Will you crack and smell?

So I was talking to friends today about easter and the subject of chocolate eggs/bunnies came up. I said that I love a good chocolate bunny as you can crack the chocolate ears and the smell inside (or as I like to call it 'easter egg air') is the most sweetest thing you will ever smell. My friends didn't know what I was talking about. Am I the only one that does this? Has anyone ever cracked their easter eggs and let the chocolate take over their senses?

I ask you: if you have never ever done this are you a little curious - will you be cracking your egg and smelling it this easter?

(disclaimer: in the interests of good health I wont be over indulging in this behaviour this easter)

Ipswich Businesses: The Movement

So if you stop for just a second.....you can probably hear Ipswich growing. Even though the city has come through a major natural disaster is recent months, the city feels a buzz with new opportunities. Im amazed by the amount of businesses that are starting in the area, and they seem to be run primarily by women. Amazing women. Amazing women that are creative and doing what they want.  Check out the links below to their websites/facebook pages.

Question: Are you doing what yo want to do? Does your 'work' excite you - is it your passion?

fourth child
little bird
precious packages
mumatopia
lavender leadlights
Ipswich Womens Development Network 
Obsession Shoes
Boutique Tres-Chic
Little Brown Dog
Ipswich Women In Business 

The Love Boat

So its only a few weeks until I set sail on the love boat - aka Pacific Dawn - out of Brisbane. Hello Captain and Julie. Now I just need to get my disembarkation outfit sorted......

Food Food Food

Food, glorious food: a fundamental need yet how often do we take it for granted? We’ve come to expect the convenience of plucking the very best in fresh produce from our supermarket shelves or local markets all year round – but at what cost to our farmers, our environment and future generations.


The Queensland State Government has taken up the challenge and with Openideo , they are asking the community to put forward their inspirations and concepts on how to better connect food production with urban food consumption. This site is so inspiring - check out the challenge brief and also have a look at the concepts that amazing people from Australia (and around the world) are sharing with us.

Act your age young woman!

Is it really two months since I last blogged? [me bad] I wish I could say that its my fast, crazy and fantabulous lifestyle thats kept me from my MacBook but not quite. Fast, somewhat. Crazy, a little. Fantabulous, not so much. Being 40, well.....its pretty ordinary so far. Yes I turned 40. Hip Hip Hooray [let the doves loose and harps play] I had a wonderful birthday with a get together of a few friends. This involved a few cocktails and karaoke. Actually quite few cocktails.

Lychee Cocktail....

So now Im officially 40 and is life any different? No not one little bit. When someone asks me how old I am, I do have to stop and think. I still feel like i'm in my late twenties or early thirties. So is age just a number? I think it may be true. So if we think we are younger do we live longer? If we act older do we limit our life?

Ask yourself: do you act your age?

What men were wearing 40 years ago...

Click here to check out the fashions :)

The Julie Project

The Julie Project is a photo essay of Julie over 18 years. Julie is a mother, homeless, drug addict and AIDS sufferer. Someone posted a link to this project on twitter. I read it and cried. Julie is only 2 years younger than me, she’s 38 im about to be 40. I cant believe how different our lives are not only now as adults but as children. I suspect though that Julie didn’t have the opportunity to be a child.  When you have five minutes take the time to read and view the photos. Also take the time to reflect.

The Julie Project

Time to get this party started....

OK. So I have four sleeps until I officially turn 40.  A few months back a friend asked what I wanted to do for my 40th. I honestly didn't know. Do I have a big bash? Do I have a small bash? Do I sit in my bedroom all alone shaking and crying "age is only a number...age is only a number"? I decided to go with a small bash figuring that I'll leave the big bash for my 50th. Now some may see that as denial for not wanting the big bash but I see it as me taking time out to catch up with a couple of friends, have a laugh and a few cocktails. Now I don't know what is happening on the night as I haven't been involved in the arrangements - a few friends have done the organising - I just turn up. Its kind of like the surprise party you have when your not surprised its on. Get my drift?

So what will happen in four sleeps time?
Will I feel a jolt as my life suddenly begins at 40 and does that mean Ive been dead for 39??
More importantly, will I have a headache on sunday morning???

Love Thy Neighbour?

So. My second blog post ever. It’s the last day of January 2011 and only 12 sleeps until I turn 40 – so how is life shaping up? Its a Monday night and Im watching Home and Away as I type and wondering ‘did Alf do it?’ Riveting stuff hey.  Oh oh and not to forget that Brothers and Sisters season starts tonight so I have just set Tivo up with a season pass. All very mundane things. Yet there are a lot of people who are probably craving for the mundane things of life given what they have recently been through. In the wake of the recent floods in Queensland I had the experience to work with volunteers who came to my city to help people in the days following the flood peak.  The old and the young, the able and not so able – everyone wanted to help out in some small or big way. People wanted to clean up, wash up, and cook up (i swear i have never seen so many baked goods!). There has been a lot of sadness and tears thinking about people I know personally and others that I have come to know through the media who have lost everything including loved ones.  For us that didn’t lose everything life has gone on. For others an exhausting task of rebuilding their life has begun. The community spirit has been bubbling away since the floods and I really hope we can harness that and keep it going for as long as possible. Ive heard people say they never knew their neighbours before the floods – now they know them so well and will probably be lifelong friends having shared this almighty experience. So heres to you Mr, Mrs, Ms Neighbour all over the city....here’s to a lot of cracking good street parties happening this year that go on to be a yearly tradition!! Speaking of parties..... I'll be back soon to talk about a certain 40th celebration coming up.

Does life really begin at 40?

So its 2011 and this year I turn 40. Is age just as they say - a number? Is it a state of mind? Do our frames of reference, assumptions, desires and morals change simply because we turn 40??? According to a recent article being 40 can be downright dangerous and life threatening. EEK! Theres quite a few websites dedicated to turning and being 40 - who knew that???!!!

So who else is turning 40 with me this year? Heres a few....

• Winona Ryder - “I’m at that age I’ve been warned my whole life about,” says Ryder. So no one warned you about shoplifting then?
• Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg - would still like to see him in some Calvin Kleins
• Mariah Carey - perhaps her breasts are only turning 18 though?
• Snoop Dog - who DOESN'T love the snoop?
• Ricky Martin - livin' la vida loca. loca. loca. loca.

Here is how this little project will work. I'll be updating my blog as 2011 rolls on by. What changes will I experience, if any, because Im 40? Will my life suddenly go into superdrive or will it be status quo? Lets wait and see and in the meantime you can check out these great "40th birthday" quotes...

See you soon :) 

B