 2026: No audio I’m afraid, but I DID start my Podcast… Yay me! 🎉There are 5 fun, interesting and highly enetertaining episodes you can listen to in the archive. (Currently no plans to record more episodes)

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Links to my latest – In case you missed them

1). I actually did get a bit brave during “Betwixmas” and recorded myself reading a little poem I wrote, so you can listen to that here if you like…

2). My first article of the year was bit of a “cheat”, as I re-hashed my own article from the beginning of last year. But it is still so relevant and I stand by everything I said. So in the interest of taking it easy this month, I thought fuck it, why not…

Thank you so much for reading - I hope you’ve enjoyed my little Newsletter. Do let me know by hitting the little ❤️ as this helps other people find it, apparently 😉

Oh, just one more thing… A WARNING!

Take care ladies 🤣🤣🤣

Until next time,

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Hello Lovely Readers! I’m back!! Horray! I mean I never really went anywhere, I just had a near mental breakdown with the overwhelming urge to run for the hills and tell everyone to kindly fuck off as I ran. Which is absolutely ridiculous of-course because, well besides anything else, me… run! Pa ha ha ha ha ha! No chance! 🤣

What I’ve Been Up To

So, here I am back and ready to start bringing you some fabulous writing… starting with this great little ‘what I’ve been up to’ post. If you couldn’t give a toss what I’ve been doing with my time, you can ignore the rest of this and I’ll be appearing in your inbox again in the near future with something that’s hopefully more to your taste.

Anywho… for those who would like to know, it’s been a very mixed bag. Many of you will have seen my “I’m Taking a Break” post, which I’ve actually just referred back to and was delighted to discover that I have in fact done ALL of the things on my list of intentions - Go me! 👏

I did indeed have some (much needed) focused time with the kids throughout August and found myself actually really enjoying their company; once I had taken the pressure off myself and my mind wasn’t constantly elsewhere. I also really enjoyed my birthday, which included a special meal in a rather fancy restaurant with my significant other. 💛

And just because it is too hilarious not to share… me ‘getting ready’ for photo no.1…

Oh, and then there was this card from my sister, which I’m sure you will agree is absolutely bloody genius…

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Amsterdam 🇳🇱

Then there was Amsterdam… I have mixed feelings about our little trip to the city where some people looked like they once ate a “special” cookie, forgot who they were and never left! Yes, we did visit the red-light district… just “to see what all the fuss is about”… and yes, we DID eat a space cake and… NO, I would not do it again!

Let’s just say my brain fell out for about 24 hours, leaving me in such a state of paranoia, I was never quite sure if the things I said in my head were me (or someone else) actually saying them out loud and vice versa… bloody nightmare! One cake, no alcohol… remind me again why it is that people say weed is safer than booze??! I beg to differ! 🥴

Oh, and it was Mark’s birthday while we were there, and yes, I did make him wear an embarrassing badge all day long.. check it out…

Reading & Writing

Right, what else… Oh, I did A LOT of reading… over a million words (just on Substack) apparently (according to their clever little feature that was all the rage for about 48 hours). I wrote about it HERE, in case you missed it.

Erm, I also wrote a bit… quite a bit actually… I wrote another children’s book – how exciting! 🎉 In fact, I will be sharing an extract from that very book with you lovely lot very soon. 🤗

Favourite Resources

I’ve been using lots of the wonderful resources provided by some truly FABULOUS people here on Substack and my favourites have included:

• ’s wonderful ‘Heal Your Past’ & ‘Podcast’ Series

• ’s gorgeous slow living prompts over at Generosity of Spirit

• ’s ‘Summer Sanctuary’ & ‘Deep Journaling’ and her incredible, truly life changing book ‘Kokoro’ - This is an absolute MUST read! ❤️

• ’ beautiful ‘Autumn Equinox’ workshop 🍂

• ’s brilliant yoga course for Complete Beginners

• ’s fabulous ‘Wild Art Week’, where (among other things) I produced this little beauty 🐦‍⬛🥰

In Other News

New medication! I’ve now got to inject myself with immunosuppressant drugs every two weeks – yay! 🙄 But.. you know what.. it’s working! The biggest positive so far is that my psoriasis has almost completely disappeared!! This is a HUGE deal, as I have suffered with it for nearly 25 years!! I cannot tell you how life changing it is to be free from it now. Well, I can tell you… and I will… but not now because this post is getting so long the “near email length limit” message has come up 🤦🏽‍♀️🤣

📣 BIG Shout Out!

To who has been an absolute star, not only over at Hype Yourself (which I HUGELY recommend by the way), but also with her incredibly infectious ‘can do’ attitude, that has rubbed off on me in a big way! Thank you so much Lucy 🥰 x

Thank you to all of you who read this to the end 💛

Until next time…