Thursday 30 April 2015

Thoughts of the month

1. I had a massage this month and it wasn't blissful, I was sore for five days. I've decided that from now on I'm going to get a massage every month. I figure if I'm getting massaged regularly eventually I won't be in pain for days afterwards.

2. I'm very, very late to the party, but I've just found out about the Ed Sheeran/Ellie Goulding thing. Nasty girl.

3. The cooler weather has arrived and it's wonderful. I love winter.

4. This month I realised that I'm very ignorant when it comes to racism. I went to our local show and had a turban put on at a stall for Turbans and Trust. I had it put on, chatted to the people at the stall and thought nothing further of it until I was chatting about it with my Avon lady. I said to her was that I hardly ever see someone wearing a turban. She told me where she'd seen people wearing them and I realised I'd seen them too but it hadn't registered as anything unusual. Later that day I was thinking further and was surprised that someone would face racism/criticism for wearing a turban. Really? But then I put the photo of me in my turban on a few social media sites and some of the comments I got were surprising. Someone asked if I'd joined ISIS and there were a few other terrorist comments. I was horrified and a little embarrassed that I'm so ignorant of racism. When I see people of another race I assume they're Aussies. If they talk with an accent my first thought is of all the amazing food they could cook. It's sad to think that people are discriminated against because of where they come from or their religious beliefs.  

5. Shaved jalsberg cheese could be the end of me. 

6. The Bali execution happened a few days ago. Instead of being punishment it turned into a political issue and those people got caught in the middle of it. I think there are going to be repercussions and it won't be nice.

7 Yesterday I wore my flannel pj's for the first time this year. Tomorrow I'm getting the flannel sheets out. Words cannot explain how happy this makes me. 

 

Monday 27 April 2015

How do you cope?

I get asked that a lot. At least once a month, if not more. Usually when we're talking about FIFO, sometimes when we're talking about motherhood and always if we're talking about Crohn's. 

My answer is the same every time. I have no choice. And it's true. I cope because I have to. I just do it. And then I elaborate. Some days/weeks/months I don't cope. I have meltdowns, I have mummy tantrums, I yell at the kids. I use the tv as a babysitter, I feed them chips for dinner, I leave the house a mess and food all over the floor. I struggle, like everyone else does.
Most days my house looks like this

Some days I forget to brush their teeth, some days I don't get to brush my teeth. I rarely get to eat a meal sitting down (if I sit down the boys either steal my food or climb on me or both). But we get by. We get up and face each day with a smile on our faces and hope in our heart because that's what life is about. 

Friday 24 April 2015

FFS Friday

Hello Friday, we meet again. 

We have the PILs coming down today. FFS.

I don't know how long they're staying. FFS.

The spare bed where they will sleep is covered in a months worth of towels, hand towels, tea towels etc. FFS.

Every single on of my tea towels is on that bed. FFS.

Now I'll have to fold them all. FFS.

My little treasure Chai has a wonderful imagination. It's a great thing but can also be very frustrating. 

For the last week he's refused to answer to anything other than Darling, Honeybun or occasionally the name of a ninja turtle. FFS.

The trouble with this is that I never know which name he wants to be called and if I call him the wrong name he screams at me "My name is not Chai, it's Dawing!" FFS.

Or "Don't call me Chai, I'm not Chai, I'm Honeybun!" FFS.

I forget numerous times a day, so he screams at me regularly. FFS.

Wednesday he announced that his real name is not Chai it's Darling. FFS.

His kindy teachers are allowed to call him Chai, Tiger and I can call him Darling for short. FFS.

Where does he get this stuff from? Cellular memory? I have no idea.

It's funny and frustrating at the same time. Constantly calling him Honeybun or Darling is rather amusing. 

Once again I'm wondering if he's ready for kindy. FFS.

He's been having trouble with one of the other kids there. She's upsetting him so much that he doesn't want to go to kindy if she's there. FFS.

I've spoken to his teacher about it and she's keeping an eye on it but hasn't seen anything. FFS.

Every day Chai talks about her and says that she's mean to him. FFS.

I feel powerless. FFS.

I want to take my precious little boy into my arms and run away with him. FFS.

I hate seeing him upset. FFS.

It really makes me wonder if he's ready to be at kindy. I think he is, he loves it, I suppose it's all part of learning how to deal with people, but seeing him so upset is heartbreaking. FFS.

Homeschooling is looking very attractive. 

I have a Beauty Bay rant coming up for next weeks FFS Friday post.  I had planned to write about it this week but the kindy rant takes precedence.

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Monday 20 April 2015

Calm

I don't know about everyone else but I spend a large portion of my time feeling stressed. In an effort to combat that I've added a few calming products into my daily routine.

Australian Bush Flower Essences Calm and Clear oral spray and Bach Rescue pastilles are great for an instant calm, I use these when I feel like I'm about to explode. The boys love the pastilles and have them regularly too. 

Subtle Energies Facial Blend is calm in a bottle, I wish it came in a perfume. I use it every night. It smells so lovely that I rub it between my hands, cover my face with my hands and inhale the scent for a minute or so, then press the oil all over my face, neck and decolletage.

The most recent addition to my calm regime is the Flora Remedia Calm Infusion. I carry this in my handbag so I can breathe it in whenever I need to.  

When I'm in the car and the boys are screaming I play Buddhist music from the Po Lin Monastery in Hong Kong. It's beautifully calming and within a few minutes the boys have usually stopped screaming. 

The other thing we do is dance around the house. I put on loud music and we have a boogie. I'm perfecting my daggy Mummy dancing in anticipation of the boys being old enough to appreciate how bad it is.  

What are your favourite calming products? Please share, I need all the help I can get.

Friday 17 April 2015

FFS Friday - Poonami

Hello everyone! Happy Friday! I hope you have all had a wonderful week. Ours has been a shit storm. Again. FFS.

I was going to write about how I (don't) cope, but really, the poo stories are just too much fun.

Wednesday I was looking after my nephew. He came and told me that I needed to check the toilet because it was filled with poo and toilet tissue. FFS.

I went to check it then got side tracked doing something else so didn't get to it for about half an hour. FFS.

When I got there I saw that the toilet bowl was full of water, toilet tissue, baby wipes, a toilet roll and poo. FFS.

I tried to flush it and the toilet nearly overflowed. FFS.

Our plunger is on holiday in some exotic location unknown to me, so I had to put my hand into the toilet and unblock it. FFS.

Fecking disgusting. FFS.

I asked Chai why he used so much toilet tissue and he said he needed to. Right. FFS.

Yesterday he did the same thing, although thankfully he didn't flush the toilet so I was able to remove most of the toilet tissue from the bowl. I still had to poke around in there to clear it though. FFS.

He is now on strict toilet tissue rations. FFS.

I am not joking. 

I had hoped that was the end of our poo adventures, how foolish was I!

Yesterday afternoon Chai was helping clean up the dog poo. Not FFS.

He had the shovel and he was putting all the poo in one section of the garden for me to pick up when I'd finished doing the dishes. Not FFS.

When I went out to pick it all up I was faced with a poonami. FFS.

There was poo all up the wall, all through the garden and all over the pool pump. FFS.

I thanked Chai for his help, cleaned up the mess and thought it was all done. FFS.

WRONG!

A little while later, as I was walking into the backyard I noticed some poo on the floor near the door. FFS.

And on the mat. FFS.

And trailing through the house. FFS.

Upon further investigation I found it all over Eljay's feet. FFS.

And up his legs. (I have no idea!) FFS.

And on Chai's feet. FFS.

I put them both in the shower, cleaned the floor and now I'm hoping that's the end of our poo stories for a while!


Right, I'm done. It's your turn now. Tell me something happy to make me smile. Or something awful so I don't feel so bad about my week. Tell me anything. Or not.

Wednesday 15 April 2015

What I buy from the Natural Supply Co


Regular readers could be forgiven for thinking that I have some sort of affiliation with the Natural Supply Co because I'm constantly posting about them, but I don't, I just love their philosophy and products. It's an addiction! Today I thought I'd show you some of the brands that I like to purchase from the Natural Supply Co. In depth reviews will follow, if there's something you'd like to know more about, please let me know. 

Eco Tan - I am a fake tanning klutz, I always end up with patches or missed bits and it's not pretty. I'm also often allergic to fake tans, especially the gradual ones. Eco Tan is the first fake tan I've found that I can use without irritation. Winter Skin is great for casper white people like me. I only need two applications to give me a healthy glow. I usually apply before bed and wake up to brown skin. It doesn't rub off or stain sheets/clothing so I can put it on then go straight to bed. Even better, it appears to be klutz proof. The first few times I used Winter Skin I hadn't even exfoliated, I just slapped it on and I didn't get any patchiness, magic!

Shore Soap Co - Their Mermaid Kisses perfume is heavenly as is the hand wash. I also have the coffee scrub and green tea moisturising stick, which are both wonderful. 


Bite Beauty - My love for Bite Beauty has no bounds. You can read my post about all of my Bite Beauty products here. If you haven't tried Bite Beauty the Color and Shine to Go Mini Travel Set is a great starting point.



Murchison-Hume cleaning products - I really don't like using chemicals around the house but I also don't want to be spending a small fortune on natural cleaning products. Murchison-Hume products are reasonably priced, smell great and they actually work. Perfect.

Yard Skincare - Lip balm lovers, you need to try these Blosses. Yes, you read that right, Blosses. Balm + gloss = Bloss. Clever eh? You can read my full review here, in short, I love them. 
W3ll People - I wanted to try W3ll People for years and years but there weren't any Australian stockists. Their products do not disappoint and the Universalist Color Stick in Moonstone is currently my favourite highlighter. The foundation stick is next on my list.

Biyani Organics - I got a trial kit of their skincare range and am really enjoying it. The little bottles are so cute and everything feels lovely. I'll definitely be trying more from this range.

That's just a few of the brands I love from the Natural Supply Co, there are more I'll post about another day.

I have exciting news! If you shop at the Natural Supply Co and use the code Glossy you will receive 10% off your order. How good is that?
(This is not an affiliate link).

Monday 13 April 2015

Miss Tanielle FOTD

I got a new lipstick last week and I'm in love with it, so I had to do a FOTD to show it off. The lipstick I'm talking about is Shanghai Suzy Miss Tanielle from the winter collection. It's a lot browner than the lipsticks I usually wear, but I'm really happy with it.

Products used: Rimmel Idol Eyes mascara, Benefit Fake Up concealer, Peter Thomas Roth Lashes to Die For eye liner, Rimmel Scandal Eyes eye shadow, Shu Uemura hard brow pencil, Models Prefer Luxurious Youth Boost BB, Hourglass Ethereal Glow Ambient Lighting blush.


With flash.
In natural light. How amazing does my skin look at the moment! I've just started using some new skin care from Skinstitut and it's doing magic things. I'll have a review up soon.

Just because she deserves her own photo, Shanghai Suzy Miss Tanielle (dusty rose). 

*Note: None of my photo's are filtered, photoshopped or altered in any way. 

Friday 10 April 2015

FFS Friday - TMI

Last Saturday I went for a massage. Not FFS.

As I was getting dressed afterwards the elastic on my favourite pants snapped. FFS.

Thankfully it was only the top elastic so they were still wearable. Not FFS.

You know how people love getting massaged because it makes them feel so good? Not me. FFS.

It makes me sore. FFS.

I had my massage on Saturday and was still sore on Thursday. FFS.

Thanks to Tigers roster change he is away all of the school holidays. FFS.

Now, I'm going to talk about Crohn's. And totally overshare. If you aren't up for a gross poo story, stop reading now.

Still here? Hi! If you read my story you'll know that I'm  one of the lucky ones. I was diagnosed quickly and didn't have any bits removed. I've been in remission for years and have tricked myself into thinking that the Crohn's has gone. But it hasn't. FFS.

Proof of that occurred yesterday morning. FFS.

I was minding my own business going about my normal morning duties when I needed to do a poo. But it wasn't just a normal need to do a poo, it was a Crohn's Need To Do A Poo! FFS.

Crohn's Need To Do A Poo's must be answered immediately. FFS.

I raced off to the toilet. And didn't make it. FFS.

Gross. FFS.

I had poo all down my leg, on my foot, on the mat, all through my pj's etc. Gross. FFS.

The boys came in and Chai asked me what I was doing. When I told him I was cleaning up poo he asked if I'd had an accident. I know that he's going to pick the most embarrassing time possible to relay that story. FFS.

The only solution was to have a shower. Of course the boys took advantage of me being in the shower and trashed the house. FFS.

I got out of the shower to find toys everywhere and a trail of sand through the house. FFS.

You'd think the story ends there but it doesn't. FFS.

I washed as much poo of my pj's as I could and put them in the washing machine. When I got them out of the machine there were bits of poo all through the machine. Gross. FFS.

There must have been a sneaky bit of poo hiding in my pj's that I didn't notice. FFS.

I tossed the pj's, cleaned out the washing machine and ran it through a cleaning cycle. Gross, gross, gross. FFS.

That afternoon I was putting more washing on and Chai was doing a poo. I could hear the boys giggling but thought nothing of it. Silly me. FFS.

I walked in to the toilet to see this:


 They'd filled the entire toilet bowl with toilet tissue. FFS.

That's about three quarters of a roll of toilet tissue there. FFS.

Check out my socks. Heh.

See that's life with Crohn's. I never know when it's going to hit me. But it's okay, I'm one of the lucky ones. Thankfully I was at home and when my day starts with me crapping myself I know it can only get better from there!


Wednesday 8 April 2015

March Favourites

I have so many favourites this month! After being in a make-up rut for months I've finally branched out and am using new products again. I've even been wearing eyeshadow most days!
Rimmel Exaggerate lip liner in Eastend Snob - After not using them for years, I've developed an obsession with lip liners. Eastend Snob is currently my favourite. It's a mlbb shade, applies smoothly and lasts for ages. With my Victoria's Secret lip plumper over the top I'm good to go.

Sugar Venom lip gloss in Carys - Sugar Venom are a new Australian brand who sell mineral lip products. I found them on Instagram and couldn't resist buying a gloss and lip balm. I have a review coming up but suffice to say I love them both.

YSL Rouge Volupte Tint-In-Oil -As soon as this was released in Australia I bought it. It's not what I was expecting, it's better. I thought that it'd be a rather thin, oily textured product with very little colour payoff but I was wrong. It feels like a medium thickness gloss, it has decent (sheer) pigmentation and leaves a stain after the product has worn off.

Victoria's Secret Lip Plumper - It's very cruel that the only Victoria's Secret shop in Perth is at the airport and even crueler that it opened mere weeks after we'd left Perth. Because of that, I've never been there. Fortunately for me, Tiger keeps me supplied with their products. The lip plumper is one of the first products he bought me and it's lovely. The colour is pale pink, which on me looks clear. Unsurprisingly it doesn't plump but it smells good and lasts a few hours before I need to reapply. 
Born to Balm Killa Vanilla lip balm - There was a major panic in my house a few weeks ago when I couldn't find my Born to Balms. Thankfully I found them very quickly, but I'm sure I aged a few years during the search. These are one of my favourite balms, you can read my review here.

Kmart Body Polish - At only $4 these are the bargain of the year. If you are a fan of sugar/salt scrubs get down to Kmart asap. I've used Jasmine and Cherry Blossom, they both smell beautiful.

Lanolips Antibacterial hand cream - You all need this! When I had Chai I hunted around for an antibacterial hand cream or a hydrating hand sanitiser and they don't exist in Australia. I had one that I got from Bath and Bodyworks, but couldn't easily get hold of it. Now, finally, Lanolips has released one and it's awesome. If you are someone who's frequently using hand sanitiser, get this instead, it's much kinder to your skin.  

Crabtree and Evelyn Honey lip salve - I ordered from Myer a while ago and needed something to push me over the $100 mark so I'd get free shipping. If it wasn't for that I would have never considered this balm as I don't like honey. Surprisingly this is a beautiful balm. The scent is lovely, it's very creamy and hydrating. I normally use a different lip balm every day but I've been using Honey Lip Salve and my Born to Balm to the exclusion of everything else. That's unheard of! In short, lip balms addicts need this balm. I'm going to be buying backups!

Shore Soap Company Green Tea moisturiser stick - This is another purchase from Natural Supply Co so of course it's awesome. Solid lotion sticks are great for lazy people like me. I just rub it onto my skin and that's it. No rubbing in, no trying to get the right amount out of the tube, just rub it on and you're good to go. Added to that, it smells gorgeous. Winning. 

Givenchy Magic lip and cheek balm - I'm not sure if this is still available, I got mine on Strawberrynet ages ago. It's one of those "adapts to your perfect pink" things and I love it. I can use it as a lip gloss and a blush, it gives the perfect flush of colour. Here's hoping it's still available as mine is getting low. 

Dolce and Gabanna Light Blue perfume - This has been my summer scent, it's so gorgeous and fresh.

Sugar Queen body scrub in Lemon Cheesecake* - This smells edible! It's the perfect mix of sweetness and tart lemon, exactly like cheescake. Sugar Queen Body Scrubs are my latest scrub find. They are Australian made and have that wonderful level of scrubbyness that I love. I'll be doing a full review soon, however if you're impatient you can check them out here.
Sunsilk Perfect Straight shampoo and conditioner* - As a poo and dish snob I'm very surprised to be including these in my favourites but they really are amazing. They make my hair so straight and smooth. I usually have lots of flyaways but since I've been using this my hair is really smooth even when I don't blow dry it. Even my hairdresser noticed!

Puretopia Gentle Exfoliating face scrub - I've found my new holy grail face scrub! Unlike body scrubs, I like my face scrubs to be gentle and that's exactly what this is. It's in a gel base with just the right amount of beads to exfoliate effectively. The beads are smooth and non scratchy. I've already purchased a backup!

That's it for my favourites, what were your March favourites? If you are a blogger and did a post, please leave the link below.

* These products were provided for review.

Monday 6 April 2015

Milky Foot

Prepare yourself for gross pictures of my feet. You have been warned. 
 
  

For those of you who haven't heard of Milky Foot, it's a foot treatment that you put on and it makes the top layer of skin peel off so that you have nice, soft feet. The product comes inside plastic booties that you leave on for 45 to 60 minutes. You put socks over the top and have to keep your feet on the ground. After 60 minutes you take the booties off and wash your feet. 

I was expecting to feel tingling or something whilst I had the booties on but I felt nothing at all. They say that three days later your skin will start to peel. I used the booties on Friday night. Every day I checked my feet but nothing happened until Tuesday morning whenI had a tiny bit of peeling but nothing major. I started to wonder if I'd done the peel wrong.
 Tiny bit of peeling from Tuesday.
 
Wednesday morning I had a shower and this is what my feet looked like after I got out. There weren't any of the bubbles before I got into the shower.

By the end of the day there was a lot of peeling and I was leaving bits of skin wherever I walked.


Thursday the peeling was really obvious and I was leaving even more skin wherever I walked. The temptation to peel the skin off was strong, but I managed to resist. 


Friday the peeling on the soles of my feet had nearly finished. You can clearly see how much better the new skin looks.
Saturday there was still plenty of peeling skin on the top of my feet and I'd had enough so I rubbed it all off.

I've been fairly happy with the results that I got from Milky Foot. There is still some dry skin on the back of my heels but it's a lot better than it was. My feet look and feel a lot nicer than they did before, the skin is softer and healthier looking.

Next time I use Milky Foot I'll make sure it's in winter, walking around in sandals with my skin peeling off was not fun. 

I purchased Milky Foot from Chemist Warehouse for $18.99. You can get it from Priceline for $31.99 and Wizard Warehouse for $41.

Sunday 5 April 2015

Feeling the feels

I posted a while ago about my Crohn's being back and me panicking for a day. Whilst I'm fully aware that panicking does no good, I believe that sometimes it's good to feel the emotion. And that's what I did. I allowed myself a day to panic. I acknowledged how scared and worried I was, I lived with that feeling for a day and then I pulled myself together and got on with the task of getting better. 

I could have ignored the feeling and just got on with that, but I believe that it's just as unhealthy to deny the feeling as it is to panic. Sure, the panic didn't help me at all, but feeling the emotion, acknowledging it and letting myself be upset for a day really did help. I felt it, I dealt with it and now it's gone. I don't have the undercurrent of fear running through me, hidden beneath the surface, it's gone because I dealt with it. 

So many times we don't allow ourselves to feel a certain way because "there's always someone worse off than me" and that's true. It's also true that this is our life and whilst others may be suffering more, this is our reality. It's okay to be upset/angry/hurt/scared etc. It's your reality, don't deny yourself the opportunity to feel whatever you need to feel. 

Saturday 4 April 2015

FFS Friday

Hello and welcome to FFS Friday. Yes, I know it's Saturday, but I forgot yesterday so we'll just pretend it's Friday today. With a four day weekend we'll all be so confused about what day it is that it doesn't really matter does it?

So what's been getting my goat this week? That's a bloody good question. Truth is I don't remember. It's all been a blur. I've been sick, the boys have been sick and I really can't remember what's been going on. But never fear, I have a story for you.

A few weeks ago Bella wouldn't stop barking. She was staring the the fence and barking like mad. After about 15 minutes I went out the front (it was day time) to check what she was barking at. As I went out the front there was a teenager walking past so I smiled at him and he glared at me. FFS.

As you do. FFS.

I looked down the side of the house, couldn't see anything so turned to the young guy to ask him if he'd seen anyone. Clearly he had an issue with this. FFS.

As soon as I looked at him he said "What the fuck are you looking at?"

Really? I don't take kindly to being abused so we had the following conversation:
Me: Calm down, I was just checking to see why the dog was barking.
YG: Stop fucking staring at me.
Me: Seriously? I wasn't staring at you. Don't be so rude.
YG: Fuck off you See You Next Tuesday. Stop fucking staring at me.
Me: I wasn't staring I was looking to see why my dog was barking, now get the hell out of here.
By this time he'd stopped walking and was standing in the middle of the road yelling at me.
Me: Keep walking buddy.
YG: Stop fucking staring at me.
Me: I'm not, now keep walking.
YG: Fuck off you fucking See You Next Tuesday.
Me: GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY HOUSE!
Then my neighbour came out and it was on for young and old.
I won't repeat what she had to say to the little meth addict, however she screamed at him until he was out of sight.

I'll be very surprised if he makes it to his next birthday. He's a little, weedy thing, Chai could have knocked him out with a feather. If he goes around talking to people the way he spoke to me he's not long for this world.

He's proof that drugs are bad. If someone smiling at you is offensive you need to get off the drugs. 

Wednesday 1 April 2015

March Empties

Carmex Moisture Plus lip balm - My poor Carmex. It was nearly empty when Eljay got to it and smeared it all over himself, the floor, his face and then ate what was left. Nice.

Lancome Visionnaire - I got two uses out of this sample so really can't say if it was good or not. It felt pleasant to use.

 Urban Rituelle Mango Milk perfume - Love this! It smells like summer.

Coconut Revolution Shampoo and Conditioner - These smelled lovely and made my hair feel good, nice and soft. I'd need to use them more than once to form an opinion but I'd happily buy them for the beautiful scent.

Kmart Jasmine Body Polish - These are my new favourite body scrub. They cost $4 and are a great sugar/salt scrub. If you like really scrubby scrubs get to Kmart now.

Original Source Chocolate and Mint Shower Gel - LOVE! It smells like an after dinner mint.

The Face Shop Quick and Clean Blemish Balm - I was so sad when I finished this, my holy grail BB. I've yet to find another BB that I love as much as Quick and Clean. It's been discontinued so I've been hoarding the tubes that I had left. I decided to use the last one as it's at least four years old. Now I'm on the hunt for another great BB. If you have any recommendations please let me.

Yes to Blueberries Cleansing Towlettes - I don't recommend these for sensitive skin. I found them to sting a bit so only used them every now and again. I imagine if I used them every day they'd be quite irritating.

This is another pile of tosses. Most of them are old or expired and a few I just don't love. Out they go. I'm getting very ruthless about the products I toss, if I don't love it, out it goes.