Spring has sprung and the challenge is done!!

In case no one noticed - and I won't be offended in the least if no one did - this Woman on a Mission was decidedly quiet during August: I gave up blogging!

I decided that for the final month of my year-long challenge I wanted to see how giving things up and taking things on had actually impacted my life, and see if I could do it honestly without having followers to report to: see, you guys keep me honest :-)

Sure, over the 12 months I didn't give up everything on the 'vices' list - dessert stays safe! - and I didn't get around to researching my family tree (though incidentally, I have loaded software to do that on my computer!), but I noticed a number of other things:

1. Some days I just look better without make-up. Except mascara: mascara is gold
2. I no longer watch morning television
3. I am relatively content with my life and meditation will not help me find peace
4. The God of Oven doesn't actually have a problem with tea towels hanging on the door: he helped me make a kick-ass choc-chip sponge a couple of weeks ago! The aforementioned tea towel is a myth invented by Feng Shui extremists
5. Kim Kardashian is an embarrassment to humankind
6. I'm fitter than I give myself credit for: I may not have totally completed the personal training challenge but this winter out of the 10 weeks I had to play netball, I played two games in 6 out of those 10 weeks, plus an hour long walk each Saturday morning, two indoor games a week and incidental exercise when I found the time - booyah!
7. I would be the size of a supermodel if I did the above exercise and actually gave up dessert and chocolate
8. I will have my children christened: hubby and I may not go to Church or really believe that religion is necessary but if my kids go looking for some spiritual guidance in the future, I'd like to give them an 'in' somewhere
9. I already volunteer quite a bit throughout the year and do good deeds when the need arises: I need to be kinder on myself and accept that I am human and sometimes being a little bit selfish is ok
10. The concept of living your life like you did as a kid is good in theory, but there's only so much your now-30 year old body can take....and your dignity
11. Making the usual unusual is harder than it sound

The past year has gone so fast and there has been so many ups, downs and diagonals that I've probably overlooked something-or-other but I think this is a pretty reasonable list.

Most importantly I've learned that life has no opposite. It's also not short: it's the longest thing we will ever do so be spontaneous, live in the moment and give yourself a break: who cares if you choose travelling over buying a home, dropped out of Uni, don't have a million dollars in the bank, if you eat more chocolate than you probably should or if your fashion-style would have you on the worst-dressed list of all time...

If you're comfortable, happy and surrounded by people you love, you have it made.

Mission complete :-)

Still being bested by a fiery crab....

So it turns out that after years of driving experience behind me, acquiring additional concentration and coordination sills, you can still suck at Sonic the Hedgehog.

In my attempt to re-live all things childish over the month I spent part of Sunday morning jumping, spinning and collecting rings through the original Sonic mega drive game (now on the updated PS3 console), which I have owned for the better part of 2 years but haven't really played that much.

I'm pleased to say I can still get though the "Green Hill Zone" without losing a life -by the fourth attempt. Learning to swerve potential roadkill, dodge potholes and crazy-ACT drivers while driving a car does not help dodge fire throwing crabs, jumping pirahna, and psycho 'bosses' on your quest to free the lovely rabbit and teddy-bear looking critters of the Sonic universe.

Still, there's something comforting about the old-school graphics,tinny-sound effects and little blue hedgehog who clearly suffers from ADHD:

In addition to working the Playstation buttons, I also embraced my inner 'tween' and jumped on the Bieber and One Direction bandwagons, watching with other 'Beliebers' as JB entertained the crowds at the Australia's Got Talent grand final and I was impressed with the kids' dance moves and the fact that unlike some more 'seasoned' performers - you listening Ms Spears? - didn't lip synch. 

Hubby wasn't too impressed I made him watch, but I didn't make him watch the follow-up where I searched for early "One Direction" footage from their time on X-Factor, unfamiliar with who they were, aside from the fluffy, squeal-inducing interviews the commercial stations were showing during their last visit here.

I don't know if I'm embracing my inner child too much, but I found them highly entertaining, though admittedly my favourite clip was of them performing a song that was around before many of their fans were even born...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnj_EjE490E

The answer is: alfredo sauce

I've discovered the solution to eating too much pizza: alfredo sauce.

I've really made a conscious effort to improve my eating habits this month, which must be working as I had to convince my father I was still actually eating after he greeted me with "how much weight have you bloody lost?"

But I digress. Everyone knows theres no such thing as too much pizza, which is problematic when you're trying to a) watch your portion sizes, and b) share pizza with four over excited children.

I've recently discovered spinach and feta pizza. Not because I've been living under a rock for the past decade, but because I have coeliacs disease and the pizza franchises are only just starting to discover the wonders of gluten free catering. Sometimes I'll have it with bacon, sometimes prawns, but this weekend I thought I'd go chicken and just for something different thought I'd forgego the usual tomato base and try alfredo.

Worked a treat!

I've also been making an effort to eat more slowly during lunch and dinner which is supposed to help my stomach realise it's full. The problem is I'm also one of those people who eat when they're bored and eating slowly makes me bored so....notice the problem??

I wonder if there's a sauce that'll fix that??

Of diets and daisy chains

I turn 30 in a little over a month and instead of meeting the end of my 20's with trepidation, I'm celebrating by embracing all that it means to be young, and attempting to leave some old habits behind.

Giving-up: Bad eating habits

It's taken me a few days to figure out exactly what I wanted to give up this month, but looking at my 'Vices' list I realised I never really 'gave up' dessert and 'soft-drink' was still hanging out there unchecked so I thought I could combine the two and make this the month I finally give-up all those bad eating habits I've picked up over the years.

What habits are those you may ask?

Well, let's start with the fact I can generally finish any size meal in less that ten minutes. Yep, whether it's a small salad, a king size meal from the local cafe or even a home-cooked curry, chances are my plate will be empty in 10-15 minutes. It's something I've only started to become conscious of since I've started going to business dinners. I justified it early on by telling myself that "of course I eat faster than the other attendees because they're the ones doing all of the talking" but slowly I've realised that no, I just eat fast.

I don't eat so fast that I get indigestion, but I'm still the one twiddling their thumbs at the table while others continue devouring their delicacies.

Then, there's portion size. It's not uncommon for me to cook something at home to the specifications of a recipe designed to serve 4 people, and for hubby and I to eat it all. True, he eats more of the dish than I do, but I think the time has come for me to either learn how to adjust recipes, or learn to love leftovers.

I also eat far too much sugar, have butter or margarine on breads and will usually reach for a bikkie or chocolate instead of fruit for my 3pm sugar hit.

So for the next four weeks I'm going to:

1) Take at least 20 minutes to eat my lunch & dinner

2) Stick to recommended portion sizes

3) Limit my 'desserts' (ice-cream, cake, biscuits and chocolate) to three serves per week

4) Throw out the butter and marg

5) Eat 3 serves of fruit per day

As it is now the 4th of July, I've already used my dessert quote for the week - eek!

Taking-up: Being a kid

Remember when you were little and you'd walk through a crowded shopping centre practicing your arabesques without  care in the world? or how you'd practice your bowling technique in full view of the Friday night raffle patrons?

No? Just me and my brother then.

Kids really do have it good. Some people spend so much time wanting to grow up they don't fully appreciate the care free nature of childhood. I mean, surely I'm not the only one who gets jealous when they see kids running butt-naked under a sprinkler or wearing  Cinderella costume to do the groceries.

I am? Really?

My mission this month is to re-embrace childhood, whether that be through throwing handstands against a wall, or learning something I never got to do as a kid.

I think I'll draw the line at the sprinkler though.....

Not that I'd go back to a brick, but I could survive

This has been one of the more boring months of challenges I've undertaken, mostly because it didn't give me too many insightful things to comment and reflect on. Sure I couldn't use "Sound Hound" when I got a tune stuck in my head and I couldn't figure it out, I had to rely on the street directory to get around unfamiliar parts of town and I had to wait patiently for hubby to make his way out of work instead of flicking through the news headlines but at the end of the day going without a "smart" phone really didn't impact greatly on my life.

And as for a "Photo a Day" I really wanted to try taking a different a photo a day but life just got in the way so I relied on existing piccies I'd taken instead. It was interesting going through a list compiled by a total stranger and discovering what I had actually taken photos of over time. The final examples are below.

Day 18 - Something we don't know about you.

Even though I own them on DVD, I will watch any of the 'Lethal Weapon' or 'Die Hard' 

movies if they're on television

Day 19 - Imperfect

Marriage isn't about finding that perfect person, it's about loving an imperfect

person perfectly

Day 20 - Favourite Photo You've Ever Taken

Paris 2006, trying to work out what all the functions of my new camera did

Day 21 - Where you slept

Well I don't sleep here, but hubby has been known to take a nap on our hard, concrete

floor and I simply don't know how he does it

Day 22 - From a high angle

I've started to get into candles

Day 23 - Movement

Here comes the bride...walking down the aisle on my Daddy's arm

Day 24 - On your mind

I'm not worried about turning 30, rather how I'm going to celebrate

Day 25 - Something cute

Two of my nieces, Allyra & Chelsey

Day 26 - Where you shop

Far too convenient for my liking sometimes

Day 27 - Bathroom

The cleanest section I could find

Day 28 - On the shelf

The gluten-free pasta front and centre

Day 29 - Soft

Something appreciated after days of blowing your runny nose

Day 30 - A friend

I couldn't pick just one, so decided to show many!!

Photographic fail

So it turns out my life isn't exciting enough to warrant taking a photo day...or is it that I'm simply too busy to stop and smell the photographic roses??

I think it's 3/4 cup of column A and 1/4 cup of column B.

Still, pathetic as they are, my recent efforts are below

Day 7 - Drink

I wasn't drinking anything exciting this day so my niece's sippy cup did the trick :-)

Day 8 - Six O'Clock

So remembering to actually take a photo at 6 o'clock was problematic, so instead I took a shot of the one thing that permanently show's 6 o'clock: my damn alarm!

Day 9 - Your view today

No matter where I looked on Saturday, the view that greeted me was my beautiful niece Marli sneaking chippies :-)

Day 10 - The best bit of your weekend

 I had an issue with this day's assignment, because what if the best part of my weekend happened on the Saturday instead of the Sunday?? I didn't take a photo out of principal

Day 11 - Door

My messy bedroom door where my evening dresses - including a bridesmaid dress from my own wedding! - hang in the out of the way

Day 12 - From a low angle

As my husband, mother and best friend could tell you, I have a thing for shoes, and these are my newest acquisitions: pearl Tony Bianco's with diamante bows!

Day 13 - Art

The 'masterpiece' that hangs in our living room, procured from my cousin-in-law

Day 14 - Time

I can't go anywhere without this little baby

Day 15 - Yellow

The coconut cup that adorns my kitchen, left over from my father's surprise 50th luau

Day 16 - Out and About

Yeah, I play netball on Saturdays and it's a bit hard to take a photo of myself while I'm playing so I'll leave this up to your imagination

Day 17 - In your bag

Ummm this doesn't look great does it? A purse, make-up purse, a slither of a hair brush, ankle stockings, shopping bag and - sadly - a box of Voltaren!

5 things you can't do without a smart phone

1. Be mesmerised by the rain images on the BoM radar: while driving through the middle of a downpour
2. Enter your footy tips just before cut-off time when you're out of the house
3. Find out the ACTUAL lyrics to the J-Lo song on the radio so you can stop singing your husband's version (in case you're wondering she doesn't sing "...find a man and squeeze his balls...")
4. Find the closest loo to your current location - the F3 freeway - when you're busting for a pee and it's bucketing down with rain
5. Take your required "Photo a Day" when you forget your camera

Six snazzy snaphots

Day 1 - Morning 
From my office window

Day 2 - Empty 
Gotta love a glass of bubbly!

Day 3 - On your plate 
In the metaphoric sense: I didn't eat anything exciting!

Day 4 - Close up
Flowers seemed a bit cliche but it was the best I could do

Day 5 - Sign 
This sign sits on my desk at work - is it wrong my boss thinks it's appropriate?

Day 6 - Hat
You shouldn't be surprised that I have a fancy dress cupboard at work for just such a photo op!

Like phones and photographs, these are the next 30 days of my life

So I made it through a month of no gossip mags by using knitting to entertain myself and have discovered two things:

1) I've no idea why I cherish knowing about celebrities lives, I think I just like knowing there's someone out there far, far crazier than me
2) My mother lied...I'm not a total failure when it comes to creative pursuits.

This month I've decided to take the "smart" out of "smart phone" and go back to using it for essentially what it is: a phone to call and talk to the people I love / miss / need to yell at.

To make it a teensy bit more tricky, I've decided to take on the "Photo A Day" challenge which will rely on me remembering to have my handy camera at the ready.

Giving-up: Texting / Smart Phone applications
Yep, you heard correctly, unless it's work and/or sporting related (not that it matters since I'm the coach of a team whose game got washed out on Saturday and I had no-one's numbers to tell them it was off!) I shall avoid using text messages to communicate with my nearest and dearest.

Not only that, I've also decided to give up all those other applications that apparently make my phone "smart:" calendar, camera, news feeds, email, Facebook, music player, C25K app...the list goes on.

I spent part of yesterday preparing myself for this one, digging out my old iPod shuffle and updating the music list so that when I go for my exercise session tomorrow I take it and not my phone. This also means I'm going to have to use my own willpower to actually jog for some part of said session, instead of relying on the faithful 'beep' C25K gives me remidning me to get my butt in gear.

The only thing I'm not sure on giving up completely is the alarm function: I don't trust hubby to keep his alarm set to the time I need, and yes I could go out a buy a cheapo alarm clock but I simply don't trust them either.... perhaps I should take up "trusting" next month??

Taking-up: A Photo a Day
This is a concept that has been doing the rounds of my Facebook friends for the last 12  months or so now and there has been some pretty remarkable piccies taken it must be said, so I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and document the next 30 days of my life photographically.

Courtesy of one Emunchkin, I don't have to look for inspiration myself as I will be following this handy guide below and uploading my efforts so far each Wednesday: feel free to join in and compare!

A good 36 inches...

Four weeks down and I made it to 36 inches!! I'm so proud of that effort, and yes admittedly bits of it are a bit holey, but considering my track record with all things sewing-related I'm stoked.

I'm going to keep knitting for another week though...so I can get my Grandma to show me how to finish it :-)

Always a learner.

Who's Rachel and why do I care that she weighs 36kg??

During my month long hiatus from the world of gossip mags, I have taken to staring at magazine covers mulling over what draws me to them in the first place.

The title of today's post - taken from a larger-than-life headline last week - makes this point nicely: who the $%&@ is Rachel?? She's a sickly thin blonde woman toting a baby who hardly looks like she could feed herself let alone some offspring.

Another one worth considering was one I saw today with a sad Nicole Richie declaring "The truth about me and Joel"

Does this headline work?? Because we all know - well, should know - that everything in the article will come from a "reliable source" or a "friend-of-a-friend" and be as far from the truth as humanly possible.

How about the front cover of Who advertising it's their "Body Issue" with 5 scantily clad female celebs splashed across the front. Personally semi-naked women don't do it for me, but I know I have purchased this particular issue multiple times.

WHY??

Two days left to the end of this challenge and I am still asking myself that same question.

Oh well, 48 hours to go to find my answer

One weekend and a ball of wool later

Progress!!

Can we accept their humanity?

Am I the only one who thinks it's ok for celebrities to have boobs, love handles and cellulite?

It's a question I've been pondering myself this week after reading an article from the Sydney Morning Herald online about Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai and the apparent disgust from the general population of India that she hasn't "bothered" to shed her baby weight after the birth of her six-month old daughter. You can find the article here: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/it-is-her-duty-to-look-good-and-fit-bollywood-star-and-former-miss-world-targeted-over-failure-to-lose-postpregnancy-weight-20120517-1ysg1.html

For those who aren't familiar with Ms Rai ("Bride and Prejudice" would be one of the more westernised movies she's been in), she's India's version of Angelina Jolie: stunningly beautiful with a talent to match.

Apparently Ms Rai has a duty to the Indian people to be the epitome of her former Miss World self at all times, and the fact she's preparing to walk the red carpet at the Cannes Film festival bigger than a size zero will bring shame upon the entire country. As one quoted observer noted: "She needs to learn from people like Victoria Beckham who are back to size zero weeks after their delivery."


Excuse me, but what the F$%K?? What is happening in the world when a glowing new mother can't enjoy the first few months of her child's life without worrying about what she looks like?

Is this "our" fault? And by "our" I mean the magazine buying populous who hang on every word published on the glossy pages? Some will argue it's the journalist and paparazzi's fault because they're the ones who seek the stories, but folks if we don't buy it why would they seek it?

I think it's a another chicken/egg scenario.

Sure, when a actor has a movie coming out they need the media to publicise it and go to great lengths to get the most flattering of coverage for them, their film and in come circumstances, their co-stars. But does that mean they lose their right to privacy in their downtime? And if they are out and about getting their piccie taken while getting their morning coffee, why do we care that they look a little bloated, haven't washed their hair, or heaven forbid, have ventured outside without make-up?

And let's not forget the eleventh commandment: though shalt not gain weight

Why can we tell our best friend who's carrying a few extra kilos that they look beautiful regardless, and bitch about Jessica Simpson's double chin at the same time?

And it isn't just aesthetic issues either. Celebs having breakdowns, divorcing, having affairs and throwing temper tantrums often make the front pages of magazines and the entertainment sections and suddenly they're "unprofessional," "total divas," and "vile."

Why can't we accept - happily - that celebrities are going to have bad hair days, lose their cool and gain weight when they eat too much ice-cream?

My first 19 days without Hollywood-related news - and honestly, I'm surprised at how much of it I was reading - has had me questioning about what I find fascinating about the private lives of celebrities in the first place, and I haven't come up with an answer yet.

One thing I do know though, is the next time I see a headline extolling the virtues of the latest celebrity-diet, or asking "why has such-and-such let herself go" I'll brush right on past and not give it another thought.

Afterall, if a beauty such as Aishwarya Rai can accept post-baby fat and still rock a designer frock than bloody oath I'm going to do it one day too.

A perfect 10, then the work begins

My Grandma would be proud!

I finished my "perfect 10" rows of knitting colours and tonight began my scarf creation.

What do you think??

I now understand how women of the elder generation have arthritis in their hands: knitting is bloody hard work! 

Must Google "hand exercises" ahead of tomorrow night's session....

Lured by a bogan bride and a 80kg dress...

This week I had to work on a trade stand at a nation-wide conference for work, liaising with stakeholders, giving away copies of our publications, etc.

Initially I thought this would be a great opportunity to work on my 10 "perfect" coloured knitting lines (which Grandma said I need to do before I move to my actual scarf) but at the last minute left it out of the baggage thinking to myself "Monday is setting up the stand, and Tuesday/Wednesday is working it, so Like I'll have time.."

Wrong

My colleague and I were told to be at the venue for 7am Monday morning as the furniture for our stand would be delivered between 7am and 12pm and we HAD to be there to meet it.

Yeah, our furniture arrived at 4.30pm.

In addition to that, the organisers cut off the power to the booths so I couldn't even do some work remotely which was also a pain in the ass.

To combat some of the boredom, my colleague bypassed a newsagent on her way back from a coffee run and came back with a Woman's Day.

Now we'd been discussing various things we've given up over the years due to dietary conditions (me) or lifestyle changes (her) but I didn't really know how to explain giving up gossip mags to her so chose to ignore it.

I picked at my nail polish, wandered around the different booths, stepped out for some lunch but then saw a photo which broke my control...

The ugliest tiara and wedding dress you have EVER seen.

This idiot of a 25-yr old girl had been planning her "dream wedding" since she was 10 and it involved a 4kg tiara of love hearts, an eight tier castle wedding cake and an 80kg wedding dress.

Yep, you read correctly, her dress weighted 80kg

And judging by the amount of mascara she had on, her eyelashes weighed about 80kg too.

I'm a sucker for all wedding-related things, but especially trashy "my big fat gypsy wedding"-esque weddings so I gave in and read the article, mostly so I could find some hint of a disorder that would explain the marital mess.

So I technically went against my "giving-up" but avoided all entertainment/Hollywood related gossip....

That's not really failing right??

Knitting away the hours....

Ok so it's taken my 6 days to get into this month's challenge, but there's a very good reason for that:

I had to wait for my Grandma to come visit me.

Taking-up: Knitting
People believe that your ability to do certain things is dependent on how well your parents do something. As an example, a number of up and coming rugby league players have fathers who were also successful in the field, musician's children tend to quite excel with music, and we all know about the familial six-degrees-of-separation that happens in Hollywood.

The women in my family are quite creative and crafty. My mother and aunts can sew with the best of them, knit, mosaic, paint, do ceramics, and let's not forget, make their own home-made cheese and yoghurt. They inherited these abilities from my grandmother and their mothers (for my aunties through marriage - they're also particularly handy!)

I've also noticed that my female cousins tend to have some aptitude in some - not all - of the above skills and have employed them at some point during their lives thus far.

I think I was adopted.

I can't sew, I stick more tiles to myself than the design when mosaic-ing, my painting could be outshone by a four year old and I struggle to make consistently decent cakes so it's safe to say cheese is way, way outside my skill level.

I received a 'D' in year 7 Design & Technology when we had to make an apron: I told my parents that clearly my teacher shouldn't be teaching if she thought her work was only worth a 'D' since she did most of it herself.

To prove that I can mix it with the rest of the fam' I've decided to take up knitting this month and after a couple of glasses of wine, sat down with my grandmother - under the dubious glances of my mother, aunty, husband and father - and began to re-learn the basics.

Five hours later over both Friday & Saturday nights, and this is what it resulted in:

Not bad for a first attempt right? My ultimate goal is to knit a full scarf but I'm not allowed to start on the "good wool" until I've mastered 10 rows of the coloured stuff without a mistake....

This could take longer than a month.

Giving-up: Gossip Mags / Entertainment news
I'm slightly ashamed that on any given day I could probably tell people more about what's going on in Hollywood than in my own country. Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but I am more inclined to read 'Who", "New Idea" and "Marie Claire" instead of "The Australian" "Financial Review" and "Time."

It's not because of some dream to look like the people on the cover - nothing is worth exercising four hours a day, six days a week and living on lima beans and wheatgrass for - or because I necessarily want their lifestyle (though the thought of a chauffeur does appeal slightly)

I just find the whole concept of Hollywood and life in the public eye fascinating.

How could I cope with my photo being splashed across the pages of magazines with "bulimic" next to it one day and "next-patron of Weight Watchers?" the next? Would I like to see pics of me getting the morning paper / loaf of bread / carton of milk, being the #1 trending topic on Twitter?

So in an effort get more locally-focused - and to save some cash - I'm giving up on buying, reading or looking at anything gossip mag-related.

I'm not including those apparent 'reality' mags - That's Life! and Take 5 - as since my month of entering competitions, I've become quite fond of doing all their puzzles.

Plus, hubby would have withdrawals if there were no puzzle books in the house!

Foody Fitness

Where has April gone??? I can't believe my month of baking and bootcamp is over already.

I can honestly say I'm now in a routine as far as morning exercise goes, so much so that I dri got out of bed at 5.45am today to do a morning workout even though I'm travelling for work.

I can also report that the exercise I have undertaken - both prior and during April - made my first game of netball for the year much less painful than it could've been.

Maybe the trainers from "The Biggest Loser" are on to something with their "exercise is god" mantra??

Cooking wise, I fully appreciate with added feeling how hard it would've been for my mum - and parents more widely - to cook a variety of filling, healthy home made dinners and lunches each and everyday, in a time when not everything came in a jar.

Hugs to you Mum!!

I did reasonably well I think, whipping up a motsa of dips, cakes, sauces, marinades and over two litres of pumpkin soup, but must admit I didn't push my culinary boundaries too far.

It did inspire me to do more from scratch though and may use my unwitting visitors coming this weekend as my guinea pigs, after they teach me my skill for May of course :-)

Watch this space for the details!

When your nipples could cut glass...

Hmm if only I was covered in fur and resembled a Polar Bear - maybe then this blasted cold weather wouldn't make it so incredibly difficult to stay on track with my PT sessions.

You know you agree with me: it's hard to be motivated to go out first thing in the morning and get your exercise on when it feels like the ends of your lady lumps could be used by career criminals to break into jewellery store display cases without leaving a mess.

It also doesn't help when, once the alarm goes off, hubby rolls over sticks his arm out and asks innocently: "cuddles?" Especially when he's body temperature is always at a toasty 37 degrees.

Still, I tried to persevere though admittedly last week I spent more time jogging / power walking than focusing my efforts on targeted PT bits and pieces. So this morning I thought I'd get back in to it , and after a brisk 5 minute walk around the block, wandered out into my front yard with my little purple weights, and bright green toning band ready to wave bye bye to the banana wings.

At this point I should note I have no fence around my house and as many of you know my house is actually a unit so my efforts are being broadcast to anyone else stupid enough to be out in an almost-winters morning at 6am.

I lasted about 15 minutes by the standing still pumping my arms and lunging to the ground wasn't really holding my interest (honestly, does it hold anyone's?) so finished with a jog around the block.

Still wanting to get into the PT habit,  I've decided to actually start using a PT 'game' (for want of a better word) I brought for the PS3 sometime last year. Called "My Fitness Coach Club" it promises to be "THE perfect place to create tailor-made training sessions," and I will have my own personal coach with me every step of the way.

I don't care if it is essentially make-believe, if my coach is some bobby, blonde with pert boobs, no waist and a butt to die for, I may throw the controller through the TV.

Though isn't that what I'm essentially striving for?

Catering for the Masses

Happy Easter everyone!!

In an attempt to truly live up to my "avoiding jars and packets" pledge this Easter, I wanted to make home-made Easter eggs for the seven people we have visiting us this year, and have a bit of a decorating day on Good Friday: hubby nixed that idea immediately.

Instead, I turned my sights to catering for a day-long picnic or 'grazing' session as I like to call it, whipping up some turkish-inspired dips to take along to the park with us, however it seemed sensible to buy the french sticks to cut up to go with them as opposed to trying to bake one myself!

So the Thursday before the troops arrived I had the day off work and spent the better part of four or so hours turning my kitchen into a cooking-inspired construction site as I roasted, grated, sliced, diced and pureed my way through eggplants, carrots & beetroot for the three beautiful looking dips you see below: Beetroot Dip, Baba Ganoush & Carrot Dip

I should also mention 1 actually making the Tahini paste for my Baba Ganoush from scratch too, so there were sesame seeds everywhere at one point.

Not only were the dips a hit with the adults - the kids really just preferred butter on their bits of bread - they've lasted for three days and taste just as good as they did on day one!

I think I may be on to a winner here :-)

Working out from Scratch

This month is all about getting back to basics and starting things from scratch, however neither activity actually appears on my list of vices and experiences: they both came to me during the last month and like most people, when I find out about something new, I'm impatient to try it.

Giving-Up:  Cooking from jars and packets
This is all about embracing my inner Masterchef. I'm never been particularly enamoured with cooking, but over time I've found myself pushing my boundaries and trying things a little bit more: it helps when hubby is a willing guinea pig.

In doing so though, I've always felt a little guilty that when the recipe calls for thinly sliced vegetables, julienne carrots or similar, instead of preparing the vegies myself, I always reach for the frozen already-prepared variety. True, I'm a relatively busy woman who doesn't always have time to prepare things properly, plus frozen vegies are proven to have just as much nutritional value as fresh ones, but there's still that niggling voice in the back of mind that says "you cheated."

So, this month my mission is to abandon the jars of sauces, packets of vegies and cartons of stock when cooking and make them all myself. Yes, it has been mentioned to me I could avoid this all by just having meat and three veg every night but that seems a tad boring.

I started out straight away, making a red wine jus to go with a (admittedly slightly over-cooked) rib eye fillet for Sunday night dinner, the results of which are below: not a bad first go if you ask me!

Taking-Up: Personal Training
Now, I'm not going to be going to a personal trainer, but I've seen so many Facebook posts from friends who are undertaking their own PT sessions that I felt inclined to give it a go, taking inspiration from the circuits I used to do when I DID see a trainer a few years ago.

Plus, I start netball in three weeks and I'm not feeling as fit as I'd like.

I started bright and early Monday morning with the following circuit:

• Brisk 5-minute walk around the block to warm up
• 60 jumps with a skipping rope
• 10 standing push-ups
• 10 lunges per leg
• 30 arm pumps with weights per arm
• 10 sit ups

I did four lots of each before finishing with 10 minutes of stretching.

I felt good once I'd finished, ready and willing to start the day though hubby has suggested that next time I skip I do it away from our bedroom window.

I didn't feel so good the next day though!

Which political party do you belong to?

Not sure how accurate this is, but stumbled across this little quiz this morning, based off one previously developed by John Humphries and coded by Sam Ward and Kirk Fletcher.

Give it a go - I was surprised where I ended up

Australian Political Party Quiz - http://ldp.org.au/quiz/index.html#test

Politics is like sport

I haven't undertaken as much in-depth research into our political parties and their belief systems as I may have initially intended, but I have realised one thing.

Politics is just like sport: it's all about the team until something goes wrong then it's the coach's fault.

I've always had an issue with coaches getting sacked for poor team performance. They're not the ones constantly dropping the ball, giving away penalties, missing goals and ultimately losing the game, so why do they suffer the consequences?

I apply the same logic when voting for political parties.

Now of course the leader of a political party has to have a certain amount of gumption, be believable, partly likable and not sound like a flanno-wearing bogan when they talk (sorry J-Gill but it's true) , but what we really vote for on election day isn't the person, but the policies.

At least it should be.

One person does not a government make.

Think about it. Like a sporting coach, the leader of a political party needs to be aware of what each of their players is doing at any one time, and they need to make sure that those actions don't a) impede the subsequent/concurrent actions of their team mates, and b) don't give the opposition the chance to make a break and score.

And this doesn't just apply to the elected members of the political party, remember that all federal government public servants essentially become part of the party in power's 'team' following a election, so suddenly the coach becomes not just in charge of the top 11, but the support staff, hangers-on and #1 fans.

Bear in mind also that when you see a political leader delivering a speech on a chosen topic, the speech will have been written by someone else, and the work the speech is based on undertaken by different people again - generally specialists in the particular field - , plus the work may even have been started and commissioned when the opposition was in power.

At the end of the day, the more I consider it, read about it, and am exposed to it, the more I want people to vote for policies not people, because at the end of the day, it's the policies that impact our lives not the people -

The same way we remember that grand final game instead of the all the people who played it.

The best laid plans...

So I had to go walking through a shopping centre with hubby tonight and while he browsed the aisles I followed checking prices for him, but not really paying attention as I sort of felt like I was already cheating on the whole no shopping thing.

Then while we're in Target, I see the new book series 'The Hunger Games' and mentioned that I wouldn't mind seeing what all the fuss is about and reading them. On sale for a 'good price' hubby decided he would buy them for me as therefore I wouldn't be breaking my no shopping vow.

Things are going swimmingly, we get to the check out and wouldn't you know it, hubby runs into a woman he used to work with.

I should point out now that like his shopping ability, my hubby also gasbags like a woman and before I knew it, the snake-like queue had disappeared and I'm at the front of it with a blonde,over-mascara'd 16 yr old tapping her foot impatiently calling out 'next!'

What a dilemma I'm in. My first thought was simply to tell her to get over herself as no-one with the patience to apply that much eye make-up should have an issue waiting for a slightly unawares customer to get her bearings together and find her purse, but common sense took over and I wandered forward, looked around guiltily, dug out my purse, dropped my FlyBuys card, paid with cash and made a hasty retreat out of the store, receipt flailing behind me.

Hubby appeared at my side 10 minutes later blissfully unaware of the turmoil he put me through - damn him!

Life getting in the way of progress

Halfway through the month and only now do I get around to updating the lovely folk on my progress with this month's challenge.

Between visiting Senators, travelling for work, cricket semi finals, netball trials, getting my nails done and being bailed up with a rotten cold, I haven't undertaken too much research on my quest to make fully informed decisions and opinions around politics. I have however been fortunate - if you can call it that - to have a front row seat to a political process at work which is part fascinating, part mind-boggling.

Recently, the Federal Government announced that the agency I work for will be extended beyond it's 'sunset clause' to continue the work we're undertaking across the country, albeit with slightly different roles and functions to how we currently operate. In order for this extension to legally occur, amended legislation needs to be tabled, and passed through the Senate.

What I hadn't fully appreciated before now, is that not all pieces of legislation are written by pollies, Ministers, or Senators trying to get their own agendas on the public scene: no, some are written by the men and women who actually have to undertake the work the legislation is putting in place.

My colleagues in this particular instance.

So before you criticise something new that has been passed by those in power, stop and think about where this may actually have come from? Did it come from Politicians trying to get one up on their opposite number, or was it developed by people who do something beneficial for the country, and although you may not fully understand it, this new piece of legislation will actually help them do their job better?

On the flip-side, no shopping has been surprisingly easy. Probably because I've had so many work functions I've had to buy stuff for I haven't had the time, patience or inclination to shop for pleasure or necessity.

I'm pleased to report though that hubby has managed to follow my shopping lists with high accuracy and hasn't actually made a phone call to me while doing it. Progress? I think so, though just because he isn't calling me to check something doesn't mean he isn't calling his mother...

Hmm, best check the phone log I think ;-)

Political window shopping without the shopping

Welcome to March! Can you believe we're two-thirds of the way through the first quarter of 2012?? Me neither. After my abysmal efforts with my mission last month, I'm looking to redeem myself.

Giving up: Shopping
I'm not a compulsive shopper. I'm not even a particularly 'good' shopper because unless I'm visiting somewhere new I can't just wander through shops aimlessly: I need to have something specific in mind.

Hubby on the other hand is the daughter his mother wishes she had.

He LOVES to shop and can do it for hours without looking for anything in particular.

But he can't do the groceries.

He cannot walk the 20m across the road to our local IGA without calling me to double check he's getting the right thing, even if the shopping list consists entirely of tomatoes, sausages and Pepsi Max. Once, he made me visit three different supermarkets to find the best deal on tissues. I understand shopping around for a car, computer or mobile, but tissues??

That has been the only time I've questioned our relationship.

Hubby will try to tell you the reason he calls so often - despite the separation anxiety - is so he doesn't "get in trouble for buying the wrong thing."

I cod understand this if I ever had gone PMS on his ass for buying the wrong colour grapes or the wrong brand tea, but I haven't: EVER.

So unless it's work related I'm giving up shopping for the month and leaving it up to him to do. We started this morning and 10 minutes into the venture, the first call came, though admittedly it was to gauge my preference on favoured health bars.

Taking up: Politics.
I should point out that I'm not actually going to become a politician (which my mum seemed a bit disappointed about), but given the current political environment in Australia I figured this would be a good time to fully immerse myself in political goings-on of our country and get a thorough understanding of all the different pieces.

Because if there's one thing I hate it's people making public statements for or against something when they have no bloody idea how the process works.

I'm fortunate enough to have studied public affairs at uni, and am currently employed by a federal government agency so I've had reasonable exposure to government processes, but I think it's time I work out once and for all where my allegiance falls.

Who knows, maybe it will lead to a career change??

posted from Bloggeroid

And it's a last minute dash to the finish

So I'm making a last ditch effort to rescue what has been an abysmal month of mission undertaking and have managed to make some of the past few days  little bit different from the day-to-day.

Believe it or not, before Saturday I'd never had a manicure or pedicure. Sure I'd cut, filed, polished and painted my fingernails and toenails before but I've never ventured into the hallowed halls of a nail salon and let the professionals at them. A Saturday morning with the girls (and my somewhat reluctant hubby) before a mate's 30th saw me do just that when one of them commented she needed to get new falsies put on.

Not one to let an opportunity go to waste, I picked out a sunny, bright colour, cranked up the massage chair and left my digits in the capable hands of my - nailist? manicurist? pedicurist? - Vanessa. I enjoyed the experience immensely (even though the sound of Vanessa filing my fingernails made my skin crawl) and I think it will now be a bi-monthly event.

I also enjoyed the next unusual thing I did: watched the Oscars at work and practiced my own acceptance speech.

I had originally planned to spend the day at home on a flex-day having my own luxury pampering morning before the big event, but given the time I had off when hubby couldn't catch, I reluctantly plodded off to work before I had an epiphany...

Our Deputy CEO was on leave, and she has a TV in her currently empty office.

Taking advantage of this new development I made a hasty "back in 3 hours" sign to hang over my in tray (with directions of where to find me of course) and promoted myself to the leather-seated,TV-adorned, air-conditioned luxury where Billy Crystal's comedic genius filtered through the phone calls, minute typing and email responses of the daily grind.

It's a good thing I'm not addicted to day time soaps as there's a fair chance one of my bosses won't get their office back.

And today brought about one of the more spontaneous activities: driving home from work, it's pouring rain, hubby & I can't decide what to have for dinner and there's a car park right across from one of our favourite eating spots.

Continue driving in the pouring rain to get home where I have to decided, prepare, cook and clean-up dinner or pull into a miraculously free car park and have other people do all of the above for me?

Hmmm tough call :-)

A Grandma is just an antique little girl

Do you know what I did today?

I called my Grandma.

I don't do this outside of special occasions all that often, mostly because my mum usually keeps her abreast of the things going on in my life and vice versa, so it feels like I stay in touch even when I don't.

Today I called to see how she was getting on with the Christmas present me, my brother and our cousins bought her for Christmas after a message from my Dad told me I was close to being disowned.

My Grandma LOVES jigsaws. So much so that she can do a 1000 piece puzzle in less time than it takes me to choose which pair of shoes to buy in a Tony Bianco sale. But being the mischievous grandchildren we are, we bought her a jigsaw that came with 5 extra pieces and no border: did I mention it was of a multitude of tropical fish facing various directions?

My call came about 30 - 45 minutes in to the maiden assembly and although I may have been slightly cheeky in my intent, I got the biggest smile on my face when I heard the excitement and surprise in her voice when she realised her eldest grandchild had called to day "hi."

Then she preceded to tell me how disowned I was, in that lovable, not-at-all cranky way that only Grandmothers can.

It was great.

The call only lasted about 10 minutes at the most but it was small dose of the 'unusual' that left me feeling happy, warm and snuggly: even more so when I managed to convince her that he WOULD have the puzzle finished by the next time we visit....

... June.

It's days like this that make me want to rob a Mr Whippy van...

I used to tell myself that no matter how cranky, sad, stressed, happy or psychotic I got, I never reached for the lolly jar, chocolate bar, slice of cake or bowl container of ice-cream.

I'm starting to think there's an emotional eater trapped inside me.

It's only now with no sustenance allowed that I'm acknowledging their existence, but at the same time trying to silence them with a large green Granny Smith.

Why would people decide to make last minute changes to a meeting agenda that has been set in stone for a week, and then also decide that an additional person needs to tag along when it's on the other side of the country in ten days times and all the plans are already finalised??

Why would people interrupt my hectic day by ringing and asking "is boss-man in the office" five times a day when his daily whereabouts are available on the intranet for all to see?

What kind of moron rings me asking what day meeting papers are due when I spent 2 hours re-jigging the administration requirements calendar, adding them to the intranet and providing them to all staff in a colour-coded pdf only two days ago?

I should point out that although my dessert-inducing stressors did momentarily impact my ability to converse with colleagues in what would be called a polite, professional manner, they are:

1. Really just first world problems; and
2. Helping me understand my eating habits more

Although this month's mission has been a total failure from a successful completion stand point, I honestly think I'll get long term benefits from it. I'm learning that small amounts of sweets satisfy me as much as large amounts, that I really am full after finishing a tuna salad, and that no, the world will not end if I don't have a Freddo Frog.

To quote from the phrase book sitting on my desk "give the dangerous drama queen her chocolate."

posted from Bloggeroid

Don't feel the need to judge me, I'm doing a good enough job myself

I honestly thought that this months "giving up" task would be easy. Not the easiest but having given up chocolate for the full 40 days of Lent last year, I honestly thought 29 days dessert free would be easy.

Yeah, I was w....mistaken.

The cricket-ball dramas of last weekend made for a hectic week of work, specialist visits, work from home, work, specialist visits, work from home, work, doctors visit, more work at home.. you get the point. In this time I've broken my dessert-free vow twice three times: and I feel terrible!

First it was on Tuesday and since the ungrateful so-and-so I'm married didn't appreciate his 'unusual' valentine's day gift, I made it my mission when I got home to prove that someone did and promptly ate two of the lovely wrapped gold stars before I realised what I was doing. So consciously I wasn't concentrating on what I was doing, but you'd think after 14 days my brain would have readjusted itself by now.

The second break was completely on purpose. After discovering the in-laws are bringing our nieces & nephews to visit over Easter, my mind turned (naturally) to what chocolatey goodness I could send them crazy with, while filling the car up and when I went in to pay, the single Cadbury Caramello Egg sitting in a massive bowl looked so lonely I decided "what the hell" and ate that too.

Last night brought with it the third leg of failure when after three glasses of wine and a night of solo chick-flick watching ahead of me - hubby was absorbed in the cricket - I surmised that you simply can't watch a remake of a Kevin Bacon classic (or really, any chick flick for that matter) without ice-cream so promptly grabbed straight one from the freezer without blinking, thinking, passing go or collecting $200.

I have ZERO self control.

Still, I have learnt two things:

1. I really don't need to eat as much dessert as I have previously. I could never just eat one piece of chocolate, or one scoop of ice-cream, or one piece of cake at morning tea, but now after having stumbled on small amounts over the past couple of weeks, I've realised that yes actually, small amounts are just as satisfying and don't leave you feeling like a bloated, sugar-overloaded mess at the end of it.
2. It's really not a good idea to give up dessert when you're also supposed to be overhauling your diet in general. I think this is the real cause of my issue this month. After a recent visit to a dietitian on some health-related matters for hubby, I made a conscious effort to overhaul our eating habits more than I had previously and I think doing that, coupled with giving up sweets may have been all too much for my brain to handle. 

So I'm entering the last 12 days of this month with new found commitment to my dessert-free life and also a plan to re-"give-up" dessert again in a few months time, once the rest of our lifestyle changes have kicked in and become habitual.

So yes, I've pretty much ballsed-up this month's mission but you can't win them all right? Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to drop and give me 20 for my sins.

It's not unusual to be loved by anyone....

... but it IS unusual for me to go along with the hype and celebrate the most commercialised of 'holidays' - Valentine's Day.

But celebrate it I did, deciding back on February 1 that this year I would surprise hubby at work with the delivery of a chocolate bouquet (Cherry Ripes and milk chocolate stars). A last minute call to the supplier yesterday to change the delivery address and my heart-felt surprise was delivered to our home where he was recuperating. Hubby's response when I asked if he liked it?

"It's nothing special it's just chocolate."

Let's just say I saw red and it wasn't the red of a Valentine's day heart!

I'll leave it to the people to decide: nothing special or sweet surprise??

Hubby gets the award for embracing the unusual this week

So I had half an update written on how hard it is to actually DO something unusual each day when the daily grind gets in the way, and also how I'm pretty sure I killed the taste of my first caramel mocha on skim with too many sugars, but then I ended up in emergency.

Or rather, my husband was a patient in emergency whereas I was the wife answering all the questions and trying hard to make it look like I HADN'T beaten hubby with the frying pan (which I didn't do in case you wondering).

So naturally my planned 'unusual-ness' got surpassed by other events: again. Only this time it was inflicted by hubby instead of mother nature. This wasn't a bad thing though as a number of unusual things got to happen instead.

Hubby got hit in the eye whilst keeping in his Saturday cricket game: this in itself is unusual because he's faced  thousands of deliveries over the years without a helmet and has never been hit before. I was doing the supportive wife thing from the sideline yelling "get up you wimp you'll be fine" before they called for a towel.

Who would've thought a world like 'towel' can you turn your day upside down? As soon as we heard that one of my fellow WAGs turned to me and said "you know what towel means don't you?" We both nodded knowingly and said in unison "blood." So it was off to the ER for some stitches before the planned comeback to score those final 15 runs to win himself a new cricket bat....

And then he lost his vision.

Right so not just stitches, an ambulance ride to Canberra hospital, an ultrasound, CT scan and overnight admittance instead. Not a usual Saturday by any means.

What also made this particular situation unusual is that he was the patient and I was the carer. I've been in emergency three times since we've been together, only I had the audacity to be admitted two nights in a row in hospitals 5 hours apart.

This is why I had no problem sitting patiently by his bedside instead of cooking the 3-course meal from scratch I had planned. Though eavesdropping on conversations trying to figure out what was going on in the beds around us contributed greatly to my willingness to sit still for a few hours.

Before these events unfolded though I hadn't really managed to make too much unusual except that I made a decision to wear a dress to work every single day, including wearing my 'party' dress on Thursday - that was fun. I'd recommend it to anyone: work really seems so much better when you're wearing hot heels and a cute purple dress.

Oh, and the aforementioned coffee debacle: I won't become a coffee drinker anytime soon!!

posted from Bloggeroid

So only 2 days sober....

So five days down in my new mission and Mother Nature has screwed with me in every which way possible: three out of five things I wanted to undertake to make my days different involved being outside. Still all is not lost as I had to get slightly more creative with my 'unusual' tasks.

The first thing I did with my new commitment to change things up a bit was go from blonde to brunette: only one person (outside of hubby who helped me rinse) noticed. Well, I could say two but the second knew something was different but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

I just kept telling myself that this mission was all about making my life different and it didn't really matter that I'm apparently invisible to the world around me (cue the world's smallest violin).

The past five days have also seen me: ignore my morning alarm (felt so rushed all day), visited a dietitian (I found it informative, hubby now thinks he's in hell), went to cricket without scoring (not doing that again anytime soon), I'm about to go bidding in an on-line auction, and....

Broke a mission.

Yep, I'm ashamed to say it but I failed in my attempt to go 28 days without chocolate. It wasn't a conscious thing, I'd had a couple glasses of bubbly at a Trivia Night for cricket and after my fellow WAGs fought so valiantly to keep the gold coins away from our respective players - they wanted to waste them to wine a bottle of cheap-ass wine - for a mid-game chocolate run, I got so caught up in our success that I'd eaten three pieces before I realised what was going on - oops!

Still, in my defense once I realised what I was doing I stopped immediately. But then there was that last piece of Mint Bubbly.....

Variety is the spice of life...but I'm gonna miss Freddo

This is the month known collectively in some circles as "FebFast" the month where you give up alcohol (usually) for a good cause and to dry-out post Christmas and back-to-work catch ups.

Most people like giving up the grog in February because as we all know it's the shortest month: they're weak, I gave it up for 31 days! Having said that though, there is one thing that I'll find difficult to give up for a month and that's why I'm taking advantage of the two less days...

Giving Up: Dessert
Who doesn't love dessert? I'm not just talking about the traditional after-dinner dessert, I'm talking about the after-lunch dessert and the mid-afternoon dessert too: everyone has those right?

Ice-cream is my favourite. I love ice-cream because there's always room for it. Ice cream melts into all those little spaces in your stomach which are left by the food you ate earlier. Chocolate is my other favourite, but it's my favourite after-lunch dessert. Especially Freddo Frogs and Caramello Koalas. In the absence of those though I'll pretty much take anything.

Then of course there's Allens Lollies - particularly Racing Cars. They tend to be the after-dessert-dessert....

I think I have a problem.

Which is why for the month of February I'm giving up foods that can be classed traditionally as dessert of some description: chocolate, ice-cream, lollies, cake, biscuits, muffins, pudding, etc. I gave up chocolate for lent last year and jokingly made a sign to hang at my work station that said "Warning: I'm giving up chocolate for lent and cannot be held accountable for my actions."

I think I'll supply people working in my general vicinity with Kevlar for the next 29 days.

Taking-up: Making the usual unusual
I 'borrowed' this idea from an article I read on Ninemsn called "Ten unusual new year's resolutions" and it immediately took my fancy.

The idea behind it is to do one thing differently out of your usual daily routine each day of the week to reinvigorate your life - think of the possibilities! Hit the snooze button more than once, sleep-in, have cereal for dinner, wear your favourite dress to work and instead of wearing the faithful Bonds, bring out the lacy undies! Do I hear diamond earrings in a board meeting calling??

I'm also using it as an opportunity to try little one-off things that I've often thought about doing, but couldn't really do for a whole month - top of that list is getting my legs waxed (yes, I'm a sook and have convinced myself I have a low-pain threshold), and cooking a 3-course dinner from scratch.

Hubby has surprisingly jumped on board with this one and made a list of things he thinks I should do, many of which I've agreed to: see if you can guess which ones they are as the month progresses :-)

Not all that exciting really...

So although I've successfully completed another mission this month (ok, I'm calling it 8.5 hours early but still) this one hasn't left me with any real sense of accomplishment.

I have realised I look at my watch far too often, but at the same time didn't really miss it after the first week: well, at least not as much as I thought. I have missed jewellery though and will revel in the time I get to spend deciding how to accessorise my outfit for work tomorrow.

It has surprised me slightly as I never really considered myself a "girly" girl, but as I've gotten older I've started to appreciate I guess how much accessories can make or break an outfit- who would've thought.

Competition wise I've enjoyed doing the puzzles with hubby, mocking him for his bad spelling and inability to solve 13-letter anagrams, but it has turned reading magazines into a bit of a chore over the past few weeks, as I try to make sure answers are accurate and in the post in a timely manner. Still, I think the practice can continue: at least until I win something over the value of maybe $10k??

On that note though, I simply cannot bring myself to listen to the radio all day to find out if I'm in the running for tickets to Elton's party. The morning crew on that particular station are so dull they're sending me to sleep while I walk, and I just don't have the capacity to listen to it all day.

Looks like if I want a ticket to the Oscars, I'm going to have to earn it: anyone have Clooney's or Streep's number? I've got a movie pitch to run past them ;-)

posted from Bloggeroid

Oh crap! Slight flaw in my plan

So, the chances of travelling internationally with a passport in my maiden name is probably pretty slim right?

Bugger.

Not that I've won my tickets to Elton's party as yet but if I do, I'm going to need to get a new passport in record time.

Looks it's off to the post office for me tomorrow: why do I always think of these things at the last minute? I'm supposed to be the organised one!!

Nails are a girl's best friend

In my weeks without wearing accessories of any description I've found myself particularly proud and protective of my fingernails.

In the last 10 days alone they've been purple, light blue, hot pink, French-tipped, 30 scary minutes as yellow, and are currently bright orange.

I was a chronic nailbiter when I was younger, especially during exams. I'd either gnaw on them while trying to solve an equation, try to make them even lengths during a French or German listening test, or pick at them incessantly when I finished an essay and there was still 20 minutes remaining.

It also didnt help that I played netball a lot and always had to have them short.

I don't actually know when or how I stopped biting them, I just remember looking at a photograph from a girls' trip to QLD and going "Crap, I have nails!"

Since then I've fallen back into my old habits possibly a handful of times (over about 6years) but have come to appreciate them for what they are: both a beautiful natural accessory and a device for inflicting pain at the same time.

I think red might be next on the cards

posted from Bloggeroid

Party with Elton?? Why yes I think I will

So fresh from MY win via the radio station website, I'm praying that lady luck shines on me again as the same station is offering the BEST prize imaginable.

Tickets to Elton John's pre and post-Oscars party!!!

I'm not kidding. Obviously the prize also includes return airfares for me and a friend to LA and accommodation for four nights, but to be totally honest they could tell me I had to sleep in a moth-infested youth hostel with drunken Dutch tourists and I couldn't give a ^%$*

Can you imagine it? Me, watching and celebrating cinema's night of nights in a glam formal gown mingling with Hollywood elite.

I sure as hell can.

Cross your fingers, pray to God, kneel before Buddha and cast a spell because dammit I want those tickets.