Mama Mia!

Just finished reading Mama Mia, by Mia Freedman.

Loved it. An absolute raw account of Mia’s life, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down.
It was so refreshing to hear the TRUTH about motherhood and birth and the fact that nobody is perfect. Mia’s account of miscarriages, birth scenarios and career blunders had me alternating between laughter and tears. 
Mia has guts to be able to expose all her flaws in this memoir, but gosh it is empowering to the ‘average’ woman. I think that this will be a book where I will keep coming back to read again and again, seeking comfort and deriving valuable advice from….

Moving

Soon I will leaving my tiny abode of the last 3.5 years, and moving into a brand spankin new 4 bedroom house with my awesome grandmother!
It will be a wonderful change of scenery and one I hope will be filled with lots of good times. It is going to be hard to get used to living with a new ‘flatmate’, and being mindful of another person in the house other than my partner, but I am sure everything will work out wonderfully as we all get along like a house on fire.
Hopefully there will be no internet connection issues or too much stress during the move – I have been diligently compiling a list of all companies / friends / family that will need change-of-address updates so I’m hoping everything will go smoothly.
So here’s to a new chapter in my life…Bring it on!

Please don’t turn back the clock!

Like most children, I was always looking forward to my next birthday. I would never hesitate to say that I was almost 13, when I had really just turned 12. Usually this mindset slows down after you hit the age which gives you legal permission to drink & get into places that have always been forbidden. But the novelty of being 18 wore off pretty fast and, when all my friends didn’t want to grow up, I did. Even though I had a great relationship with both my parents, I moved out of home at 18 because I wanted to ‘grow up’. My mother always said I was wishing my life away, but even now at 22 (almost 23!)  I still can’t wait to be that next number.

I know I’ll probably come to regret this, but I hated being known as ‘young’. When I was 18, I wanted to be 19. When I was 21, I couldn’t wait to turn 22 (for some reason, 21 still is associated with being young and stupid and a party-animal). Now at almost 23, I can’t wait to be, say, 26 – and married, and have a house and thinking about children. I think this may stem from my thinking that the absolute prime of your life is between the ages of 25-35. This is where all the exciting stuff happens, I’m guessing. Who said that high school days were the best days of your life? I HATED high school, two days after I completed my HSC I was working full-time, eager to leave that part of my life behind forever. Bring on the growing-up stage!!

I find it really, really hard to identify with females my age who aren’t like me. Who still go out 3 times a week, get so drunk/high and party their life away. What I really can’t stand, is when they start questioning my lifestyle choices. I do not smoke, I rarely drink, I prefer to stay at home for a quiet night in, I prefer to save my money to build my dream home than go and waste it on a liquid that’ll make me feel like shit the next day.
Perhaps this is why my close group of girlfriends are all like me. They are either married, engaged or in a long-term relationship, and we all have the same interests and very similar lifestyles. This is where I am most comfortable.
I do have this one friend though, best friend, who was in a 4 year relationship which ended a year ago. Her lifestyle has now done a 180 degree twist and she’s out partying with the best of them,  all   the   time. I found this concept really hard to adjust to; I wasn’t used to having chats with my bestie about what clubs she went to on the weekend or what cute guy she met. But to be a good friend is to be a flexible one, so I have slowly gotten used to the fact that our lifestyles are opposite and they probably will be for quite a while.

So how do you feel about your current age/lifestyle stage? I seem to be the only one I know who wants to fast-forward a few years to get to bigger and better things (I cannot wait to have a family!). Am I crazy for thinking like this? Am I living too much for the future and not enough in the present? I think I might be.

Busy?

I have never really thought of myself as a ‘busy’ person, I just got on with my day. But last night I stepped back and looked at the big picture, and realised just how much I cram into a day! Here is an example of what happens on a Tuesday:

6.15am – Wake up & start getting ready for a run with the dog

6.35am – Drive out to Mum’s house (15mins away), leave my car there and take Bronson for a very hilly walk (great for the legs!!)

7.40am – Take Bronson back to Mum’s and get him ready to stay there for the day (temporarily, until our new house is built). Head back to my house to get ready for work.

8.45am – arrive at the cafe to do the morning coffee run. Chat to one of the lovely girls down there about the weather/weekend/today’s plans…check out the yummy looking cakes & cookies on offer and try not to buy one to save for an afternoon snack

9am – arrive work. Check emails, get everything organised for the day, check PO box, drink my heavenly coffee to wake me up.

9.30am – 3.30pm – work on whatever needs to be done for the day. Usually revise websites, check SEO, think about new ad designs, reply to emails, jump on facebook to see who’s doing what.

3.35pm – leave for uni, drive around for ages trying to find a park

4pm – walk up four stories to get to my class (legs are killing me by now)

7.05pm – leave uni and start driving to Mum’s (35min drive) to pick up the dog

8pm – arrive home, hopefully dinner’s already made as I’m starving!!

8.20 – 9.45pm – split my time between housework, study and chatting to my partner about our days

10.15pm – the bed is looking so welcoming by now…..fall into it exhausted

 

Obviously, this timetable changes daily, depending on work committments and uni classes…I cannot wait to move into the new house as it will cut a few things out, plus it’s 10mins closer to uni which is a bonus.
So, I am wondering, how busy are YOU? I know there are so many brilliant people who cram more into their day than me (especially those with children!!), but I wonder if, on the busy-ness scale, I am just average?

Book recommendations

I am building up a ‘to read’ list…so far I have:

• Emma – Jane Austen
• Raising My Voice – Malalai Joya
• The Seven Sisters – Margaret Drabble
• Italian Joy – Carla Coulson
• When in Rome – Penelope Green
• 0 to Rich – Tracey Edwards
• The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
• …plus re-read all my Bryce Courtenay books

Can anyone recommend any more great books that I should read?

It’s been insanely insane.

Wow what an insane two weeks it has been…
Firstly, sad news.. my grandfather passed away last week, and the funeral was 4 days later (hence why I’ve been M.I.A). Top that off with a massive Greek wedding the next day (one of my close girlfriends was the bride, and she looked stunning) and assignments already due at uni, I swear I’ve barely had time to think!! After I get over my next ‘event’ tomorrow (my six year anniversary) then I hope things will start to settle down and I can post more on here

Time Management: help?

So tomorrow marks the start of semester 2 at uni. Now, not only am I working full-time, but I have also upped the ante by taking an extra subject this semester - bumping me to ‘full-time’ uni status.
I always start off on a high at the beginning of semester – textbook chapters always read, homework always done, attendance 100%…but after a few weeks this wanes and I become really demotivated (somehow, I still manage to get really good marks???). This new full-time uni/full-time work thing is really going to keep me disciplined, I hope… I will need to re-organise my life to be more time efficient, but I think I may need help – does anyone have any tips?

Give the Dangerous Dog a Break..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used to be a cat-lover, and dogs were just some big, smelly thing that got in the way and tried to steal your food. I had grown up with cats running the household, mostly due to my mum disliking dogs. So when, in June 2007, my partner brought home a shivering 3 week old pup and asked me, in a child-like voice, whether we could keep it, I didn’t want a bar of it. We already had two cats, I said, we live in a unit so it’s not possible. But the impossible became possible.
The story of Bronson coming into our life was a sad one. He was part of the second litter from his mother, and a dog from the first litter decided to kill the new pups. Bronson was found being shaken around in this dog’s mouth, dying. The owner of all the dogs did not care what happened to them, and was just as happy to dispose of a dead puppy as he was to give them away.
So the following day I took our then un-named pup to the vet to have him checked out. Despite having a few minor issues like mites and fleas, there was no internal damage and we were able to keep him.

 

I guess at the start I was worried about his breeding. And so were my parents. Bronson is a red-nosed American Pitbull Terrier x Australian Kelpie (with a little bit of Staffy thrown in). Muscle, strength and power crossed with intelligence and utter obedience.
I don’t know whether it was because we had him from so young, where I had to be up every few hours to feed him by syringe and keep his small body warm, where he saw Chris and me as his mum and dad..but he has the most beautiful, loving, loyal personality. His threatening looks and bark of a bigger dog like that of a Rottweiler or German Shepherd make him out to be an aggressive, scary animal. I’ve even had one lady pick her small dog up when she walked past Bronson and me, unsure of what my dog would do. I find this highly amusing, as Bronson loves any kind of dog (despite being told by a vet that he’d have behavioural problems and wouldn’t identify with other dogs due to being taken from the litter so early) and is ultra friendly whether it’s a Chihuahua or a Doberman.
Saying that, he has taken to becoming extremely protective of me, especially if a guy approaches us (which makes me feel very safe), and this does intimidate a lot of people.
But what I am very against, is the ‘dangerous dog’ title that the media has given dogs like Bronson, as well as Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, etc. ANY dog can attack ANYONE. I’ve seen photos of vicious attacks on children by small terriers. My Mum’s dislike for dogs stems from the time she was bitten on the face by a small terrier as a child. The media makes out these breeds of dogs to be little angels and bigger, powerful dogs to be the epitome of all evil. This is so far from the truth it makes me angry. It is all about how you bring a dog up, simple as that. So many people have Pitbulls and  train them for fights (in pits, which is where they get their name), and yes, these kind of dogs would attack. But not mine. People stereotype dogs, just as they do humans.
I’m not saying that ’dangerous breed’ dogs never attack – there have been a lot of media coverage over it, but does the media show you attacks by small dogs? Very rarely.

As for my parents, my Dad raves about Bronson and tells me I couldn’t have had a better dog..and my Mum? She has fallen in love with him, and makes sure he receives cuddles, treats and play-time whenever he’s over there….

Book Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini.

What a tragically heartbreaking, opinion-shifting, addictive story. To me, these characters were real, and they have changed my view of Afghanistan. A beautifully written novel about two unrelated women struck by tragedy after tragedy but bound by a mother/daughter love, I could not put this book down for each page was more compelling than the last.
For a book that I was ho-hum about buying, it has moved me beyond recognition and I am proud to say it is the best novel I’ve ever read.

Originally posted here.

Women as Objects

 

I have been inspired by Sandi Tighello’s post over at Trespass Magazine, ‘Sexuality and Mixed Messages’. The issue of using soft-porn to sell anything (products, clothing, entertainment, etc) other than porn itself is an issue I cannot seem to dismiss. What’s worse, is that people have become so accustomed to it that it does not phase them whatsoever. I find it degrading and morally wrong – why has this become normal and acceptable?? The idea of using females purely for men’s entertainment is disgusting, what kind of effect will this have on future generations and their kind of role-models? Will it slowly become more than soft-porn? Will our children grow up thinking it is ok to be men’s objects, that it is normal to be a source of entertainment, however degrading your acts may be? What is this going to do to the already huge issue of self-esteem in tweens and teens?

Some women will tell you that there are advantages in being men’s objects, that it is somewhat empowering when you play on it. These women tend to be the strippers, pole dancers, glamour models who may feel empowered themselves, but do they really know that the men only see them as a piece of meat that they can feast their eyes on and then spit them out? 
I am all for empowerment, but why seek empowerment through degradation?? There has got to be a better way. What happened to empowerment through intelligence, experience and achievement?
And why on earth is this only happening to women? I don’t see any women’s magazines featuring naked men from cover-to-cover! Yes, there are male strippers out there, for female ‘entertainment’ – but when you’re back in reality, those men resume the ‘right’ of the more powerful sex, and it gets turned back on its head, again. It’s just not an equal playing field, and that is what is getting under my skin.

They say sex sells. Why should it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please note that, yes, I did write about female beauty as empowering here – but beauty and good looks are one thing, purposely objectifying women in degrading acts just for the pleasure of men is another.

For another great article on this topic, click here.