Tassie!!!!!!!

Tassie, The Apple Isle, The Land of the Two Headed Race......all ways that wonderful place called Tasmania is referred to!

We (the hubby and I) had the pleasure of going on holiday there in June, not really knowing what to expect, to say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement, the place is just magnificent.....



There are trees....EVERYWHERE!!! I have never seen as many trees as we did there!!




And mountains, lots of mountainous terrain...that is breathtaking!

I would HIGHLY recommend a visit, and like us, you may just fall in love with the "Little Island" that has BIG things to offer!!!








One of our favourite places was a little town called Stanly, it sits out on a rocky outcrop in Bass Strait dominated by "The Nut"

"There are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance.

Which one am I?

You're the worst kind. You're high maintenance but you think you're low maintenance."

-Harry Burns to Sally Albright in When Harry Met Sally

"High-maintenance women. A reader actually asked, "Why don't you write a Top 10 Signs She Is Not High-Maintenance since all women are high-maintenance?" Funny stuff; the man does have a point, so I guess we will hit you with that one later. In the meantime, enjoy this one and discover whether or not you're dating a high-maintenance woman.

10. She's unfair

She asks you to drive her somewhere, and you get yelled at for being stuck in traffic. You go for a walk, and she gets peeved because it starts to rain. You stop by to surprise her with pizza, but she blasts you for not getting burgers.

9. She's daddy's girl

She has never earned anything in her life; she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and requires the help of servants to remove it. Her idea of protection is the insurance clauses on her daddy's platinum card.

8. Going out is like the countdown to eternity

Going out for a night on the town should be more fun than this, but you must give her a 48-hour heads up when you want to go out, since getting ready entails calling in the jaws of life, especially considering that she applies a pound of goo on her face.

7. She has irrational demands

She is used to drinking watered down cocktails when she's drinking on her tab, but when Daddy Warbucks comes knocking, it's Dom Perignon time.

6. Bills, bills, bills

Her answering machine greets you with the Destiny's Child tune. You have never seen her wallet, she has never paid for a thing, and the only bills she's accustomed to are the credit card kind.

5. She's not comfortable with herself

We like attractive women who take care of themselves, but we also want women who can be themselves ‑- track pants, ponytails and all. If she needs a wall of gunk on her face to look you in the eyes, then she just might have an issue.

4. She doesn't know the definition of sacrifice

Relationships are meant to be about compromise, but she is more about selfishness. You bend and adapt to her needs, yet all she gives you are ultimatums.

3. She's difficult to please

No matter what you do or say, she will want something else. No matter how much you try to please her, you will always fall short. She has never cracked a smile and has a tendency to rain on your parade.

2. She's socially inept

She only hangs out with people who can offer her something, and she is a social burden the rest of the time, eating into your good times and peace of mind.

1. She needs to be in control

Most women admit that being high-maintenance comes down to being in charge and running the show. They need to feel that it is their call; their way or the highway. It's up to you to show them otherwise."

Source - www.askmen.com

Hmmm this definitely makes for interesting reading. I've tended to notice over the years that males usually say, the better looking the femme fatale....the higher maintenance she is....what does that make me...chopped liver?? lol

"You realise of course that we could never be friends."

"No man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her.

So, you're saying that a man can be friends with a woman he finds unattractive?

No. You pretty much want to nail 'em too.

What if they don't want to have sex with you?

Doesn't matter because the sex thing is already out there so the friendship is ultimately doomed and that is the end of the story."

* * *

"Would you like to have dinner?... Just friends.

I thought you didn't believe men and women could be friends.

When did I say that?

On the ride to New York.

No, no, no, I never said that... Yes, that's right, they can't be friends. Unless both of them are involved with other people, then they can... This is an amendment to the earlier rule. If the two people are in relationships, the pressure of possible involvement is lifted... That doesn't work either, because what happens then is, the person you're involved with can't understand why you need to be friends with the person you're just friends with. Like it means something is missing from the relationship and why do you have to go outside to get it? And when you say "No, no, no it's not true, nothing is missing from the relationship," the person you're involved with then accuses you of being secretly attracted to the person you're just friends with, which you probably are. I mean, come on, who the hell are we kidding, let's face it. Which brings us back to the earlier rule before the amendment, which is men and women can't be friends."

Harry Burns to Sally Albright in When Harry Met Sally

They say that the experiences of your past make you the person that you are today. Your greatest triumphs of your past, the biggest hurdles that you got over and the great challenges you faced have all shaped you into the person that stands before your friends and family today.

It is a great person however who can keep that in mind when facing these triumphs, hurdles and challenges. When life is throwing you a curved ball instead of a straight one, when the path is not as smooth as it should be, when you get over the first hill only to be faced with a mountain, the last thing on your mind is...this one day will make me into a better, stronger person. The few who can do that are truly unique and amazing....if you can do that, you are blessed. I, it seems are not one of those people....but I am open to the idea that in 12 months time I'm going to be a MUCH stronger person than I am now...and that has to count for something....

.....each new day brings with it the prospect of starting afresh. Forgetting what may or may not have gone wrong the day before, things that got said in the heat of the moment, actions you did not mean to cause, behaviour you wished you had of done or behaviour you wish you could take back.

The promise of a new day is the possibility of change, new life, new prospects, new friends, new lovers, new challenges, new beginnings, new endings. Each new day should be grasped with both hands and ridden like a wave out into the vast ocean, holding on for dear life. Maybe be fearful of what may lay before you but also be full of anticipation of the new adventure your about to embark on.

Too many of us are scared of change and cling to our old ways and therefore remain stuck in the past, rooted to one spot unable and unwilling to move forward. Sometimes though, to take that first step, to be brave enough to jump off that ledge, meet that new person, take that test, go for that job interview, tell that person how you really feel, start that new business up, go for that trip you have always wanted to take but didn't want to take alone or even try a different type of coffee is the first step to a better YOU and a better LIFE. Go on be brave...make today, the day, you start your life...

Standing on the Edge

....looking over and wondering where life is about to take you next...

Sometimes you feel like taking that fateful step that could take you on the journey of a lifetime...ending up god knows where doing god knows what but wouldn't the journey there be fun?

Other times you look at that possible journey into the unknown and think, nah not tonight, tonight I will retreat to my lounge, curl up with a good book and just sit and enjoy where I am right now for a little while longer...

Then there are the other days when you get up from the couch ready to take that fateful step only to sit back down again and get back up again and so forth. Sometimes you just have to do it....

Buddhism - An Idiots Guide

• What is Buddhism?

Buddhism is a religion to about 300 million people around the world. The word comes from 'budhi', 'to awaken'. It has its origins about 2,500 years ago when Siddhartha Gotama, known as the Buddha, was himself awakened (enlightened) at the age of 35.

• Is Buddhism a Religion?

To many, Buddhism goes beyond religion and is more of a philosophy or 'way of life'. It is a philosophy because philosophy 'means love of wisdom' and the Buddhist path can be summed up as:

(1) to lead a moral life,
(2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and
(3) to develop wisdom and understanding.

• How Can Buddhism Help Me?

Buddhism explains a purpose to life, it explains apparent injustice and inequality around the world, and it provides a code of practice or way of life that leads to true happiness.

• Who Was the Buddha?

Siddhartha Gotama was born into a royal family in Lumbini, now located in Nepal, in 563 BC. At 29, he realised that wealth and luxury did not guarantee happiness, so he explored the different teachings religions and philosophies of the day, to find the key to human happiness. After six years of study and meditation he finally found 'the middle path' and was enlightened. After enlightenment, the Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching the principles of Buddhism — called the Dhamma, or Truth — until his death at the age of 80.

• Was the Buddha a God?

He was not, nor did he claim to be. He was a man who taught a path to enlightenment from his own experience.

• Do Buddhists Worship Idols?

Buddhists sometimes pay respect to images of the Buddha, not in worship, nor to ask for favours. A statue of the Buddha with hands rested gently in its lap and a compassionate smile reminds us to strive to develop peace and love within ourselves. Bowing to the statue is an expression of gratitude for the teaching.

• What did the Buddha Teach?

The Buddha taught many things, but the basic concepts in Buddhism can be summed up by the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

• What is the First Noble Truth?

The first truth is that life is suffering i.e., life includes pain, getting old, disease, and ultimately death. We also endure psychological suffering like loneliness frustration, fear, embarrassment, disappointment and anger. This is an irrefutable fact that cannot be denied. It is realistic rather than pessimistic because pessimism is expecting things to be bad. lnstead, Buddhism explains how suffering can be avoided and how we can be truly happy.

• What is the Second Noble Truth?

The second truth is that suffering is caused by craving and aversion. We will suffer if we expect other people to conform to our expectation, if we want others to like us, if we do not get something we want,etc. In other words, getting what you want does not guarantee happiness. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting deprives us of contentment and happiness. A lifetime of wanting and craving and especially the craving to continue to exist, creates a powerful energy which causes the individual to be born. So craving leads to physical suffering because it causes us to be reborn.

• What is the Third Noble Truth?

The third truth is that suffering can be overcome and happiness can be attained; that true happiness and contentment are possible. lf we give up useless craving and learn to live each day at a time (not dwelling in the past or the imagined future) then we can become happy and free. We then have more time and energy to help others. This is Nirvana.

• What is the Fourth Noble Truth?

The fourth truth is that the Noble 8-fold Path is the path which leads to the end of suffering.

• What is the Noble 8-Fold Path?

In summary, the Noble 8-fold Path is being moral (through what we say, do and our livelihood), focussing the mind on being fully aware of our thoughts and actions, and developing wisdom by understanding the Four Noble Truths and by developing compassion for others.

• What are the 5 Precepts?

The moral code within Buddhism is the precepts, of which the main five are: not to take the life of anything living, not to take anything not freely given, to abstain from sexual misconduct and sensual overindulgence, to refrain from untrue speech, and to avoid intoxication, that is, losing mindfulness.

• What is Karma?

Karma is the law that every cause has an effect, i.e., our actions have results. This simple law explains a number of things: inequality in the world, why some are born handicapped and some gifted, why some live only a short life. Karma underlines the importance of all individuals being responsible for their past and present actions. How can we test the karmic effect of our actions? The answer is summed up by looking at (1) the intention behind the action, (2) effects of the action on oneself, and (3) the effects on others.

• What is Wisdom?

Buddhism teaches that wisdom should be developed with compassion. At one extreme, you could be a goodhearted fool and at the other extreme, you could attain knowledge without any emotion. Buddhism uses the middle path to develop both. The highest wisdom is seeing that in reality, all phenomena are incomplete, impermanent and do no constitute a fixed entity. True wisdom is not simply believing what we are told but instead experiencing and understanding truth and reality. Wisdom requires an open, objective, unbigoted mind. The Buddhist path requires courage, patience, flexibility and intelligence.

• What is Compassion?

Compassion includes qualities of sharing, readiness to give comfort, sympathy, concern, caring. In Buddhism, we can really understand others, when we can really understand ourselves, through wisdom.

• How do I Become a Buddhist?

Buddhist teachings can be understood and tested by anyone. Buddhism teaches that the solutions to our problems are within ourselves not outside. The Buddha asked all his followers not to take his word as true, but rather to test the teachings for themselves. ln this way, each person decides for themselves and takes responsibility for their own actions and understanding. This makes Buddhism less of a fixed package of beliefs which is to be accepted in its entirety, and more of a teaching which each person learns and uses in their own way.

The Scary Thing Is.....

.......that this is MORE than possibly true! Lmao

So this is why I have no fear of being kidnapped , when you think about it though, the t'shirt does raise a good point!

Bones = Beauty??

Who says beauty can't be found in bones? I've been told I should be aiming for this "look"......so I should really start the DIEt tomorrow, as well as the exercise regime, not to mention the after what little food I do eat.......

As IF!!!!!!! I lurvers my food just TOO much! ;-)

Clowns!

Clowns!

There is nothing scarier than a clown. Their make up, their evil glint in their eye, their chuckle that hints that they are up to something!

Stephen Kings IT did it for me, ruined me for life....children's parties will never be the same again!

Do clowns scare you? Leave you comments below! :-D

Maybe we should change this and make the simplest solutions the right solutions! Lets turn the establishment on it's head!

Fish Fish and More Fish!!

Fish, fish and more fish! Ah fish.....who doesn't love those wonderful animals that swim with such grace, gliding through the water? Now when I say I love fish, I love them to watch them, not to catch them! Not to stick hooks in their mouths, nor to eat them! Sometimes my fish have more personality than the people I deal with at work, which is kinda sad but oh so true on some days!

The Baby Issue

Why are we conditioned to think we have to follow the path that everyone expects us to follow? Why are we conditioned to accept that because x, y and z went down this pathway that we are expected too as well?

When couples get married, it is expected that they will one day have children. When they are expected to produce those children, well that varies depending on who you speak to. Some grandparents to be expect them anywhere from a year onwards. Others say it is down to the individual couple as to when they are ready to make that step. But what if they are never ready?

What makes people, relatives or friends, believe they have the right to quiz you as to when you will be having children? Family get togethers or catching up with old friends is fraught with danger and loaded with questions ready to be offloaded onto you. No kids yet? Are you two having kids? Why don't you look glowing, do you have anything to tell me? How come no kids yet?

Do these people not think it is rude to invade your privacy with questions such as these? What if you are finding it hard to fall pregnant and are having fertility issues?

What if you want children but your other half doesn't? Would you be brave enough to ask the question "Will you love me enough to make up for the fact that I didn't have a baby?"
a question that needs to be asked if you and your partner do not agree on the children issue.

Dear Mr President

Dear Mr. President,
Come take a walk with me.
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me.
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly.

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?
What do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Are you proud?

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why?

Dear Mr. President,
Were you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
How can you say
No child is left behind?
We're not dumb and we're not blind.
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell.

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine.

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye?

Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don't know nothing 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh

How do you sleep at night?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Dear Mr. President,
You'd never take a walk with me.
Would you?

The honest, no holds barred critic of myself....

This image is all too true for too many femme fatales, myself included.

I could be told over and over that I'm attractive but at the end of the day until you start believing it yourself, no matter what anyone else says, you just aren't going to believe them.

How could anyone find me, my bod, this face, those freckles, my blue eyes....attractive? How could they when there is so much better out there? Just walk down the street a little further, cast your eye down the bar a little past me, look in the next aisle at the supermarket and you will find one, three, a million femme fatales better looking, more attractive than myself.

I am nothing special, far from it, I am just me. My ample bosom, the soft curve of my hips, my rounded thighs, the soft squishy flesh of my tummy an instant turn off to all but a very mere few and even then....maybe they are just being nice, polite? How could one find it attractive, lustful - when toned tummies, smooth thin uncellulited thighs, firm hips are so much more?

My personality lies deep within, my true self not easily shown, hidden usually beneath a sarcastic layer that is only too happy to trade smart arse comments with you.....it is a persistent and special person who manages to get beyond that layer and see the real me, most just give up....I mean why would anyone bother to put time and effort into discovering the real me....I'm just me, nothing special.

My friendship must be earned but once you have it, you have it for life. Unfortunately even though I consider myself a great friend and would lay my life down for my mates....I am rarely rewarded with mates who would do the same for me, most of them barely act like mates....

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to turn the mirror on yourself and have a hard long look at who you are.....yet I do this regularly, maybe too often...for all the rambling above, is how I see myself....the honest, no holds barred critic of myself....

If You Could, Would You?

Has there been times in your life where you think..'if only I'd have said that!' or 'why didn't I say that?'.

What would you say to people if you had the chance over? Or how about if there was a day you could say whatever you felt and they wouldn't remember it the next day? If life presented you with that opportunity would you take it? And if so, just WHAT would you say?

Ten Years x 3

Footsteps in Life.

Occasionally we sit down and think, how did we get to where we are at this very moment in time? Which road did we take to end up sitting in this exact spot having these exact thoughts. Can you answer how you ended up where you are now? Do you remember which roads you travelled down to end up at the point you are at now? Can you remember the people you have met along the way?

The Ten Years x 3 rule is simple. You write down where you were and what you were doing 10 years ago. You do the same for what you are doing now and then either where you WANT to be or where you think you will be and what you will be doing in 10 years time. Its a real eye opener and made me remember things I thought I had been able to forget, made me realise how lucky I am now and how my hopes and dreams have changed for the future.

So here goes....my Ten Years x 3

Ten Years Ago
I was just coming to the end of my time at my first job post graduation. They made my position redundant, I remember it clearly because I had just bought a "new" second hand car 2 weeks prior and my first thought was..."How on earth am I going to pay for this loan now??". I was housesitting for 3 months for a friend of my parents, enjoying the freedom on having my own place without the expense. I was single, which was good and bad, I enjoyed having my freedom but desperately wanted someone to share the good times with, like most I wanted to feel needed, desirable, attractive. I got a job as a Medical Receptionist Trainee 2 weeks after I got made redundant. Two weeks after I started that job, I was involved in a pretty bad car accident, where a car rammed the back of my car, spun me round 190 and I almost ended up in a ditch. My car was a write off, I had only had it 6 weeks, I was gutted. I got a bomb to replace my "nice" car and settled into my new job.

Now
I am coming up to my 7 year wedding anniversary in November. A year after I started that Medical Reception Trainee 10 years ago, my training came to an end and they decided not to keep me on - I thought it was the end of my world but it was the best thing that happened to me. I packed up 6 weeks later and with a nannying job to go to, I headed to London. I met my now husband a week after arriving in London, via the net and the rest they say is history. We own two houses in two different places, have two cars, two dogs and more fish and aquariums than I care to count! We have everything that you could possibly want to make you happy, except of course the one thing I covet the most - babies, babies and more babies! But hopefully they will come....
We are planning on a major lifestyle change, we are moving into our other house, slowing our life down and have decided to start living rather than just existing.

In Ten Years
We will still be happy, in love and enjoying life. I have no doubt that I have found the love of my life and my soulmate. We will be enjoying each day and only working as much as we need to fund our life. We will be living each day and not merely existing in it. We will have 1, no 2 no no 3 rugrats running around in our lives bringing us immense happiness. Happiness is the only real thing I crave and I see bucketloads of that in my future - fingers crossed.