It appears a few definitions were changed last night. Like ‘debate’.  Apparently debating no longer involves actually engaging your opponent, addressing their points, and countering with your own argument. Or ‘good’. As in, ‘this has been a good debate’, ‘yes, it has been a good debate hasn’t it’. Good now means fruitless, pointless, stupefying and I want the last hour of my life back.
Nothing that Abbott said last night surprised me. The fact that my husband has taken to calling me “toots” and keeps asking me what I’m doing out …

I’m quite swiftly getting over MasterChef this season. I’m not a fan of reality television, but made an exception for MC, because last year it was fun. Good food, bit of drama, no rubbish elimination-teary-voting-off-your-opponents-while-blowing snot bubbles and telling them how much you love them bullshit that you see on other reality franchises.
The thing is, it’s not the sobbing contestants getting to me (they do, I’m not immune to irritation).
It’s not the conspiracy theories that the show is in fact rigged (which, I kinda think it is, and I might …

I don’t use petrol vouchers. The Bolshie conspiracy theorist in me knows that the 4c discount I’m getting by buying petrol from Woolworths or Coles is surely recouped many times over somewhere in the money they took from me in order for me to get the voucher in the first place.  The realist in me knows it’s a moot point, since small-town rules dictate that at some point every fortnight I’m going to have to shop at these stores anyway, or else forgo some of the nicer things in life (well, that’s …

I just had a phonecall from Telstra, who were ringing to let me know I have a new account manager (whatever that is) and to ask if I was happy with my current plan and service from them.
Kind of a loaded question really. Should I mention that last year they accidentally removed the ADSL code from my line, resulting in three weeks without internet, because they couldn’t work out what was wrong, and the person who could fix it didn’t speak directly to customers or to the Telstra staff who …

It’s hot, I’m tired, I have a cold and a teensy hangover.
I can’t be arsed getting off the couch and I’ve been surfing forums pretty much since I got up.  At  one point, I detoured to Google Images to find a picture of Robert Pattinson to appease a twifan who may have been traumatised by my Maybelline signature there.
Now, Twilight aside, I’m a bit of a fan of RPatz. Not because he makes me all SQUEEE!!!! (which he doesn’t, although I have noticed in some of his candid shots he …

Edward chuckled and raised one perfect eyebrow. Bella grimaced. Jacob flushed under his russet skin. Edward chuckled again. His face was unreadable. Alice chagrined.  Bella gazed into Edward’s perfect face, marvelling at how the marble Adonis could love someone as plain as her. She grimaced. Edward raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow and chuckled.
Repeat the above paragraph for 1500 pages and you have Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking dawn.
OK, so the writing is terrible.  She’s not the first author who has a toxic relationship with adjectives.  Matthew Riley doesn’t seem to use …

I ducked into the supermarket today to quickly grab a few items I needed for Christmas baking. My plans for a quick dash in, down two aisles and back to the checkout were thwarted, however, by a pair of septuagenarians, one pushing a walker and one a trolley, who would stop every four paces in what could only be described as a two person jack-knife as, bent in towards each other, they would closely scan their shopping list and then the shelves next to them. Four paces, repeat.
I was still deliberating over whether …

In my attempts to be less of a consumer, I don’t layby.  There is not a product on the planet that I absolutely must have, must reserve the right to own despite not being able to afford it. I eschew toy sales and the craziness of packing away more toys than my children will ever play with, based on the notion that they are somehow cheaper in the middle of the year than they will be anywhere in the next six months leading up to Christmas.
I’ve been known to ridicule …

I’m going to go ahead and admit I’m the poster child for passive neglect when it comes to parks and playgrounds.
The thing is, standing ankle deep in bark chips pushing a child on a swing for an hour isn’t really my idea of a good time.  It seems, however, whenever I take my kids to a playground, I’m alone in this sentiment.
This morning is a good example.  I had to drop the chaos duck at work early, so before dropping my eldest off at school, I stopped at the shops …

There needs to be more funding for this cause. I personally have gained awareness recently of the plight of the socially awkward; those people whose words vomit out faster than their brain can process the sheer wrongness of what they are saying. I’ve noticed a lot more of it recently, sparking my desire to help these poor, clueless idiots who seem to be totally incognizant of why most of what they say is met with incredulous silence, closely followed by the receiver of said thinly veiled insult mumbles something …