OK, so we all know that women are different from men even though we often find it frustrating and wish that men could "think" more like women sometimes. Well, I came across a short video by speaker/comedian Amanda Gore and it got me really thinking about those differences. So today I give you, my top 5 differences between women and men.

I know there a lot more examples than the few I have just plucked off the top of my head and if you have one you would like to share please do!

I have included the link to the actual video which inspired this post for you to check out. Go and make a cup of tea, put your feet up, take a few minutes and watch it. It will give you a little laugh and leave you thinking "that is so true!"  

Until next time..... perhaps we should be looking for the differences between men and women that we can actually enjoy. If all we wanted was sameness we might as well all change teams and join the lesbians. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Cheers,

Lee

I had planned to sit down today and blog away peacefully whilst my little guy took his afternoon nap - but my peacefulness has been seriously hampered by an electricity bill and then having to deal with the idiots who make up the random numbers to add to my bill each month before they send it out. I have this vision that they sit in their offices and spin a wheel with figures on it and wherever it lands, that's what they charge you. It drives me crazy!

On top of that, I really hate it when you call up and you have to go through the whole press 1 for something totally irrelevant and press 2 to kiss my arse palava.... and then when you get through you get "Justin" from Mumbai. Who is obviously not a Justin, who is so sorry for the inconvenience... blah blah blah and then you get more random numbers the following month. 

I am still listening to the online music whilst I type this so that might account for my continuing aggression on this topic .. I'm waiting for the reference number so when I have to call back again about the same problem next month and they say they have no record of me ever calling at least I'll have a reference number. OK, that's my rant ..... ommmm ... I'm taking a deep breath and letting it go.

Today I wanted to do something a little different and that is get your opinion (instead of just giving you mine, that is). Now, as you may or may not know I have been busily blogging away each day towards my 1 post a day for 365 days. But I am wondering if it is too much to take on as a reader. So my question is would you prefer to have one post a day or cut back to a certain number a week?? I know not everyone has time to read blogs every day. What would be your preference as a reader?? How many posts would you like to read a week?

Also, as you may have noticed I am not short of an opinion or story - but I was wondering if there are particular things you would like to read about??  Are there particular themes you would like to see tackled each week? Is there something you would like to read about in particular??

I know that some readers are happy to read but not so keen on the participation part but I would ask that you throw caution to the wind and give me your opinion anyway. Please .... pretty please.

All you need to do is put your info down the bottom of this post and give me your comment. You can even make a name up ... should you be in witness protection or just feel really private about sharing. You will not be signed up to anything, your name does not go onto a database in India to receive calls asking for your help to save the orphan pigmy possums at some time in the future, you won't be hearing from Justin either. It's just me and I would love your opinion.

Thanks,

Lee

How sad am I - getting excited over some free herbs and spices ... yep, that's right free! Yay, who doesn't get excited when they win something or get a freebie!?

Yes, I know it's a little hard to get excited over herbs and spices but here I am! As you may well know from a previous post I am a member of the coles circle (www.colescircle.com.au - if you would like to join it yourself... I would thoroughly recommend it!) and from time to time you can put your hand up to try some new stuff out.

So, as a result of this, I have been loitering around the mailbox anxiously awaiting some new product samples and yes, before I go on, I know how desperate that sounds ... but I feel you've gotta get your thrills where you can!

Anyhoo, this time it was a voucher for three free coles brand (of course) herbs and spices of my choice. So I had to schlep down to the actual store to get them (which wasn't as nice as getting all the stuff delivered to your home like the last time I received a box full of lovely skin care products) but I figure, they don't know what I'm going to make with it ..... and they gave me a $10 gift card towards ingredients, so it's all good.

I also received this very cool looking masterchef apron -  So you just know I know what I'm doing in the kitchen!!

The down side of the free stuff is that now I have to cook something with it so I can report back - but I guess we are going to eat anyway, so it's really only a matter of time before I actually have to cook something...... 

Another bonus with my pack was that I received some $1 vouchers for my friends, so they can also give some of the herbs and spices a try. Yeah, I know $1 - big deal! But some of the herbs start from $1.65 - so that's not too shabby I thought. 

Anyway, the upshot of all that is that I have four $1 off vouchers. You can only use one with each shop so there's no point giving them all to one person, cause seriously, who can be bothered going back four different times to save a little moola on another bottle of herbs.
 
So, as this is my circle - the first four people to post a comment at the end of this blog and say they would like one will be sent one. I know as far as giveaways go it's not that exciting, (I mean it's not a car) but all you have to do is tell me you want one and I'll do all the heavy lifting. That's just the kinda girl I am.

Cheers,

Lee

I'll bet when you hear the words holiday hangover the first thing to come to your mind is the day after a big night of tropical breezes, sex on the beach and perhaps a cocktail or two.... just kidding. But you know what I mean.

Well this is not in fact the holiday hangover I am referring to. I mean the kind of holiday hangover where you've been away somewhere different and enjoyed things you don't usually enjoy at home. Perhaps, pre-dinner drinks and nibblies, perhaps after dinner cocktails or just hanging about somewhere nice in the sun reading a book or having an afternoon nap if you so please, that kind of thing. It doesn't even matter if it's a really big holiday or just a weekend break.... just an escape from your version of the everyday drudgery. Then you come home, unpack your bags and put a load of washing on. Everyone sinks so quickly back into their everyday roles and it feels like you've never really been anywhere at all.  

The kind of holiday hangover I refer to is

I know that I am not the first person to have a small child throw themselves on the ground kicking and screaming because they have had enough, or not had enough, or are tired, or overexcited or just can't get their own way and really want to let you know  about it. But what is the best way to handle said meltdown??

Well, today I thought we might look at my top 3 ways to handle a full on, screaming, crying, kicking tantrum (from your toddler that is, if it's you that is having a very public meltdown.... you are on your own.)  

Tip 1

The first tip is

It's a bit hard to talk about what's happening in the life of a stay at home mum without making mention of the current talk of the town, the literary trilogy - 50 Shades of Grey.

It seems that everywhere I go someone has read it, is reading it or is about to read it. So in an effort to be able to participate in the discussions on these books when they came up, I gave in and started to read the books - purely for research purposes, of course.

I have completed reading the first in the trilogy which is 50 Shades of Grey and have begun on the second instalment which is 50 Shades Darker but the whole thing got me thinking about the marketing juggernaut these books have become and what's next. I know a couple of friends who have wondered what they are going to do once Christian Grey is no longer in their lives and what they will do to fill the void. So, I thought to myself it's a wonder some marketing guru has not come up with the next big thing, or perhaps a way of prolonging the 50 Shades experience, so on that thought I have come up with my top 10 ideas to kick it off...

In the round up of things I liked, or that amused me or images that brought me
some joy this week it was very difficult to stop adding things! 

I have come across some amazing images, projects and fun stuff but I did manage to narrow it down to a small selection - or taster if you will - of stuff I liked this week. After all, we are all busy girls and we only have so much time to dedicate to things other than households, kids and everything else in between.

A friend of a friend recommended picmonkey.com for photo editing - and I thought "I don't have time to learn another new thing" but I went and had a look anyway ... and I'm totally hooked on picmonkey. It has really easy photo editing tools, lots of lovely filters and tricks to make your so, so images look - fabulous. And it is FREE - yay free!!
 
I think there may be plans to charge for extra tools or filters at some time in the future but don't let that put you off. There is even a wrinkle remover and a lip gloss tool - in case you didn't have time to slap something on before the camera was brought out. You can even add text and little stickers and all sorts of fun stuff too, to create cards (if you have the energy). Here is a little sample of a before and some afters so you can see what picmonkey does. Anyway don't take my word for it ... go check it out yourself.

I hope you have enjoyed looking at these lovely things and perhaps were inspired by one of the ideas... at the very least go and take a look a picmonkey.com and glam yourself up with the airbrush tool, you'll know then how those ladies in the women's mags look so much better than women in everyday life.

Enjoy,

Lee

OK, well maybe the title was a little bit grand - perhaps not so much a new purpose as much as a new journey. In my effort to work out where I fit in the grand scheme of things I have decided to take on a new challenge. I have now enrolled in a new course of study. A Diploma of Business. Yay me!!

Yeah, I know, much more exciting for me than for you (well I haven't got any assignments yet - so that might wear off pretty quick for me as well). 

I think my quote pretty much says it all... and if you're still looking for your path or even if you have found it, I would love to hear about it.

Cheers,

Lee

School holidays are slowly drawing to a close and it has really seemed like a long time coming. For the most part we have just hung around the house interspersed with visits to the movies, Science Works and heading into the city for Hot Chocolates.

At about this time (towards the end) I have run out of activities and am quite looking forward to the start of the new term and the return of my regular weekly routine. It's hard to find space for yourself and a little bit of breathing room when you are running around trying to keep another smaller person entertained and not drag them to too many of your regular day to day activities ... cause everything you do is so "boring".

Well to add to the mix we have decided to pop up to Sydney for a few days to

Don't you just love it when you get a bargain?? Or even better, something for free!? Yay! I know what you're thinking; nothings for free - but it appears that, that may not always be true.

It all began when I joined the baby club with Coles to learn about new baby products (that I probably won't buy - cause you pretty much always have too much stuff already) and new recipes, that I always think "mmmm, looks good - the kids will like that" (and yet I never, ever seem to make). Well, it seems they have gone ahead and created a new club for (dare we say it) desperate housewives (perhaps just bored housewives says it all?). Pretty much for woman at home who have a little time on their hands and are ripe to try out new stuff and give reviews on it. The new club is called Coles Circle (colescircle.com) and I thought - what the hell, not like I'm over achieving at the moment what would it hurt. Well, nothing it seems... and I got some free stuff to try. So, yay!