Game of Thrones addiction

I simply can't explain it but I am absolutely addicted to Game of Thrones...it's violent and disrespectful plus all the sci-fi/fantasy elements have been done before.  But, there's the ridiculously quick-witted dwarf, loyal dragons, funky outfits and let's not forget Jon Snow.  And I can't be the only one with this closet obsession - it's one of the highest rating shows.  Why?!

Do women actually create their own glass ceilings?

I went to a talk yesterday by a rather amazing lady - she was honest, articulate, intelligent and altogether inspiring.  She has held very senior positions in big companies (banks/insurance companies) but she didn't actually seek such roles out.  She liked fixing problems and told people the truth of whatever situation they were in.  I think she was actually quite modest too :) But...

Her honesty seemed to be juxtaposed to her gender - after all women 'have to be' nurturing...and somehow we (females included) role gentle and diplomatic into this definition of female nurturer. This lady was therefore labelled "a b!tch".   Her first task whenever she stepped in to a new role was, therefore, to disassemble this preconceived idea by taking an active interest in those around her.  She had to over-compensate for being a female leader by being extra 'female'?!

She gave a great example of the stereotypes we women reinforce (adding to our own glass ceilings). Have you ever seen the response Father's get when they drop their children at school...?  It's "Hero or Zero", ie.
   Hero = isn't that wonderful, what an amazing Father being so involved with his kids, or
   Zero = why doesn't he have a job/what's wrong with him?
And what response do women get when they drop their kids at school - absolutely nothing!  It is expected of them to perform this duty.   It really is food for thought....

I unfortunately have the opposite affliction in that I'm too diplomatic to call a spade a spade (I skirt around the edges hoping my recipient hears the subtle hints I drop).  I'm therefore 'not strong enough' to be truly Senior at work.  Or perhaps that's another preconceived idea about what it takes to be the boss????

Your first ever teacher....

Tomorrow my son meets his first ever school teacher.....I can't articulate the range of emotions I feel and I'm sure his little heart and mind are riding a similar roller-coaster!

Can you remember your Grade 1 teacher?  Mrs Mercer was mine - she was tall (or was that because I was so tiny [nothing has changed I hear a few of you say ;)]), kind and ridiculously patient.  I thought she was perfect - please, please let my son have a similar experience   xo

Famine, slavery, dictators - is 5 too young to build a child's social conscience?

I found the most extraordinarily confronting book today in the children's section of the library...It's called Dust and was written "for all children who do not wake up safe and comfortable".  It is a child's voice detailing his own death from starvation.  The images are awful but perhaps brilliant.  I won't be showing my son but it did get me thinking - why?  If I show him will it sink in, will he be more grateful, will he be a more community aware adult?   Here are a few of the illustrations - what do you think?

Kardashians - feminist role models or useless piles of commercial excrement?!

OMG!  Can you believe it, a Kardashian - can't remember which one (they all blur into one butt loving bundle of boredom to me) - is doing a TV series on how to look better after a break-up.

I am officially in that space now where anything the Kardashian's do is annoying.  But the first step to recovery is acknowledging the problem.  Let's try to objectively and intellectually rationalise their commercialism;

Perspective Number One:
At least the Kardashian's are not stick-insects and helping to repair a women who has been devastated by a relationship breakdown is great.  They can help these ladies rebuild their sense of worth, give them the confidence to launch themselves back into the dating scene, perhaps even find true love? 

Perspective Number Two:
.....because finding a man and having a boob/bum/jaw/eye/nose job is the best way to value oneself.  Congratulations Kardashian's for reinforcing to young girls that their partner's flaws or the relationship's demise is a result of their appearance - you go girrrlll! 

They really are useless, over-paid, handbag wielding piles of commercial excrement.  Ohh cr@p... session 1 of my recovery clearly hasn't gone well...

Beetroot lipstick

I just read an article that told me to suck on Beetroot ice cubes to have permanently 'natural' red lips....seriously who has the time to discover this stuff!

After the cucumber on my eyes, the beetroot on my lips and the brewed lettuce (to help you sleep?!) I'll have nothing left for the salad I'm suppose to eat for lunch.

Who does Christmas better - Mother Theresa or Taz (the Tasmanian Devil)?

Warning: this post is all over the place, much like where my head is at today!

Christmas is a time to reflect, to be appreciative and to surround yourself with loved ones....

Then why do I feel like a Tassie Devil whirling around accumulating presents, expectations and bills, whilst balancing an impenetrable timetable, bribing two ungrateful little-ones with ridiculous stories about an all-seeing overweight, bearded white guy with an endless supply of Chinese plastic and doing it all with a 'really I like Christmas' smile...someone hand that women a wine!


Of course one must also cope with this festive season whilst continuing to purchase organic foods, cook paleo dinners, prepare sugar-free lunches, clean the house (but not too much so as to render the children's immune system deficient), sort a few (hopefully clean) clothes so my children don't arrive at childcare naked, be 'present' with my children, remember I have a husband, sort the freakin heating/cooling out which has been repaired 15 times (in a house that is not even two years old - go Glenvill ;), celebrate the 7 birthdays my family manages to squeeze in 6 weeks prior to Christmas, sort the finances, do my job, be mindful, exercise daily and remember.....
... I have a house to clean, I can afford to buy organic food and children's toys, I can read paleo recipes and I have a beautiful family.

Things are not balanced for me at the moment - I'm not exercising, the chocolate is creeping back in (ahh hell, let's be honest, it's flooding back in via morning tea, afternoon tea, Christmas lunches, end of year presents and any other avenue that offers that irresistible velvet elixir), my meditating is barely existent and my blogs are sporadic.   But it's Christmas - the city is alive with buskers and garish red tinsel on my walk to work, my children are inexplicably happy with images of reindeers, I have three weeks off work and a whole lotta Summer to enjoy....Ho, Ho, Ho