The Stray Kitten

This weekend, hubby and I decided to head up to the Gold Coast for the weekend.  Initially, it was just to get enough status credits to reach Gold in the Virgin Velocity Frequent Flyers Program, but I was also determined to check out 'The Best Beaches on the Gold Coast" (according to Google). I decided that we would stay at the Sheraton Mirage Resort on Seaworld Drive, Main Beach.  This was my fourth time visiting GC, and having stayed at the Palazzo Versace across the road, I was curious about how this place would compare.  The Sheraton is slightly cheaper per night, and depending on how important medusa heads are to you, you get a bit more bang for your buck.  Our room was huge, with a giant bath tub, and everything else you'd expect from a luxury hotel.  I should add that the prices for items in the mini-bar were crazy -  $1 for two water crackers?  A can of Red Bull for $8.50?  Yikes.  Room service also came with an extra charge of $8.50 per call. We both slept ver

As promised, here I am with my review of the henna hair dye from Lush.  Truth be told, I've actually never bought anything from Lush before.  In fact, I usually held my nose (not literally!) as I passed their stores in shopping centres.  However, I began to notice them on Facebook, and really respect them as a company.  Their henna hair dyes in particular get excellent reviews, so I decided to give it a go!  Keep in mind that I have never used henna in my entire life, although I have observed my mother using it, as she did so for many years. Their henna comes in four shades with funny names, each one beginning with Caca.  Yesterday I used Caca Brun, their cool brown shade.  I figured my hair couldn't be any worse, may as well put some caca on it!  Jokes aside, I was warned that dying one's hair with henna is an extremely messy and tedious process.  No shit. The henna comes in a block, similar to a very chunky block of chocolate.  I cut the block in half, as I have mediu

If you haven't seen the Chris Rock doco 'Good Hair', I highly recommend that you do.  Despite being white as chalk, I could really relate to the women and their hair woes.  I have, what is considered to most people, 'bad hair'.  I'm not saying that to be self-deprecating, it's a fact. This is why I avoid visiting the hair dresser at all costs.  One look at my tresses, and they're horrified. "What have you done to your hair?!" is the usual question.  However, in the past when I haven't 'done anything to my hair', it's still been a frizzy, 'boofy' mess.  One day I was part of a hair show for Redken, and the stylists told me that my hair was naturally like this.  They described it as a 'European Afro' (no shit!), and proceeded to chop it into a pixie cut. Back in 2010, my classmates nagged me about getting a 'keratin treatment'.  Unfortunately at the time, it was way out of my budget.  One day I bought o

It had always been a dream of mine to visit Ibiza, and at 34, it was now or never!  So I decided to book the accommodation through booking.com.  Accomodation is difficult to get during the clubbing season (may-September), and is very expensive if you try to book at the last minute.  Booking.com has an option for some hotels, where you pay nothing upfront, and can cancel for free within a certain period of time.  I ended up cancelling my original booking because I was unable to get time off work.  However, I was determined to go, and found a very reasonable room at the gorgeous Hotel Es Vive!  So as the check-in date drew nearer, I began to research flights.  They were much cheaper than I expected through Webjet, so I booked right away! From some videos we saw on YouTube, we expected it to be full of young Brits going wild.  However, we managed to find the tranquil side of the island, and rationed our partying to 3 events during that week.  This is a good idea if you're keen on sigh

Today I had my first DEXA scan.  I've been using a Tanita body composition scale for about 2 years, so I was very interested to see if there were any discrepancies in the stats.  Universities use Tanita scales, so I had just assumed it was pretty accurate. When I stepped on my Tanita this morning, I was delighted to see my fat percentage at 16- the lowest I've ever been.  My Tanita tells me that I'm athletic, with a metabolic age of 12!  But DEXA wasn't so kind. I had my scan at Body and Bone in Bondi Junction.  I was asked a few questions about my lifestyle, and to lay still on the bed as the scanner went over my body.  The results were instant.  According to DEXA, I was a whopping 26.7% body fat!  My muscle was also woeful.  I was told that I would lose more muscle if I didn't get moving. Although it wasn't what I wanted to hear, it definitely gave me the wake up call I needed, and has motivated me to join a gym.  A DEXA scan and full consultation will set you

Today I attended my first casting of the month.  Well, it was more like an audition, because I had to talk on camera- yikes!  So what's the difference?  A casting requires you to fit a certain look that a certain someone has in mind (usually the client will specify).  An audition requires you to perform in a certain way, as well as looking the part.  A tall order! Here are my tips for castings; 1.  Try to look like your current headshot, and add some elements of the character in the brief.  Ensure your skin, hair, and nails are clean and fresh.  Wear plain, comfortable clothes. 2.  Arrive early so you have some time to relax - being relaxed is key.  Remember, you either fit the brief or you don't! 3.  Greet the other talent, but don't engage in conversation- they could say something to put you off (I may or may not be speaking from experience.) 4.  Don't be too eager.  I often do this when I'm nervous.  Don't be too bummed if you're not successful. 5.  Somet

I have always admired Michelle Crofts as a makeup artist, so when she brought out her own makeup line many years ago, I rushed out to try it.  At the time the range was quite small, but this is what appealed to me.  A range of brown nude and pink nude lippies, with either pink or peach blush, and an amazing eye pencil for creating an effortless smokey eye.  The packaging was cute, but there were no gimmicky "magic" products, or "collect them all" marketing ploys. The products themselves were of superb quality, but unfortunately could only be purchased online and at selected salons. Hence I kind of forgot about how good they were, opting for whatever was convenient or on sale at Coles. I am however, following Harlotte on Instagram, and noticed that the range had expanded to include foundation, highlighter etc.  Since I was fresh out of my Rimmel foundation, I decided to give Harlotte Afterglow a try.  I went to their website and ordered the Yuxin fashion week pack, w

Since we last caught up, I've lost two kilos- effortlessly.  It might not seem like a lot, but I hadn't managed to get them off for almost a year.  Even with daily workouts.  That measly two kilos means that I can wear my beloved jeans again, without them cutting into me - no muffin top!  I feel amazing. Today I ate nachos (!) for lunch and berries with yogurt.  I used to skip lunch, and be irritable for most of the day, finally pacifying myself with a Snickers bar and anything caffeinated.  Things that used to tempt me no longer do, like burgers, chips, and other fast foods.  It does help that my colleagues are also on the diet, and that there is no junk food in the house anymore. I'm still not a fan of the frozen dinners, although I've learnt a lot about portion sizes, and how to eat a balanced meal.  I'm now just 2 kilos off my goal weight!  I do wonder whether I'll gain it all back once I get off the meal plan, but at least it's something that I can go b

One of the girls in the office had lost a significant amount of weight.  She always appeared to be eating, and when asked what her secret was, she mentioned Lite n' Easy. I had thought about going on Lite n' Easy in the past, but never got around to placing an order.  After chatting with some of the girls in the office, we decided to try it for a month! I placed an order through their mobile app on the 30th of May.  It was easy to pick and choose what to include in my meal plan, although I would have liked to see a Vegan or Vegetarian plan, as I'd like to ween myself off eating meat regularly. I chose the 1500 calorie plan to begin with, with 3 meals a day, for 7 days.  Some of the dinners I chose were Shepherds Pie, Salmon Pasta, and Apricot Chicken.  Not too shabby!  It cost me about $160 for the week. The food arrived in a big esky on the morning of the 3rd of June.  Different areas have different delivery days.  You are supposed to leave the esky outside for collection,

One of my Facebook friends just said that part of the sadness in mourning someone's death is due to the regret of not celebrating their life while they were still alive.  I agree with this wholeheartedly, and I would like to reflect on the last time I saw Prince in the flesh- the best concert of my life! It was 2012, and Prince was to do two shows at AllPhones Arena for the Welcome 2 Australia tour.  My amazing sister organised the tickets, and to my delight, they were middle front row!  I had seen Prince once before for the News tour, but never this close. I am usually very reserved, but Prince had me dancing, screaming, and crying tears of joy as he took to the stage and performed one hell of a show.  He performed all the hits, and a few surprising b-sides, too.  After the show, the audience vacated the arena, but a few fans stayed back to chat about what just happened.  Suddenly, the man himself came out!!  We jumped the velvet rope, and ran to the symbol- shaped stage.  A priva

As a member of the Virgin Australia Velocity program, I often get invitations in my inbox to 'upgrade' my flights to Business Class.  I had just assumed that it wasn't worth the dosh for short flights.  This Easter, my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to see for myself if it were any different to economy. A business class flight from Sydney to Hobart will cost you about $250 on top of your regular fare.  Here's what that extra loot will get you; * a very comfy leather seat with lots of leg room * unlimited drinks in proper glass cups * a very nice meal designed by a celebrity chef * proper cutlery * a tray table that isn't on the back of someone's seat * addressed by your name by the flight staff * priority boarding And the piece de resistance... * a chocolate bunny Seriously, though- if you hate flying and can afford to upgrade, do it.  Personally, I'd rather spend that extra money on something else!

For the last 6 weeks, I've taken a break from my regular gig as an ESL teacher to teach a Transition To Work course.  My objective has been to arm jobseekers with the literacy and numeracy skills required to pass the HRW test and get a licence to drive a forklift truck. It has been a very steep learning curve for me, too.  I decided to do a 2 day course at Licences 4 Work, to get some experience doing the test and driving the forklift- or trying to! A 2 day course will set you back about 300 bucks.  It is VERY intense, and I realised how lucky my lot are to be able to study the questions over several months.  The test itself is full of jargon, and is not all that practical.  You will need to memorise a lot of lists and definitions.  I suggest reading and studying your materials as soon as you get them, and watching YouTube videos about forklift safety. The practical test was very difficult for me.  Admittedly, I completely gave up on it!  You will be observed doing post-operational

As a frequent hair dyer, I've often put a lot of thought into what colour I would go next.  This would usually depend on the previous colour, and how well the new colour would 'take'.  Recently I've been experimenting with crazy colours from Manic Panic, and loving every minute!  However, these semi-permanent colours take FOREVER to fade, so in order to go to school looking 'normal', I've had to find ways to give it a helping hand. So far I've used homemade vitamin c treatments to strip the colour, with mixed results.  Putting a dark dye over it works sometimes, but eventually that crazy colour will peek through.  I should add here that hairdressers will not go anywhere near my hair, advising me to 'grow it out', and 'give the hair a rest'.  This is not an option when you're going grey! When my hair started going green mid-school term, it was time to bring out the heavy artillery!  Enter ColourB4- EXTRA STRENGTH.  This stuff w

Last night, I watched the dvd release of Jem and the Holograms, the movie.  I had hoped to attend the premiere (dressed in full costume, of course), but it didn't take place.  Many of you may have heard that the movie was pulled from theatres after a dismal two weeks.  As a huge fan of the 80s animated series, I had to find out why! If you're expecting the movie to be a real-life version of the cartoon, you will be very disappointed.  However, I thought it was an interesting take on the original story.  Not great, but not as terrible as some Jem fans made it out to be.  I've definitely seen worse movies at the cinema, and I think the kids of today would find it enjoyable. Notably absent from the movie were the Misfits, however their characters, I believe, were present in Erica Raymond.  What I liked about the movie was the presence of social media, and how instrumental it can be in acquiring fame.  The movie featured snippets of actual YouTube videos, which was a nice touch

I am writing this blog post mid-air, while someone behind me is stuffing things into my seat.  I will post another time about my first (and most likely, last) Jetstar experience.  Anyway, the delayed flight has given me a chance to reflect on the last week that I spent in the beautiful city of Hobart! On the first day, I caught the ferry over to the Museum of Old and New Art aka MONA.  The ferry ride was marvellous, and the perfect way to take in the sights. The ferry itself is quirky, equipped with plastic cows and sheep that you can sit on, as well as a bar.  The VIP tickets are $50 return, and include a ride on the top deck. Just a warning- when you alight at MONA, there is a steep flight of stairs that seems to go on forever.  Your fitness will definitely be tested in Hobart! The Museum is full of weird and wonderful exhibits, from ancient Egyptian artefacts to an assortment of plaster vaginas!  Although I did see some kids there, it isn't great for children.  The grounds aroun

It is true that humans are naturally social creatures- we gravitate towards others for several reasons, but mostly because it brings us joy.  However, it is possible to be happy even if your social life isn't great, or you've been single for an extensive period of time.  It is unfortunate that most people feel guilty when they are alone and not doing anything 'productive', so they fill the time by doing chores or bring their work home with them.  They then learn to associate these unpleasant activities with being alone. I would argue that doing things for pure pleasure and enjoyment is being productive- you are investing in your own happiness and well-being!  I have compiled a short list of things you can do alone that can give your mood a boost. *  Watch a comedy -Perhaps something laugh-out-loud funny that you've seen before, or rent something new. *  Play video games - I find playing Angry Birds on my phone boosts my mood! *  Listen to uplifting music -