Sunday 30 August 2020

Thoughts of the week

1. I'm so over clive palmer. Not only is he on our radio and tv, he's taking out full page ads in the paper and I even got a letter from him. It went straight into the fire. Imagine if he took the money he's spending on trying to get into WA and donated it to a children's hospital, fire ravaged towns, drought stricken farmers or the covid effort. That would be money well spent and a tax deduction too.

2. We got our new phones this week and switched back to Telstra. Surprisingly there was only one hiccough. My phone ported over very quickly, Tiger's didn't. It took me a whole day on chat with them to get it ported, but it's done now and we're back to having decent coverage.

3. Returning our phones to Optus wasn't that easy. We returned them to the store we bought them from only to be told that we needed to return them to Optus. WTF? That's what we thought we were doing. Apparently not. They wanted us to post them to Optus head office. In the end we found an Optus store who would accept them and it was all sorted. I have to say, their customer service is excellent.

4. I've been getting so many spam comments on here lately, it's crazy. They're always about sex, I'm getting at least 20 a day. So annoying.

5. How good is apple crumble!

Saturday 29 August 2020

Saturday Stories - Secrets

Years ago I used to do a series called Sunday Stories and I've decided to bring that back. As I do Thoughts of the Week on Sundays, it'll be Saturday Stories. 

Now that I'm old and wise (haha) I'll be talking about things that I've learned.

If you have a story that you'd like to tell, please email me and I'll post it for you. You can post anonymously or with links to your social media accounts, your choice.

Todays story is something that I learned years ago. My ex taught me this. He taught me a lot of valuable lessons.

So here it is.

Not all secrets are yours to keep. 

I'll give you some background here. We were together for four years and split up when I discovered that he'd been taking drugs, dealing drugs and other disgusting things that I might talk about later. 

At first I was ashamed and embarrassed that he'd deceived me so thoroughly. I didn't tell anyone what had happened or why we'd split up as I felt like I had to keep his secrets. 

After a while I realised that they weren't my secrets to keep and that he was the one who should be ashamed. So instead of hiding what had happened, I told people. If someone asked, I told them what had happened and why we'd split up. 

Once I started talking about it I felt a lot better, like a burden had been lifted. I hadn't done anything wrong and had nothing to hide.
He wasn't overly impressed and asked why I was telling people. I told him that it wasn't up to me to keep his secrets and if he was ashamed then he should have made better choices.

If he wanted to keep his actions secret that was up to him, but I didn't have to keep his secrets. 

Not all secrets are yours to keep. The actions of others don't reflect on you, if someone has done the wrong thing by you it's their shame not yours. 


Friday 28 August 2020

FFS Friday - Why?

Hi beautiful people. How are we all today?

We've now survived a second week of Tiger being back at work. Having him home every night is so much easier. He likes his workplace so that's great. 

What should I complain about today? I know. One of my favourite topics, how difficult it is to get help with kids issues.

Chai's paediatrician died recently so we're on the hunt for a new one. I can't get into anyone local until July next year. The one in the next closest city has closed her books until January. 

I found one in the capital who hasn't closed her books, her next available appointment is April. That is if she'll agree to see us. I have to send in a referral then wait to see if they'll accept us. That's how bad things are here, you have to apply for the privilege of spending a small fortune to see a specialist for your child. FFS.

What happens meanwhile? You just struggle along and hope for the best. Chai is getting worse and I don't know what to do. His GP can't help, I can't get into a paediatrician, what am I supposed to do?
His OT mentioned how much worse he's got recently, she's very concerned. Unfortunately that doesn't help us at all. 

Maybe I need to have a meltdown and sit at the hospital until someone helps us.  

I have an appointment with Chai's psych next week, she's only doing telehealth at the moment but has agreed to see Chai in person. I'm hoping that she might be able to diagnose him and then the GP can help. 
Getting help shouldn't be this difficult. I can understand why people give up.

I'd love to give up but I can't because if I do his future will not be great. If I don't sort out his issues whilst he's young he'll face a lifetime of mental health issues and it'll be my fault for not taking action. 


Hi Mrs B. I hear you were in the paper this week. Your fame is growing!

Have a lovely weekend.

Tuesday 25 August 2020

Flower Beauty Petal Pout Lip Mask

I've been a fan of Drew Barrymore for years now so when she launched her cosmetics line I really wanted to try it. At the time it wasn't available in Australia, so I had to wait years until some of the range finally became available here.
I really hope that we get the full line here soon.

Everything I've tried from Flower Beauty is excellent quality, they've created a high quality range of products at a crazily cheap price. 


One of the newest product to Australia is the Petal Pout Lip Masks. There are six shades available and they all have a different flavour. Yes, you read that right, they're flavoured! The flavours are: Starlit - vanilla mango, Lucky - sweet honey, Nectar - buttercream frosting, Smooch - lemon sugar, Pucker - rosebuds and
Sangria - berry punch.

I have four of the six flavours, Starlit, Nectar, Smooch and Pucker.


 
Despite each of them having a different colour, on me they all apply clear. On someone with less pigmented lips the shades would be really pretty, on me they just look like a lovely gloss.

Now for the formula. It's lovely. Normally I steer clear of products with mineral oil and paraffin as I don't find them hydrating, however this is the exception. I find this to be very hydrating, it's thick and soothing with a glossy finish. The thick texture means that it lasts half a day before I need to reapply and my lips feel soft and smooth once the mask has worn off. If you like the Bite Beauty Agave lip mask then you'll like the Flower Beauty version.




Pucker, Nectar, Starlit and Smooch

They're only $9.99 (AUD). On the Flower Beauty website they're $10 (USD). It's great that there hasn't been the usual huge mark up for the Australian market.

Ingredients: mineral oil, ozokerite, paraffin, flavour, calcium sodium borosilicate, phenoxyethanol, caprylyl glycol, titanium dioxide, hexylene glycol, ethylhexylglycerin, sodium saccharin, tocopheryl acetate, cocoa seed butter, mango seed butter, tin oxide, linalool.

Sunday 23 August 2020

Thoughts of the week

1. We've survived the first week of Tiger being back at work. Having him home every night is such a different dynamic. It's so much easier.

2. Can someone shut clive palmer up? It's bad enough that he's taking out newspaper ads, but having to see him on tv and hear him on the radio is just not okay. 
(I refuse to capitalise his name, he doesn't deserve it).

3. The thought of a mandatory covid vaccine scares me. Not because I'm anti vax, but just because it hasn't been tested over the long term like most other vaccines are.

4. After living here for seven years we've finally become total country bogans. This is evidenced by the fact that Friday night we went out for pizza dressed in tracksuits, beanies and ugg boots. Heh.

5. Our new phones are arriving this week. Wish us luck for a smooth transition to the new provider.

Friday 21 August 2020

FFS Friday - This is for you Mrs B

Hello beautiful people.

Today's post is for the famous Mrs B. I know you like my posts about Tiger, so hope you enjoy this one.

First though, I have to tell you all I'm a genius. I've found a way to torture Tiger and it's totally legal. There's nothing he can do to stop me either.
In fact, according to our wedding vows I'm obliged to torture him. See he made a mistake when he was saying his vows and he took me to be his awful wedded wife. He really did. Even worse, he didn't correct himself so that's what the vows were, therefore I am allowed to be as awful as I want. Silly man.
Anyhow, back to my torture.
Want to know what it is?
Snoring. Hah!
It's sleep torture via snoring and there's nothing he can do about it! Hahaha. I'm so clever.

Poor Tiger.

It's occurred to me that he's turning into a grumpy old man. Or grumpy middle aged man. I don't like it at all.

He's constantly telling me about his bodily functions despite me repeatedly telling him I have no desire to know anything about his daily ablutions.

Every morning I get a blow by blow account of how badly he slept. Every. Single. Morning. FFS.
It's a really detailed description that takes at least five minutes. FFS.
Mate, you've got a kid who doesn't sleep. He's been like it for nine years, deal with it. He should be grateful for the fact that he worked away for seven years so hasn't had to deal with broken sleep every night like I have. 

When Dad visits they sit there talking about prostates, bladders and fires. FFS.
Apparently there is a correct way to put wood on the fire.
If you ask me the correct way is to open the door, throw a piece of wood in then close the door. Easy.
Apparently this is incorrect. After I've put wood on the fire Tiger will come along, make a comment about the wood being in the wrong spot, put on his fire proof gloves and move the wood around until it's in the correct position. Hahahaha.
Now I just yell at him when it's time to put wood on the fire.

Another thing I've noticed is that he's really angry. All the time. His default reaction to everything is anger. Not the violent type of anger, he'd never hurt us, but just the I'm annoyed at everything anger.
He can't find something in the fridge, he gets angry, the dog gets under his feet, anger. The boys play up, anger. And so it continues. Everything makes him angry.

Maybe he's going through manopause. He's got the symptoms. Anger, mood swings, insomnia, laziness. Actually that's not a manopause symptom.

Here's another beauty. He seems to have become totally oblivious to how things work around the house. I'm sure he thinks things happen by magic. They do, it's me, I'm the magic.

Last week he commented to his brother that he can't believe how dirty the shower has been getting lately. FFS.
He wasn't joking. FFS.
I told him the shower has always got that dirty, the only difference is that I haven't cleaned it lately. FFS.

Did he really think that the shower never got dirty? Surely he's not that stupid?
He's seen me cleaning the shower, he knows it gets cleaned every week or two. Maybe he just conveniently blocked that from his mind.

Here's another doozy. Sunday arvo he came and asked me where his heart is, then pointed to the middle of his chest.
I swear he's really not stupid, he's intelligent, he just doesn't act like it.

That's all I've got for today. I shall keep on saving up the Tiger tidbits to keep you amused Mrs B. I hope you have a lovely weekend xxx.

Tuesday 18 August 2020

Three Hair Care Favourites


It's been a while since I talked hair care, mainly because I don't do much to care for my hair. Hah. I'm all about no fuss, easy hair care.

There are three products I've been loving lately, two are new to me and one I've been using for a long time.

Percy and Reed Volumising No Oil Oil for fine hair
I don't know how many volumising products I've tried over the years, but most of them haven't worked. There was an amazing (discontinued) Matrix one that I loved and now there's the brilliant Percy and Reed version. If you have fine hair give this a go. It gives volume even when I don't blow dry, doesn't weigh down my hair, moisturises and is non greasy.
Even when I put a bit too much in my hair still isn't oily, it's just full of volume. I get best results when I blow dry, but it still works without blow drying.

Tinderbox Herbal Hair Oil Treatment
If you aren't a south west local you may not have heard of Tinderbox. They're a gorgeous range of natural, aromatherapy based products. One of their new products is this beautiful Herbal Hair oil. I usually steer away from deep conditioning treatments as they're just too much for my fine hair, but this one isn't. I coat my hair in it, including my scalp as it's also a scalp treatment and leave it on either overnight or all day.
It washes out easily with one shampoo and leaves my hair feeling soft and silky smooth. As an added bonus it smells lovely.

Cake The Gloss Boss
The only reason I purchased this is because it was on sale at Priceline and it smells like cake. Who doesn't want to smell like cake? I'd happily smell like cake all day every day.
Luckily, despite my dubious purchase reason, I'm very happy with Gloss Boss. As the name suggests, it's a shine spray and hair perfume. I spray it into dry hair after I've finished styling. You can use it daily however I find that I don't need to, my hair stays glossy until the next time I wash it. 

Sunday 16 August 2020

Thoughts of the week

1. This week I accidentally started watching The Bachelor. I used to watch every season but the awful Nick Honey Badger put me off and I haven't watched since. 
Anyhow, I started watching this season and could only manage part of the first episode. The bitching and competitiveness was just unbearable.

2. To my great delight having BIL in town has been wonderful so far. He's grown up so much and is really nice to have around. What a relief.

3. Tiger starts work tomorrow. It's going to be strange. He hasn't worked locally for seven years. Chai was two when Tiger started FIFO and Eljay wasn't born. Neither of them can grasp the concept of him coming home every night, they just think he'll be here on the weekends. I imagine there will be some adjusting to do.

4. Sol de Janeiro are releasing a tinted version of their lip butter and I want one. Unfortunately it's only available on their website and they don't ship internationally so I won't be getting one.

5. I made perfect roast potatos last night.

Friday 14 August 2020

FFS Friday - Stamina

Hello beautiful people. It's Friday!

Has anyone else noticed how expensive mobile phones are now? It's crazy. I'm sure all the phone providers got together and decided to up their prices so that we'd be screwed. 

FFS. The boys are playing a stupid game where Chai has a blanket over him and he tries to find Eljay. Eljay hits him then runs away and Chai throws punches trying to hit Eljay.
Anyone with a brain can see that this isn't going to end well. 
Chai eventually manages to land a punch on Eljay's head, then Eljay has a fit about being punched. FFS. What did he think was going to happen?

That was a live update as I was trying to write this post. Anyhow, back to my weekly whinge. 

Chai decided he wanted his hair shaved off this week. He was adamant. I tried to convince him to wait until summer, but he wanted it done.
I told him that it'll take ages to grow back, we can't fix it if he doesn't like it etc but he insisted on having it done. 
He wanted a number two, but Tiger did a number eight (which is still really, really short). 

Instead of starting at the back in case Chai changed his mind, Tiger went straight up the middle. FFS. 
Chai freaked out and started crying, but thanks to Tiger it was too late.
Unsurprisingly he hates it. FFS.

I also hate it (he doesn't know that though). So now he's going to look like a thug for at least six months whilst it grows back. Lesson learned. 

Eljay is still sulking over being hit. FFS.

I mentioned last week that I was freaking out at the though of the boys going to school. I am no longer freaking out. 
Chai kindly ensured that I am more than happy to send him to school by behaving like a monster all week.

Back to what I was originally trying to whinge about. We're having a phone saga. A few months ago we switched from Telstra to Optus because Telstra are awful to deal with and so ridiculously expensive. 

I was concerned that we wouldn't get the coverage we needed however they assured Tiger that they had great coverage and that if we weren't happy with the coverage they'd cancel our contracts for us.

Their coverage is crap. When we went to the city we had no coverage. We have no coverage in town, none in the supermarket and limited coverage at home. Every time I call someone I have to call twice because they can't hear me the first call. 

We're now in the process of switching back to Telstra. Their customer service and prices are far inferior but you can't beat their coverage. FFS.

You'd think switching would be simple but it's not. We have to wait for new phones to be sent to us from Telstra, then when we get them we have to follow their instructions to port our numbers over, then take our old handsets back to Optus. 

Sounds simple but we all know it's not going to be that easy.

Stay tuned, I'll let you know how it goes in a few weeks time.

Eljay is still sulking. That kid has stamina. FFS.

Hi Mrs B xxx.

Tuesday 11 August 2020

July Empties

It's empties time! How did you go with your empties this month? I seem to be plowing through things lately, which is very satisfying.


Soap and Glory Clean on Me
Oh how I love the scent of Soap and Glory products. They smell so good. Why don't they make a perfume, it'd be so good. I've repurchased Clean On Me countless times. It's gentle, hydrating and reasonably priced.

Dove Nourishing Hand Wash
We're all about nourishing products at the moment. Constant hand washing and sanitising has left us all with sore, dry hands. I love that this hand wash comes in a large bottle and is super gentle.

Indeed Labs Bakuchiol Resurface Pads
These were crap, a total waste of money. They were really dry with barely any product on them. Even when I stored them upside down they were still super dry. In hindsight I should have returned them for a refund.

The Body Shop Roots of Strength Serum
Despite my love of The Body Shop products, I haven't used much of their skincare. I've used most of their body care products but not skincare. I purchased this when it was on sale and it's love. The serum smells great (very important) and made my skin look clear and feel hydrated. I'll repurchase again soon.

L'Oreal Revialift Laser X3
My dry skin loves this moisturiser, it's very hydrating, absorbs quickly and doesn't leave any greasy residue.

Kora Organics Turmeric Brightening and Exfoliating Mask
My beautiful Karen introduced me to this gorgeous mask. I use it when I'm in the shower, leave in on for about five minutes and then scrub it off. The exfoliating particles are really fine and it leaves my skin feeling very smooth.  I already have another tube ready to go.

Kopari Deodorant
It's no secret that this is one of my all time favourite natural deodorants. I will always repurchase. 

Black Chicken Axilla Deodorant
As with the Kopari deodorant, Axilla is one of my favourite natural deodorants and one I always have in my collection. 

Molton Brown Vetiver and Grapefruit Shower Gel
Ugh. I like Molton Brown shower gels but this scent was not pleasant. It's more suited to men, it's very woody and masculine. Using it up was a task.

Dermalogica Dynamic Skin Recovery
I have no recollection of using this so it clearly wasn't amazing.

Crabtree and Evelyn Avocado Olive and Basil Hand Cream
I'm so glad Crabtree and Evelyn are back, their products are lovely, especially the hand creams. If you like the L'Occitane shea butter hand creams then you'll like the Crabtree and Evelyn ones.

Hask Monoi Coconut Dry Shampoo
As far as dry shampoo goes this one is pretty good. It smells nice and isn't really white, so it's easy to brush out. 

Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Face Butter
Josie Maran products are so underrated and I don't understand why. This is a lovely, hydrating face cream that I'd happily buy.

Saturday Skin Cotton Cloud Probiotic Power Mask
I've come to realise that sheet masks like this just aren't my thing. This was nice and left my face feeling very soft, but I just don't like sheet masks.

Lancome Genifique
This just doesn't work for me. I've used so many samples of it and nothing.



I have quite a few tosses this month. I was in a rather intolerant mood and couldn't be bothered with anything that I didn't love, so I'd use something once or twice then toss it. I also looked at the age of some of my makeup and tossed it too. I've had the L'oreal foundation since 2015 and the Naked palette is at least eight years old. Gross.


Sunday 9 August 2020

Thoughts of the week

1. BIL moved out on Friday. It was quite nice having him here, he's grown up a lot since last time he stayed with us. The boys loved him being here and he's really good with them. I'm very relieved that it worked out okay.

2. More good news. Tiger has a job. What a relief. It'll be very nice not to be relying on welfare.

3. Mecca are now launching new products weekly. That's going to be tempting but I won't be buying because we still need to watch our spending. Now that Tiger isn't working away our income has significantly reduced. Plus, I don't need anything. 

4. WTF is with womens clothing? It's much more expensive than mens clothing and yet there's a lot less to it. I've been trying to find a warm jacket and warm jumper, it's impossible. The jumpers are either thin or cropped and it's the same with the jackets. I'm going to start wearing mens clothing.

5. Yesterday I wore normal shoes for five hours! It's been ten months since I could do that!

Friday 7 August 2020

FFS Friday - Confused.

Hello Friday. I'm so happy to see you.
Have you all had a good week?
If you're back in lockdown, I hope you're coping okay. If you're not I'm always happy to chat.

Is it just me or have a lot more people jumped on the covid conspiracy bandwagon? I've seen some really crazy posts on facebook recently, they don't even make sense. I saw one person saying that there would be military law soon. What's that got to do with covid? I don't understand.

It's also funny how people are sensationalising the news. Tiger read a post this morning from someone he trusts that said Westpac is no longer accepting cash deposits. He believed it. I didn't. 
After one minute research I discovered the truth, Westpac is limiting cash deposits to $7,500 per account per day. Totally different isn't it?
What's the point of bending the truth like that? It just gets people worked up for no reason. Seems pretty nasty to me. 

So. We've put in an application with a school. For both the boys.
We aren't in the zone and are not eligible for their special needs program so there's a good chance that the boys won't get in, but they said that they would consider our application.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not. Chai's psych, OT and tutor all say that it's a bad idea. I'm really unsure. The school we've applied to is the only one that has any chance of being suitable. If we can't get in to this school then home schooling is our only option.

I feel quite sick at the thought of them going to school and it not working out, I don't want to end up back where we were a few years ago when we started home schooling. I'll recognise the signs sooner so it won't be as bad as it was but I still hate to think that I'm adding stress and trauma to Chai's life.

Honestly though, I need a break. That's mainly what this is about. My need for a break. I know that sounds (and feels) selfish, but I am so burned out and this is the only way that I can get any time out.

The boys have been with me 24/7 since they were born. I've spent four nights away from them their whole lives. Two nights when I had Eljay and two nights when I had my ankle surgery. That's it. They're nine and seven.   

I'm burned out. I'm exhausted and I need a rest. If putting them in school is how I get a rest then that's what I need to do. Plus, I think it might be good for them. They've both been talking about going to school and they quite like the idea. Chai is older now so more able to communicate with me about what's going on, so if there are any problems then he will be able to tell me straight away.

My plan is to send them for the last term (if they're accepted), see how it goes and if it doesn't go well then I'll use the time they're at school to get all set up for home schooling next year. If we try school and it doesn't work I'll just accept that this is what we're doing and this is our life now.
If they don't get in to school then that's a sign. Either way, I need to deal with things and move forward, break or no break.

Have a beautiful weekend. We're in for some wild weather Sunday which I'm looking forward to. We'll spend Saturday enjoying the sun and Sunday enjoying the rain. Perfect. 
 

Tuesday 4 August 2020

Crabtree and Evelyn is back!

If you hadn't already guessed from the title, Crabtree and Evelyn is back! 


They've relaunched with an online store and a great range of products. 
I've always loved Crabtree and Evelyn, they have beautiful, luxurious products. I always pick up a few things when I want to give someone a luxe gift.

A kind friend sent me a few of their products which I'll be testing out over the next few weeks, so stay tuned for some reviews. 

The prices seem to be a little cheaper than they were before, which is nice. They've got a gorgeous range of products, my wishlist is very long. 


I really want the rock diffuser set, it looks so cool!

You can check out the webstore here. They're also on Instagram. 

Note: This post is not sponsored or paid. 

Sunday 2 August 2020

Thoughts of the week

1. I've read quite a few posts and articles lately that says blogging is over. Funny that. I suppose a lot of people don't read blogs any more, maybe because a lot of people have stopped blogging? Either way I'm not going to stop blogging.

2. My baby boy turns seven today!

3. The BIL is here and Chai is loving it. So far it's been quite nice having him here.

4. To everyone who's back on lock down in Victoria, I'm sending my love. I can only imagine how tough it must be.

5. Who's been watching Farmer Wants a Wife? I just can't get into it this year.