Friday 31 August 2012

FFS Friday

Happy Friday! This week has been a tough one for me, I'm very glad that it's over. 

My hayfever has been really bad lately. FFS.

I got some tablets and a nasal spray to help relieve the symptoms. When I got them home I read the instructions. They both say "Do not use if you are pregnant or may become pregnant." FFS.

How stupid is that? It'd be nice if they provided a timeframe. What if I get pregnant in 2 years time. Does that count? Or even 4 weeks time? Basically it's saying that any female of child bearing age cannot use the medication. Great. FFS.

The nearly spring weather has made me realise that I need some new t-shirts. I went to Target and bought 4. When I got home I tried them on and realised that I don't like 3 of them. FFS. 

Friday night hubby came home from work and told me the reason bub doesn't sleep well is because I didn't read Save Our Sleep. FFS.

There is a story behind this. After I had bub, at least three times a week hubby would come home from work and tell me that the guys from work said we should be doing the Save Our Sleep program. I got so sick of hearing it that I got the book and told him if it's so good he could read the damned thing. He didn't. FFS.

Unfortunately for me, despite my best efforts to avoid it, I was struck down with man flu (aka a cold). FFS.

I timed it really well and got sick on Friday, just in time for the weekend.
Hubby took the weekend off to look after Chai.

Unfortunately Chai got sick too, so was up constantly on Friday night. FFS.

I got up to him once and then was up with him at 5am when he refused to go back to sleep. FFS.

Hubby had him all day Saturday and by the end of the day he'd had enough.

Saturday night bub was up constantly (every hour) and hubby expected me to deal with him because he'd had enough! FFS.

Sunday he decided he was over it so went out on his motorbike. FFS.

He was planning on being out for an hour, but thanks to the City to Surf he couldn't. Hahaha. Not FFS.

I've decided I'm going to start doing the same thing when I've had enough, if it's ok for him to take off and leave me to deal with bub then it's okay for me to do the same thing.

The whole weekend I keep on thinking "Welcome to my world sunshine. You think your job is harder than mine yet you can't even cope with 24 hours, I do this 24/7!" FFS.

This week has been my toughest week as a parent. FFS.

With both me and bub being sick I just haven't coped. FFS.

It's the first time I've felt like I'm not coping. FFS.

Bub has been very whingey and when he's not whingeing he's throwing tantrums for no reason at all. FFS.

As if that isn't bad enough bub hasn't been sleeping, he's been up at least 4 times every night. FFS.

Tuesday night he woke up at 2am and I couldn't get him back to sleep. FFS.

I tried to settle him for hours and at 5.45am I gave up. FFS.

It was at this point I reached my parenting low. I did something I never wanted to do. I put him in his cot and left him crying for 15 minutes. FFS.
 
Wednesday I didn't know how I was going to make it to the weekend. FFS.
I just wanted to leave bub and go away on my own for a few days. FFS.

I even considered drugging him so that I could get some sleep. FFS.

By some miracle the stars aligned and fortune shone on me on Thursday. Clearly the universe realised that it needed to cut me a break. FFS.

We went to playgroup in the morning where bub happily played for an hour and a half. He didn't want anything to do with me the whole time. Then we got home and he slept for 3 hours and 45 minutes. After that break I felt like a different person. A few hours peace erased the whole horrible week, thank goodness for that! Not FFS.

I'll leave you all on that happy note, have a great weekend!


Dear Baby G

Wednesday 29 August 2012

August Favourites


Tom Ford Pink Dusk lipstick - I've wanted this for ages and thanks to the generosity of two very lovely ladies, I finally have it. It's everything I hoped it would be and I absolutely love it.

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush - This has love hearts all over it, what more is there to say?

Physician's Formula Happy Booster powder - I find this to be such a versatile powder. I use it as a blush, face powder and eye shadow, which makes it great for when I'm in a hurry.

Rimmel Match Perfection blush - This is new to my collection and I really like it. I got the shade Light, which is ideal for my pale skin.

Rimmel Match Perfection bronzer - I'm a bronzer phobe, I just can't seem to get the application right. This however, is perfect. It's sheer so applies lightly and gives me a healthy flush of colour.


Tangle Teezer - I saw this on Nat's blog and knew that I needed it, because we always like the same things. She was right, it's amazing. I've only been using this for a few days but I am losing so much less hair then when I use a regular hairbrush. I've also noticed that my hair doesn't seem to be falling out as much as it usually does.

Buddha Balm Burnt Sugar Fig lip balm - This is the strongest tasting lip balm I've ever used. Since I'm all about flavoured lip products, I love it. Added to that, it's very hydrating and has been keeping my lips hydrated in the freezing weather we've been having.

L'oreal Super Liner liquid eyeliner - This has a soft felt tip applicator which makes it easy to use, it gives a  lovely fine line and has a really pretty shimmer to it. 

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - I've been using this for a few weeks now and my skin feels so soft and smooth.


Monday 27 August 2012

August Empties

Johnson's Dreamy Skin body lotion - I loved the smell of this and so did hubby who drenched himself in it every night. I'm not convinced that it helped me sleep any better, but then I'm so tired at the end of every day that I don't need any help sleeping.

Rexona Clinical Protection deodorant - I've repurchased this heaps of times, it's a staple. Read my full review here.

Soap and Glory Hair Supply - This is a great moisturiser, in fact I didn't find it very hydrating at all, but it made my hair smell beautiful.

Sportsgirl Scrub Up body exfoliator - My favourite body scrub. 

Origins No Offense deodorant - I've had this for years but never finished it because it's pretty ineffective. It works well enough for the freezing cold winter weather we've been having, when I don't sweat, but if I sweat at all it does nothing. I liked the scent though, it'd make a nice perfume.

Endota Spa Aloe and Jojoba face scrub - In my books Endota can do no wrong. Every product of theirs I've tried has been amazing and this is no exception. This scrub is gentle yet effective. 

Kiehl's Creme de Corps body lotion - This has a cult following and I don't understand why. Sure, it's a nice moisturiser, but there are a lot of moisturisers out there that are just as nice, if not nicer, and they cost a lot less.

Living Proof No Frizz Styling Cream - I love the No Frizz range because it really works. The styling cream is light enough to use on my fine hair and heavy enough to tame the frizz. Read my review of the No Frizz range here.

Vanessa Megan Kakadu Plum Age-Less serum - This serum is the first natural serum I've tried that actually works (not counting oils). When I used this my skin felt firmer, I'll be purchasing this when I've got through my collection of serums. My full review is coming up soon.

SK-II Skin Signature Cream - I'm not sure what to make of this. It's one of those products that people rave about but I don't fully understand why. It's quite fragranced and at times I found it a little irritating. My skin did feel soft and smooth after I used this, but for me it's just not worth the very high price. 

Biore Gentle Make-up Removing Wipes -  These were surprisingly good. I usually stay away from Biore products as I find them to be too harsh for my skin, but these weren't. They have a textured side and a smooth side, which I think is a great idea. I will happily buy these next time they're on special.

WotNot Naturally Nurturing Facial Wipes - My holy grail wipes. Full review here.

Priceline Round Cotton Pads - The only cotton pads that I use. 
MAC Lingering Brow Pencil - My holy grail brow pencil. Full review here.

Bonne Bell Click-it lipgloss - I'm so pleased to have finished a gloss! Now if only I could finish the other 98,097 that I have in my collection. Like all Bonne Bell products, this tastes great. I don't think it's available here anymore, which just goes to show how long I've had it.

Random perfume samples.

And here we have yet another pile of products that I've tossed out. They were either old, I didn't like them or in the case of the Jonathan conditioner, too hard to get out of the bottle.

Friday 24 August 2012

FFS Friday

Friday hubby was struck down in his prime. FFS.

By man flu. FFS.

I decided in the face of man flu's wrath that the only wise option was to take bub and evacuate the house. FFS.

Man Flu Victim (MFV) did not think this was a good idea, he wanted me to stay home and suffer with him. FFS.

As I was running for the front door MFV announced that he thought he was having a heart attack. FFS.

Knowing he wasn't having a heart attack I rolled my eyes, which MFV didn't appreciate at all. FFS.

He then told me he was getting chest pains. Upon further questioning he revealed that he got the pain whenever he coughed. FFS.

I'm an asthmatic so well versed in coughing and coughing related chest pain, so knew he wasn't having a heart attack. FFS.

When MFV realised that I was going to leave the house whilst he was having a heart attack, he told me that I'd feel really bad if I came home and found him dead from the heart attack. FFS.

I decided to humour him so stayed home. FFS.

How he thought me staying home would help I have no idea, as he locked himself in the bedroom with the door shut and the blankets over his head. FFS.

So even if he did have a heart attack I wouldn't have known cause he was in bed. FFS.

An hour later (by which time it was too late for me to take Chai to the class I'd been going to take him to), MFVemerges from the bedroom and tells me that I need to get Chai out of the house because he can't sleep with all the noise Chai makes. FFS.

Saturday MFV was feeling better so decided the best thing to do would be to go shopping all day. FFS.

Sunday he was really sick, what a shock. FFS.

Tuesday my day started at 3am when bub woke up and I couldn't get him back to sleep. By the time hubby came in to take over (4.30am) I was wide awake and couldn't get back to sleep. FFS.

By Tuesday we were thinking how lucky we were that bub hadn't got sick when he started vomiting. FFS.

He vomited all over the bed, so I changed the sheets and put towels over the bed in case he was sick again. Next time he was sick he totally missed the towels and vomited all over the bed, so I changed the sheets again. FFS.

Poor baby was sick all day, he spent the whole day sleeping. Unfortunately he'd only sleep in our arms, so hubby and I spent the entire day in bed with bub sleeping on one of us. FFS.

He slept in our bed Tuesday night too and had to be on top of me so I didn't sleep much and woke up really sore from being in the same position all night. FFS.

Hubby didn't sleep much either as bub kept on kicking him in the back. FFS.

Wednesday hubby was going crazy from being housebound for so long, so decided we should go shopping. FFS.

Bub was still a little off colour and a bit whingey, so being out and about with him wasn't much fun. FFS.

When we got home he got really clingy but wouldn't go to hubby, he had to be with me. FFS.

I'd just received 3 really exciting packages in the mail and couldn't play with any of them because I was holding bub. FFS.

Not to be deterred I was planning on playing with everything on Thursday when bub had his sleep, however as he was still sick he would only sleep on me again. FFS.
Now I won't be able to play with my pretties until hubby has the day off on Sunday. FFS.

Wednesday night I was exhausted and Chai still wouldn't let me put him down. FFS.

Not wanting to miss out on all the action and in need of some sympathy, I was carrying Chai into the lounge room when I slipped over. FFS.

Trying not to drop him and trying not to hurt my bung knee was bloody difficult. FFS.

Hubby saw me falling so came rushing over, but didn't make it in time to stop us hitting the ground. FFS.

I managed to keep hold of Chai, but his head still lightly touched the ground. FFS.

Thankfully he was only scared and not hurt.

My knee didn't fare so well and now I'm back to limping and not being able to put much weight on it. FFS.

Plus both my knees are bruised from landing on them. FFS.

As he was helping me up hubby asked what had happened. Considering he saw the whole thing I thought this was a pretty stupid question. Unfortunately I was too tired to tell him I'd been trying to leap over an invisible elephant or something equally witty. FFS.

That was the last straw for me, so I did the only sensible thing. Shut myself in the bedroom and cried. FFS.

Now that it's been a few weeks since Chai stopped breastfeeding, I have discovered what my post breastfeeding boobs look like. FFS.

I liked them better before breastfeeding. FFS.

You know how I had to put that lock on my toilet seat to stop bub putting everything in the toilet? It's broken already. FFS.

This week I had to put fuel in the car. Usually this is hubbys job but he forgot, so I had to get it on Friday when it's really expensive. FFS.

I went to a Caltex Woolworths servo as I thought I had an 8 cents a litre off credit on my Woolworths card. I filled up and it cost $99.56. FFS.

When I went in to pay the cashier told me I didn't get anything off the fuel cause it's linked to my frequent flyer account. FFS.

If I'd know that I would have put $20 and waited until the fuel price went down again! FFS.

To put things into perspective, I could have bought two Chanel lipsticks with that money! FFS.

We have a station wagon, we've had it for 18 months now. I've always had trouble putting the boot down because it's quite high and I really have to stretch to reach it. FFS.

Yesterday I discovered that it has a handle to bring the boot down and I can reach it easily. FFS.

And that's my whinge for the week. Click on the photo below to head over to Dear Baby G and check out what everyone else has been whingeing about this week.

Have a beautiful weekend :)


Dear Baby G

Thursday 23 August 2012

What I bought from iHerb

The first iHerb order I placed I bought the Real Techniques stippling brush, which I love, so the next time I placed an order I bought two more Real Techniques brushes.  I'll be reviewing all three of the Real Techniques brushes soon.

I purchased:
Real Techniques face brush
Real Techniques eye shading brush
Blistex Deep Renewal lip treatment
MyChelle Pistachio Coconut lip balm
EcoTools lip balm
This order took two weeks to get to me as I chose regular air mail. My previous order took one week to get to me with DHL shipping.

If you haven't ordered from iHerb before, code YUF175 will get you $10 off your first order if it's over $40, or $5 off an order under $40.


Wednesday 22 August 2012

What I bought from Beauty Bay

In celebration of getting a redundancy, hubby encouraged me to buy me some new make-up. As I don't need much encouraging, I quickly jumped on Beauty Bay and placed an order. 

I'd heard that Beauty Bay shipping was really slow, so I wasn't expecting to get my package in a hurry, however I was pleasantly surprised.

I placed my order on the 8th of August. I deliberately only ordered products that were in stock, however when I checked on my order the next day it hadn't been shipped as they were waiting for stock of some items. On the 12th of August my order status showed "ready for disptach" and then later that day I got email notification saying my order had been shipped. It arrived in Perth on the 22nd of August, so overall I'm happy with how quickly it arrived.

Now for the unveiling:





Here's what I ordered:
Orofluido Hair Oil
Orofluido Shine Spray
Tangle Teezer

Too Faced Naked Eye Palette 
Lord and Berry Sand Smudgeproof Eyeliner
Stila Smoke Smudge Crayon
Per-fekt Paramount Lip Perfection Gel
Too Faced Naked Dolly La Creme Lip Cream
bareMinerals Savvy Pretty Amazing Lip Colour 

Reviews will be coming up, however if there's anything you're particularly interested in please let me know. 

Monday 20 August 2012

Winter Lip Saviours


Lanolips 101 Ointment - Up until recently I thought I was allergic to lanolin. Turns out I'm not, bonus! I discovered this when Kirsten kindly sent me her Lanolips 101 ointment to test out. As far as winter lip saviours go, this is perfect. It's fragrance free, thick and hydrating. It makes a great night time lip balm, I wake up with soft lips that still have some balm on them.  

Dr Lipp Nipple Balm - This is another medical grade lanolin product. Now that I've found out I'm not allergic to lanolin I'm really liking lanolin lip products, they're so hydrating. Can't believe I've missed out on using lanolin all this time. Oh well. I find Dr Lipp to be a little lighter than the Lanolips ointment, but equally as hydrating. I carry this in my back pocket as the tube is short and so fits easily. Doing this also means that it's warmed up so easy to get out of the tube. I'd love it if they made a flavoured version and a tinted version. Although I suppose if they did that it wouldn't really be a nipple balm would it, cause most people don't want tinted nipples.

Qsilica Paw Paw Rescue Ointment - This is new to my collection but has quickly become a favourite. I love that it's a multi use product. I use it on my lips, cuticles and dry patches. For bub I use it as a nappy rash treatment and on any scratches he gets. It saves me having to carry around two or three other products. Whilst this is an ointment it's not as sticky as most ointments, it easily rubs in without leaving any greasiness.
But I digress, I'm talking about winter lip saviours not multi purpose products. As this is quite light, I like to use it during the day over lip pencil. A bonus with this is that it tastes good.

Buddha Balm  - I have Burnt Sugar Fig and it's lovely. If you are a fan of very flavoured lip products then you need to try this, the taste is amazing. I've tried hundreds of lip balms and this is the most flavoured lip product I've ever used. Aside from the lovely taste, this is a great, heavy duty balm that does a great job of keeping my lips hydrated throughout winter.

Bloom and Blossom Soothing Nipple Balm - I know this is a nipple balm but it makes a great everything balm. Just like my paw paw ointment, this is a multi use product. I use it on my lips, cuticles and any dry patches. It's quite thick and a little sticky, which means when I use it on my lips it lasts for ages, so it's great for those days when I don't have time to be constantly applying lip balm.

Brauer All Natural Paw Paw Ointment - I have quite a thing for paw paw ointments, I'll have to do a post on all of the different paw paw ointments that I have. Out of all the paw paw ointments I've used, this is one of my favourites. It is the perfect texture, not too thick and not too light, can be used almost everywhere and is reasonably priced. As a lip balm I really like this. I only use a tiny amount, it tastes good and lasts around 4 hours before I need to reapply. 

Reading back through my post I realise I've talked about taste quite a lot, clearly it's time I had lunch. Please excuse all the rambling I've done today, I'm suffering through hubby's man flu and it's affected my brain.

Lanolips, Dr Lipp and Qsilica were provided to me for review. Bloom and Blossom was originally provided to me for review, however I'm now onto my second pot which wasn't provided for review.

Friday 17 August 2012

FFS Friday

Feck, I'm so behind this week, I'm only just starting my post on Thursday night. Usually I start my post the previous Friday morning. I think the paint fumes have addled my few remaining brain cells. FFS.

My blog has been very neglected lately, I'm finding it difficult to get any blogging time. FFS.

Sunday I was determined to get some blog posts scheduled so when bub went to sleep I sat down at my computer, only to find that I had no internet connection. FFS.

It didn't come back online until Monday morning. FFS.

If I'd used my brain I would have saved the posts in a word document, however my brain has left the building. FFS.

Wednesday morning I see bub chewing on something. I have no idea what it is but figure that our house is child proof so I don't worry about it. FFS.

When he shows me what he's chewing on, I see that it's a band aid that hubby has taken off a blister on his foot, and left lying around. Gross. FFS.

For the past few weeks bub has been on a hunger strike. FFS.

He won't eat.. FFS.

When I say he won't eat, I literally mean he won't eat anything. FFS.

I'd be lucky if I can get a tablespoon of food into him each day. FFS.

From speaking to the other mums at playgroup I know this is just a stage, however I can't help be concerned. FFS.

To compensate for his lack of food, bub is drinking a litre of milk everyday. FFS.

This means that we are having lots of wet clothes as he's leaked out of his nappy. FFS.

All of this is my fault because I'm not changing his nappy often enough. FFS.

I'm so used to only having to change him three times a day that I forget to change him and hence we end up with wet mess everywhere. FFS.

Thursday we had a leakage incident and had to remove all of bub's clothes other than his jacket. FFS.

We were at the shopping centre, so I wrapped him in my scarf for the walk to the car and trip home. Parenting fail. FFS.

I finally cracked and put a lock on the toilet seat. FFS.

It's so annoying, but not as annoying as bub putting everything into the toilet. FFS.

Remember hubby's phone saga? It's started again! FFS.

He's now decided that he doesn't like his Galaxy Note and he wants a new phone. FFS.

As he already has 2 phones on the Mobile Repayment Option he has to buy the next phone outright. FFS.

I think it's a huge waste of money and that he should be happy with what he has, but he won't be deterred. FFS.

Side note: Typing this post is taking me ages as I have to stop and clap Chai. He is actually eating tonight, feeding himself and requires applause after every mouth full. FFS.

Back to the phone saga. Hubby always chooses the worst time to go on the hunt for a new phone. FFS.

We'd been out Thursday afternoon and were ready to go home. I'd had enough, bub had had enough so I told hubby it was time to go. He said he just wanted to quickly check details about a phone and that it would only take a few minutes. FFS.

He goes to Telstra at Karrinyup and as per usual they had no idea what they were talking about. FFS.

He then goes to the Vodafone store and they know exactly what they're talking about, but they don't sell the phone outright. FFS.

Then we go to Dick Smith, who do sell the phone outright, however it is $83 cheaper online. FFS.

Hubby says he'll think about it and we start walking to the car. We're nearly in the car park when hubby decides to go back in and see if they will price match. FFS.

It's at this point I realise Chai is soaking wet because I haven't changed his nappy. FFS.

Hubby then dithers around in the store trying to decide if he's going to buy the phone. FFS.

He keeps asking what I think even though he knows I think it's a waste of money. FFS.

We change bub and I tell hubby again that we need to go. FFS.

When we get to the car hubby asks me what's wrong and when I tell him I'm tired and I've had enough he says that I should have told him! FFS.

I've been trying to set up a Facebook page for my blog for a few weeks now. FFS.

It's bloody confusing! FFS.

So my page is still blank. FFS.

If only I could get a few hours to sort it out I'm sure I'd figure it out, but I can't see that happening any time in the next 4 years. FFS. 

Chai's latest trick is sticking his finger up his nose. FFS.

He is very proud of this and happily shows everyone that we meet. FFS.

Any mention of the word nose or finger and his finger goes into his nose, where it stays for at least 5 minutes. FFS.

If encouraged, he goes for the double plug and puts a finger up each nostril. FFS.

Yesterday we were at the park where he met two dogs. Naturally he had to show them his trick. FFS.

 
Dear Baby G

Thursday 16 August 2012

Benefit Sugarbomb Ultra Plush Lip Gloss



The release of a new lip gloss always gets me excited, even more so when it's a Benefit lip gloss as I love Benefit products.


The new Benefit glosses are the same shades as their Box o' Powders; Sugarbomb, Dallas, Dandelion, CORALista, Bella Bamba and Hula.  I was sent Sugarbomb to review and am planning on getting Dandelion, Dallas and Bella Bamba.
Sugarbomb is a shimmering pinky nude that looks like a mlbb shade on my pigmented lips. It smells like yummy fruit and is flavour free. I find this to be a very moisturising and long lasting gloss. It lasts around four hours on me, isn't at all sticky and feels like a lip balm. I have very dry lips however when I use this I don't need to apply lip balm underneath. 
This is super glossy, it'd have to be one of the glossiest glosses that I own. It has the perfect amount of shimmer, enough to look pretty but not make me look like I'm wearing glitter on my lips. 
Ultra Plush Lip Glosses cost $29 and are available now.
Sugarbomb was provided to me for consideration.

Monday 13 August 2012

Physicians Formula Happy Booster powders

I have been dying to get my hands on these powders ever since I saw them on a blog a few years ago. It's the hearts that got me. I love anything with hearts on it (pun intended). You can only imagine how delighted I was when I discovered that the range is now available at Priceline!

Here's what Physician's Formula have to say about their Happy Booster products: Infused with our Happy Boost Blend, featuring Happy Skin and Euphoryl, natural plant extacts which have been shown to promote a feeling of happiness by mimicking the effect of endorphins and helping protect the skin from environmental stress.
The sweet scent of violet provides a feeling of joy each time you apply.

They are right about the 'sweet scent of violets', it's a lovely scent. I can smell it when I apply the powder but it fades straight away, which is a shame cause I think it'd be quite to have a face that smelled like violets. I can just imagine people coming up to me and telling me my face smelled nice, hahaha.

All of three of these powders are beautiful. They are light and easy to apply, so perfect for my pale skin. I can swipe them on when I'm in a hurry and don't need to worry about blending them as the coverage is sheer. They are all buildable for the days when I want more coverage/have more time to apply my make-up properly.

The blush costs $21.95 and the bronzer and powder cost $29.95.


Translucent powder - I've been using this as a finishing powder over the top of my foundation or tinted moisturiser. It helps to set my make-up and makes my skin look fresh and glowy. This also works well to brighten up my ever present dark circles. For the under eye area I just use a very light dusting of the colours on the bottom right of the palette.

For those days when I am in a rush (every day!) the pink heart can be used as a blush, which saves me having to dig out another product. 

Rose - This is so pretty! Lots of beautiful pink hearts. I keep this on my counter so that I can look at how pretty it is (yes, I know I'm strange). Blush is one of those products that I'm not very good with. I either don't apply enough or I apply too much, however this is truly fool proof. I swipe my brush over it a few times and end up with a gorgeous, natural flush of colour.

Bronzer -  This is perfect for pale skinned bronzer phobes like me. It gives me a nice boost of colour without making me look like an oompa loompa. Plus, it is easy to use, I can swipe it on in a few seconds without worrying about having to make sure it's blended well. The colour is light and subtle, but buildable if you want darker coverage. 

Surprisingly, the ingredients list for all three products is the same. 


Ingredients: talc, corn starch, dimethicone, octyldodecyl stearoyl stearate, zinc stearate, pentaerythrityl tetraisostearate, astrocaryum murumuru seed butter, sunflower seed oil, lecithin, phytosteryl canolate, plukenetia volubilis seed oil, rhodiola rosea root extract, rosemary leaf extract, theobroma grandiflorum seed butter, schinus terebinthifolius seed extract, palm alcohol, phenoxyethanol, potassium sorbate, fragrance. 
May contain: carmine, iron oxides, manganese violet, mica, red 7 lake, red 6, red 28 lake, red 30 lake, titanium dioxide, ultramarines, yellow 5 lake.

These products were provided to me for consideration.

Friday 10 August 2012

FFS Friday

Friday! I have painting stories for you this week. The painting is continuing this weekend, so expect more painting complaints next week too.

After spending a week doing my make-up with my foot on the toilet seat, I came up with the genius idea of doing my make-up in hubbys bathroom, where there is no toilet. FFS.

I forgot to mention this one last week. Not long after I had bub I got mastitis, an experience I never want to repeat. When he weaned I was worried I'd get it again, so mentioned to hubby that I hoped bub weaning didn't upset my boobs too much. Trying to be supportive, in a very kind voice hubby says "don't worry babe, we can get you a boob job." FFS.

As you know, we are getting ready to sell our house. Part of this involved touching up chips on the walls. The job was made more difficult as hubby had thrown away most of our leftover paint. FFS.

He found what he thought was the right colour. When he showed me the colour I told him it was too dark, but he didn't believe me. FFS.

I was right. FFS.

He then decided to do things the hard way. I know this because of the pile of painting products he bought home from Bunnings. FFS.

If he'd told me he was going to do things the hard way I would have vacated the house for the weekend. FFS.

We took off a patch of paint and got it colour matched at Bunnings. Hubby painted some on and it looked okay, so instead of waiting for it to dry to be sure it was the right colour, he patched up the whole house. FFS.

When the paint dried it was the wrong colour. FFS.

On the third go we got the right colour. FFS.

In his wisdom hubby decided that instead of just painting the little areas that he'd patched up, he'd paint a huge area. So for a patch the size of a pea he painted a square 30 cm's across. As you do. FFS.

You'd think by now he would have learned his lesson, but no, he made things worse. FFS.

Then he decided to take all the photos off the walls and paint up to head height. FFS.

I used those velcro strip things to hang the photos, he removed them and was surprised when they took paint off. FFS.


You can clearly see that he's painted up to head height, so he now has to repaint the majority of the house. FFS.

I'm an asthmatic so the paint fumes were making me sick, plus I was trying to keep bub from touching the walls. FFS.


Hubby was getting angry cause bub kept on touching the walls, what the hell did he expect? FFS.

When I say the majority of the house I am not joking. He has to do the entryway, the front lounge room, the kitchen, dining and living rooms, both hallways and the spare bedroom. FFS.

Due to hubbys shower leaking, we've had to replaster part of a wall. A friend of hubbys said that he'd come over and do it on Saturday morning, so we were sitting around waiting for him whilst bub was running amok. 20 minutes after he was due to arrive he sent a message saying that he wouldn't be coming. FFS.

The string on my tracksuit pants has annoyed me ever since I got them. It won't stay tied up and it's really long. FFS.

Sunday I finally twigged on that I could take the string out. I've had the trackies for four years. FFS.

After eight weeks my knee is nearly back to normal. Well it was, until Sunday when both hubby and bub decided to attack it. FFS.

First bub decided my knee would make a great seat, so threw himself onto my knee. FFS.

Then as if that wasn't enough, hubby was throwing his legs around and knee'd me right on my knee. FFS.

It feels like I've been set back by a few weeks. Bastards. FFS.

Citibank! They've been a nightmare to deal with ever since we opened our account. This week when my redundancy payment came through we were finally able to pay off our credit card and close the account. I phoned and got the outstanding balance, then hubby called them to get the closing balance so we knew how much to pay. We told them we'd be paying the account the next day. The payout figure they gave us was $81 more than our outstanding balance. FFS.

When hubby questioned this they said it was for "projected interest." FFS.

Hubby pointed out to them that this could not possibly be right as we don't pay $81 per day in interest, we don't even pay $81 per month in interest, however they insisted that it was right. FFS.

Hubby hung up and called back again to speak to someone else. FFS.

They told him the same thing! After much questioning and putting hubby on hold numerous times, they could not explain why they wanted to charge us $81 interest. FFS.

The next day I phoned and got the account balance, it was the same as it had been the day before, minus the $81. FFS.

I've paid off what was owing so it will be interesting to see what they say when we call again and tell them to close the account. FFS.

If they think we are going to pay $81 extra they are going to be disappointed! FFS.  

Happy weekend everyone!


Dear Baby G

Thursday 9 August 2012

Dear Chai

Today you are 17 months old.

I forgot to tell you last month that you now have 1 sleep a day. This started last month, it just happened naturally. You were able to stay awake for longer and longer between naps until you just moved to one sleep a day. By the end of the day you are pretty tired, but it makes bedtime easier.

You have so much energy. We go running around outside for at least 2 hours a day. You love racing around looking at things and have boundless energy. Dad and I are both looking forward to when we have a backyard for you to play in. To my horror you love standing on Scarborough Beach Road watching the cars go by. You like to stand right on the edge of the road and try to touch the cars. Because I won't let you step on the road you run along the footpath and try to keep up with the cars going past.

On the week of the 23rd of July you decided to wean yourself. You would take the boob but not have a proper feed and weren't really interested. Then on the 29th I offered you a feed and you were more interested in playing with my nipple. Whilst I feel sad that you aren't breastfeeding any more,  I'm glad that you weaned yourself when you were ready and very happy that I got to feed you for nearly 17 months. 

You can now say blue (sounds like brrrr), star (sounds like arrrr), cat (sounds like at), dog (sounds like og), Mum, Dad, Bub and Up. You copy us more and more and try to make different sounds.

One of your favourite things to do is sing and dance. You know all the actions to the songs we sing at Rhyme Time. When you want us to sing a song you'll start doing the actions until we starting singing the right song.

You've also discovered how much fun it is to put things into the toilet. I'm constantly trying to stop you putting things into the toilet. Once you've put something into the toilet you like to look at it and slosh it around.

You love playgrounds and slides.  When we go for our daily walks you head over to playgroup and want to play on the slides there.

Tantrums are still a daily occurrence, but at least you are usually easy to distract.

You are a beautiful child and I feel so lucky to have you in my life. You're always smiling and laughing and take so much joy in everything that you do. I love being your Mum. 

Monday 6 August 2012

1 Skin Solution Tinted Lip Butters

It's been a long time since I got as excited about a tinted lip balm as I am about these beauties. They are truly amazing. 

Prior to bubs arrival I wore lipstick or gloss every day, but now that I'm a sahm and always on the run I find I'm mainly using lip balm. This is because I don't get the chance to reapply my lip products and after a scary incident where bub had red blotches all over his face which I thought was from an allergy, only to discover it was my lipstick. 


I occasionally wear long lasting lipsticks but find that I can't wear them every day because they dry my lips out. Enter 1 Skin Solution Tinted Lip Butters. These have the pigment and staying power of a long lasting lipstick, the hydration of a lip butter and they taste amazing.

Being a fan of flavoured lip products I find it difficult to understand why more companies don't make sure their products smell and taste nice. To me it's a deal breaker, if a lip product tastes or smells bad I won't buy it. 
The flavours as shown above are: Coconut Plum, Strawberry Rose Champagne, Guava Lemonade and Almond Biscoti. What I find interesting about them is that even though some of them aren't colours that usually suit me, after a few minutes they seem to melt into my lips, the colour softens and they look quite good. My favourite is Strawberry Rose Champagne, it's a beautiful, mlbb shade.

These lip butters are weightless on my lips and when they wear off they leave a stain of colour behind.
Coconut Plum, Strawberry Rose Champagne, Guava Lemonade and Almond Biscoti.

Coconut Plum freshly applied.
 Coconut Plum as a stain.
Guava Lemonade.
 Almond Biscoti.
Strawberry Rose Champagne.

You can buy 1 Skin Solution Tinted lip butters from their website and from my favourite lip balm store Addicted 2 Lip Balm for the bargain price of $14.50.
There is also an untinted, vanilla flavoured balm which costs $9.90. I haven't tried it yet but it's on my wishlist. 

Ingredients: cocoa cutter, coconut oil, petroleum, shea butter, capric/caprylic triglyceride, beeswax, candelilla wax, f & c g colour, mica, titanium dioxide, flavour, sweetener, vitamin e, grapefruit seed extract.

These balms were provided to me for review because I relentlessly stalked Raylene on twitter.

Saturday 4 August 2012

Illamasqua Australia Fight For a Fair Beauty Price

Finally someone is taking a stand against the ridiculous prices that we pay for cosmetics here in Australia. Illamasqua 

We are Illamasqua and we are making a stand against the global giants of cosmetics, who force Australian customers to pay up to 61% more than UK prices. 

It's entirely unjust that a woman in the UK pays just $24 for a lipstick, while a woman in Australia has to pay $40 for exactly the same product.

Illamasqua is an independent British colour cosmetics brand and, in the short time we've retailed in Australia, we've heard time and again your frustration over the inflated pricing of cosmetics compared to the rest of the world.

We have listened and want to slash our prices across our range in Australia. But first we need you to demonstrate to the industry that if we can make this change happen, you'll commit to buying our products. 

So please sign your name, make your mark, tell your friends, clench your fist and cry "hell no!"

If you agree with this and want to sign the petition, click here.

Friday 3 August 2012

FFS Friday

Happy Friday! Time for me to get my whinge on again. How the hell is it August already? This week has been a tough one. Keeping a toddler amused indoors all day is not easy. Bub hates being cooped up inside but because of the rain we haven't been able to get out much. FFS.

Friday morning BIL called me at 6.39am. As you do. FFS.

I missed the call so rang him back 1/2 an hour later and he didn't answer. FFS.

Friday night I was supposed to go to a blogger meetup. I was really looking forward to it because it would have only been the second time that I've been out on my own since Chai was born. As I was getting ready to leave he got sick. FFS.

I had to stay home. FFS.

We then had the night from hell. FFS.

Bub was awake from 1am to 4am, then woke up at 5am, then 5.30am, then 6am. FFS.

Hubby spent half an hour whingeing about how tired he was on Saturday morning. FFS.

As if he was the only person who was tired. FFS.

Thankfully Mum was here, so her and I went out so that I didn't do any permanent damage to hubby. FFS.

Hubby spent Saturday working on our house. A friend came over to re-tile one of our showers and hubby decided to change the silicone in the ensuite shower. It was only after both jobs had been started that it occurred to hubby that we wouldn't be able to use either shower for a few days. FFS.

Sunday morning hubby was looking in the App Store and found an app that he wanted me to download. It was called Sex Workouts. FFS.

Luckily for hubby I didn't have any sharp implements to hand. FFS.

The in laws were here on Sunday. FFS.

I spent an hour hiding in my bedroom so that I didn't have to talk to them. FFS.

They saw our old lap top that bub plays with and told us to be careful that it doesn't electrocute him. FFS.

How the hell would a lap top with no battery, that won't even turn on, electrocute someone? FFS.

Hubby and I took advantage of the grandparents visiting to go out to lunch together. It's the second time we've been away from bub since he was born. Not FFS.

We were having a great, relaxing lunch when hubby decides to start quizzing me on how I feel about his religion. I kid you not. FFS.

Later on when we were at home, he asked me why the water filter was empty. FFS.

I kindly explained to him that it was because I hadn't filled it up and I am the only one who fills it up. FFS.

Why did he think it was empty? Maybe he thought aliens had beamed down and drunk all the filtered water? Or perhaps a thirsty elephant had stuck it's nose through the window and helped himself? FFS.

We've had the water filter for two years and Sunday was the first time hubby has ever filled it up. FFS.

What's with those people who do something, tell you about it and then say "I hope you don't mind?" That annoys me so much! If they really hoped that you didn't mind then they would have asked before they did it! Truth is, they know that you will mind so they do it anyhow and tell you about it when it's too late for you to stop them. FFS.

Sunday night bub weaned himself. FFS.

I've known it's been coming for a while because he has been less and less interested in his night time feed, but I can't help feeling a little sad/emotional about it. FFS.

It's silly because he's nearly 17 months old so I've been very fortunate to have been able to feed him for so long. I'll just miss our night time cuddles. FFS.

Gah, I get teary just thinking about it. FFS.

Rainy weather and active toddlers are not friends. FFS.

Bub has been getting angry with me this week because I won't make Daddy come home. FFS.

He's got it worked out in his head. We talk to Daddy on the phone, then go out the front and a few minutes later Daddy appears. So whenever he wants to see Daddy he points at the phone, says Daddad, then points and the front door and waves. Then gets really angry at me when I tell him we can't call Daddad and that Daddad won't be home until later. FFS.

I've explained to him many times that Daddad works all day and we can't call him when he's at work, but he just doesn't understand. FFS.

It's been a while since we attempted to kill our child, but this week we decided to have another go at it. FFS.

Hubby and I have been sharing a bathroom this week and didn't realise that the soap holder in my shower is lower than the one in Hubbys shower. FFS.

Bub was playing in my shower whilst I was putting my make-up on when I heard him making his happy "I've got something really exciting" noise. I looked into the shower and saw him holding hubbys razor, by the blade, in both hands. FFS.

Hubby leaves his razor on the soap holder. Not anymore. FFS.

When bub isn't playing with razors in the shower, he is busily trying to put things into the toilet. FFS.

This week he's put his shoes, my bra insert, the toilet brush and one of his toys into the toilet. FFS.

He put his toy into the toilet before I'd flushed it. Gross. FFS.

I've stopped him putting my hair brush, toothbrush and a ball into the toilet. FFS

This means that I now do my make-up with one foot on the toilet lid. FFS.

Why do children always get sick at night? Is it some sort of sick punishment for being a parent?

Last night bub got sick. FFS.

He'd been fine all day, we put him to bed and half an hour later he was awake, all blocked up and could hardly breathe. FFS.

I got about four hours sleep last night. FFS.

But it's all okay because....I GET MY PMT TODAY!!!!!

After talking about my PMT for the last few weeks the pressure is on. I'm not sure I can live up to the hype. I'll be trying my best to whip up amazing culinary creations so watch this space to see how I go.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Dear Baby G

Wednesday 1 August 2012

When one door closes

If you've been reading this blog for a while you may have noticed that one thing I never talk about is my job. Now that I'm no longer working, I'm going to talk about my job. For the last fifteen years I worked for Centrelink.

I had a very interesting career, worked in different sections and across the country. Most of the time I worked in the investigations section, dealing with customers who either deliberately or unknowingly were receiving payments that they were not entitled to. Working in Investigations permanently changed the way I look at the world. I am cynical, skeptical, unsympathetic and unapologetic. Having said that, most of the time I loved my job.

Anyone who thinks that public servants don't work hard have never worked for Centrelink. The staff there work very hard with constant abuse and little to no thanks for the work that they do.  

I accepted a redundancy from work so am now officially a stay at home mum. After having Chai I didn't want to go back to work, I hate the idea of him being in day care and someone else looking after him, so I am very glad that I won't be returning to work. I always knew I wanted to be a stay at home mum, but wondered how I'd feel about being dependent on hubby and having no income. Surprisingly, that's the last thing on my mind. Since I've been home with bub I haven't felt like I've lost my independence. I'm lucky that hubby is very generous with money, he never makes me feel like it's his money, he always talks about it being our money and he doesn't mind that I have no income as he doesn't want bub to be in day care either. 

There are times when I think it'd be nice to go to work for a break and some time away. It'd be great to eat a meal in peace, go to the toilet on my own and wander around the shops on my lunch break. But then I look at my little boy and know there is no way I could leave him. When Chai is older I will return to work, but for the next few years I'm going to be a stay at home mum and I couldn't be happier.