October 2016Life Love and Hiccups: October 2016
Life Love and HiccupsLife Love and HiccupsLife Love and HiccupsLife Love and Hiccups

Monday 31 October 2016

MOVE For Our Men This MOVEMBER

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Brought to you by Nuffnang and The Movember Foundation

Did you know that in Australia, our men die on average around four years younger than us women?

Did you know that in Australia, suicide is the leading cause of death in men aged 15 - 44 years and on average, six of our men will take their own life… every… single… day?

Did you also know that prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer in our Aussie men and that more than 3,300 husbands, dads, sons, brothers and friends will die of prostate cancer this year alone? Testicular cancer comes in second in men aged 18 – 39, and 36 years old is the average age that a man is diagnosed with testicular cancer.

THIRTY SIX!!!!

Very sobering facts, huh?!

My grandfather died of testicular cancer, one of my past bosses died of prostate cancer and I have tragically lost far too many friends and acquaintances to suicide over the years, so I don’t need to tell you that as a mother of three sons who are my entire world and as a woman who is madly deeply in love with my husband and cannot stand the idea of living a single day without him, this information scares the crap out of me.

Our men’s health is in trouble you guys and it isn’t talked about enough. Everyday we lose too many of our men, far too young and for reasons that can be prevented.

The Movember Foundation is totally dedicated to focusing on men’s health and together with the millions of people who have joined the movement since 2003, it has raised over $770 million dollars for the funding of more than 1,200 individual projects that are focused on prostate cancer, testicular cancer and suicide prevention.

By 2030 they aim to halve the number of deaths from prostate cancer and testicular cancer, reduce the number of men taking their own lives by 25% and reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25%… but they really need the help of us women to make this happen.

Most of us have probably sponsored a Mo or two over the years, and by all means… please keep doing so. This year however, we can really up the anti by actually participating in MOVEMBER ourselves and by doing so we are looking out for us as well as our men by getting active and raising money for the Movember Foundation.


Set yourself a Move Challenge; it can be anything from going for a hike, riding your bike everyday for a month, playing a new sport or learning to surf, maybe get some friends to join you and dress up in some ridiculous costumes and join an aerobics class, then head over to Movember.com to sign up. Then it’s a matter of asking your family and friends to donate to your Move campaign and BOOM you will be raising valuable funding for men’s health and helping to keep our beloved men around for as long as we possibly can.

Throughout the month of November, I plan on only using my car to travel long distances and to take urgent trips… as for everywhere else I go? Well, its gonna be all about the pedal power baby!


So are you in?
Are you ready to join in with the MOVEMBER movement for men’s health ?



Friday 21 October 2016

And The Award For The Baddest Bad Blogger Crown Goes To...

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Oh I have been a bad bad blogger lately... like if there was some kind of award ceremony for the baddest of the bad bloggers then I would be shuffling my feet up to the podium to accept my crown.

I have been doing a bit of a crazy lady routine with my work and with the impending move of Little Lane Workshops to it's new studio, and although I have so much to rabbit on about - there have just not been enough hours left in the day to write anything here or visit all the blogs I normally love to visit too. 

As my nine year old would so eloquently put it - that sucks bog balls! 

He actually said "that sucks dog's balls" but then he pretty quickly tried to convince me he said "bog balls" after I threatened to wash his mouth out with soap on tap.

On top of my daily crazy lady routine I got banned from Facebook earlier this week. Yup. Because of a photo that I shared over three years ago... THREE YEARS. 

If you can hear me Facebook - I think you should know that you're an asshole!

I think my ban ends some time over the weekend,  but until then I have to log in as someone else to access any of my own or my client's accounts and I can't even wish Happy Birthday to all the lovely people that Facebook tells me has a birthday each day. 

Here's a little bit of advice for you guys with business pages - learn from my lesson. Add a friend or your partner as admin on your page, that way, if you ever find yourself locked out of your Facebook account for any dumb ass reason, you will still be able to access your page from the other admin's account.

I'm gonna be honest... I have not been coping to well with all the stress lately, and I have not been doing a very good job of hiding it either. I'm a cranky mole, I have like ZERO patience and I even growled at someone at the traffic lights the other day.

I've been walking around a bit zombified because I have been lying awake at night worrying about the move, and about how cranky I am and about whether if I was killed by a rogue unicorn tomorrow would my kids would remember me as a grouchy mum who was too tired and impatient to play monopoly with them and let them eat a whole box of cereal for afternoon tea because I was too busy to make them a proper snack?  I have been worrying about this and that and well, pretty much EVERYTHING. 

It's no secret that I have a PHD in worrying and the more stress I am under, the more I worry and then of course the more that I worry - the more that I stress yada yada. 

I'm working on it, worrying less that is, and I am trying to remind myself regularly to just 'calm the fuck down'. 

I know in my heart that things will settle down after we officially move next weekend... but still... I suck at taking my own advice in the meantime.

So anyway - that's why there have been loads of crickets chirping around here lately and why I have been unusually quiet for me and hello? Is anyone still there or have I sent you into a snoring coma from my rambling tripe?

I look forward to getting back into some kind of near to normal sort of routine in the next few weeks and to my bloggy pals, please know that I am missing you and I'm looking forward to catching up on what all of you guys have been doing.

Are you still there or have I made you snore?
What are you up to?
How well do you handle stress? Any tips you can give me?



Monday 17 October 2016

On My Bedside Table

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We put our crystals out into the full moon light last night... cause yeah well, we are a little that way inclined in our house. 

Except for the hubby, he just kind of rolls his eyes at us as he thinks the kids and I are all a little 'out there' but because he loves us he is totally happy to indulge us and so he helped us to carry all our precious stones outside AND let us use his precious BBQ to sit them because it was perfectly positioned under the moonlight.

I've found myself drawn more and more to crystals lately. 

I am intrigued by the individual meanings of them and what they represent and the fact that they are more often than not just so darn pretty to look at certainly deserves a mention too.

I tend to stuff a few into my bra or my pockets on any given day and there is no real rhyme or reason as to which ones I choose. I simply hold my hand over the bowl of crystals and pick out the first ones that I am drawn to. 

Crystals work like that, they draw you to them depending on what you need at any given time. 

Of course, no matter how much I need it, I don't pick that big chunk of green calcite to shove in my bra, because that would just look a little ummm wrong.

I have quite a few crystals sitting on my bedside table, including that big chunk of calcite.

Calicite is an excellent healing stone. It helps you to rid yourself of old habits and beliefs and is also used to aid in the healing of bones, muscle and ligaments... all things I definitely need a little help with, especially the changing bad habits bit. 

I have been promising myself I will go to bed earlier for like 10 years now and yet I can't seem to ever manage to turn out the light before at least midnight. 

I've read up on a load of stuff lately about switching off at night, and along with all the usual culprits like not using blue screens at night, keeping your phone out of your bedroom, making sure your room is uncluttered and kept at the right temp yada yada... I have also read a little into the principles of Feng Shui and how they should be applied to your bedroom.

Did you know that what you keep on your bedside table and even the actual table itself could be affecting how you sleep?

Yup, apparently so.

According to numerous ancient sources, bedside tables should be matching for couples as this contributes to a feeling of balance within a relationship. 

They should never have sharp edges either... your bedside table can be square or round, but the corners should always be rounded because sharp corners are considered to be poison arrows that attract negativity whilst you sleep.

Struth Ruth!

The base of your bedside table should be solid or evenly balanced with four legs and ideally it would have a drawer of cupboard door on it so that you can store things in it rather than on top of it. The storage component of a nightstand represents abundance.

Ideally you would keep a plant on your bedside, and a photo of those closest to you. A plant represents rejuvenation and growth for your body and soul and the photo of your loved ones is a blessed reminder of whom you put first from the moment you wake to the moment you fall asleep.

Lastly, you should keep your bedside table uncluttered, too much stuff like notebooks, phones, a pile of books etc, could make your mind feel 'busy' at a time when you want it to be quiet.

Well there you go huh?

I had no idea about all of this until I went down that rabbit hole. 

Needless to say I gave my bedside a good old tidy up because HELLO... I'm totally superstitious and all that.

Do you follow any of the Feng Shui principles?
What do you keep on your bedside table?






Tuesday 11 October 2016

My Other Nemesis

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It's no secret around here that anxiety is my enemy.. anxiety and of course the skanky old black mongrel who comes sniffing around from time to time.

But I also have another nemesis, one that likes to creep up on me at the most inconvenient times. One that likes to grip me around the throat and squeeze tightly whilst it whispers in my ear until such a point that I either admit defeat or find the strength to beat it away.

I'm talking about fear you guys.

Fear is an unpredictable asshole who shows up out of the blue and steals both your thunder and your confidence... if you let it of course.

For me, fear manifests in so many different ways... fear of failure, fear of letting people down, fear of not being good enough, fear of something happening to the people I love, fear of someone not liking me, fear around whether I am a good enough mum, wife, daughter, friend, sister etc, fear relating to health, wealth and happiness...

And fear of fear itself.

Now I am no expert on this matter by any means. Heck I am a work in progress, possibly even one of those half ass attempts at a project you have lying around that you go back to every now and then when you can be bothered. Except this is one thing that does bother me and will continue to bother me until I get a better handle on it.

I am sick of fear dictating how I feel on any given day and I am tired of it constantly wearing me down and so I have been working on some strategies that I use as ammunition in my fight against fear and I don't know... I thought it might be useful for any of y'all who might be struggling to get the better of your own fears too.

1. TALK ABOUT THEM

Dead set, fears are so much bigger and scarier when they live in your head.

Often when you talk about whatever it is you are fearful of, out loud to other people, it doesn't seem so scary anymore. In some cases, those fears might kind of look a little ridiculous and believe me - nothing beats fear like laughing at it.

2. GET REAL

So many of my fears are completely irrational in that they are based upon things that could but probably wouldn't ever will happen.. or at worst are highly unlikely to happen.

So why do I give them any air time?

Get in to the habit of asking yourself - Can I prevent it? Do I have any control over it?

If the answer is no then chuck that fear out of your mind and let the universe take care of it for you.

Believe that the universe always wants what is best for you, and so let it be the watchman for those worries on your behalf.

3. DON'T GIVE THEM ENERGY

You've all heard about the Law of Attraction right?

It is something I very much believe in and the basic principle of it is - you attract what you give energy to.

So if you give energy to positive, happy and peaceful thoughts... then that is what you will attract. On the contrary, if you spend all your energy worrying about stuff and being scared of things, then, it pretty much goes without saying what you will end up manifesting for yourself.

4. TELL YOUR HEAD TO SHUT UP

Our brains are not who we are. By that I mean our brain is not our soul or the essence of our spirit. In actual fact our brains are just another body part... and yet we give it so much power.

If your hand started randomly slapping you in the face... would you just sit there and let it?

OK so you might be for a moment or two because... well let's face it the shock of your own hand hitting you would probably be a bit freaking funny at first, but if it hurt you, then you sure as hell wouldn't let it keep doing it right?

So why do we let our brains constantly hurt us through our thoughts?

It doesn't make sense does it?

That matter in our heads is just a misbehaving body part  - so tell it to "Shut up".


5. STARE THEM DOWN

You see the thing about fear is that they are much like your classic bully in that they don't like to be called out on their behaviour.

They want you to be scared... that's what they feed on and how they control you.

So stand up tall, take a big deep breath and stare that fear down.

If that means taking a few short moments of ridiculous courage to actually do or think about something that freaks the hell out of you... DO IT. It is in the bigger picture such a small price to pay for destroying that fear once and for all.

Conquering a fear empowers you. It's like that victory gives you a rush of confidence that if used efficiently, can help you to battle a whole army of fears.

Celebrate every victory for what it is... you winning, and that it something totally worthy of celebration right?

Right!

Are you a fearful person?
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your fears?

This week is World Mental Health Week, aimed at getting people talking about their mental health and to educate and create awareness. You mental health is just as important as the health of any other part of your body, so make sure you are looking after it OK.  For more information on World Mental Health Week visit here

Header Image Source: Michael Ramey - Unsplash


Friday 7 October 2016

Time To Fess Up

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Celebrity crushes... we all have them at one time or another.

Me personally? Oh I am an absolute tragic.

It generally starts after I watch a movie and then I have a dream about some actor from that said movie and then when I wake up in the morning I have this uncontrollable need to watch like every movie they have ever starred in.... EVR!

Take Paul Walker for example. RIP you beautiful human.

One day I watched him in a Christmas movie Noel and BAM just like that he hooked me in with his blue eyed blonde hair gorgeousness. Suddenly I found myself a fan of fast cars and drug heists, ok maybe more a fan of movies about fast cars and drug heist that Paul Walker starred in.

Really though, it would take a cold blooded one to resist him.

Speaking about cold blooded ones - I have just recovered from my two night binge feast on the most famous cold blooded one - Edward Cullen in Twilight. Actually Edward Cullen in all 5 movies in the Twilight series which I managed to devour in two evenings on Netflix.



Now normally I don't go for the pale skinned Vampirish type, but there is definitely something about those dark eyed broody stares that lures you in... right?

Please tell me I am not the only Twilight tragic around here.

There have been many a movie induced celeb crush in my lifetime...

Josh Duhamel - Safe Haven



Freddie Prinze Jr - She's All That


George Clooney - Oceans Eleven



Chris Hemsworth - Thor



Brad Pitt - Meet Joe Black.
Oh Ok. Brad Pitt in ANYTHING.



 It seems I don't even have a type when it comes to my celebrity crushes... just a whole lot of hunky randomness.

But don't worry my darling hubby... as you know I get over then pretty quick.

One bad haircut or one lame movie and I am done as!

Your turn to fess up...
Who have been some of your past and present celebrity crushes 
and what movie turned you?



Thursday 6 October 2016

The Search is On...

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 Brought to you by Nuffnang


To be honest, it wasn’t that huge of a shock to find Flynn upside down in a freezer chest with his tongue stuck to the ice.

He was after all a wonderfully whacky little four-year-old who wanted nothing more than to impress his bigger brothers who were six and nine.

In his many efforts to get their approval, Flynn would dress to make a statement, and he was known to mix their distinctive styles with his own quirky taste in clothing. Say hello to our…. ummm fashionista.





 He truly looked up to his big bros, so much so that he would often mimic the way they spoke… granted, that stage where he pretty much parroted everything that they said was a tad annoying, but the sentiment was totally there.

He took an interest in all the things that they liked: footballs, soccer, karate, wrestling… so much so that he had a habit of ‘looking after’ their favourite things… ok storing them under his bed probably wasn’t the best way to show his interest, but it sure got their attention and at the end of the day, that was all he really wanted.

With all that in mind, it really wasn’t a big surprise when they dared him to see if he could touch the side of the freezer chest in the supermarket with his tongue, and even less of a surprise was the fact that he did it.

I was three aisles over when I heard the scream and I immediately knew it was one of mine… a mother always knows when it is her child screaming or calling out “MUUUUUMMMM” right?!

I dropped everything and ran through the aisles frantically looking up and down the aisles until I spotted the small crowd gathering around a pair of legs poking out of the top of the frozen veggies section. Standing at the back of the crowd were two very guilty looking little boys.

“We didn’t think he would actually do it,” said my oldest culprit as I approached.

“Sorry mum, we’re so sorry,” said the younger one.

I broke through the crowd of people standing around and there was Flynn, ass up and head down into the freezer with his tongue firmly stuck to the ice on the inside wall.

A kind older lady told me that someone had gone to get some warm water, but in my haste to get him out of the freezer - I grabbed him by the waist and I yanked him hard. Mission complete – he was out, I had successfully dislodged his tongue off the ice… along with a few layers of taste buds and flesh.

It’s one of the events in Flynn’s childhood we will never ever forget. At the time I was furious at them all for putting me through that stress, but in hindsight, it was pretty funny… cute even (kinda).


Either way, it will be a dinner table anecdote to last a lifetime… one which of course we have photographic evidence of.


We have loads of photos of Flynn in all his whacky glory, and every photo and tale behind it maps together a bigger story that is uniquely his and unique he most certainly is.

Speaking of photographs and childhood stories - Kinder has launched their new Face of Kinder competition to search for 6 kids aged between 3 - 10 years old to appear on their new Kinder Chocolate packaging.



This competition has been run around the world for decades… but this time, it is our turn. Four Aussie kids and two from New Zealand will be chosen as the faces of Kinder Chocolate.

As you all know, Kinder Chocolate is all about celebrating the fun that childhood brings and those often cute or hilarious memories we make along the way. So, it makes sense that the team behind Kinder will choose the four cutest stories to be the faces of their new packaging.


Once you’ve done that, it’s time to get your family and friends to vote because the top 100 finalists are chosen via public voting. A panel of judges, including Jules Sebastian, will then choose four winners from the top 100.

The promotion is open now and entries close November 7, 2016. You can vote for your favourites up until November 14, 2016 and the judging will take place in late November 2016.

The winners will be photographed in December and their packs will be on shelf in July 2017.


Did you ever try to impress your older brothers and/or sisters?

Or did you ever dare your younger siblings to do something that didn’t quite work out how you expected?