Currently. And RIP Jill Meagher.

Thinking about: an article in The Courier Mail entitled 'Why I'll never walk home alone again' caught my eye yesterday. This powerful opinion piece was written by a young girl of similar age and circumstance as Jill Meagher, who just last week walked a short distance home after drinks with friends, and sadly never made it. She's left behind a devastated husband, a family in shock and sadly has perpetuated a legacy of women everywhere now feeling unsafe on our streets. The girl who wrote the article walked home, as she has done many times before, suddenly hyper-aware of her own safety in a way she never had thought about before. Fortunately for the writer, she made it home.

Personally I've been known to walk quite a distance by myself after a few drinks, and consider myself so lucky that nothing of consequence has ever happened to me. Last year after my work Christmas party, in fact, found me wandering the streets of Brisbane's Fortitude Valley, not the safest of places, dressed as Little Red Riding Hood of all things. I had tried to call a taxi, however the taxi service in question refused to pick me up as apparently during a certain window, you can only get a cab from designated taxi ranks. 

WTF?

I recall having a heated argument with the girl on the other end of the phone, which ended in me describing my appearance and telling her to remember that if any misfortune befell me that she could live with that for the rest of her life.

Not my finest moment, for sure, but seriously, I was a woman walking alone in the middle of the night and a company that we PAY to collect us safely basically refused to help me.

Again, I'm one of the lucky ones...I made it to the taxi rank and home safely.

I think the story of Jill Meagher has touched every woman everywhere, and sadly I personally won't be walking anywhere after dark anytime soon. Even sitting outside enjoying the evening last night, I suddenly became hyper-aware myself of every noise, every crunch of leaves, and scared myself into going back inside and putting on the deadbolt.

RIP Jill.

Watching: so this long weekend (long weekend, yay!) has seen me catching up on a lot of my favourite shows which have come back on air after the US summer hiatus. My father picked up E on Friday to spend some time in Tenterfield during the school holidays (where I have heard he has been put to work doing manual labour around the motel...child labour laws, anyone??? haha), so I've had time to spare to just chill.

It's a pathetic display of my life that I can say that I have THOROUGHLY enjoyed watching HIMYM, New Girl, Two Broke Girls, Dance Moms and Puberty Blues in blissful silence, and have now discovered Switched at Birth, which is an intriguing drama series about two teenage girls who discover there was a mixup at the hospital and their families took home the wrong baby. The most interesting part is that one of the girls is deaf, which brings a whole new dimension to the drama. Beautifully done.

Anticipating: unfortunately I'm heading to Brisbane tomorrow for a funeral. Despite the sadness of this occasion I am looking forward to spending some time with my favourite girls while we celebrate the life of someone very special. I'm very lucky to have an understanding workplace to allow me to be there for my friend during this rough time in her life.

Enjoying: a lazy sleep in this morning (nearly 10am thank you!) followed by one of my favourite breakfasts...lactose free vanilla yoghurt (because lactose makes me feel ugh), with gluten free muesli (ditto) and fresh, delicious strawberries. It tastes like dessert. Yuuuummm.

I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend, for those who get one! Have an amazing day :)

xx

Currently.

I haven't done one of these in a while so thought I'd revisit 'Currently', inspired by one of my favourite blogs, Sometimes Sweet's posts.

Watching:
This is almost as embarrassing as Toddlers and Tiaras (although nothing is as embarrassing as admitting watching The Shire), but my new obsession now that all of my favourite shows seem to be on a break, is Dance Moms.

I guess I can relate to this one, growing up as a total dance kid myself, I have endured nasty dance teachers (telling you if you don't pull your stomach in, they'll cut it off and eat it for dinner???) and some really ambitious and grasping dance mums.

Luckily for me, my mum couldn't bear the politics and was a failed dance mum, opting instead to slow down outside the studio long enough for us to jump out before gunning the accelerator and buggering off as fast as she could.

Smart lady.

Watching these talented kids and their delusional mothers is a guilty pleasure and certainly is helping fill the gaps until The Vampire Diaries/True Blood/Pretty Little Liars et al opt to grace us with their presence once more.

If you've ever danced or want your kids to dance, it's a must see!

Anticipating:
The smell of spring in the air! Toowoomba is renowned for its Carnival of Flowers and it all kicks off this weekend with it's Flower, Wine and Food Festival. Apparently some of the gardens featured are a must-see and I'm really looking forward to stopping and...well...smelling the roses. Stay tuned for what I'm sure will be some amazing pics.

Incidentally, the garden inside our work grounds has just had the most gorgeous orange flowers spring up this week which makes it such a pleasure to come to work...sort of.

Discovering:
Forgive me if this is old news, but I've just stumbled onto the miracle of Epsom Salts! I have heard about them of course for relieving sore muscles and tired feet but hadn't heard what a fabulous skincare product it could be. Reading a blog somewhere this woman talked about how she used it on her face and it was a nice, easy and cheap (always a bonus) solution so I thought I'd give it a go.

Living in Toowoomba, you are covered from ears to toes for several months of the year, which in my case resulted in needing to shed about a zillion layers of 'snake skin' now that it's getting a little warmer out. So I soaked in a lovely Epsom bath and then mixed the salts with my exfoliator and went nuts.

20 million layers of skin floating in the bath later and RESULT! And skin like a baby's bottom...hooray for me!

Since then, I've been using Epsom Salts every other day on my face, just mixed in with my cleanser. And it's made the most ridiculous difference, that I'm simply stunned. I have problem skin and issues with adult acne (which as someone who went through my teenage years relatively spot-free is kinda mortifying). Since using this, not only is my skin noticeably brighter, but my existing spots have cleared up really fast and no new ones developing...

Just magic.

On Monday, running late for work, half asleep and clutching much-needed caffeine in hand, I ran into a co-worker who commented that I looked 'bright and raring to go'. As I was sleep deprived and feeling brain-dead, I can only attribute said miracle comment to Epsom Salts.

The best bit is not just the soft and clear skin but also I didn't realise the magnesium that is absorbed, which helps raise your serotonin levels naturally. And God knows I'll take all the serotonin I can get.

And Epsom, if you're reading this, feel free to sponsor me as a lifetime of salts sounds pretty damn fine.

Although now I've discovered that I can buy an 11kg bucket for just $30, if I don't hear from you, I might just live.

Reading:
So I just finished the three 'Grey' books and I have to say I wish I'd stopped after the first. Number 1 was OK and I did grow to feel for the characters and was interested in their development, however by halfway through the third book I just wanted the story to be finished already and grew to actively dislike pretty much both of the main characters. The plotlines just rambled and the carry-on between the pair (and I don't mean in the bedroom/Red Room of Pain) was ridiculous to the point of stupid.

Apologies to the millions of women who are obsessed with Christian and Ana, but I wanted to gag and smack them both extremely hard.

Listening to:
A total blast from the past popped onto the random rotation today:

Pump Up the Jam, Technotronic.

OMG I so remember going (underage) to the Bond Uni pub with my sister and some friends and dancing with some old blokes (I mean, senior citizen old, not dad old) and boogeying down to this gem. There's a bit that tells you to 'get down' and then 'get up' - well these poor old blokes gave it their all, but I feared when they got 'down' that there might not be too much getting back up in their future.

The memories in songs...aaahhh.

Make your day...if only to laugh at the 80s hair/costuming and bum bag that goes sooooo well with lycra.

So there you are. Hope your week is travelling well! Personally I'm shattered after an all-day meeting so I'm off to feed my brain some junk food in the form of another episode of Dance Moms.

Have a good one!

xx

Fifty shades of wtf.

What a wonderful weekend of doing a bit fat pile of nothing!

A bit of housework, a food shop and a lot of sitting in the sun...magical. The highlight being my son taking me out to dinner last night as a belated birthday present. We aimed to go to La Porchetta, a wonderful pizza/pasta place that makes mouthwatering, out-of-this-world pizzas, however it wasn't open when we got there.

As we were STARVING, we decided to head across the road to....Sizzler!

Haha yes I see the irony, from an upscale seafood buffet one day to Sizzler. But it is what it is, and frankly the food ain't all that bad.

So harping on this age thing...it's probably a sign of old age maturity to get excited about your steam mop, yeah? God I love that thing, it's effortless and quick and makes me actually want to mop.

Now I'm hardly the perfect housewife and not exactly the most houseproud person (cue all my friends rolling their eyes at this news with a giant, collective 'duh'), so it's pretty weird for me to get worked up over any kind of cleaning apparatus. So when one comes along, it's time to sing Hallelujah!

Anyhoo...enough about boring cleaning...

So I finished Fifty Shades yesterday and I would like to say that it's Fifty Shades of f--ked up, however the author has already beat me to it, like 50,000 times.

I must say the characters were endearing which keeps you reading however if there was a drinking game based on Ana biting her lip, then I would've been paralytic before the third chapter. It got to the point where I really wanted to give the fictional protagonist a good hard slap of my own. Pun intended.

Seriously, author, whoever the hell you are, enough already.

It was entertaining enough but I really cannot see how this book has taken the women of the world by storm (which ergo then enables them to take their men by storm, hehe). I supposed it has introduced kinky fuckery into the vernacular and sex shops everywhere thank you for it.

So an uneventful and yet luxuriously decadent weekend of big fat nothings. Need more of em. Getting up for work tomorrow will be painful!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend :)

xx

Currently.

Watching: as I've mentioned before, I have the unashamed viewing habits of a 16 year old girl. Well OK so slightly shaming, but hey, I am what I am.  So it's only natural that now I've exhausted all my Gossip Girl/Vampire Diaries/Ringer/Pretty Little Liars/Revenge mandatory viewing, I've been casting about for another puerile pre-pubescent show to get addicted to. So it just seemed fitting to make my next TV crush The Bachelorette. I didn't see Emily on her series but she seems sweet and I'm looking forward to watching the latest batch of attention-seeking media whores charming gentlemen trying to sweep her off her feet. All together now...awwww.

Listening to: Darren Percival's I Believe (When I Fall in Love it Will Be Forever) from The Voice. This show has become addictive viewing and whilst I always liked Darren, he was secondary to some other standouts. Well that was until last Monday night. All I can say is that he OWNED it. There is something about watching him sing that is incredibly moving, he clearly is just born to perform and as Joel put it, it felt like we were all baptised. It sounds so cheesy but he's the kind of guy that when he smiles, the whole world smiles with him. If he was a born-again preacher, I'd be a convert. Enough said.

Thinking about: how much my life has changed in the past month but just how incredibly RIGHT and natural everything seems. All my anxiety is gone and I realised today that it really seems so odd that I've only been working in my new job for 2 weeks...it feels like I've been there for so much longer, I feel so settled and welcomed and at 'home'. And in two weeks E has made a group of firm friends, has eased into school like he's been there forever, and has even had a girl or two slipping him their phone numbers angling for a date! (oh God, it's starting).

We love our house, particularly now the shower 'issue' has been resolved (and I can I just say that last night's shower was probably the best one I've ever had!) and life right at this minute is really quite wonderful. I am so excited and happy to be here and now just wonder why it took me so bloody long to leave the rat-race in the first place. I've put in a couple of long days but instead of being shattered when I walk in the door, I simply feel like I've done a good day's work and am pleasantly tired. What a difference it has made already to our lives! E simply adores having so much more time to practice on his Ripstik down the driveway, and just knowing he's playing in the fresh air instead of being trapped inside a unit watching TV makes my heart sing. I still occasionally walk through my house and get that start of, OMG we LIVE here! I hope that feeling never leaves because I really think we've hit on the secret to a great life here in Toowoomba. Even little things like listening to dogs barking (which is a novel experience, having not heard it in the neighbourhood for some years) is lovely, although I may contradict myself in weeks to come if it continues!

I really felt like I would miss Brisbane so badly and of course there are people I miss talking to every day and it hit me today that I haven't opened Excel since I left my last job (and in my last role I LIVED in that bloody programme) but otherwise (or in the case of Excel, in SPITE of) I really just feel quite free. Jumping off that cliff and praying for the best has paid off.

Missing: My sister and beautiful nephew and niece. Having a second television that picks up reception. Sushi.

Anticipating: our first Brisbane visitors! Our planned visit from E's mate was delayed due to poor Z getting shingles of all things, however he's well enough and not contagious to come tomorrow after all and stay through to Monday. Looks like the airbed purchase is not in vain after all! Apparently I'm  now charged with writing a blog post on what it's like to have a drunk guest in my home, and I also better beef up security as I've been warned Z's mum may just hack me and post something of her own. Ha.

Loving: this blog from an old school friend Rebecca Conway and the following quote from her Facebook page:

You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down. Ray Bradbury.

Funnily enough I heard the quote just this week as it's my new boss's favourite quote, and absolutely reflects my whole leap of faith to move to Toowoomba. Life is funny like that. Bec's speciality is shifting blocked energy to help you make changes to your life. A quote from her website is 'clearing long held ancestral and self-sabotaging patterns allowing for great self-confidence, more vitality, physical flexibility and inner peace'. I've only just heard of what Bec does and I'm really intrigued and want to know more. She really puts into words what I've been feeling for quite some time, and taking my own cliff-jump has really proved to me that she's onto something.

It must be a Bec thing.

I must be making up for my poor writing performance earlier in the week as suddenly I can't seem to shut up. Not that this is remotely unusual.

What are you up to currently? Feel free to write your own 'currently' post and link back to me in the comments. And don't forget to follow me on the link below!

xx

Currently.

I've done a couple of these posts now (here and here) and one of the things I like about them is that this exact moment I have very little of interest to report (see previous post on packing purgatory - still there) but there is so much going on around me and about to happen that I can write about instead. If I wrote about my actual day, you'd never come back as it was ultimately pretty damed boring!

Danielle from Sometimes Sweet does these so beautifully and I can only hope to come close to matching how well she writes but I'll give it a go.

Watching: got a secret, can you keep it? I'm recently gotten re-addicted to Pretty Little Liars. This show was on Aussie TV for a little while at one stage but somewhere it disappeared into the television programming abyss that always seems to happen with programmes I like! Anyhow, I had caught up on all my other de rigeur television viewing for the week and was looking around for something to watch online and stumbled back onto Aria et al. Yes, once again, a show aimed at 16 year olds, but I like it and am only very slightly ashamed to say so! The best part is I only saw about half of season 1 and they're now at season three so I have a lot to catch up on. Currently up to early season 2 so am looking forward to seeing how some of the storylines resolve.

Doing: refer to packing purgatory. I wonder how I accumulated so much in three years? We did a massive cull to move in and with only a smallish two bedroom unit, I really didn't think we had that much stuff. We've been a bit slack today, giving ourselves some time off to enjoy Mother's Day but got on a roll this afternoon and it seems the more we pack, the more is left behind! I must be going soft as I used to be the packing veteran. In fact I lived in more than 25 places before I turned 25 - the joys of having parents in real estate I guess! Since E was born I've tried to be a bit more stable, although 5 years is the maximum I've ever clocked up anywhere, we're a bit nomadic at heart. However I'm finding it all a bit hard this time around, when I thought it would be easy. It doesn't help that I have picked up some bug, likely the same one E had, and my body temperature is all over the place. I'm hot when it's cold, cold when it's hot and feel like I'm going to pass out the second I start getting warm. Urgh. I keep reminding myself I still have another week and a full weekend to do everything but I walk out into my lounge that looks like someone trashed it, and just see mess, mess, packing and more mess. E has dust up his nose and we both just feel really dirty. I know we'll get there but right now I'm just hiding in my room hoping it will all go away!!

Enjoying: Mother's Day, beautiful weather and my awesome child. I got coffee and breakfast in bed (cheese and bacon rolls from the bakery - slightly cheating but anyway!). He bought me the most beautiful shade of lipstick - it's called Cherry Candy and really shiny and I think I will have permanent cherry coloured lips for quite some time, it will be my new favourite! E went over to the shops and bought me sushi for lunch - my favourite. And in between packing, he's had time to create this brilliant Lego treehouse - check out the photo below. I don't know too many treehouses that have televisions and game consoles, but hey, we live in a technological age! It's also got a retractable ladder and a lockable trapdoor, I don't know about you but I'm pretty damned impressed.

Anticipating: my last week of work. I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye, it will be so sad! But so, so soon now we'll be leaving Brisbane and heading mountain-woods and I'm so excited to see our new house and finding out all the little things about our new town.

Eating: apart from sushi our diets for the last day or two and for the next week are going to likely be pretty eclectic. We are trying to eat through everything in the fridge/freezer and not buy anything unless necessary, so the pickings are pretty sparse. I'm going to be dying for a big salad or a meal with fresh vegetables by the time we hit Toowoomba. We have some frozen vegetables in the freezer to go through so at least we won't be completely nutritionally bankrupt. They're not my first choice but I always keep them in case I get home late and tired and can't be assed cooking anything more complicated.

Feeling: tired, sad, happy and slightly unwell all at the same time. It's not easy to pack and move when you're feeling under the weather so I hope whatever bug I have picked up leaves soon. My skin has also taken the opportunity to break out like a teenager's. I've suffered from adult acne for a few years but had it under control, however the last two months it has been ridiculous. I'm hoping it's just the stress and the dirt associated with moving (btw I thought I was a relatively clean person but packing has made me re-think this). Going to be working on improving my skin when I get to Toowoomba, hopefully that clean mountain air will help. Adult acne is the worst thing, it's so embarrassing and they always seem to congregate around my mouth so there's just nowhere to hide. I'm so good at the whole morning/night cleansing routine, but right now it's just out of control. I know it just sounds like vanity, but anyone else who has suffered knows what I'm talking about! And it's so hard to find the right combination of products that help with it, most of them are aimed at fresh teenage skin that just dries mine out and makes me look old!

So to all the mothers out there, I hope you are having a wonderful day and that your children have spoiled you rotten. And to all the men, I hope you've called your mothers today! Pick up the phone now!

Looking forward to the week ahead...let me know what you're currently doing, I'd love to know.

xx

'The Treehouse'

Currently.

I wrote a 'currently' post recently and really loved writing it. I got the idea from Danielle Hampton's Sometimes Sweet and thought after everything that has happened, it was great timing to reflect and write another.

Reading: The 19th Element by John L Becker. I've mentioned before the brilliant Amazon Top 100 free titles list that I stumbled onto. I am trying to save money for what is proving to be an expensive move so this list is a complete godsend. I've read quite a few 'freebies' and make it a point to regularly check back for new titles so there's always something in the queue. I'm reading-obsessed and get an awful feeling if I don't have something new on hand to sink my teeth into. And some of these books are great! Because they're free, I download them no matter what genre (except for cookbooks, overtly Christian titles or those aimed at 5 year olds - anything else is fair game). The best part about this is that I get to read things I would never usually pick up or buy. And some of them are fantastic.

The 19th Element is much heavier fare than I would usually choose, centred around an ex-government spy who makes a connection between certain events to detect a nuclear terrorist threat. I'm surprised that I've been riveted by it, it's well written and the storyline is pretty gripping. I'm about 85% of the way through so just at the really exciting part where I can't quite tell how it's going to end.

Thinking about: my immiment move. I've been working on my Toowoomba Project book and have ticked off a couple more items and started a wishlist which contains some realistic items and some not-so-realistic ones! I've come to believe that you have to get out there and create your ideal life and I am going to be embracing a lot of change once I move 'up the mountain'. Thoroughly excited - stay tuned.

Loving: E's and my 'his and hers' haircuts we got this morning. We're on a strict budget and I can no longer afford my expensive hairdresser but luckily have discovered a great girl at a local cheapie place who did our hair this morning. It's no frills but the cuts seem decent and the price is right - so it's a good win. I've had quite a bit of length taken off and it feels weird to run my fingers through. I keep forgetting it's the length I usually wear it - it's just grown so quickly lately. Love that feeling of freshly washed hair, too, it smells delicious.

Eating: I took E out for breakfast this morning at 'our place' at Chermside Shopping Centre. We haven't been there in a while but with only two weeks left in Brisbane I thought it only fitting to give it a 'last meal' as residents of Brisbane. It's lovely to have a place where the girl at the counter sings out 'the usual?' as we walk up (the 'usual' being their heavenly thick toast, hash browns and cappuccino for me, hot chocolate with marshmallows for E). I am taking special note to really take notice of and enjoy these 'lasts' we're experiencing.

Watching: The Vampire Diaries. I'm way too old for this show but Ian Somerhalder, seriously? How could I not? I love that it's like a mini-movie in each episode, there is no 'filler' time and there's at least 2 dramatic 'game-changing' events per episode. I love it.

Anticipating: a visit from my dad and stepmother on Monday. They're in town for a few days and since their move to Tenterfield I don't get to see them nearly as often as I'd like. They run a motel so time off together is really rare. One of the wonderful things about moving to Toowoomba is that I will only be 1.5 hours away from them, makes a visit that much more manageable. I am so close to my dad and the relationship he shares with E, his oldest grandson, is something that almost brings tears to my eyes. My son is my father's 'mini-me', they are so alike in looks and mannerisms that it's quite eerie. And his grandma of course spoils him rotten as only a grandma can. Grandma is famous for her 'jellybean jar', a huge, foot-high glass jar of beans that gets raided constantly throughout visits and huge handfuls taken for the ride home. Sugar overload much?

Enjoying: the most glorious Brisbane autumn day. It's about 25 degrees, hardly a cloud in the sky and so beautiful. After a hectic morning, I've spent the afternoon sitting on my balcony soaking up some vitamin D and reading my kindle. It's cool out but the sun is gorgeous. Once I move to a house I'll have to mow lawns and do things on weekends so taking advantage of this restful time, the lull before the storm, if you will. Fingers crossed this weather continues throughout the long weekend, it is lovely to have 2 more days to look forward to.

So what are you plans this weekend? Hope you're having as lovely day as I am. I would love to read about what you're up to. Meanwhile you can laugh or cry at our before and after hair shots below!

xx

Currently.

One of my favourite blogs that I read regularly is Sometimes Sweet. Danielle writes beautifully and absolutely inspired me to start my own blog. If you haven't discovered Danielle yet, be sure to check her out.

A great regular post that she writes is 'Currently.' She suggests her readers write their own posts and link them back to her comments. I thought this was a great idea so here I go...

Obsessing over: Ted Bloomington's 'The Wisdom of Play' video. We watched this at work today and I can't stop thinking about it. Ted's 'Happiness Formula' might sound simple but his theory that we link happiness to reaching goals, only to immediately redefine our goalposts, means that for most of us happiness seems so elusive. This resonated so strongly with me and I'm inspired to execute his theory to see how it works in practice. I'm sure you'll see more of this on my blog - why don't you do it too and let me know how much happier you are as a result!

Watching: The Voice (Australian version). I'm so not a 'talent' show fan (an oxymoron in Australian terms) but tuned into the first season of the US version where they discovered some unbelievably outstanding talent. The format is fresh and original and I love the interaction between the judges and the contestants so thought I'd catch the first episode just to see if the Aussies could measure up.

Perhaps it's the magic chemistry of Seal, Joel Madden, Keith Urban and Delta, but Elijah and I have been riveted. The talent they've uncovered already throughout the audition process has been incredible. From the girl who 'swallowed Janis Joplin' to the sight-impaired beauty who sings like an angel, I'm already hooked. It has also been wonderful to cuddle up on the couch with Eli to watch this as a family. If nothing else, I hope it teaches E to reach for his dreams.

Reading: the joy of a Kindle is the instant access you have to books that you might never pick up at a bookstore. Last month there was nothing in the budget for books, and the thought of having nothing to read is unthinkable! Imagine my delight to find the Amazon Top 100 Free Books list - I downloaded just about all of them which has kept me entertained for the last few weeks. Sometimes the freebies are a bit hit and miss, but I have discovered some great new authors that I never would have discovered otherwise. Honestly, I am a little embarrassed to admit but most of my usual choices are the lighter kind of chick-lit, reading is an escape for me so I don't always feel like delving into deeper fare, however I have read some books that have really touched my heart. One of these in particular was Exposed by Ashley Weis, which is a raw and sometimes disturbing view into the world of porn, told from both sides of the screen. Ashley weaves the two stories together in a beautiful way and whilst it is somewhat religious in its overtones, it wasn't offputting nor got in the way of the story.

Anticipating: some big and awesome changes in my life. I don't like to count my chickens so won't elaborate just yet but life is looking good. Change is always scary but if we don't move forward, we don't go anywhere so whilst I have some trepidation, I'm also really excited about the coming weeks and months.

Eating: Ferrero Rocher, the original and the best. I've got an entire box leftover from Easter and have just had one and trying to employ some willpower not to keep reaching for that box...

Loving: Pinterest! I have just discovered this, I know I'm late to the party but have found some inspirational photos and quotes and am now obsessed (see below). My Opi black shattered nailpolish. This hairstyle that I'm trying to replicate, without enormous success.

What are you doing currently?

xx