A thank you and a link to my new YouTube Video

Wowsers! I am totally overwhelmed and the feedback I have received from my first Youtube video! I am also so happy at how many people this week have taken some of my tips and used them. Make up is my obsession so I am so happy to share the love.

I have some received some very helpful advice  " You blink funny" (thats my contact lenses- they take a while to refocus), " You played with your hair too much" ( I know, but it was so soft and shiny), " You didn't hold the products still" ( I was nervous and I know they are back to front but I'm still working from my lap top at the moment).

I have also got some good request for future videos which I love- so if there is anything you would like to know how to do make sure you message me or leave comments.

I have posted a new video on my basic skin care routine. It is just enough to get you started (and all the products are from either chain stores, supermarkets or from Priceline so they are on the cheaper side).

I have also filmed an everyday look with these cheaper products that from now on I will be calling "Drug Store" brands. (I hate using this term because it is not a really Australian term- but it is the easiest way to refer to it.) I just need to edit it- which I should get done today.

I'm really excited to grow this little business. I have some really cool ideas in the production stages- but in the mean time- keep the request coming.

Click on me below to take you straight to my YouTube Channel an Video.

Enjoy

xx

New Improved BBQ Shapes. We are living a very real crisis.

LIARS!!!!!!

There is a serious first world problem going on in Australia at the moment. And I am outraged. Yep a strong word but totally sums up how I feel. You can file it in the " If it aint broke don't fix it category." Yep I'm talking about Arnotts and Shapes. In particular BBQ Shapes.

BBQ Shapes have been in my life for as long as I can remember. When I would get home from school it was always BBQ shapes that were waiting for me. I remember when I lived in Queensland my friends mum would keep theirs in the oven to ensure that they didn't go soft. (It was humid). I remember fighting over the final shapes in the box with my brother so you could lick you finger and then collect all the little flavour flakes from the bottom of the box. 

Every occasion called for a box of shapes. Whether it was having friends over, or just eating a box all on your own. I always knew that a box of BBQ Shapes would be a winner. I even had a system of eating them. After I had eaten about 5 quickly (to satisfy the craving)I would savour the rest by licking of the flavour first before biting into the rest of the shape.

Every shopping trip would call for at least 2 boxes of BBQ Shapes to be thrown into the trolley. Our house was never without a box. When friends would call over unplanned I always had a box of BBQ Shapes in the house. And they always went down a treat. There were other flavours. I would occasionally buy the odd box of Pizza Shapes. Sometimes cheddar. But they were no match for my beloved BBQ. When I would return home from an overseas holiday the first thing I would do is grab a packet out of the pantry and get my fix.

When I heard they were " improving " them, I was a little confused. How can you improve on perfection? Well the answer to that was made pretty clear to me on Saturday night.

YOU CANT. 

The new shapes taste awful, worse than awful. I don't even know what the word for worse than awful is. Oh hang on- yes I do- THE NEW AND IMPROVED BBQ SHAPES.

I was so upset that I messaged Arnotts to complain. They replied and told me I could still buy the Originals. Well Mr Arnotts- I'm not sure where but it sure as hell is not at any shops I have been too. Because I have been looking, AND LOOKING.

I am now nearly a whole week with no BBQ Shapes. I am sad. There is a hole in my life. I automatically walk down the biscuit aisle and go to grab a box and then I remember. And then my heart feels sad. I am hungry for a snack and I don't know what to eat. There is nothing else in the whole wide world that is that perfect combination of savoury with a teeny tiny bit of sweet. The perfect crunch. I stand at my pantry door and gaze at the spot where the BBQ Shapes should go. It is empty. There is no replacement. There is no biscuit worthy of the spot.

Bring back my BBQ Shapes Arnotts. 

Please.

I am officially a Youtube channeller. It is harder than it looks.

I officially have a Youtube channel.

  

OMG- my first tutorial is up! And let me tell you it was way harder than I thought it was going to be.

It took forever to film, forever to edit (because I talk too much) and even longer to upload to youtube- which also resulted in the internet slow down to dial up speed and my 10 year old cracking it and going to bed.

Now I know it is wayyyyy too long, I play with my hair too much ( I had just washed it with new shampoo and it was feeling so soft and shiny), I swing on the chair a lot, and when I reach for products you can hear me banging them in the container and also the light is not fab. I was filming at my front window for some good natural light but every now and then the sun must go behind a cloud. 

So please head on over to my channel, have a little look and subscribe if you want to. I know there are a few issues I am still trying to iron out- like I am having issues with the channel saying there is not content unless you subscribe, but it seems to be working now. Let me know if it is not.

Also I can't work out yet how to add notes to the video with product details but I will work on that (after I finish my final essay for the Semester).

Enjoy! ( and be kind) (please)


I have inserted the link because I'm still having issues finding my video. ARRGH. I need to meet with my IT Guru Claire to help me fix it.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm7gFSxMQiYdm4njLsXWV-w

I survived my first gym class. I just can't move.

I exercise so I can eat carrot cake.

For those of you who have not been around to hear my whinging for the last 6 months- you may not be aware that I am suffering from injuries. My stress fractured leg is still fractured (which means no running or "non essential" walking for at least another 2 months- and yes I have been taking advantage of the non essential bit).

My stress fractured leg has also resulted in a compressed spine and tennis elbow from using the crutches. As a result my exercising regime has been limited. Luckily for me it has not altered my ability to put on weight- as the 15 kgs I have stacked on since November has proved.

I really like to exercise. I am also very vain so the last 5 months have been hard. I did buy an exercise bike which I use occasionally (when It is not being used as a clothes line with pedals) but I reached the stage where I have had to reassess what I do. I love running. I love being outside in the morning, seeing the sun come up, and be finished by 7am. I love how it makes me feel and my thighs look. But this is out of reach for me for the next few months because I know that my leg will be fixed by July. If it is not I have to have an operation which means I will never run again. So I am joining the gym. I have spent countless hours at the physio learning how to walk properly  (who knew I walked wrong- all this time I thought people were just making fun of me when they said I walked like a truck driver) and the doctor has jabbed a great big steroid into my elbow so I can use my arm again and I am officially good to go.

I have just paid up for my $7 for 7 days trial at the gym. I have also just done my first bodybalance class in about 5 years. To which I went out a celebrated with a piece of carrot cake. It was 11:50 when I finished so too early for a wine- but don't worry- my friend and I thought about it. Bodybalance is a version of Yoga to music for people who have too much of a short attention span for Yoga. Suits me perfectly.

I survived but I am really sore. My arms feel like jelly. My friend and I spent half the class laughing at ourselves as we tried to contort our bodies into freaky positions. But I got to the end of the class. I feel tired  great! So my week looks like a combo of spin classes, swimming (because tennis elbow is now resolved but there is still the hair issue to deal with) and body balance. I am hoping that this combined with my weight loss program ( I will fill you in on that later- it is a work in progress but I think I am getting there)I will be feeling like myself again soon. It sounds weird but I have felt lost without my exercise that I have used for so many years to keep me relatively sane.

Now I am just going to attempt to get up and wash my hair. Just not quite yet.

A basic makeup kind of day.

When my recent camping trip got cancelled my friend and I decided to go camping at a 5 star hotel for the night. Best camping trip ever. We spent a lot of time discussing all sorts of things, and my makeup addiction did get mentioned. My friend asked me about my basics. Mmmmm basics. For me that is tricky because I very rarely leave the house without some products on my face. Not always heaps, but at least something.

Today was a not much kind of day. I'm on holidays, had some mummy duties to do, had coffee with a friends, finally went and bought the forgotten toilet paper from last night, had lunch with my mum and dad, went and bought some rugs for my house ( yes all with my pants on back to front). So I thought I would tell you what I wear on a "basics" kind of day.

1. Tinted moisturiser with an SPF. I used the Mecca one. It just evens things out and an SPF is important. Especially when you are old, and even when you are young. It will save you on Botox when you are older.

The concealer is Covergirl Ready, Set, Gorgeous

                            

2. Concealer. I'm old. I have dark circles. I conceal. For a basic day I wont use my 'good" concealer. I use a good " drug store" brand and pat it on with my finger. It also makes your eye area look so much brighter (hence younger and fresher).

3. Mascara. I always wear mascara. Always. My lashes are very fair. Mascara makes you feel awake. Once again a good drug store brand does the trick.

Mascara is Covergirl Lashblash volume.

                                       

4. A bit of bronzer. I used my benefit Hoola. This stuff is awesome. It adds colour with a brush for bronzing and you can also use it to contour. It is a bit pricey $51 but it never seems to end. The box goes on foreeeeevvvvvvvvver. You can buy it here.

5. Lip pencil and a bit of gloss. Today was MAC Soar liner ( if you have one lip liner in your collection this should be it. It is both pink and nude) and NYX Gloss Butter ($9.95- almost free right????) in Creme Brulee. They are both natural pinky colours. I think because I'm older I need a liner, but not a harsh line. I kind of shade them in and smooth it with my finger.

6. Finally hair- brushed off my face in a high pony tail. Because it's the holidays I am trying to get away with not using heat on it everyday. It is dirty right now- so a pony or a messy bun are the best options on a day like this!

For the record that is not a weird black growth on my arm. Its my dog Charlie.

 All my "drug store" products came from Target, but you can get most of them from Priceline, Coles and Woolies (if you live in Australia). None of them were over $20.

On another note I am thinking of filming some tutorials. Would like to see them? and what would you like me to do?? Any thing you would like me to write about??

I survived 2 hours without social media. And it sucked.

                                           

I was reading an article the other day about how yet another person gave up social media and their life changed. They were happier and blah, blah, blah. Apart from the irony that I came upon this article on social media, I find these articles really dumb. The argument that people have ( in my humble opinion because it is my blog and I will say what I want to) is the same as the argument that they had when photography was introduced and it was going to send us all to hell. Our lives change, evolve, move on.

I love social media. I embrace it. I use it a lot. I wake up first thing in the morning and check my facebook and instagram. My phone is never out of my reach. I panic - like a hot sweaty panic when I can't find my phone. Well I hope that's what it is and not menopause or whatever form of menopause comes first. I watch dog videos. I got angry with my friend because it tool her so long to get facebook ( I'm looking at you Nicole) because I had so many funny things I wanted to send her. I just don't understand how quitting social media is going to make me happier. Social media makes me happy.

I decided yesterday that due to my data on my phone being chewed up for no apparent reason (except maybe for my addiction to youtube makeup tutorials and said funny dog videos), I was going to no check my instagram or facebook while I went to the doctor. This is a test because we all know how long you wait at the Doctors. I was not allowed to check until I got home.

This is how it went. I looked out the window of the car, I saw a young man dressed like an American Redneck get out of his car. I made fun of his outfit. Then I saw him get his granny out of the car and hold her by the arm and take her into the breast scan clinic. Then I felt bad.

In the Doctors surgery I settled in for the 30 minute wait for my appointment. This is the ideal time to use social media (like when you are on public transport- it unsettles people when you looks around at them). I tried to talk to my husband who was next to me, but he was busy on Facebook. I watched the tv reading the subtitles that they put on for deaf people. That was entertaining picking out the mistakes. For about 1 minute. Then I started watching people and getting really annoyed and impatient. I became aware of how long I was waiting. People started to irritate me. I was actually looking forward to the Doctor sticking a big needle in my arm.

Once I had finished at at the Doctor I went to the shop to get toilet paper. I think my husband wished I was on Facebook because I whinged the whole way there about how sore my arm was. And I kept telling him how brave I was. I don't think he was listening. And I forgot to buy the toilet paper. But I did get a packet of mint slice biscuits.

So how did my 2 hour experience of no social media go? Bad. I was bored. It didn't make me happy. It made me unhappy. I like knowing what my friends are doing. I like seeing their stuff. I love looking at those friends who I have only because they annoy me so much that I get a weird kind of joy from their posts (don't judge- we all have those friends). I also love having a good stalk. There is nothing like that feeling when the person you are stalking has not put their account to private. Its like winning the lottery. 

I read my news on social media, I find out about stuff. It is a real thing. It makes boring times enjoyable. Because you can mindlessly scroll down your feed you can eavesdrop on someone else's conversation without them ever knowing. No matter how bad your day is you can always find a funny dog or cat video to make you smile. I really do want to see people's holiday photos, or food photos, or drunk photos. I like knowing you are vegan, on a diet ........ (fill in the blanks), and I have become really really good at knowing when someone is about to, or has just broken up with their loved ones. 

My advice? If it is making you unhappy- maybe stay off it, or find some more enjoyable people to follow.

Things to do when you have other things to do.

Right now I am doing my Uni assignment. Well right now I am meant to be doing my Uni assignment. I know this this because I have all the files and readings open on my computer. I also know this because I came straight home from work yesterday to do it. Which I also did the day before yesterday. And last weekend when I kept the whole weekend free ( and didn't even go to the football)
so I could write it. Which obviously I didn't.

I have done lots of things in my life that have resulted in me asking myself " What the hell was I thinking." My decision to enrol in my Masters of Education is probably top of my list right now. I guess I decided that working full time and being a mum wasn't quite enough. It was exciting for a while, and maybe even a little bit interesting- but know it is boring and frustrating. I don't want to do it anymore. Hence my total lack of motivation.

So I though I would write you a list of the top 10 things you could do instead of writing your assignment.

1. Watch makeup tutorials on You Tube. Who knew "baking" your under eye concealer was a thing?
2. Try and recreate said makeup tutorials. I made myself look like Adele last night, but without the voice, not that this stops me from trying.
3. Look up the makeup tutorial people on all their social media accounts. And then follow the links to people they follow. Which in time will lead you back to more tutorials to watch.
4. Watch every single program you have recorded on Foxtel. Or Netflix Even the ones you don't remember recording.
5. Text message your friend about what happened on the programs you watched on Foxtel or Netflix. And because you have different friends who like different shows you will set up a really good network of text conversation.
6. Have a big chat with your dogs about how mean the cats are. (They eat their food)
7. Have a chat with the cats about how mean the dogs are. (They chase them after they have eaten their food).
8. Clean up and organise your folders on your hotmail account. Just ensure that when you are deleting folders you are not accidentally deleting the new folders that you created, hence deleting all the information you still need about you upcoming holiday. Whoops.
9. Do some facebook stalking and try to find your best friend from Year 7. ( Who I found by the way- she still looks the same). But don't add them. And if you hit stalking gold- they might not even have their profile set to private and then you get hours of fun looking through their photos, and if you are really lucky you can then find other people you went to school with.
10. Write a blog post about things to do when you should be doing your assignment. 

Tangle Tamers or as I like to call it ' The Indi Tamer"

Sometimes I am a little late to the party. I am late to the tangle tamer party and man do I regret it. This little pink thing has changed my life. Well changed my daughters life. Well maybe both of our lives, because now I no longer make her cry when I brush her hair.

This is a tangle tamer. This will change the life of every curly haired person you know.

Indi has curly hair. Like full on thick curly hair. There are rules with curly hair. Rule number 1 is " You can't brush curly hair". The downside to this rule is that curly hair then goes matty and dreadlocky. Then when you do get around to brushing it (when the only other option is cutting the matted bit of hair out) the fight is on. She cries, I cry- we all cry.

So I knew about this brush but to be honest I thought it was a little bit pricey and doubted if those little bitty bristles would get through her luscious mane. So I didn't buy one. Then we went camping and my sister in law was brushing my nieces hair with one. I asked if I could try it on Indi.

Well lets just say the birds starting singing, the sun started shining. A miracle had occurred. It went through her hair, it got out the knots, it didn't make her cry AND it didn't make the curls fall out or go frizzy.

I don't know how it works but it does. My baby girl is now walking around the house brushing her hair singing. We don't fight in the bathroom in the mornings. There is not one dread lock in her hair. She is going through even more shampoo than before because all she wants to do is her wash and brush her hair. 

Our life has been changed. They are available at Priceline and cost around $30, or you can buy some similar ones at Woolworths for a lot less if you want to try a cheaper option before you invest. You won't regret it.

Nails. The struggle is real.

I have a secret. As classy as I like to think I am the one thing I really love is acrylic nails. You know the ones. They do not look real. People will not look at you and say " Oh doesn't she have lovely natural nails". They will say " oh look- she has fake nails."

Not like this

As much as I love Hooker nails (as I call them) I don't get them done often because I have mentioned before I have issues committing. And I just can't commit to making a date at the nail shop every few weeks. In saying that though my nails are bad. Really bad. I just don't look after them. I sometime bite the bullet and go and get some shellac which after about 2 months of up keep I get bored and bite it all off and ruin my nails even more. (Yeah, yeah I know I should try SNS).

So on Monday after a rather traumatic visit to the Orthopedic Surgeon I decided that if I can't run I will damn well have good nails. So I marched into the nail shop and said it..." I want acrylic nails please".

And within 45 minutes (she was good), which also included me translating for the deaf old lady next to me ( SHE ASKED IF YOU WANT THEM SHORTER!) I had a beautiful set of nails. Well if I am being truthful they are a little bit long. Obviously her definition of short and mine are a little different. And by GOD I LOVE THEM! But there are issues. Serious issues.

Check out these babies!

1. I am having trouble using my phone. I am having to master the art of using my phone side ways so I make contact with the actual screen.
2. Tying is a nightmare. I can't even use the keyboard on my computer at work because I spend forever trying to correct my mistakes from hitting the wrong buttons. Thank God for Mr Apple and their flat keyboards.
3. Getting my contacts in and out. OH MY. This is like really, really hard. Getting them in is moderate but getting them out is just ridiculous. I have to try and pull them down and then like squish them and hope for the best.
4. Cooking. I grated my nail.
5. Getting the key out of the front door. My nail got wedged between the lock and the wall. 
6. Squeezing pimples. Can't do it.
7. Getting the hair elastic out of my daughters hair. I just can't grip that thing to flip the hair out. And seeing as my daughter needs her pony tail redone the moment it is 1mm less then "high" this is an issue.
8. Buttons and doing up and undoing jewellery. That is why I have had the same necklace and bracelets on since Monday. I just can't get those babies off. 
9. Opening a can of softdrink. Impossible. 
10. Writing. I can't grip the pen properly. Which as I am half way ( oh ok. a quarter of a the way ) through writing one of my uni essays it is an issue. (surely a reason for an exemption?").
11. Getting an micro SD card out of a camera. Impossible.

But on the upside..... I feel so damn glam. My nails are making that cute little tapping sound on the keyboard, and scratching my head feels AMAZING. And I have never talked with my hands so much in my life. I am in love.