Not Your Mother's Book...On Being a Woman

 

A collection of Stories from People Like You

Created by Dahlynn McKowen and Ken McKowen

“Not Your Mother's Book....On Being a Woman is a better PMS cure than chocolate, and with no calories!” ~ Jennifer Deaves

Not Your Mother's Book...On Being a Woman is a collection of short stories that had me laughing so hard I was nearly wetting myself. Is it scary that I can relate to these woman's experiences?, was one thought going through my head, whilst the other yelled “Yes I am normal, I am woman”.

Within this book Dahlynn McKowen and Ken McKowen have created a celebration of what being a woman is all about. A celebration of true womanhood with all it's lumps, bumps, oops and oh no's!. A book that woman will instantly relate to and men will shake their heads at, turning pages wondering how woman can be so stupid yet honest, lovable and deliciously hilarious.

This is the first book in the anthology titled Not Your Mother's Book...a series that I am sure all will soon be talking about. If you love Chicken Soup for the Soul then this anthology will surely blow your mind. Dahlynn and Ken McKowen spent 10 years as Chicken Soup for the Soul co authors/editors before launching Not Your Mother's Book. With another 30 plus books in this anthology under development there is sure to be plenty of laughter and love filling homes worldwide.

When reading Not Your Mother's Book....On Being a Woman I kept feeling there was a magic ingredient that drew me to the book, not wanting to put it down just in case I missed something. Unlike a novel there really is no chance of missing out on anything as each individual short story carries a mystery and charm of it's own, yet I could not shake this page turning, what could possibly happen next feeling. There was a feel good, are these woman for real, feeling behind this immense desire to turn pages. Or was it an immense desire to feel normal, accepted and just like every other woman.

Not Your Mother's Book...On Being a Woman is nicely set out, consisting of eight chapters which contain eight stories each. Being short stories this book fits itself well to being read anywhere and at anytime you need a quick feel good,belly laugh, pick me up. It seems as though every silly scenario a women has been in is depicted within this book. From clothing to weight, food, boobs, bums, age,husbands and those little moments that tickle us, Not Your Mother's Book....On Being a Woman has it covered.

If I had to write one negative thing about this book then I would have to say that it was painful – as the stitches in my side ached, my facial muscles spasmed and my belly hurt due to laughter. Where is the warning on this book ~ “Warning: care should be taken whilst reading this book. Sitting is preferred to standing, with cushions propped strategically around the body to soften falls which may be caused by laughter. No responsibility is taken for any injuries sustained during reading...or death by laughter.”

On a Serious note 10/10 to Dahlynn and Ken McKowen for Not Your Mother's Book...On Being a Woman.

Available now at www.Amazon.com I recommend all grab a copy of this book and find their inner goddess, the one full of reality and good times.

ISBN: 978-1-938778-00-1
www.publishingsyndicate.com

Review: Jennifer Deaves

Today's Post

Below are the books that arrived in today's post. These are being reviewed for Allen and Unwin. They join the pile of books that currently sit on my desk. Keep an eye on this site for my reviews.

I am currently writing reviews on the following books which should be online mid next week.

The Monogamy Gap by Eric Anderson

Running To Extremes by Lisa Tamati

The Moon Shines Out of the Dark by Stephanie Duowrick. Illustrations by Anne Spudvilas

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

I Made Lattes for a Love God by Wendy Harmer

'Carried Away' - Melody Moon

*as published in Issue 7 Rattling Reviews Magazine

Carried Away is the second CD by Melody Moon, following 'Little Hopes'. Once again Melody woo's her audience with her soulful voice, relaxed disposition and moving tone.

There are no words that clearly describe the wonderful, serene and heavenly feelings this Australian Alternative Folk singer/songwriter leaves you with or the places she takes you. Melody Moon has a voice that floats around your aura placing you in a surreal moment of relaxation and pleasure. Two words that constantly come to my mind are floaty and dreamy. As her CD spins around I take in every word and sway to every beat in a dreamy, floaty, relaxed, hypnotized state. I  imagine lying on a cloud listening and loving, being 'carried away' to Melody's world of nature, happy thoughts and bouncy beautiful belongings. This album has rightfully been named.

Melody Moon has a sweet distinctive voice. Accompanied with the sounds of guitar, cello, ukelele, glockenspiel, trumpet, double bass and drums she fills your heart with love and respect for nature, life and those around you. To be in a room with Melody Moon is to feel her honest presence and her heartfelt love for life. Melody Moon is a blissful breath of fresh air in an industry that often gets 'carried away' with the hype and hysteria of  teenage cult and fan based following.

Beautifully presented, the cover art to 'Carried Away' compliments the album. It places you in the floaty, relaxed mood that is within found its sound. With its natural colour tone and use of nature it shows the true personality of this artist that will soon be in demand at all local venues and festivals. Melody Moon is currently captivating her audience as she tours Australia, leaving all touched to the core of their soul.

For further details on Melody Moon, tour dates and to purchase her two CD's visit www.melodymoon.com.au

Review: Jennifer Deaves

five:am

*as published in issue 7 Sept 2012 Rattling Reviews Magazine

Rattling Reviews Magazine 

 

Organically Teasing and Tantalizing the Tastebuds

Waking up at five am is not for everyone but with the five:am organic yoghurt range mornings are surely made easier.

Surfer and long time yogi David Prior was inspired to create a product that allowed him to have a clear ecological conscience during one of his early morning moments of clarity. Thus was born five:am – the new purely organic yoghurt range that preserves the environment through every aspect of the production process.

“It’s just as much about what’s not in our food as what’s in it – there are no hormones, antibiotics, herbicides or pesticides used in our yoghurts. Better yet, five:am allows indulgence without regret as part of a healthy, active lifestyle,” says the chief yoghurt dude.

The range boasts six delicious flavours including vanilla bean, Greek style and low-fat mango prepared to perfection within the uncompromising confines of a natural manufacturing process.

The yoghurteers behind the latest organic offering have refined their yoghurt technique to create yoghurts free from gluten, gelatine, preservatives and starches with no artificial colours, flavours, stabilisers or sweeteners.

Proudly Australian owned and operated, five:am uses only the best natural and organic ingredients, sourced locally from fourth generation West Gippsland farmers Peter and Wendy Wallace.

Not surprisingly, the Wallace’s daily routine starts around 5AM also, as they prepare to milk the 160 Friesian cows that roam freely around the farm, helping themselves to minerals found at the “breakfast bar” on the sprawling property. The cows are so much a part of the family that each has its own name.

This self-serve philosophy is one of the key differences between milk (and ultimately yoghurt) provided from organic farms.

“Cows know what they need. They’ll go and select herbs and minerals that have the nutrients they need to ensure themselves and their milk are healthy,” says master milk maiden Wendy Wallace.

“For us, organic farming is about remembering how our grandfathers generation farmed, rather than implementing new technology. It’s about getting back to nature, understanding how it works and how to work for it.”

“The milk our cows produce each day has the same cream component as conventional milk minus the toxins, meaning they don’t end up in people’s cereal bowls. Yoghurt lovers will notice the difference in the richness and freshness straight away” she explains.

Prior agrees, noting, “not all yoghurts are created equal. The power of pure, organic yoghurt is to indulge without regret.”


OMG! I am in coffee heaven, where my first reactions when I tried the five:am coffee bean organic yoghurt. Soft on my palette yet aromatically tantalizing the yoghurt danced on my tongue as the coffee flavour hit the spot. What a way to start the day or brighten it mid way with a natural high, without the guilt. Five:am Coffee Bean organic yoghurt provides the smell of a fresh cup of coffee, teasing your nose follicles as you eat. I found the individual serving of 170g just enough to satisfy the stomach and leave me with the feeling of 'aaah! That was good'.

With my five:am coffee bean experience sitting freshly on my mind I felt a need to explore the full range on offer. Not to be disappointed I soon went from flavour to flavour. From Strawberry to Vanilla Bean, Honey + Cinnamon and Natural, I found them all to be soft on the palette with just the right amount of flavour. Five:am organic yoghurt was enjoyed by my whole family. With the new squeezy range now in stores even the little ones can get their taste buds tantalized. My five year old kept coming back for more and more, to the stage that I had have to limit the amount she can have a day.

So what did some of our Rattling Reviews team have to say about five:am.

“ A smooth, light and tasty texture. Being lactose intolerant I don't eat a lot of yoghurt but the five:am coffee bean yoghurt left me cursing my intolerance, wanting to be able to experience the guilt free indulgence time and time again” - Samantha Lo

“I am a regular yoghurt eater, usually making my own. I thought five:am was very smooth and creamy. I liked the vanilla bean and natural best. The strawberry was nice as was the Honey + Cinnamon but I wouldn't eat the coffee bean because I am not a coffee drinker. I look forward to trying the natural yogurt in some recipes.”- Joan McNamara


“I am not a yoghurt eater so was not keen to try five:am. To my surprise I quiet enjoyed the taste and texture, with the vanilla bean and natural being the best.  Five:am have changed my  ideas about yoghurt.  I can confidently say I would be satisfied eating five:am one on a regular basis.” - Terry McNamara


Flavours and sizing ranges from the 700gram tubs (RRP$6.49) of Vanilla Bean, Honey + Cinnamon, Natural and Greek style through to the delicious 170gram Low Fat Strawberry, Honey + Cinnamon, Low Fat Mango, Low Fat Blueberry, Vanilla Bean and Coffee Bean (RRP$2.29). All packaging is 100 per cent recyclable.

A visit to the five:am website leads to another experience that takes you on the journey from the concept to the yoghurt birth.  We found the website to be bright and bubbly whilst being  factual, funny and informative. Our visit left us feeling very welcome and confident in the product we were buying. By the time we left  we felt that we had personally grown to know both the owner and company and that our choice to buy organic, and five:am, was one that would not only benefit us health wise but benefit   our  whole family and the environment as well. As stated on the website “ Healthy people, healthy planet”

Another bonus to the website was the recipe tab. Here one can find tasty ideas that cover all meals of the day; breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. All recipes use natural wholesome ingredients that can easily be purchased at the grocery store.

Making five:am part of your daily ritual is making a healthy organic choice that not only benefits body and mind but keeps your taste buds dancing the day away.



five:am is available for purchase exclusively at Woolworths, Safeway and Thomas Dux grocers in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.

For more information visit www.fiveam.com.au, join them on facebook www.facebook.com/fiveamyoghurt or follow them on twitter at www.twitter.com/fiveamyoghurt

article: Jennifer Deaves
          

photos: Sharyn Cairns, Andrew Maccoll and Martyn Miller

Podee BPA Baby Bottle

*as published in Rattling Reviews Magazine

Reducing colic and ear infections in babies

The day you have been dreaming of has arrived. Your bundle of joy is in your arms and you are finally home to start your life together.  All goes well for a while until the colic sets in, the screaming begins and you, as a mum, feel helpless. Any mum who has experienced a baby with colic, or ear infections, knows only too well how miserable it makes bubs, and mum. It is a trying time for both. One that finds you searching the internet and trying any remedy on offer, just so you can have a nights sleep.

The Podee BPA Baby Bottle may be the answer to your prayers. The Podee allows you to feed baby in an upright position, reducing colic and reflux by preventing air from entering. Pediatricians also recommend feeding your baby in an upright position to prevent ear infections. The Podee BPA Baby Bottle is a hands free system that is ideal for the parent of multiple babies or of a child with special needs.

We trial ran the twin pack of Podee Baby Bottles which we found to be of a good size ( 240mls each ) and well made. The plastic has a smooth feel to it and is shaped to fit nicely in the hand. Being able to be used as a held ( will not relieve colic ) or hands free bottle leads itself to versatility. With the bottles meeting all safety standards and being lead free, PVC free and BPA free you are guaranteed you are using a product that will leave your baby safe and happy.


Our team of review mothers where divided in their feelings about this bottle. They loved the idea and  colic free device but wondered if it could lead to the loss of bonding and contact with the child if taken advantage of. Feeding is one of the joyous times between child and mum. There is the cuddles, eye contact, talking and caressing. Although a great tool that is definitely needed on the bottle market, relieving the debilitating pain of colic, could it be overused by those who do not need it for medical reasons but see it as freedom for themselves?  This, of course, is not something that individuals or the bottle manufacturers can  control and does not reflect on the Podee Bottle itself but is something our reviewers, as mothers, hoped would not happen.

The bottle system was given to each  individual reviewer with the instruction paper and they were asked to put the hands free feeding system together. All struggled at first but agreed that once they had done it once it would be a breeze there after. Some stated they felt all the parts and tubing would be annoying to have to carry around if going out for the day it was a unanimous agreement that for the sake of the comfort of their child this would not stop them from buying the system, mum's will always put health and welfare of their child first.

The Podee Baby Bottle Twin pack consists of two plastic baby bottles, 2 adapters, 2 disks, 2 nipples, 2 cap rings, 2 6.5” plastic tubes, 2 11.5” plastic tubes, 2 nipple covers and 1 tube cleaning brush. It is a complete kit that once sterilized has you ready for a comfortable upright feed where ever you are. We found it easy to use, in the car, at a friends, in the pram and even whilst shopping. Used with the long tube it is ideal for the young baby and can continue to be used when the child is a toddler using the shorter tube for colic relief or if the child is now colic free as a normal feeding bottle. 

Overall we were impressed with this system and can see the huge relief it will provide to many families. We found it easy to use once assembled, with no extra sucking effort required by the child to get the liquid to the teat through the extra tubing. We found it suitable for water, juice, breast milk and formula. Packaged and presented in a box as a complete kit it would make the ideal gift. It can be purchased at a cost of $34 from  www.blamethebaby.com.au .

Also available:

Podee medicator - a great little attachment to pop onto the end of a medication syringe so that your little one can easily take their medicine through a standard teat instead of trying to suck it in off a syringe. No more drips and no more tears.

Podee bottle insulator and holder - suitable for any standard sized baby bottle! Quality insulator with a gorgeous teddy to keep your baby happy and peaceful.

QToys

* As seen in Issue 5 January 2012 Rattling Reviews Magazine.

Educating Our Children Through Play-based Activities

The Quins Group is a Melbourne-based, Australian owned company who are leading the way in supplying educational toys, teaching equipment and furniture to our early childhood market. With a variety of toys suiting birth to seven years, Q Toys are ensuring that children in our schools and child care centres receive the developmental stimulation through play-based learning that is required to give them the best start in life.

Originally founded by Dr. Quan Nguyen and Cathy Dang, M.Ed, Q Toys has grown over the years to include artists, teachers, engineers and industrial designers, who's expertise and experiences help them to blend the educational value of toys, fun and childhood imagination with high quality timber design. All Q Toys products are eco-friendly being made from plantation timber off recycled rubber trees. All designs are crafted by highly skilled craftsmen and have a specific educational function in order to foster children's physical and mental development. All products carry a 12 month from date of purchase warranty.

We couldn't be more impressed with Q Toys when we trial ran the Stacking Pegs Board. This consists of a wooden base board with 5 rows of different coloured shapes consisting of 20 pegs in total. The feel and consistency of  the wood was one that was smooth, glossy and very appealing. The printed shapes at the beginning of each row where clear with no missing paint. We found the Stacking Pegs Board to be a high quality and value for money toy. We were shocked at the price of only $19.95 wholesale.

We tested the peg board with a 4 year old and found it met both her expectations and those of the educational value we placed upon it. There were a number of learning values in this toy, from shape recognition, colour, stacking, counting, comparison, sorting and problem solving. Interaction with an adult promoted language and numeracy skills and provided opportunity for forward planning and memory recall. The Stacking Pegs Board soon became a favourite that was manipulated each day. To date it has stood to the challenge showing no chips to the paint or wood and holding the as new look. At no time has there been any risk of splintering of the wood causing harm to the child.

After further research into the toys provided by Q Toys we found all products to be of high standard and as described. We can happily say we feel that Q Toys are meeting their mission of designing and manufacturing products that are instrumental to physical and mental development of children from birth to seven years old. We found all toys to comply with the Australian and New Zealand toys safety standards as stated on the site. We did not find any evidence of toys or equipment which would place a child at risk.

For further information on Q Toys and to find a stockist in your area visit www.qtoys.com.au

article: Jennifer Deaves

Does God Give Us More Than We Can Bear? by Jerry Smith

'The child of a raped housekeeper who was deaf, mute, and poor, Jerry Smith had trouble before he even started. Does God Give Us More Than We Can Bear? takes readers through disappointments and failures as Jerry does his best to battle overwhelming odds with a deck seemingly stacked against him. Did God give Jerry more than he could bear? As an aging Jerry ponders this very question, he is diagnosed with an untreatable and terminal lung disease. With nowhere left to turn and a deadline with fate, God then reveals his plan for Jerry's life. Now, cured of his previously incurable disease but still suffering the damage caused, Jerry has been given new direction and shares with readers his struggles, stories and wisdom. In these recollections, he reveals hope, a light for the darkest days, years, and even decades. Jerry's story is the perfect example of how God will use anything for good, even when it seems most unlikely. He now lives to share his story, the hope he has, and how the lessons learned can change lives.'

This little package of a book is an easy to read account of one mans journey to answer his question Does God Give Us More Than We Can Bear? This journey has lead to Jerry Smith being able to awake each morning saying “ Wow! Its great to be alive.”

As one who does not find themselves using the word God in their vocabulary on a regular basis I first read the title of this book and wonder if the religious connotation may mean that the contents were based on ones religious views. I hesitantly began reading and found that I was soon wrong. This book is suitable for all regardless of beliefs or culture.

What would you do if you were diagnosed with lung cancer and told you had a life expectancy of 6 months to 2 years? Once the shock, anger, rage and fear wore off would you accept your fate or seek all treatment possible hoping for a better outcome? The later is exactly what Jerry Smith did and today he lives to tell the story of his life, instilling hope and empowerment into others.

As I read I realised that no matter what upbringing we have and no matter where we come from we can rise above our hardships and misfortunes and follow our dreams and happiness. It is often in hard times that we stop and reassess our life and outlook. When given his 'sentence of death' this was exactly what Jerry Smith did. When he looked back on his life he realised that he never really had a sense of purpose. He states that since writing this book his life has been a continued journey in which he explores new paths daily.

Does God Give Us More Than We Can Bear? by Jerry Smith is easy to read and, being smaller than the normal paperback, fits snuggly into the handbag or briefcase for reading at any location. It is not just a book but a book with a message that one man needed to tell and, being in its second edition, many needed to hear.

ISBN: 978-1-6346-596-7

Available online at:www.tatepublishing.com

Jerry Smith can be found at: www.jerrysmith.org

Review: Jennifer Deaves