5 ON FRIDAY

As you know I've been sick all this week, so to round off all of that I wanted to share five things I do when I'm sick to help me get through it all.

1. Neti Pot

I can get horribly congested each time I get sick. From there, it normally leads down to my chest and prolongs everything. What I have found helps with that is a neti pot. What it does is flushes out your sinuses and nose with a saline solution, which also helps dry things out. With it on its own, I can usually get through things a lot easier because it helps to clear out my nose a lot more effectively than blowing it does.

2. Probiotics

I can't stress how much taking these while I'm sick helps. When I get sick, I normally have to go on antibiotics otherwise I'm sick for weeks. Antibiotics can, unfortunately, kill a lot of good things in your body which is where the probiotics come in. They help to reestablish all of that. I've also found that when I'm probiotics, I'm less likely to get things like thrush from my antibiotics - which is something that can happen to ANY woman or girl who has to have them. It's less than fun, so I would definitely suggest taking a course of probiotics at the same time as your antibiotics.

3. Vicks rub

This stuff is a life saver. It helps clean my nose when I'm sleeping at night and I also use it with hot water to kind of steam out and clear out congestion when I don't want to use the neti pot. It's also amazing to just have in a hot bath!

4. Hot Showers/Baths

I like a hot shower at any time of the day, but when I'm sick I love them even more. It helps with aches and pains. The steam helps to clear out congestion and it just feels nice to wash off any cruddy illness for a few minutes.

5. Rest

This one kind of goes without saying. I'm generally someone who tries and pushes through everything illness wise that I get. It sucks but it's the truth. I've found that if I take the time off and just relax and rest I'm more likely to make a fuller recovery. I also reduce to risk of passing everything onto people who aren't T.

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)

Final Sick Update

I was hoping that I wasn't going to have to write another update on how I'm feeling. But considering that I'm feeling so much better I figure that this is going to be the last on everything before getting into regular programming.

The good news is that the antibiotics have started working. I can actually hear out of my ear once again and all my congestion seems to have started settling down a bit. I've still got a few days off before I have to go back to work so hopefully, everything has settled down a bit by Monday.

I've also had to put on hold what I've been doing to lose weight. I don't want to have to be worrying about food and how much I'm putting into my body when I'm feeling like crap, so I've just taken a break until Monday and then I'm going to get back into it once again. I don't want to sound like I'm chickening out on what I have been doing, but I honestly don't know how I could continue doing it while I'm feeling not 100%.

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)

I'm Sick Continued

So... This is a continuation of yesterday because things have now gotten worse.

I now have a sinus infection AND an ear infection. A double whammy! Lucky me.

I feel like I have water stuck in my left ear because the infection has migrated. Thankfully the antibiotics I got given on Saturday will work for both and I should know within the next 48 hours whether they're working or not.

What I hated having to do is calling out for work. I know it sounds weird but I really love what I do. The kids are amazing and they're a joy to look after. I would normally try and work through these things but I've got a bit of pain and I'm worried about passing this onto the kids.

So until next week,

(aka - Sophie)

I'm Sick

I wasn't going to post anything today. I was willing to give myself a sick day and let things go, only then I remembered that this whole blogging every day for a year thing was meant to be a way for me to document things that were happening and what is happening right now is a part of that.

I have a sinus infection. For the past three days, I've been able to keep going because it hasn't really been affecting anything else.

That was until today.

I have asthma. It's something that I got as an adult thanks to having a crappy immune system, catching every cold and flu imaginable and pneumonia making sure that it stuck. I was hoping that I had managed to escape it going south, but it looks like it has just been playing me.

I've started coughing, bringing up stuff, and just generally I feel crappy. Tiredness settled in earlier today and I really just wanted to get home and go to bed.

However, a bath, my puffers, and puppy snuggles have perked me up a bit and I'm feeling a lot better. Well, not a lot, but enough that I feel that I can put sentences together reasonably well.

I'm off work tomorrow so if things don't look any better by the morning, I'm going to go get the antibiotics that were prescribed for me and hope that they make me feel better.

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)

Motivational Monday #1

No one likes to start their week off in a bad mood. So why don't I share with you some good and interesting news that I've discovered over the past week.

Photos of the Black Leopard

This may seem like nothing, but it has been over 100 years since there was any kind of scientific documentation of Black Leopards. The last photo was taken back in 1909 and there have only been rumours of them in certain areas ever since.

That is until last month, when a wildlife photographer her some of these rumours and decided to check things out. He set up a camera trap and on the night of a full moon he managed to capture some of the most beautiful photos I have ever seen in my life.

If you want to take a look at these photos and read the full story, you can find it here.

Conspiracy Theories with Shane Dawson

I've been loving the series' that Shane Dawson has been doing recently. They have been so good that I often have had to wait until he was done with a series so I could binge watch it. His latest series is all about conspiracies and although I'm not hugely into conspiracies, I really did love this series.

Now, this may not exactly be motivational, but it is definitely something fun and interesting. It is a two-part series and the second part has Shane investigating some conspiracies. If you're interested in watching you can find the video here.

If I should have a Daughter - Ted Talk by Sarah Kay

One of my favourite channels on YouTube is the Ted Talk channel. It brings together a number of people, all with a variety of backgrounds to talk about some amazing things. One of my favourites is this one by Sarah Kay.

Sarah Kay is a spoken word poet and she begins and ends her talk with a poem that she has written and talks about what got her into spoken poetry and how she is using it to inspire other kids.

If you'd like to watch it you can find the video here.

The World is Greener than it was 20 years ago

NASA has reported that the world is looking greener than was 20 years ago and it's got a lot to do with China and India. China has implemented tree planting programs and India has broken a world record for the number of trees planted in 12 hours. Its an interesting story and its worth a read. You can read all about it here.

So there are some of the good news and happy things that I have found this week. If you can go check them all out, they made my week and I hope that they make your week as well.

Until next time

(aka - Sophie)

EMBARRASSING STORIES | Part 1

I have a pretty big habit of mispronouncing words, especially if I haven't heard the word before. That's basically what today's post is about. It's an old story, and if any of the people I went to school with read, this they may remember it, but I don't think I have actually told many other people this story. 

In high school, I took ancient history. Looking back I think I would have enjoyed modern history a lot more, but it wasn't exactly offered at the time from memory. I could be wrong.

The class was small, about six of us, and the majority of us were girls, so we were all in this one small room which allowed us to have a lot of help if we weren't understanding something. We started doing this module on Alexander the Great and were learning about his childhood when this little mispronunciation happened.

On this particular day, we were looking at the story where Alexander wins his horse Bucephalus. If you don't know the story, Bucephalus was offered to Alexander's father for a large sum, only there was a catch. Bucephalus wouldn't let anyone ride him, he was spooked a lot and anyone who managed to climb up onto his back was thrown. Alexander's father was unable to ride him and wouldn't take the bait, but Alexander had taken a liking to the horse.

He made a wager with his father, that his father would pay for the horse if Alexander was able to ride the horse without being thrown. If he failed, Alexander would pay for the horse out of his own pocket.

The people around him were shocked as the young prince walked towards the horse and spoke to him in soft tones, calming him. As he did he changed the position the horse stood in. You see, as Alexander had been watching Bucephalus he had noticed that the horse was spooked by shadows. As an added precaution, Alexander dropped his cloak and in front of everyone he climbed up onto the horse's back and was able to ride him.

Alexander's fathers was impressed by the feat and agreed to buy the horse for him.

As part of this class, we had to read copies of texts from that time. So I was just focusing on making sure what I was reading made sense, I didn't realise that when I pronounced Bucephalus as Buce-Phallus it was wrong until my teacher started laughing. None of us realised what it was as funny as what it was. We waited a few minutes until he had calmed down, he corrected me and when we asked what was so funny, he told us to look up the word phallus.

I brushed it off until the next lesson when one of my classmates looked at me and said that I had majorly mispronounced the name. That day, I went to the library and looked up the word phallus and I realised that I had renamed Alexander the Great's horse after a penis.

Since that day I have always remembered to pronounce Bucephalus as Boo-cef-a-lus but I will never forget the day that I called him Buce-phallus.

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)

STORY SATURDAY | Deal with the Devil

I have been wanting to add something like this for a little while, to give me a chance to get back into writing more. I remember really liking story prompts when I was at school an decided to give Pinterest a try to see if they had any that I could use.

As I was looking through them I found this prompt and I thought that it was just perfect for an idea that I had and put at the back of my mind. I'm going to put the prompt at the end of what I have written, but I hope that you read and enjoy!

Deal with the Devil

Part 1

I looked down at the contract and back up at the man standing in front of me. He looked as if he had just offered me a cupcake or a cup of tea; not one of the most precious items he had at his disposal.

With a sigh, I pinched the bridge of my nose. ‘Please tell me that this is a joke.’

‘Do you honestly think that I would have had the contract drawn up if it was?’ he asked.

He had a point. He was mischievous by nature, but he had never gone this far to get a laugh. The farthest he had ever gone was pretending to be Hitler in the aftermath of World War Two and starting all those conspiracy theories that he hadn’t died.

‘I feel as if you’re doing this for some reason and you’re not telling me.’

‘Of course, there is a reason.’

‘Hitler.’

‘I had a reason for that.’

‘And that reason was?’

‘I was bored.’

‘You were gearing up to receive some of the evillest souls imaginable. You just wanted to cause problems for Grandpa.’

‘You have a point, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t bored at the time as well.’

I cross my arms. ‘Seriously, what the hell is going on. You haven’t tried to contact me in months and now all of a sudden, you’ve turned up and offered me… this.’

He shrugged. ‘Not much to tell really. Me and your Grandfather are having some issues.’

‘Issues that mean you want to give me your soul,’ I said, gesturing to the contract.

‘At this point in time, I can see no other way around it. We both know that your Grandfather is an interesting being. He’s generally calm, but he does go through stages of intense rage. Let us not forget him flooding the Earth and all that.’

‘Did you do something to provoke him?’

‘Why would you think I would do that?’

‘Because one of your hobbies is upsetting Grandpa.’

‘Sweetheart, I may enjoy trying to get steam to rise from his ears, but this has nothing to do with that. He’s poking his nose in my business, and things have reached a point where I need to take certain measures to ensure I still exist after all is said and done.’

Not for the first time in my life, I wanted to slap him and hope that it would knock some sense into him. Unfortunately, there was at least a metre between us and me moving towards him would tip him off to my incoming assault. Instead, I glared at him.

‘Goddamn it! Why are you dragging me into this?’

‘I’m not. I’m ensuring that you receive something that belongs to me,’ he said nonchalantly. ‘I’m willing you something essentially.’

‘You’re not dying.’

‘We don’t know that yet. You know how your Grandfather is.’

‘You know, if Carter were here, he would tell you that you are trying to put all the blame for what has been happening between you and Grandpa on Grandpa solely. I’d be willing to agree with him.’

The calm look that had been on his face the entire time we had been talking disappeared and was replaced with a look of annoyance. He pushed himself up out of the chair and closed the distance between us.

‘I understand that you have been dragged into the little arguments between myself and you Grandfather for many years. However, that does not mean that I am solely to blame.’

‘I never said you did. I said you were trying to place all the blame onto Grandpa.’

For a second his eye turned completely black, his true form breaking through his disguise for a second. But in a blink of an eye, it completely disappeared, and I was staring into identical copies of my own green eyes.

‘My darling. I love you unconditionally, and if I didn’t think that this needed to happen, I would not ask you to do this,’ he said, the light tone of his voice sounding forced. ‘I understand that it is a lot. But I need you to do this. It will not be forever, it will only be until your Grandfather, and I deal with this problem that we are having.’

‘That’s what you said last time you and Grandpa had a large argument and the mortals ended up stuck in the Dark Ages,’ I replied.

‘This will not be like that.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes.’

I glanced from him to the contact and back again. Part of me didn’t want to believe him, but that part of me was hushed by the one thing I did know about the man standing in front of me. He was not a liar. He was mischievous and liked to play with you, but he didn’t lie to you. It was one of the few things that he had brought with him when he had been cast out of heaven.

Grabbing hold of the pen that was sitting on the table, I began to sign my name on the line that indicated that I was the receiver of one soul. As I did, my index finger began to sting, and the ink that was once black turned red for a second before turning back to black.

Once I was done, he tapped the contact, doubling it, and passed me a copy.

‘This isn’t going to be for long, Starlight,’ he said.

‘I’m going to hold you to that,’ I replied.

Then in a blink of an eye, he disappeared, the only thing remaining to show that we had actually been in the same room together was the original contract.

With a muttered goodbye, I walked out of the dining room and into the lounge room, where my friends James and Vanessa Carter were sitting watching Ghost Adventures without me.

‘So, how did it go?’ Vanessa asked.

‘As well as expected,’ I replied, pushing aside a painting and entering the code to the safe.

Whether it was the tone of my voice or my lack of details, something about my reply caused the two of them to look at me over the back of the lounge.

‘Everything ok?’ Vanessa cautiously asked.

‘I am now the proud owner of the devil’s soul.’

Carter gave a low whistle. ‘For my birthday, my parents just like to give me Red Balloon vouchers. They haven’t given me their souls.’

‘What can I say, we’re not a typical family. Never have been. Whatever’s going on has got him worried that he’s going to end up soulless.’

‘Never would have thought that Lucifer would feel threatened enough to need to do it.’

‘I thought he was supposed to be the epitome of evil.’

‘You also didn’t think that he was my father until he showed up for dinner either,’ I replied, slamming the safe shut.

---

Story prompt: The Devil sells his soul to you. 

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)

FIVE ON FRIDAY | Favourite Mystery Books

I had originally planned on writing a list that had to do with singular books, but as I tried to think about the books I love I realised that too many of them were series. So instead of getting five books, I thought that I would suggest 4 different series and a lone book that I love.

1. Phryne Fisher Mysteries by Kerry Greenwood

If you’ve got Netflix, you’ve probably seen a mystery series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries floating around, especially if you love TV mystery shows. These are the books in which that TV series is based on. My Mum and I are both a fan of this series, she was actually the one who put me onto them. They are a fun little romp through 1920’s Melbourne with a Lady Detective who is much too modern for the times that she lives in. Kerry Greenwood does an amazing job of researching the era and creating this world for Phryne to solve mysteries. She delves into some of the things that were going on at the time and creates amazing, fleshed out characters that you’ll fall in love with.

To find out more about the series check out Phryne's Website

2. Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich

If you’ve seen the movie One For the Money with Katherine Heigl, push it to the side and give the books that movie is based on a try. The Stephanie Plum series is not exactly a series series, it’s what I call a chick mystery, written in the style of chick lit with a mystery thrown in for fun. If you don’t like that kind of thing then I would probably skip this series, but I often find myself gravitating to it when I need a fun, easy read that doesn’t really take itself too seriously.

For more about this series, check out Janet Evanovich's Website

3. The Tournament by Matthew Reilly

Take a thriller writer, give him Queen Elizabeth the 1st and send her to the middle east for a chest tournament that turns deadly and you’ve got this book. Matthew Reilly has been a favourite author of mine since I was sixteen and he had talked about this project for a while before he actually announced it. The story itself is amazing, told from the Point of View of Elizabeth the 1st, it tells of a trip she makes to the Ottoman Empire with Roger Aschem so that England can take part in a get Chess Tournament. During the tournament, a guest is killed and Aschem is asked to find the killer and Elizabeth helps him. It’s fast-paced, fun and really worth the read.

To find out more about this book, check out Matthew Reilly's Website

4. Corrina Chapman Series by Kerry Greenwood

Ok. Ok. I know that I have already got a series by Kerry Greenwood on this list, but the Corrina Chapman series needs to be on here as well. Set in modern-day Melbourne, Corrina is a baker who finds herself in the middle of mysteries whether she likes it or not. Written with amazing detail like Phryne, if you like a cast of quirky characters, this series is worth the read.

To find out more about this series, check out Corrina's Website

5. Captain Lacy Regency Mysteries by Ashley Gardner

Sometimes it’s nice to read a mystery series about a character who isn’t rich and is a little down on his luck. Captain Lacy does that brilliantly, giving a vast world filled with characters while explaining what life was like on the bottom of the ladder. If you don’t mind a little romance thrown in for fun, this series is worth the read.

To find out more about this series, check out Ashley Gardner's Website

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)

We're Not Doing Valentines Day This Year

It's Valentines Day. The day to celebrate love in all its forms and as I sit scrolling through Facebook, listening at T cooks dinner I don't feel upset at all that I didn't get flowers or anything like that.

Why?

And by I, I mean we. We are not doing Valentine's day.

As Valentine's day came closer and closer, I tried to think of what to get T and I couldn't think of anything. You see, T and I go out and buy things we want when we want them or after we've saved for them. We don't wait for a certain time of the year to give each other gifts. Often one of us will go out and come back with a milkshake or something for the other.

Last night, we were lying in bed with the dogs, crunch time was hanging over my head and I looked over at T and asked him if he wanted to do Valentine's day. He replied by asking if I wanted to do it and honestly I didn't.

When it comes to Romance, my idea of a great date is staying home, ordering takeout and watching the latest episode of Great British Bakeoff, while Arlo and Daphne sit with us. I don't like the fuss and the rizz of going somewhere fancy and spending a lot of money on food. It just doesn't do it for me.

I like simple. I like easy. I like being able to throw my hair up into a messy bun, slip on my jammies and just relax for the evening. I can't do that if we're going out for dinner. Plus, T hates having to dress up in a suit, so staying in was a better option.

That's not to say that we haven't done Valentines Day in the past. T surprised me the first Valentines day after we got together by sending me red roses and he did the same the following year before changing things up and getting me an eternity rose for my birthday/valentines day gift. As for me, I just sent him chocolates and biscuits. Last year he bought tickets for a wizards dinner for my birthday/valentines day and I got him something punny.

This year it's nice just to be able to do our own thing without having to worry about presents. It's nice just sitting here, getting Great British Bakeoff ready while T serves up dinner. It's just nice.

I've got to wrap this up because I can hear T grabbing knives and forks out of the draw but I didn't want to write this to make it seem as if I'm anti-Valentines day. I'm not. I love Valentine's day because I personally see it as a day that you can celebrate any kind of love.

I'm writing this to explain that even though I am looking at Facebook and seeing my sister-in-law's and friends all showing off their gifts, I am in no way jealous of them. I'm not at all upset that I'm not getting something physical because T and I are celebrating love in our own way. Everyone has their own way of showing that they love each other. For some, it's flowers and chocolates. For me and T, it's spending time together and wishing we were the taste testers on the Great British Bakeoff.

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)

Controversy on Married at First Sight

One of the biggest stories that everyone is talking about in Australia and the moment has to do with Married at First Sight. If you have never heard of the show or you have never seen the show, the premise is that experts put total strangers together to see if they can stay married or if it’s going to fail based on personality traits, etc. Or in my own own words, people create arranged marriages and see what drama is going to unfold.

If you can’t already tell, I’m not a fan of this show. I watch the Kardashians, Gogglebox and a few other reality TV shows, but I don’t watch Married at First Sight or the Bachelor or any shows that have that same kind of theme. I find those kinds of shows to be a huge mockery of marriage and love, so they don’t interest me at all.

Depsite my views on the show, my interest was piqued this week when Married at First Sight came up on Twitter’s trending page for Australia. Curious, I clicked and watched the 30-minute clip of one of the experts, Mel Schilling, calling out a man by the name of Bronson for calling his “wife” Ines and cunt because of how she was acting. Based on that 30-second clip that Channel Nine had put out, I was willing to back Schilling because I did agree that calling someone a cunt for no reason is not on in my book. I also agreed with her that Bronson needed to learn how to talk to women.

Then I did what I normally do and I started to scroll down to see what other’s thoughts were and I saw tweet after tweet defending him. It took me a while before I found a tweet that explained everything.

And I had to watch the episode.

It was hard to watch but I made it through and suddenly I found myself switching sides. Over the course of the wedding and the honeymoon, Ines was really horrible to Bronson. She was constantly swearing at him and belittling him over the course of the week and it seemed as if on the night he called her a cunt, he’d just had enough of her behaviour.

He called her a cunt once and was called out on national television. Ines on the other hand was given a pass.

I got mad. I really did. It seemed like such a double standard to me that Bronson was called out on his one comment and Ines, who had done a lot more, was allowed to just sit there and watch as Bronson was lectured on how he spoke to women. It seemed ridiculous to me that this was even happening.

Over the past few days I have been watching things unfold. Since the episode aired, many people have called for Shilling to be taken off the show. I was willing to agree with that point of view until I was looking into things today and learn that Schilling and the other experts are not privy to the footage is done outside of certain segments of the show. At the time she made those comments, she had no idea that Ines had been acting how she was acting. Her comments were based solely on what she had seen earlier. She saw that Bronson had made a disgusting comment and she decided to call him on it.

Knowing that information now, I can understand why she did what she did but it brings up more questions for me.

Why aren’t the experts looking at all the footage? If they were truly trying to use this as a social experiment, wouldn’t it make sense that they see all the footage in order to truly understand the decisions behind them staying or leaving? It just seems stupid that that is not the case. If experts are able to watch five-year-olds to better understand how they think on The Secret life of Five-Year-Olds then surely the experts on this show should be able to watch everything on Married at first sight. Surely that would give them better insight into whether their social experiment is a success or not? It would also allow people to see that the experts aren't being biased.

While I don’t think at this point in time that Schilling should be fired, I do think what the experts are seeing should be changed so they can get the full picture. I also think that in the next episode something needs to be done to address what had happened. Right now Channel Nine is in damage control and unless they do something people are going to continue believing that Schilling is biased.

The only bright side I’m really seeing to this whole thing is that have actually started people talking about domestic violence against men.

When we look at Domestic Violence, we tend to focus more on women and children being the victims and men being the abusers. We don't often see campaigns where women are the abusers. While statistically women and children are more likely to be victims, we also have a problem with men not reporting abuse against them in the home or any abuse against them that isn't physical (punches, etc).

In case you're wondering, I'm not going to watch any more Married at First Sight. I still have no interest in the show for reasons that I have already stated and this episode has not inspired me to want to watch any more. I will, however, be watching Twitter to see if things end up being rectified in the next episode.

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)

Our Dog Has Anxiety

When you decide to get a puppy, there are a lot of things that go through your mind. What kind of food are you going to buy? Are they going to be allowed on the furniture? Where are we going to go to train them? Do we want to look into doggy daycare?

Baby Arlo

Arlo was very much a spur of the moment decision, but it was something that T and I had been discussing for years. We knew we were going to get a Great Dane, we just weren't sure when. Then I saw Arlo and I knew that I had to pull the trigger then.

For the first month, I was still working and we spent half of that trying to help him get over a parasite he had caught at his breeder but hadn't shown any signs yet. After we conquered that, the next 3 months were spent trying to get him up to a healthy weight because he was constantly growing and looked as if we were starving him as a result. We're now at a point where he's completely healthy, but it was a hard few first months with our "firstborn".

One of the things we were not expecting was anxiety.

Since getting the diagnosis, we have learnt that Great Danes are a breed that can get anxiety. Despite their big size, the whole Scooby Doo steroetype can be extremely true, especially in Arlo's case.

To T and I, we always knew that Arlo was skittish. We joked about it with family saying that he just doesn't like change, especially after it took us a week to coax him back into the kitchen after we got a new fridge. He hates any kind of box and will climb up on the couch like a woman in an old movie who has seen a mouse until the box is gone. His separation anxiety, that we didn't know was that bad, got to the point where he was barking so much a neighbour called the council and reported it and he nearly got a nuisance dog order.

What really set things over for us was when he had to come out to my parent's house because his barking was so bad and T had to work late. He just couldn't relax and one day while we were cleaning out the shed in preparation for my parents move, he didn't lay down one. He stayed standing the entire time. I told T and he thought it was just a case of things being out of routine and I was willing to accept that, until my Mum said something.

My parents had noticed how Arlo was. He wasn't aggressive, but it was obvious that he was not handling the few days on the farm well. It was then I decided that we had to do something, so I booked us in with our vet.

When I explained everything to him, he said that it was definitely worrying but not unfixable. He was showing a lot of the signs of anxiety and it was a good thing we had brought him in early because it meant that we could start working with him to help him through it.

It started off with us putting him on doggy prozac as well as recognising what his triggers were and then helping him through them. Loud noises were no issue, so it came down to new things in his environment and dogs barking.

With the new things, we would coax him in and then reward him with affection when he would get closer and closer. Food doesn't work. His fight or flight instincts kick in and he's not interested in eating. So there are so many loveies given. This has worked out so well for us because the last new thing that came into the house only resulted in him avoiding it for three days instead of seven, so progress is happening.

When it comes to barking, its all about distraction. Most of his barking happens in the backyard, so when we hear it, we call him to us and reward him when he comes. It distracts him from what he was doing and his barking stops. This unfortunately only works when we're home and, as much as we don't want to use it, we do use a vibration collar on the days that T and I work in order to keep his barking under control.

Our decision to do this did not come easy. Despite all the toys and our other dog Daphne, nothing that we had out there in the backyard was distracting enough or safe enough to help with his barking. We tried the radio on in the kitchen, that just made him more upset. More toys in the back yard just ended in a stuffy massacre. In the end, a lot of research went into the decision of a vibration collar on a low setting, just enough to get his attention away from what was causing him to bark.

Now, it doesn't shock him and it still allows him to have those protective "this is my house" barks when someone comes to the door while we're at work, but it cuts down on the other ones where he would kind of get stuck on a loop when a bird was on the fence or something like that. We also didn't just put it on him and hope it didn't hurt him. T tested it on himself before putting it on Arlo for the first time, to ensure that the setting wasn't going to hurt him.

The good news is that with me being home more days than I am out working now, it means that we are not using his collar as much as we were the last 3 months of the work year last year and can focus on our distraction method a lot more. It's been suggested that we see a behaviouralist vet to give us a little help, so now it's just a matter of us finding the right one.

So how is he now? We still have a long way to go, but Arlo is slowly getting there. He is no longer on his doggy prozac and we now manage his anxiety in other ways. He's never really had an issue with dogs but he's slowly getting used to being around people other than family. It's just a matter of exposure and praise. He doesn't like walking past the train station, so we drive to the dog park instead so he doesn't freak out and they get a longer play with their friends.

We still joke about Arlo not liking change but it's our way of trying to get people to truly understand what we're going through with him.

Many people don't understand that dogs get anxiety, just as much as people do. It's hard for them to understand that it's something that happens and comes in all shapes and sizes, just like the dogs.

Now, while what we're going with Arlo may not work for you, knowing that you're not going through it alone is always good and is what helped me through a lot of this! There are a lot of groups out there for support and ideas on how to handle doggy anxiety. Its through these groups that I'm hoping to get new ideas so that by the end of the year we are no longer using the vibration collar while we're at work.

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)

Big Papa's Food Truck

If you are ever in Western Sydney and it's Friday, Saturday or Sunday night, keep an eye out for Big Papa's Food Truck. 

Big Papa's food truck icon from their Facebook page. 

T and I were introduced to Big Papa's by T's brother mid last year and I think we will forever be in his debt for that. They are primary a burger truck, but they make some of the best burgers that I had ever had. 

Now, I'm not a beef burger person. I grew up on my mother's homemade burgers and she would put french onion soup in with her eggs and breadcrumbs to flavor them, so I find a lot of burger lacking in taste. When it comes to Big Papa's burgers however, I find myself loving each one they try.

They have 5 different burgers that they always have on offer, along with kids burgers, loaded fries and the option to make your burger into a combo with fries and a drink. However, every so often they throw in some new burgers for a limited time. This week they had one called doughnut time, where instead of a burger bun they used a glazed doughnut. 

Doughnut Time Burger.
Picture Credit: Big Papa's Food Truck

I'm a big fan of their El Gringo (I'm sorry if I've misspelled that!) burger which is just delicious! I'm also always on the lookout for their Tropic Thunder burger for a fried chicken change. T loves the El Gringo as well but his favorite is the Rib burger, whose name is escaping me and I can't find! 

They're always adding new burgers for a change and they move around so that different places get a chance to try their burgers, and I'm pretty sure they do it just to build up anticipation for when they'll be nearby next. 

While you always have to keep an eye on their social media to find out where they are going to be, when they are ner by, T and I will always go and get their burgers for dinner. 

To find out more about Big Papa's Food Truck you can find them on Facebook and Instagram.

Until next time, 

(aka - Sophie)

29 Things I Want to do This Year

I'm such a strange introvert. I enjoy going out with family and friends and having a good time, but then I'll just want to spend a week at home not being around people. So when I decided I wanted to write a list of things that I wanted to do this year, I realised that a lot of the things are stuff that I can do that is a good mixture of out and about and hiding in seclusion.

Before I show you the list, I want to say that a couple of things on there are things I have talking about in my goals for the year in January, but not all of them are on there. The reason for that is that most of the things on those lists I did were just things that I would like to get done but I'm not going to feel bad if I don't. These are things that I really want to do this year.

1. Read 26 books

I wrote about this on my Reading Goals for this year but I wanted to put it down here as well just so I had the complete list. This is something that I really want to complete because I do like to read a lot.

2. Climb Sydney Harbour Bridge

I've had this on my bucket list for a long time. I've lived in Sydney on and off for years and I have never actually gone ahead and done this. So before I turn 30 I want to climb all the way to the top.

3. Write a book

I don't know what it is, but I'm really feeling inspired to write this year. With all this inspiration, I feel like I can actually complete the first draft of a book this year before I turn 30.

4. Go see a show at the theatre

There are so many great shows out at the moment. One of my Nephews recently went to see Willy Wonka and it looked like so much fun, so with or without T, I want to go see something.

5. Eat at Zumbos

Last year T and I binge watched Zumbos Sweet Deserts on Netflix. It's really made us want to go into the city and eat at his restaurant. At some point this year we're going to do it... maybe for T's birthday?

6. Start learning to play the piano

When I was 11 I started to learn, but I didn't have the want to practice. For the past 5 years, I've been wanting to start up once again. Only this time I'm thinking more of teaching myself more than going out and getting a teacher.

7. Start learning Australian Sign Language

I have always loved Sign Language. When I was 8, we had a teacher choreograph a sign language performance for our end of year concert. It was one of my most favourite things that I ever learned. Since then, I've forgotten the performance but I do want to get back into it because I think it's a language that is very useful throughout life.

8. Do Blogilates 3 times a week

I am not an overly physical person and I don't like doing group classes. It's why I love Blogilates. It's portable, I can do it easily and if I only have twenty minutes to do a workout, I can find some space in the house and a video that fills in that time.

9. Do the ghost tour at Quarantine Station

This is another thing that I have had on the back burner for the past few years. Quarantine Station is this place near Manly that used to be where you would go back in the day to be quarantined before being let out into the general public. Many people died there because of disease and supposedly the place is haunted. I love a good ghost tour, so this place as been on my list for a long time. The added bonus to this whole thing is that you can actually spend the night in cabins there if you want to. I'm not sure if I can talk T into that, but who knows.

10. Go to the Justice and Police Museum

I discovered Sydney had this place a few months ago and have been wanting to go ever since. It's only open on the weekends though so I haven't been able to make the trip into the city like I want to. However this year, with or without someone, I'm going to make the trek and go into the city and have a wander through!

11. Ghost Tour and sleep over and Monte Cristo

Monte Cristo is the first truly haunted place that I have ever stepped into. I went there for a school excursion with my Mum and she still says that in one of the rooms, she felt someone tapping her on the shoulder. I haven't been back since, but I've recently learned that they do night tours and you can sleep over in the house, so it's been added to my bucket list.

12. Visit a medium

If you haven't already guessed, I do kind of love the supernatural side of things. I've been learning how to read tarot cards recently and the place that I go to get a lot of my "hippy" things as T calls them has mediums. Sometime this year I want to go in and talk to one.

13. Learn to crochet

I can knit. Knitting is easy. I just never have been able to crochet. So that is my next challenge.

14. Go to the Gold Coast to ride rollercoasters

This has been on the list for a while, since they opened the new Superman rollercoaster up there. T and I love roller coasters and rides like that in particular. I swear through the whole ride, but I enjoy it so much.

15. Loose 10kgs

I am fully aware that at this point in my life I am obese. I look in the mirror and do feel like I'm overly so, but I'm also aware that I'm larger than what I should be. Last year I managed to go from 102kgs to 93.5 kgs and it was a hard slog on my own. This year, I'm going it with a group and I'm so ready to start losing the weight to get it off, both for health reasons and for other reasons that have already been mentioned.

16. Pierce my ears and nose

My goal since I was a teen was to have my ears pierced 3 times and this year, I want to complete that goal. For the past 3 years, I have been putting a lot of thought into getting my nose done and I think I'm going to go ahead with it.

17. Do treetops at Taronga Zoo

Taronga Zoo is an amazing place, and they have this above ground obstacle course that you can run. It looks like so much fun, so I'd like to give that a go.

18. Hold a koala

I have felt a koala, but I have never held one. As much as I'm aware that they can be cranky, I still want to cuddle one!

19. Go to the snow

I hate the cold. I really do. But T hasn't been snowboarding in over a year and I know he is desperate to go back, so I'm willing to brave the snow for him. Plus I want to build a snowman.

20. Finish the legacy challenge on the sims

I have had poor Averie Thorne sitting unplayed on my computer for about a month now. The poor woman just wants to live her life and become an evil mastermind. It's only fair that I allow her and the generations after her to complete this legacy.

21. Watch a horror movie

I'm not a fan of horror movies. I don't see what is fun about being scared. T, on the other hand, loves them and I think I'm going to allow him to choose one movie that we watch together that is horror related.

22. Assemble a large puzzle

I love puzzles. They're a lot of fun, I just haven't done a huge one in ages!

23. Assemble a lego creator package

Lego for me is on the same level as puzzles. I just find it fun to put everything together.

24. Watch every episode of Supernatural

From episode 1 right up until their current season, I'm going to be watching the Winchester brothers!

25. Throw a surprise party

This is kind of already in the works. Shhh!

26. Go to Vivid

Vivid is this light show that is put on every year throughout Sydney. Last year, T and I went and saw it on the Harbour and it was beautiful. This year I'd like to go and check out Taronga and maybe go a big earlier and tour the zoo at the same time.

27. Go to Madi Gras

They're not far off and it's something I've been wanting to go in and see for so long!

28. Go watch the Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Last year, T and I got the chance to go and watch the Sydney Symphony Orchestra perform while we watched Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back. We've recently discovered that in August they're doing Return of the Jedi, and I really want to go!

29. Donate Blood

When I was in high school, we had the chance to sign up and donate blood and I did it for the last two years I was there. Since then I haven't done it because after one donation I was really light headed and didn't want to do it again for a while. Well, it's been nearly 10 years and I'd like to go and do it again!

So there we go, the full list of things that I would love to do this year. Do you have anything that you want to do this year? I'd love to hear about them!

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)

Little Boys and Dolls

Picture Credits: Swords and Snoodles

You see this picture? It was shared by a friend of mine on facebook and the moment I saw it, I shared it on my own profile.

Over the past 9.5 years that I've worked as a Nanny, one of the biggest things that I have had to combat with both parents and children it the idea that things are gendered. That there are boy things and there are girls things.

Here's the thing, there are no boy things or girl things. They're just things that we as adults have put a gender on and then marketed towards that gender. Developmentally, nothing bad is going to happen to your child if you little boy plays with dolls.

In actual fact, you'll find that he is developing social skills as well as gross and fine motor skills. Playing with dolls is an amazing tool that we like to use in childcare because it helps children to develop empathy when they care for the doll. It develops social skills when they play barbies or mums and dad. Fine motor skills are developed through dressing and undressing dolls while gross motor are used through movement of the dolls.

Children also do this think known as mimicking, where they will copy things that they have seen their parents or other adults doing through their play. You see this a lot with young kids pretending to breastfeed their own babies, whether they're a boy or a girl, because they've seen their mum doing it. It can cause a little giggle but it is a part of them developing.

I grew up on a farm with two brothers and most of the time we only had each other to play with. Many people might read that and think that I spent a lot of time play with cars and pretending to be a superhero, and while that is partly true, my brothers also spent a lot of time playing dolls and dress-ups with me. In fact, in terms of the dress ups, they didn't really fight me when I said we were getting dressed into dresses for some reason or another. They would just go along with it.

Part of the power of being an older sister I guess.

The Barbie my brother J loved.
Picture credit: Pinterest

Even though that makes it sound like I would force them to do these things, they often came willingly to play with my dolls. My brother J had a favourite Barbie (a black bubble fairy barbie) that he always had to play with not matter what. My other brother B spent 12 months of his life stealing my favourite doll, the baby born that I had saved my birthday money for, and taking it to bed with him despite my annoyance. That thankfully ended when my Grandparents bought him his own doll, a boy doll he called Lissy after our friends new baby girl Larissa.

None of these things did anything to affect my brother's sexuality and the reason for that is that if they were gay, it was because that was how they were born, not because they had played Barbies with me as a child.

Now if you've read all this and you're still annoyed at your little boy playing dolls, allow me to share this little tidbit of information.

Before World War 2, little boys were dressed in pink and little girls were dressed in blue. Blue was seen as more feminine and dainty while pink was seen as a stronger colour. Then the war hit and suddenly on the other side little boys were dressed in blue and little girls in pink because manufacturers decided to change it. Thats right, this whole change was due to how something was marketed to you.

There is also a train of thought that many people believe that it changed due to Hitler as, during the War, Hitler used pink triangles to on bands to identify homosexuals. You can kind of see how the leap is then made.

At the end of the day it is up to you as a parent to decide what is best for your child, but please keep in mind that by saying something isn't for boys or something isn't for girls is molding them to believe that. Everything that you say to your child molds the way they are going to think. You're also taking away a developmental tool that is very helpful for them to learn skills that they need in their lives. 

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)

5 ON FRIDAY | True Crime Podcasts

A few years ago when I was blogging, I took part in a link party called Five on Friday. Since then I've been trying to find it, but from my digging around I've discovered that it's died down.

I really enjoyed doing it at the time. It was a way for me to come up with one subject and list five things to do with it. Often it was five great things that had happened during to week.

I still want to take part in this so I thought I would just do my own and if someone comments that it's still going, I'll join up and join in.

This week I wanted to share five of my favourite True Crime Podcasts.

For the past few years, I have done a lot of drive to and from work. Often spending over two hours a day going to and from work. Podcasts became a way for me to pass the time as I drive, as often I can get bored listening to music all the time.

This year it's going to be a lot easier, but I still enjoy listening to podcasts, only now I'm doing it as I'm studying or writing blog posts or researching things for The Bulletin Board.

1. Casefile

Picture Credit: iTunes

While Serial was the podcast to get me into True Crime podcasts, Casefile was the first podcast that I listened to that became one that I listened to each week. Told in a narration style, the Casefile team do an amazing job with the research and telling the case, while being respectful to the victims. You can find out more about the podcast HERE.

2. Australian True Crime

Picture Credit: iTunes

I discovered Australian True Crime late last year and I'm so sad that I didn't discover them sooner. Meshel Laurie and Emily Web cover True Crime through interviews with law enforcement, survivors, victims families, families of criminals, journalists and man other avenues. It gives a broad look at the many aspects of True Crime and has introduced me to a number of people who have been involved in a variety of cases. You can find out more about the podcast HERE.

3. Last Podcast on the Left

Picture Credit: Last Podcast on the Left

I discovered Ben, Marcus and Henry when I was having car problems and was having to take a LOT of public transport. Their particular brand of humour, mixed in with their True Crime and horror topics have helped me pass many hours of driving and sitting on a bus. I will admit, that their brand of humour is not always for everyone, but for me personally, I enjoy the depth of research that they do to put out the episodes. You can find out more information about the podcast HERE.

4. Wine and Crime

Picture Credit: Wine and Crime

Now I'm not normally one for a lot of chatter when it comes to my True Crime podcasts. The chatting the boys from Last Podcast on the Left do it probably as far as I can go, but when I discovered the girls from Wine and Crime I just fell in love. They cover a theme a week, go into the psychology and have a bit of a laugh at the same time (never at the expense of the victim, however). You can find out more about the podcast HERE.

5. Criminology

Picture Credit: Criminology Facebook Page

I have been hearing a lot about Criminology since the Golden State Killer was discovered as they were covering the case when he was arrested. I'm halfway through the first season on the Zodiac Killer and it's quickly becoming a favourite. They do a great job at research and really go into depth about the cases that they are covering. You can find out more information about the podcast HERE.

I have a lot of other podcasts that I love and I'll more than likely share them at a later date, but these are the ones that I'm always going back to to regularly listen to or that I'm currently loving.

Until next time,

(aka - Sophie)