the january fairyloot book box was themed with moon and stars and i love it! it’s my first fairyloot book box which is a uk based subscription sharing new young adult fantasy inspired fiction and bookish merchandise. i did an unboxing video of my first box below.
subscribing to fairyloot book box
as you can see from the video above the fairyloot book box has all the goodies inside a pretty black box with the fairy logo on the front. the box costs around £34 including shipping. this is a month by month subscription service which is charged on 1st month. you can also subscribe with a 3 or 6 month plan which can save a bit of money as you pay upfront. occassionally past boxes go on sale too.
being a fairyloot book box subscriber also gets you early access to special and collectors edition books throughout the year as well as limited edition book boxes that fairyloot make alongside big releases. i’ve got a box coming in march dedicated to the new cassandra clark book chain of gold which is themed around the new book alongside special edition lisenced merchandise approved by the author.
unboxing the moon and starts fairyloot book box
the january fairyloot book box was themed with moon and stars and had some really beautiful items.
each month there is a themed print/art card and book mark which i absolutely love. alongside that there are various themed items and a special edition book. fairyloot also hold a readalong so you can read and discuss the book of the month together which i absolutely loved taking part in.
the book for the january fairyloot book box was a special edition of woven in moonlight by isabel ibanez and has a seperate dust cover with extra illustrations and is signed by the author too. i really enjoyed reading this book with it’s mixture of magic and bolivian politics. the fiesty llama was a favourite character of mine!
as you can see from the video and photo’s above the book contains some lovely bookish merchandise including tarot cards based on book characters, a necklace, keychain, trinket tray, pillow case, notebook, stickers and a letter from the author.
I have a goal to get strong and take care of my future mobility. I want to be my future friend and ensure my body is getting enough movement and support needed for it to work at it’s absolute best for me. Pain is often an indicator that something isn’t right and it’s worth trying to figure out what you can do to ease any discomfort early on.
Taking care of our mobility is really important – even more so for family members that are aging. There are plenty of things you can do to help protect and preserve your mobility or for that of loved ones and elderly relatives.
Epsom Salt Baths
These are a great way to relax, refresh and rejuvinate sore and tired muscles. Doing this after we exercise or just to relax and refresh can help muscles in your body recover from strenous movement. I find having an epsom salt bath really relaxing and helps me get a better, more relaxed night sleep when I use them as part of my nigthtime relaxation routine.
Recliner Chairs
These are particularly useful for elderly relatives that need a bit of help and comfort in the home. Fenetic Wellbeing Recliner Chairs might be an ideal choice for a comfortable place to sit and relax in the evening. The reclining feature helps bodies get into the most comfortable position whilst offering plenty of support.
Movement
Movement and exercise should never be about punishing our bodies and we should always strive to do something that feels good for us. That might be a gentle walk, yoga, a HIIT class, the gym or simply dancing around. Our bodies are made to move and when we move our muscles, joints and bodies regularly they can get a little stronger and this can help protect them from future strain.
Talking to your GP or healthcare team
Making sure your issues are known really helps ensure you are on the right care path for your body. Pain can really affect our physical and mental wellbeing so it’s important to talk to someone to ensure you are doing all you can to protect your mobility.
Physiotheraphy
Physio might be needed for mobility issues and something you can be reffered to, or if you can afford it, something that you can do privately. I had some physiotheraphy after my second child was born which included some posture correcting exercise, a sports massage on my back where I was experiencing pain and some gentle movements to practise regularly. I found this really helped me, particularly the sports massage. It might not be for everyone but it’s something else to consider to help protect your mobility in the future.
social media has been flooded with heart felt tributes, saddness at the death of a celebrity, caroline flack, and a message of be kind. whilst i agree with the sentiment, i feel like we all have a part to play indirectly. not just with caroline, who i was sorry to read had died, because it’s horrible and i hope she is at peace and i send healing wishes to her loved ones. but with cancel culture, with trolls, with what we say and how we speak to others.
i have seen people sharing samaritans helplines and an offer to talk which always floods social media when someone well known takes their own life. as always this message dies down within a week and we all go back to our own lives often full of gossip, negative speech about people, critique of other people’s characters. we feed the trolls by telling them to leave us alone, by sharing that we’re a victim, by replying to them, by looking at rant abuse groups on facebook or forums like tattle.
we have our whatsapp group to share the latest gossip or issue or problem. i’m sure we all discussed the allegations bought against caroline last year, or at least anyone that knew about it and who she was did.
let me be clear – violence is never the answer in any circumstance no matter who is the victim or assailant. no one of any gender or sexuality should be a victim of any form of assualt, domestic violence, sexual harrasment or bullying. it happens, this blog post won’t stop that from happening but i want it to be known that regardless of gender; violence towards another person should never be tolerated.
however, nor should hounding by the media, troll forums, constant retweeting and belittlement, online bullies, keyboard warriors – all of this comes from a place or thought of violence. your words matter whether they’re typed or spoken.
i know this because i have said stupid things in my past. i have made sweeping statements, prejudice remarks and judgement when i have not had all the facts. i can only hope that with my growing maturity and respect for people different to me i can learn from my mistakes and do better. i will always try to do and be better.
this is the point though isn’t it? when we make a comment regardless of who it is about, unless we were there, we do not know. and even if we did know, we were there, we can only speak of our own experience rather than the other person’s. it doesn’t matter how empathetic you are to another, you are not in their mind. talking helps, but it’s a drop of insight to what that person was thinking, feeling or going through in the moment.
anyway, amongst all of the sadness there has been an underbelly of please don’t wait until someone is dead to tell them how loved they are. i’m guilty of forgetting to check in on those that might need it from time to time and i want to make a more concious effort to talk to my friends who have experienced hardship, hard times. not just when they first go through it but every week, month, anniversary, hard holiday and so on because the pain might not be so sharp, the wound might be closed but the scar might still be red, sore and swollen.
trolls are never going to go away whilst we create a supply and demand lifestyle of cancel culture, gossip forums, magazines and tabloids that thrive on clickbait. following particularly controversial people on social media for the sake of wanting some confrontation or to fuel a bit of hatred is cruel.
having free speech does not give us a right to be outwardly nasty about another person. being able to share an opinion should always be to gain insight and understanding of a situation not to be used to fan flames of abuse. being able to say what we want does not give us entitlement to laugh, mock, belittle and bully others.
activism and free speech can do so much good. it can get causes recognised, it can give more understanding, it can change laws but the attack must be on the action, the system, not the person. i’m predominantly left wing and against a conservative government because i don’t believe in what they stand for but i don’t hate every single person that votes tory. i don’t understand them and i don’t see the good but i don’t attack the person. i’ll attack tory policies that are damaging to the majority of society and i may have criticised previous leaders but the frustation and anger is at the policies and principles of something i don’t agree with.
basically don’t fuel it. don’t follow the people that deliberately thrive on controversy, hatred, enjoy putting their opinion across purely to create division. don’t buy tabloids, don’t click those papers click bait articles, don’t engage in the comments. if you truly want to ‘be kind’ then you can start by not engaging with press that is determined to keep you angry, divided and attacks a person’s character time and time again when they slip up, do something wrong.
the news is supposed to be impartial. it isn’t. it’s there to make money.
The aim of this blogger tag that has been created by Emma Reed is to get as many people involved as possible by answering the questions below, tagging your favourite bloggers (who you think will love to join in!) and sharing some fantastic tips on how to reduce waste, reduce household plastic and how to be more sustainable in your everyday life. And it doesn’t have to be anything big. The smaller changes are often the easiest for everybody to do and if more and more people did these they would have a bigger impact. So, onto the questions…
Have you already been making sustainable changes to your lifestyle?
Yes ive been trying to make a few swaps and changes here and there for the last couple of years. I do find it a bit tricky because we have other things we want to tackle first and some just aren’t feasible for us right now because of cost effectiveness however some swaps have saved us money. I know in the long term the swaps we make will balance the bank but right now we are just doing the best we can as a family, with the resources we have. I actually wrote a post about how being zero waste is hard if you’re poor and some of the attitudes around not being as eco friendly or zero waste as others can come across as poverty shaming.
What swaps have worked for you?
Swaps that have worked for us include cloth nappies, bubble bars, reusable wipes, reusable face pads and cloth sanitary protection. We have also switched to Oat milk.
What swaps have been the easiest?
Resuable washable baby wipes and cloth pads have been the absolute easiest swaps for the household. The wipes are easy to keep clean and have so far lasted us around eighteen months as we got them and started using them before my son was born. Ditching cows milk has been pretty easy too.
What swaps have been the hardest?
Cloth nappies have been the hardest for us. Again it is more about cost than anything and it’s taken us a while to figure out how to stop leaking which is just not practical during the day or when out and about. We have tried a variety of brands now and have a good set up so we are going full time with cloth but building up a decent leak free stash has been expensive. However, we can now replace some of the preloved ones that didn’t work for us, they do have an excellent resell value and we can keep them for the time being should we decide to have another baby.
What is your favourite eco-friendly swap so far and why?
Cloth pads have been my favourite. I love finding new designs and working out which materials work best for me. It certainly makes my period a little bit more enjoyable and they’re easy to clean thanks to using cloth wipes and nappies.
What are your sustainability aims for 2020?
I would like to focus on massively reducing our household waste as much as possible. We currently drink a lot of fizzy drinks which results in a lot of plastic waste and I really want to stop that. I also want to waste less food and cut down on our meat consumption. I would also like to buy more second hand in terms of toys and clothing although, again, this can be pretty tough because of my size.
Have you set up a plan in order to make these happen/achievable?
We are going to start planning our meals properly. I would also like to try and schedule in a visit to a refill shop thats not too far from us and potentially buying more from our local market for fresh fruit and veg. Failing that I would like to make use of a sustainable fruit and veg box delivery for seasonal produce. I know meal planning will help it just requires a bit of research in finding some meat free meals we will all eat and enjoy. Reducing our plastic use I will try and tackle one room at a time and gradually making more swaps over.
What are your top tips for anybody who is just starting to make eco-friendly changes?
Everything is a transition. Don’t try to change everything in one go because you will quickly burn out. Use whatever you currently have first and then start swapping things out gradually as you use them up. Start with thinking about where and how you shop and making changes there such as second hand, local market, farm shops etc because supporting small, local businesses is going to help reduce your carbon footprint really quickly as well as forcing big companies to follow market trends which will hopefully have a sustainability focus.
Being a project manager gives you the title of a task supervisor from its start to end. To an outsider, the beginning might appear like the toughest of all phases. It is when one needs to do most of the planning and delegate the work. But ask any project manager and they will agree that it is the closing phase that is the most demanding of all.
According to PMI’s Pulse of Profession, the most popular survey on project management, the percentage that actually meets all goals and business intent on a global level is only 68%. The lack of efficiency in management often leads to tremendous loses financially across the world.
There is no need to stress why project management, particularly the closing part, is of the greatest significance. It does save not only money but also the resources and time. As more youngsters are aspiring to be project managers, this is the integral part that your college education on the concept might miss out on.
So take notes, fellow students, here is how to do it.
The Closing
Closing a project is not as simple as shutting down your computer after completing a task. Let us consider an example.
As part of the studying process, you might have just completed an academic paper or even smarter, hired a good essay writer from essayservice.com to complete the task or two. Still, you did not merely accept the work and submit it right away. You read it and made sure the author met all the requirements, double-checked the work yourself, handed it in and only then considered the task completed.
Similarly, the closing phase of any project also requires some discipline. Having the deliverables completed does not mean that the whole thing is over. At this stage, the team leader has to take the lead once again, and check whether all the objectives have been met. This would include not only the initial aims but also any changes that were requested later.
It is easier to get through the closing phase with a checklist at hand. Rather than going into the details, here we are touching upon the essential items to tick off while finishing a project.
The Formal Sign-Off of Deliverables
For any task to be considered complete, the first aspect is to check whether all deliverables have been provided. It is not only the management team that has to agree with this. You will also need to get this signed off by the customer itself.
There are times when the customer might ask for more or request changes. This might result in some extension. That is why it is necessary to get the deliverables signed-off when they are achieved. Without that step, it is easy for the customer to keep on adding more requirements, and you might find it difficult ever to reach the closing.
Once the sponsor has approved all the deliverables, it is time to look into the final costs. In most scenarios, the management team would be the one paying all the other contractors. Make sure that all invoices are covered, including commissions, bonuses, or any additional fees.
Closing the Contracts
Apart from the deliverables, your team is also bound via legal contracts with clients. You want to get the signatures wherever necessary to ensure that all the approvals are legally provided and secured.
You also need to close all the contracts not just between the organization and the client, but also between internal, any vendor partners or other agreements made with third parties.
The Transition Support
Upon closing, in some cases, you also need to look into offering support afterward. Devising a transition plan is of high importance for IT projects and other related fields. For instance, you have helped to set up a new business unit or software support. The staff might need help transitioning. This might be a part of the initial agreement itself.
If agreed upon, you might be required to set up a transition team who could help the client manage and support it for a duration that is agreed upon by both parties. If not, this could be another reason for the project to extend further.
Lessons Learned
It is easy and far too tempting to get done and dusted with a task as soon as possible. But if you are hoping to improve, it is equally significant to spend some time recapping. This crucial part of looking at the mistakes made is vital and often overlooked. Every project is unique and presents the team with insight into several aspects that have to be recorded.
This offers some scope for improvement for every person in the team. It will give the manager a better idea of how to delegate tasks, and how doing that has yielded results. To succeed with a final report, you do not only have to look back at the mistakes but also take concrete actions and decide how not to repeat them.
Once all the tasks are completed, lessons learned, then it is time to reassign the resources. The first one to consider is the staff. Depending on the type of organization, team members are most likely to be reassigned to other projects. This might also require a manager to take action to finalize their contracts for them to leave the organization.
Dealing with Resources
The resources do not pertain to staff or contractors alone. A few cases might also require the team to procure materials and other equipment.
During the closing, you have to deal with all the materials left. While some could be returned, others have to be stored or put away to reuse or recycle. The team also has to look into re-allocating any facilities or rented spaces.
The Final Report
Once all the above aspects have been taken care of, the organizational policy would require you to create the final report. This is where one should include all necessary and critical documents finalizing the completion as well as the key points learned during the process.
The final report should reflect the scope, cost, schedule, and any other management documentation for future references.
As long and challenging as any project might be, its successful completion indeed demands a celebration. So do not hesitate to tap the team on the shoulder when you get the job done.
When to End
Every project should come to an end. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Some see the closing when it is supposed to, others endure many closing phases, and some might never even see the finish. At times, the project managers have to draw the line when the resources are not bringing any value.
Closing of the project is best done upon completion of every phase. Ultimately, the aim is to provide the best services to the stakeholders. There are many management systems available to help you track the completion, yet it is necessary to stay on top of every aspect individually as the project manager. So are you ready to take up the challenge?
