Author: Veronica

And before you get all excited, no, I am not giving my blog away. Just sayin’.

So about the blogosphere I have been seeing these little buttons. Isn’t it pretty? Click on it, and it will take you to a pretty awesome blog.

Okay the whole point to this is that I offer something to give away.

Now bear in mind that I live in Australia which ups my postage costs quite a bit and I am a complete cheapskate thrifty person, so I want to make this easier on everyone involved.

I was going to offer you a crossstitch that I stitched with my very own hands, but then I discovered that Nathan had packed the study and I couldn’t find it. And no one wants to win a cross stitch that they haven’t seen and may possibly be horribly lost by now.
THEN I was going to offer a crocheted baby blanket, but I don’t think the shop sells the wool I like anymore. Plus, then we come back to that whole postage debacle.

So then I was going to offer a book. But again with the postage. (Postage should really be free to blog friends. Lets all tell the post offices that okay?)

So now I have had a good long think and I am offering 2 choices. IF you live in Australia I will offer you a $25 Coles Myer gift card (is the Myer bit still in the name? I mean, after they sold Myer?).

IF you live outside of Australia (Yes, I know that is 99% of my readers) I will be offering $25 via Paypal. If you have some great objection to Paypal then if you win, you and I can work out something that suits us both. Maybe a Starbucks card or something?

Come what may I WILL be offering $25AU worth of something to someone.

TO ENTER: simply comment on this post and tell me what your favourite hot drink is. This is open to bloggers and non-bloggers alike. All you need is a valid email address.

Prizes will be drawn 8pm Sunday night, MY time zone. So that is Saturday evening/Sunday morning for US readers.

Subscribe to my feed to get yourself a second entry. Just mention in your comment that you have subscribed and I will enter you twice.  (Hey, you can always delete me at the end of the competition if you don’t like my writing!)

(To my regular readers, I won’t be emailing in reply to these comments. I still love you though, K? PLEASE don’t think that I have abandoned you! It isn’t true!)

I have been sorely remiss in handing out awards that I have been given. Better late than never though, right?

Just A Mom gave me this –

How sweet and pretty is that?

I would like to pass it on to Alli~Mrs Fussypants because I have finally subscribed to her feed and I am loving it.

Lotus, because she always needs bling. And magical and golden? Just screams Lotus at me.

Frogpondsrock because her photos are pretty magical

Tiff from Three Ring Circus because I wish I had magic sparkly dust to make everything better for her. Chocolate will help, right?

AND finally

Amanda from Shamelessy Sassy because I discovered her blog when I was nominating for the Bloggies. She is a finalist in the ‘Best Writing of a Weblog‘ category. Go vote for her. Now!

Julie from Rats in Lab Cancer gave me this –

Thankyou Julie! Have you seen Julie’s blog? Her Tato Head Tuesday post had me in stitches. Go read it.

I would love to pass this on to

Witchypoo for doing my maths problems in an email this morning. Also, because who else would make me laugh and cringe at the same time?

Ree over at Hotfessional. She ran out of bandwidth this month, so just bear with her until she can coerce some poor techie into fixing it for her.

Marie from Memarie Lane, she has just announced she is pregnant with her third baby and very happy about it. So don’t ask if she is pleased or *gasp* not.

Zoe from I’ve Come Undone. Simply because I love her header. Duct tape all the way baby.

Sandy from Momisodes and Tiff from Three Ring Circus gave me this –

You guys are so nice to me! Thankyou. Tiff in particular has been having a hard time lately, her daughter Ivy is sick and she needs all the support she can get. Head on over to her blog and love her with your comments okay?

I’d love to pass this to

Cookiebitch because she ALWAYS makes me laugh. She swears a bit, so please don’t visit her and then get all high and mighty about her language. I promise you, she won’t care anyway. I can’t link to just one of her posts because they are all so damn funny. Just go read her. Then subscribe because you don’t want to miss a post.

Dawn from Alex Year One because she started the Hawtolucion.

Marylin at A Little Space For Me because she is awesome. ‘Nuff said. She got sleep this weekend! Sleep is good stuff.

Also, to Candy from Candy’s Corner. Because her post about her terrible holiday had me enthralled.

Okay we are getting there!

Mr Lady from Whiskey in my Sippy Cup gave me these

Now I’m not entirely sure what the Be The Blog award is supposed to be all about, BUT I figure I can just pass it on willy nilly because I can. So there.

To Jenty, because she writes so well and her photos are drool worthy.

Badness Jones because she always makes me laugh.

Courtney because she is moving interstate with her 2 yo and she is due to give birth to baby Blake any day now. Also because I haven’t heard anything from her I’m starting to worry. What better way to bring her out of hiding?

And finally

Trish from My Little Drummer Boys. She chases after twin boys all day and still finds time to write a great blog.

To Burgh Babys Mom. I always laugh when I am over at your place. Thankyou.

Maddy at Whitterer on Autism because she always makes me think.

Julie from Causes Rats In Lab Cancer because her comments are as funny as her blog.

And last but not least, Kelley. Because her colour scheme always makes me want coffee and chocolate.

Okay, I have crampy fingers now. Thankyou to all my lovely award givers. I *heart* you LOTS. Thankyou to everyone else for sharing your blogs with me.

Weekly Winners.

She is taunting me. “Look Mum, I’m gonna put it in my nose, I’m gonna, are you watching me?”

“Look see? I did it. HA! But wait….ummm, Mum? This isn’t as good as I though it would be.”

“MUM! I’m trying to breastfeed and you keep snapping me! The flash hurts my eyes, alright? Enough!”

I was up just before dawn the other day (4.30am) waiting for Amy to fall back asleep. The sky was just starting to lighten, so I ran outside in my knickers and snapped a bunch of photos. Luckily Amy went back to sleep for me, so I was able to go back to bed.

See more Weekly Winners here.

Dawn came up with the wonderful idea that we all should find something in our closet that makes us feel pretty.

Okay, here we go.

I was very slack and I don’t have any photos taken especially for this. HOWEVER, I do have photos in my computer that sum things up brilliantly.

Here is how I look on any given day.

You know, minus the glass of tequila I am holding. I wear jeans and jumpers or jeans and tshirts ALL the time. Lather rinse repeat.

Actually this is probably closer to the mark. Laptop and everything.

Or this. Hey Looky! Different day, similar clothes. I am so OUT THERE and original, no?

So, even before Dawn started this Hawtolucion, I was so sick of my wardrobe. Sick of feeling invisible, sick of the same old stuff. I went out and shopped and some new! pretty! clothes. Even a dress and a skirt! *GASP*

Here is my dress, it makes me feel gorgeous. It makes old men lick their lips at me, even if that is a little bit (okay A LOT) creepy. I love it. Not the licking of the lips, I can do without that, no really, I can. I love the dress. It is so comfortable as well and I can still wear a nursing bra under it. Thank goodness for wide straps!

Viva la Hawtolución!!!

See more Hawtalicious Women here.

Today is Australia Day, an excuse to get drunk around a barbie and eat lamb chops. Good times.

What is Australia to me?

It’s singing Waltzing Matilda at the top of your lungs with mates and eating charred lamb chops with your fingers, while the woodsmoke gets in your eyes.

It is feeding the dogs the scraps.

It is the high summers and the smell of bushfires on the wind.

It is the freezing winters and black ice on the roads.

It is letting your lawn die because there isn’t any water for frivolities.

Showers over 1 minute are a frivolity.

It is having no mobile phone coverage in my back yard.

Or broadband access either.

It was having an outside dunny when I was a kid.

And eating raspberries straight from the garden.

It is soaring petrol prices. ($1.49 per litre? I mean, really)

It is wearing the flag with pride. (Except! if that is all you are wearing, you better be extremely good looking or else I might be annoyed. Or blinded.)

It is tolerance for EVERYONE, because we are ALL immigrants except the aboriginals.

It is drought.

And flood.

It is playing in the sunshine.

And worrying about the ozone layer, as we slip, slop and slap.

It is saying Mummy, not Mommy and humour and metre and litre. Centigrade, not farenheit and kilometres, not miles.

It is making fun of songs at the top of our lungs in the car (Amy is going to be so embarrassed when she is bigger).

It is not worrying about terrorists, because hello? What good is Tassie to them anyway? Do you want our APPLE ORCHARDS? Egads! Blow up our proposed Pulp Mill? Why CERTAINLY! Half of the state will help you with that.

It is worrying about the lack of environmental protection in my beautiful state.

It is clear felling, fire bombing and poisoned animals.

This

is going to become this?

And then they will do this to finish up.

It is so sad and so scary. 90% of the logs go for woodchips. WOODCHIPS for goodness sakes. *sigh*

It is having the right to write whatever I want. And fighting for that right, because I don’t want my internet filtered at an ISP level.

It is being able to get political on my blog, even though I rarely do.

It is going off on a tangent.

And coming back. Hello there!

Being Australian is a whole bundle of things. Mostly for me, it is being who I am and believing in what I like.

Happy Australia Day. Have a beer by the barbie for me, okay? And a chop. Is lamb, is good.