My Child has Osteogenisis Imperfecta and an Unbreakable Spirit

May 10, 2013 in Anecdotes, Children, Family, Health, Mothers, Parenting, Relationships, Stories

Imaging looking at your newborn baby. Their tiny lips their long figures That cute button nose. Now imagine being told to limit the amount of times you hold your baby. That every time you pick him up you need to carefully plan every aspect in handling him or you could seriously injure him. That’s what life is like with a baby born with Osteogenisis Imperfecta. Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI, sometimes known as brittle bone disease, or “Lobstein syndrome”) is a congenital bone disorder. People with OI are born with defective connective tissue, or without the ability to make it, usually because of [...]

A Moment of Perfection

May 9, 2013 in Anecdotes, Family, Self, Stories

Standing on my parents’ balcony, looking over the edge. A whip bird cry some metres away. The distant sounds of a wallaby startled and bounding away through the bush. It’s warm, and I stand there in my red t-shirt and bike pants, baggy around my tiny little legs. I dip my cardboard toilet roll into a meadow lea margarine container full of water and morning fresh, the distinct smell fills my nostrils as I raise the roll to my mouth. I blow. Not too hard, not too soft. Just firm enough. The bubble forms at the end of the toilet [...]

Where Do You Draw the Line Between Tragedy and Stupidity?

April 29, 2013 in Family, Health, Lifestyle, News, People, Society, Work

Life can throw curve balls. You could be blissfully happy in your relationship, and next thing you know you are breaking up. You may have found the perfect job, only to be made redundant. You could be completely healthy until an accident renders you paraplegic. The above three things are devastating, but completely out of your control. The last one would even be considered a tragedy. But what if the “tragedy” is self inflicted? What if someone becomes brain damaged because of an overdose of drugs or alcohol? What if someone becomes a paraplegic because they were messing around when they knew better? [...]

Why I Care New Zealand Voted in Favour of Marriage Equality

April 18, 2013 in Dating, Family, Gender, Health, Human Rights, Marriage, Mental Health, News, People, Politics, Relationships, Sexuality

I’m sure you would know by now New Zealand has voted in favour of marriage equality, winning at 77 to 44. If you haven’t already heard about this, you can read all the details here, but I had to share this news with you even if you already know, purely because I am just so excited and so proud of the country my father is from. Well done New Zealand! I can’t explain how much this news has meant to me. Equality is something I am incredibly passionate about, whether it be discrimination based on race, gender, on gender identity, [...]

I Want Your Approval

April 9, 2013 in Dating, Family, Friendship, Lifestyle, People, Relationships, Self

Is there someone in your life you always go to get advice from? Does this person’s opinion matter to you? Has it gotten to the point that their approval of whatever you are doing is required before you do it? I would love to be able to say that I’m not like that. Well actually for the most part I’m not. There isn’t one person that I just need to have their advice on something. I tend to ask a few people and then go from there. And as far as approval goes, I really couldn’t care less. I’ve finally taught [...]

Working The Midnight Shift

April 5, 2013 in Anecdotes, Health, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Nutrition, Society, Stories, Work

This post is a true story and contains some swearing and drug use. I slouch into work, clutching a pack of cigarettes in one hand, and a bag of takeaway Chinese in the other. The receptionist I am taking over from grins at me altogether too cheerfully, and I grunt at him. “Aww, don’t be like that!” he smirks. “It’s all very well for you,” I snap back. “It’s Friday night and you’re probably off to get totally hammered before crawling back here tomorrow.” He grins even more cheerfully. “I sure am!” “Yeah, yeah, fuck you,” I mutter, shoulder barging [...]

How Rex Harrison Pulled Me Out of My Identity Crisis

April 3, 2013 in Anecdotes, People, Self, Stories

There is a void between who you are and who you want to be; a gaping hole that threatens to swallow you. Many people might make the leap, they might find a way to bridge that gap, others might always inch too close to the edge but never attempt to make it across. As for me, this is the story of how I fell in. I call it my identity crisis. I left high school with my head held high, gazing across higher education with certainty, I knew who I was and I knew who I was going to be. [...]

Recipe: Hot Cross Buns

March 29, 2013 in Family, Food & Recipes, Home, Nutrition

This weekend I am going to immerse myself in all things Easter, especially chocolate. I’ll be spending the holiday at home with my hubby and three kids and to celebrate I am going to be doing lots of baking. Well, I probably should say, I intend to do lots baking. Although the Easter break is four days long, it doesn’t seem long enough to get through all the baking I’d like to eat. And of course, I need to leave room for chocolate! Some of the things I’d like to bake: Hot Cross Buns Fritole (Italian-style donuts) Easter Bunny shaped cookies [...]

Marriage: I’m Just Not That Into You

March 27, 2013 in Lifestyle, Marriage, People, Relationships, Religion, Self, Sexuality, Society

Like many other girls, when I was young I would picture my wedding. There was the white dress, the flowers, the bridesmaids, and sometimes even the groom. The thing is; I never thought I would actually get married. I always assumed I would feel different when I was older. It’s never happened. In fact, I’ve become almost adamant that I never want to get married. I would like to preface this piece by saying that I love weddings. Seriously. I LOVE them! Seeing a couple stand up and affirm their love for one another is a beautiful thing. And there [...]

Would You Regift?

March 26, 2013 in Lifestyle, People, Self

Have you ever regifted? I haven’t. I don’t think I could. I feel guilty enough having a present cupboard or buying things on sale. Often I’ve been known to find an item on sale and then buy other items to make up the difference from the discount I got. Which is, of course, ridiculous as the person receiving the gift wouldn’t even know if it was on sale or not, but I have a certain level of paranoia about gift giving. In the past few years I’ve been given a lot of scented candles. I mean a lot of scented candles. [...]