March 2015Life Love and Hiccups: March 2015
Life Love and HiccupsLife Love and HiccupsLife Love and HiccupsLife Love and Hiccups

Tuesday 31 March 2015

Ordinary Beauty

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How often do you stop and take in all the ordinary beauty that is all around us?

It’s OK - I am happy to wait for your eyes to stop rolling because believe me when I say how I know that sounds like such a stale old cliche. 

But as much as you or I may hate to admit it, there is a bloody good reason that cliche hangs around and that is because there is a whole lotta eye rolling truth to it. 

I'll be the first to confess that I don't stop and appreciate it enough. I'm also pretty sure I am not the only horse with her blinkers on.

From the moment we wake up, our minds do a mental run through of what we have on for the day. 

We get up and get ready for work or for whatever we have on. Maybe throw in a handful of kids to be fed and dressed for kindy or school, some errands to run, a to do list to work through, taxi duties and perhaps even a few half assed thoughts about dinner  - and is it any wonder we switch into auto pilot and move almost mechanically through the motions?

Yesterday morning, somewhere between school drop off and a Drs appointment I found myself with 30 minutes to spare. 

Now normally, I would race home and put some washing on, answer a couple of emails or maybe pop into the shops to frivolously spend some money on spontaneous purchases pick something up for dinner.

But this morning was different. 

This particular morning as I drove home from the school run, I turned left instead of right and found myself pulling into the car park at the beach.

I slipped off the shoes and wandered down to the edge of the water where I stood and inhaled that familiar salty air. I listened and I watched and for the first time in a long time I noticed just how God damn beautiful this world is and how grateful I am to be here.

I was standing on the same beach I have stood on since I was a little girl, tasted the same salty spray on my lips that the little me used to taste and I was mesmerised by the very same ocean that has been there my whole darn life. 

It is always there, only I have been too busy not noticing it to appreciate it.

The rest of the day was unremarkable as such, you know just a normal day doing normal stuff, but that feeling of awareness I had on the beach that morning stayed with me throughout the day. 

My senses were all hyper like a kid after a can of Coke and unlike the day before, or most days really, I began to notice more of the beauty within the normal every day stuff around me.

Little things like the cool water on my fingers when I was rinsing dishes, the steam and wafting aroma from my mug of coffee and the clanging of dinner dishes and laughter breezing through the window from the people next door.

All of that was there yesterday, and the day before and the day before that.

I just didn't notice it.

30 short minutes (give or take) on the beach that morning had somehow resulted in me stopping and being rather than rushing and doing. 

A new sense of gratitude that lingered throughout the rest of the day and somehow managed to paint every . single . mundane moment with fresh colour.

It got me thinking - what if I started every day like this? 

What if we all did?

What if we made a point of looking for the beauty that exists in our every day and more than that... we gave ourselves permission to just stop and enjoy it for a while and allow the gratitude to take over?


After all, what is the point of being here in this beautiful world if we don't stop and let its beauty consume us every now and then.

When was the last time you noticed the beautiful in the ordinary?
Do you ever have these kind of eye opening epiphanies?
Did you roll your eyes at the cliche like I kinda did writing it?


Pass The PastaThe One Where My Ovaries Shrivel Up and WhimperA Peek Inside My Lady CaveExciting Things Are ComingWin a Stunning Storage Basket

Monday 30 March 2015

Wake Up Happy

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If you look up the word ‘children’ in the dictionary, it says;
Early risers whose sole purpose is to breathe hot air on your face and wrench open your eyelids with sticky fingers before the sun is officially up. Slayers of the sleep in - aka sleep masochists.
OK, it doesn’t really say that – but it should.
Let’s face it, kids and early mornings are as much a pair as tea and bikkies, at least they usually are until they become teenagers and then they finally join Team Night Owl, but by then it’s too little too late!
I'm over at Kidspot today sharing how you can make the most of those precious hours sleep you do manage to get and holy shitballs -  perhaps even wake up happy!
Ha who knew that could even be possible?

Hello Again Pass The PastaThe One Where My Ovaries Shrivel Up and WhimperA Peek Inside My Lady CaveExciting Things Are ComingWin a Stunning Storage Basket

Sunday 29 March 2015

Win A Stunning Storage Basket From Down That Little Lane & Love Joy Create

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Hello my name is Sonia and I am a cushion addict.

Ha! Like that is any big secret, we ALL know that my weakness is cushions... and candles... and vodka and home wares and gin and gummi bears and... oh whatever.

I have some major weaknesses going on and such is life.

When I first started working with my beautiful friend Tessa at Down That Little Lane I knew I would be playing in a field of temptation.

I mean fancy someone with a major addiction to home wares spending every day working on a website that is home to the most gorgeous collection of home wares ever.

It's kind of like a chocolate addict working at Willy Wonkas.

I am Eve and DTLL is my apple. Except I don't have a loin cloth of vine leaves for my boobs because you know... ewwww.

You get the idea.

Every time a new seller signs up to Down That Little Lane I want to motor boat my face in all of the gorgeous images of delicious creations from these clever sellers and my finger often hovers over the I'll buy one of those for myself button.

So when a gorgeous company called Love Joy Create recently signed up and I saw the insanely desirable wares they were peddling - buy it for myself I did.

Yep I nabbed myself one of the gorgeous hello cushions from the collection below.

I often say I would love my time again to do up a baby's room and if I had the chance again I would be filling it to the brim with gorgeous baby blankets and storage baskets like these.


Anyway enough of my rambling because one of you guys are going to win one of these stunning storage baskets from Love Joy Create so you can drool all over it in the privacy of your own home.

Am I envious?

Oh hell yes, so let's just get on with it already!

Together with Down That Little Lane we are giving away this amazingly versatile storage basket.

All you need to do to enter is tell us in 25 words or less;

What would you store in this gorgeous basket? 

Then follow the prompts in the Rafflecopter widget below to be in with a chance to win.

Competition is open now (to Australian Residents only) sorry 
and closes Sunday 12/4/15 at 11.59pm AEST



Hello Again Pass The PastaThe One Where My Ovaries Shrivel Up and WhimperA Peek Inside My Lady CaveExciting Things Are Coming

Friday 27 March 2015

Exciting Things Are Coming

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Oh I have so much to tell you and so much I can't... well not just yet anyway.

Yes I know I am being one of those wanky banky type of people that vaguely refer to some really exciting news and then slowly drip feeds the information until you become so impatient and agitated with all the mysterious crap, so much so that you just want to slap them on the back of the head and give them a massive Chinese burn until they are writhing in so much pain that the torturous treatment forces the information to come spewing out of their vague little mouths.

Or something like that.

Clearly I have put some thought into this at some time or another.

Please trust me though, it's not that I don't want to tell you and it's not that I am being intentionally mysterious. 

On the contrary... 

I have a really big mouth and I am literally bursting at the seams in a this secret is gonna kill me kind of way and I practically have to gaffa tape my mouth shut to stop it all from busting out.

We just need to tie up a few bits and bobs before we can officially shout it all from the rooftops but as soon as I can... I will. 

Oh for the love of Clooney I will!

As you know I've been busy behind the scenes building upon some ideas and dreams that I along with two insanely inspiring women have been talking about for a while. Whilst I can't yet say what exactly is coming, I can tell you is that I am partnering with two of my most precious friends - Kate and Tessa in not one, but two new business collaborations.

Today we visited the place that we have decided will be the base of these new ventures, the creative space that we are about to sign a lease on, a place that will be home to fabulous new things.

Oh guys, I so want to to tell you more and I promise, I will just as soon as I possibly can.

When I took that leap of faith nearly two years ago and left the corporate world, I only dreamed about these kind of things happening. 

Somehow, I blindly leapt and landed on my feet and began working with two incredible women and I don't for one minute believe that it all just happened by chance.

You see I am a believer. A believe in fate, kismet, or call it what you will. I believe that if you truly want something with all your being, it will happen. You make it happen.

You know when someone says to you - trust that the universe will ensure that you are where you are meant to be? 

Well I couldn't agree more.

I was meant to leave my job and begin working with these two women. 

They were meant to become two of my most precious sisters and we were meant to do awesome things together.

And so this is just the beginning.

OK enough of my mysterious faffing. On to other gorgeous things - like Easter and food, because the two things go together like vodka and lime, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and Sundays and sleep ins. 

They are just kind of complete each other like a G&T on Friday afternoon completes me.

It's hard to believe that we pretty much just pulled the Christmas lights down and shoved the last of the decorations into storage and already we are preparing for the bunny to bring on some chocolate induced meltdowns. 

I think I may only have a year or two left of the bunny.. if you know what I mean? So I am looking forward to creating us much magic as I can this Easter for the boys and if that means sitting up to the early hours laboriously working on projects that will be devoured in mere minutes... then so be it.

Here's some of the Easter gorgeousness I have discovered on the net this week.


1. A if ice cream wasn't good enough on it's own - add some chocolate bunny ears like Studio DIY did and I would be the hoppiest girl in the world. Happy | Hoppy *ahem* moving on.

2. That gorgeous Babs over at Patchwork Cactus is a clever clogs and her hand stamped tea towels turned Martha Mudguts to mush. I would love some of these instead of eggs this Easter. OK I would like my eggs wrapped in these please.

3. Edible Cotton Candy Nests from Paper & Stitch.. now THAT's what I'm talking about people!!!

4. I am planning on milking every last bit of appreciation for anything cute from my little boys whilst it lasts and so they will be getting some of these Design is Yay Bunny & Bow Goodie bags from me and damn it it - they will swoon... even if I have to bribe them.

Now if you would prefer to avoid the edible Easter treats then fear not - we have you covered.

Cue the plug for the Down That Little Lane Online Pop Up store... Sorry, I am unashamedly proud to be a part of the DTLL team and besides Tessa and I have been working very hard behind the scenes on this pop up and I can assure you that there are some gorgeous bargains to be had.

Think huge discounts and two for ones etc.

Think a whole load of gorgeousness.

It runs until Sunday night so check it out here.

OK, time to introduce this week's guest host and it is the beautiful Amanda from Cooker and a Looker.

Her blog name, Cooker and a Looker, is a bit of an inside joke: at their wedding her husband joked that his footy coach had told him “You can either get a cooker or a looker, you can’t have both”.

When Amanda started her blog in 2012 as a dare, she was as shocked as her high school English teacher to discover that she loved to write. Each post is a little sandwich of family life, food and humour, with a focus on fresh, easy recipe ideas that fast become family favourites.  

Amanda spends her days pretending she didn’t just get up from the computer and thinks tea tastes better from her favourite cup.



Link up your favourite post from the past week and then if you get a chance, pop around and say hello to some of the other lovely linkers. The Weekend Rewind blog hopping party starts every Friday night at 8pm and links will close on Sunday night at midnight. Link up here or over on Bron's blog (Maxabella Loves)Sonia's blog (Sonia Styling) or Kelly's at A Life Less Frantic.  It does not matter where you link as your link will show up in all 4 places.



Hello Again
 Pass The PastaThe One Where My Ovaries Shrivel Up and WhimperA Peek Inside My Lady Cave

Thursday 26 March 2015

A Peek Inside My Lady Cave

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First of all... ewwwww!

I am so sorry about that post title. It sounds all kinds of wrong doesn't it?

Like Fifty Shades of wrong!

I should just start by clarifying that my lady cave is indeed my play room...no wait, that sounds bad too.

My lady cave is my home office | craft room | sanctuary | hiding place from the kids and today I am over with my gorgeous pal Sonia from Sonia Styling sharing some pics and exactly what it is I love about my fave room.

Come on over and say hi!

Happily BuzzingA Bloggy VacayHello AgainPass The PastaThe One Where My Ovaries Shrivel Up and Whimper

Wednesday 25 March 2015

The One Where My Ovaries Shrivel Up and Whimper

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My Baby turned eight on the weekend. EIGHT! 

I can practically hear my ovaries shrivelling up like prunes and making little squeaky whimpering noises as they deflate.

Our free spirited little Kombi loving hippy is the youngest of my motley crew, but in my heart he should have been somewhere in the middle of a team of five… at least he would have been had our original ideal of five kids come to life. 

Instead he is the youngest, the final, my last.

Hold me.

Look, please don’t mistake my sookiness as a lack of gratitude in anyway. I am so acutely aware of just how incredibly blessed we are with our three beautiful boys… its just that whether I choose to deny it or not - somewhere deep inside is a little seed of doubt that questions whether I believe I am done for good.

We had a couple of heartbreaking miscarriages along our parenting path. One before our oldest son and one before our middle son and I always wonder about what could have been. 

We also had an ectopic pregnancy before Flynn was born but for some reason I truly believe with all my heart that the baby we lost was actually in fact our free spirited Flynn. Our clumsy little angel who somehow got lost on his way to us the first time around.

Oh man. I need a tissue - I’m getting all emotional here.

Theoretically, if you count the miscarriages, we did actually have the five children we dreamed of. It’s just that two of our children live only in our hearts.

I never really thought of that before I sat down to write this.

Huh!

I like that thought. It feels so right and comforting.

Forgive my melancholy mood today. I get a little sooky like this after every one of the kid’s birthdays and I think it is because even though I am so grateful for every year my children turn, I also feel a sense of helplessness at the lack of control we have over time and how quickly it moves. 

How fast our precious newborns morph into little people with little voices and little personalities and then grow into big people with big ideas and even bigger dreams.

Too fast.

Way too fast.

I’ve been getting kinda sappy lately when I watch those TV commercials about nappies and toddler milk with cute little chubby bubbas with roly poly limbs and smiling gummy smiles at us through the TV screens.

Lately?

Yeah not really - I am ALWAYS sappy when it comes to babies and don't even get me started on how I will go out of my way to be in the checkout queue behind a little munchkin at the supermarket just so I can pull some mushy faces in the hope I am rewarded with one of those heart melting smiles that those little bundles of cuteness are so good at.

Listen to me would you - I’m using words like bundles of cuteness. I have it bad.

I’ve miraculously forgotten about how my own bundle of cuteness did a round house kick into the bathroom door this morning and left a permanent calling card in the shape of a school shoe on the back of the door.

The truth is I kinda always imagined I would have a girl somewhere in the mix of kids. In fact I honestly never for even one moment entertained the idea that I wouldn’t, so I suppose the fact that I have three boys means that there is always going to be a part of me that feels ... I don't know... kind of incomplete?

It’s not a place of ungratefulness that thought comes from. It’s just the way I feel and it is what it is and nothing more or nothing less.

Given the cobwebs and closed for business sign that now hangs on my uterus, maybe it will be left to a granddaughter in the future to fill that little gap. 

Who knows?

Until then, I plan on soaking up every precious moment and milestone of this goofy little guy and his two trusty sidekicks.


How many kids did you or do you dream of having? 
Or are you happy to leave it up to fate?
Do you think we women ever really feel completely done when it comes to having children?




Tuesday 24 March 2015

Pass The Pasta

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Brought to you by Coles

How flipping easy is pasta as the go to meal for the family on a busy weeknight?

TOO easy right!

I mean if my kids ask me “What’s for dinner?” and I answer with “Pasta” then there are no complaints and no moany “errrrrrrr paaaasTAH” .

Nothing just happy smiley easily pleased faces… which can be no easy feat to achieve right!

The weather is starting to cool down at night now so the idea of sitting down to a table of pasta, a glass of red wine and garlic bread with the family and any drop-er-iner-ers is pretty close to perfect as far as my rumbling tum is concerned… as long as it’s not too hard to make it.

I have to confess, my pasta repertoire in the past tended to go something like this;

Spag bog, spag bog and spag bog. 
(that would be Spaghetti Bolognese for the less bogan-ish among us).

It’s just one of those recipes that everyone kind of knows off the top of their head and you can pretty much make it without to much thought and even with a baby on the hip, a toddler or small human attached to your ankles and without having to take your eyes of the Bold and The Beautiful.

A bit like me in my early parenting days.

OK yesterday.

Whatever,  my point remains – spag bol is soooo darn easy to make so why change?

Because it is boooring!

B.O.R.I.N.G

There I said it… although because I am such a wuss I would like to take a moment to sincerely apologise to any seriously dedicated spaghetti lovers that I may have just offended.

The thing is I am just sooooo over spaghetti Bolognese and so I thought I would try out a couple of new pasta dishes on the family but with one rule – they have to meet the strict criteria that includes;
  • Easy to make
  • No fussy hard to find ingredients
  • The kids have to eat it without any mind bending moaning from them or bribery from me
  • It can be made in pretty much the time it takes for a pot of pasta to cook.

Right! Self imposed challenged accepted.

Here are two recipes I came up with and one extra one that I sourced from the Coles website.


Now so you can gauge whether your fussiest of eaters will also be satisfied with the meals - I have also included how each recipe ranked on our family’s scoreboard. A scoreboard determined by a panel that consists of one easy to please hubby, one super fussy eater, one slightly less fussy eater and one teenager who would eat the plate and table as well if you let him.


CHILLI TUNA, LEMON & ASAPARAGUS PAPPARDELLE


INGREDIENTS
A 400gm can of tuna in spring water drained
A generous handful of parsley finely chopped
1 lemon
2-3 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
3 tbs of olive oil
¼ cup of grated or shaved parmesan cheese
1 bunch of fresh asparagus
1 packet of Pappardelle egg pasta
Salt and pepper to season

METHOD
Cook your pasta according to instructions.
Cover your asparagus with 2 cups of salted boiling water and let it stand for 10 to 12 minutes until it is crisp and tender. Then drain and chop up.
Whilst your pasta is cooking heat your oil in a fry pan and cook your garlic and parsley until it is sautéed. Add your tuna and cook for a few minutes before adding the juice from your lemon some salt and pepper to season and your asparagus.
Drain your pasta and toss it through your tuna mix.
To serve sprinkle it with chilli flakes for the chilli lovers, some cracked pepper and sprinkle over with the parmesan cheese.

THE FAMILY SCOREBOARD
Score from the husband 11/10
Score from the kids
Kid 1 8/10
Kid 2 7/10 but upped it to a 10 when I told him there was apple pie for desert. OK yes I bribed!
Kid 3 was away at camp.




SPINACH GARLIC AND BUFFALO MOZZARELLA CASARECCE

INGREDIENTS
A 200 gm bags of baby spinach
3 garlic gloves chopped
A round of buffalo cheese
A packet of Casareece pasta (or any pasta really)
Salt and pepper to season
3 tbs of olive oil

METHOD
Cook your pasta according to instructions.
Heat your oil and sauté your garlic in a fry pan. Add you spinach and stir until it is wilted.
Season with salt and stir through your pasta and small chunks of mozzarella.
Top with some cracked pepper and Bon appétit.

THE FAMILY SCOREBOARD
Score from the husband 9/10
Score from the kids
Kid 1 10/10
Kid 2 6/10 he didn’t like the spinach
Kid 3 wasn’t talking to me so who knows


CHEAT'S PASTITSIO


Last but not least is the good old pasta bake.

Pasta bake is a trusty fave in our house and I actually like to make it a day or two ahead because in my opinion there is nothing better than a reheated pasta bake when you get home late from afternoon sport.

We tried this recipefrom the Coles website here and we used turkey mince instead of lamb mince. Winner Winner people - no ifs or buts about it!

THE FAMILY SCOREBOARD
Score from the husband 9/10 and an extra point for apparently looking sexy.
Score from the kids
Kid 1 fifty thousand/10
Kid 2 10/10 and an eye roll and ear flick to his younger brother.
Kid 10/10 I think but his mouth was full of seconds so I can’t really be sure… but I am totally claiming it anyway.


All the ingredient for these recipes are in store or online at Coles and remember that all fresh Coles meat is 100% Australian, all fresh Coles beef has no added hormones, all fresh Coles pork is sow stall free and all fresh Coles chicken is RSPCA approved.

For more inspiration for easy weeknight meals don’t forget to check out the huge array of recipes on recipes.coles. com.au and taste.com.au

Taste.com.au now has a fabulous shop to cart feature that means you can tick the ingredients you need for your recipe and it will add them straight to your Coles online shopping trolley. It could not be any easier to shop for what you need.

The March magazine is also free in store now or you can access it on the Coles website or the iPad app

If you feel like sharing your home made awesomeness then tag your instagram or Facebook photos with #colesmag and tag me too @lifelovehiccups  so that I can have a good old sticky beak at your cleverness.

What’s your fave pasta recipe in your family?



Monday 23 March 2015

Hello again

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Hello, I'm back!

I have to tell you - taking a week off to just catch up and get organised and get my head into some kind of proper working order instead of being all just a jumbled mess -  was just what I needed.

Whilst I was off last week I had a few people ask me - are you quitting blogging?

And the answer to that my friends is a big fat no... although I would be lying if I said I haven't considered it at least a couple of times over the past few months.

The thing about blogging is that typically those of us who blog put so much time and thought and effort into it and I am not just referring to the actual writing of blog posts and the like. All the other stuff that goes with blogging too - like running your social media, fussing over numbers and visiting and commenting other blogs and replying to comments etc. There is a lot to blogging.

If you monetise your blog then you are probably thinking even more about all the numbers and stats and ROI for your sponsors yada yada and you watch your numbers go up and go down and round and round and Facebook screws everything up for you so that some days you feel like you are taking to crickets and it is easy... VERY easy to become overwhelmed by it all and start to take it all a little too personally.

Whether you monetise your blog or not, blogging shouldn't be totally overwhelming.

It just shouldn't, and if you have found it has become a bit that way for you then can I suggest that you just stop, maybe take a week off, reset and reassess what it is about blogging that you love so much in the first place and forget all the distractions and noise and just go back to doing what it is you love.

Every now and then when I read some of the crappy mean stuff that sometimes goes on online or when I have been stressed out about not having enough time to write what I want to write or to reply to comments or visit and comment on other blogs - I get this little oh maybe I should just stop for a while voice nagging in my head.

As with most of us, life gets busy with work and family stuff and just life in general and there is nothing worse than allowing guilt about neglecting your beloved blog to seep in

That naggy quitter voice sometimes gets so loud in my head that when I finally sit down to blog I find that I am paralyzed by a lack of confidence and I feel like I have nothing worthy to say. And so the more I stress about not having anything to say, the less my brain works and then the self doubt kicks in and I start to wonder if anyone really cares if you say anything or not.

Gah!

That just all feels so wrong and awkward and not what blogging should be.

A week away has allowed to me to just breathe for a little bit and sort through all the stuff going through my head, and in that time off I came to realise that I sure as hell don't want to quit blogging, I really don't. It's now a part of me and who I am - but I need to find a way to allow it to fit into my life rather than take over my life... you know what I mean?

I need to not put stupid pressure on myself and doubting myself and just let the words flow... whatever they may be.

Some days I might have a whole lotta stuff to say or share and other days... well other days maybe not so much. But you know what I have come to realise?

That's totally OK.

Some days you just have nothing to say.

That's just life right?

Right!

I want to hear from you...
Do you ever feel like this with your blog? Or is there anything about blogging that maybe myself or other commentors could perhaps help you with?
My non bloggy readers - are you putting unnecessary guilt or pressure on yourself about anything too? 

Monday 16 March 2015

A Bloggy Vacay - See You Soonish

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Happy Monday you guys.

I have decided to take a little Blogg vacay this week to gets some things done that need doing behind the scenes rather than just let it all build up and then me go all batshit crazy and risk being locked up in a padded cell... although that does sound kind of relaxing.

Of course I will still be loitering around Facebook and Instagram because... umm I just cant stay that away for long!

In the meantime - I thought I would share my top 10 blog posts of all time (according to my Google Stats)... you know just in case you are bored and want to take a little trip down memory lane with me.

See you soonish.



1. It's the one where I revealed the good the bad and scarred - all my darkest deepest stuff. You can read the full series starting here if you like,

2. Mum said the F word! Yep I sure did!

3. We talked all things bloggy here - well how to survive the first year of blogging anyway.

4. So many of us have been through the heart ache of miscarriage. This post talks about how those little angels of ours grew wings.

5. The one where I accidentally bought my son a hash pipe. Oh man, I really did!

6. The absolute lowest I have ever gone when it comes to parenting. Think pond scum and you aren't even close.

7. A Bittersweet Victory - this one seems to get a new boost at the start of every school year.

8. Have you ever felt so completely overwhelmed and unhappy with your life | job | lack of direction? I have and this post was from the night I found myself standing right on the edge.

9. It seems there are quite a few of us who are constantly looking for some inspiration when it comes to decorating our kid's bedrooms.

10. How to fake it till you make it... I still can't believe just how many of us have anxiety over meeting new people.