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My First Kombucha

Bushfires near me
Watch the world (well state) burn at Fires Near Me. Thanks for all your great work, RFS!!!

So, it was 35 degrees here today, there were fires all around the lake and Cessnock area, and I was a little hot under the collar so finally decided to try one of the bottles of Kombucha based drink I’d won a month or so back but was yet to brave because WTF is this stuff??

Kombucha

And you know what? It may be the heatstroke, but this stuff was tasty! I can’t ever bring myself to buy anything with all the claims it has on the label, but I’m certainly going to try the other Tea Gardens Kombucha flavours I have at the back of the fridge!

Best thing? It’s a local hunter company, yup in Tea Gardens!

… as long as the fires don’t scare them away!

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Release Your Inner Tomboy And Explore The Style

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It’s not something most girls think about, but almost anyone is able to pull off the tomboy look if you really want to. It’s a great alternative to the overly feminine approach to fashion and blatantly steals from the male styles to make it available for women to dress a little more neutral. It’s generally seen as the ‘in’ fashion of the day, as the hip hop dance routines in modern pop culture seems to be the foremost style celebrity singers are choosing to wear. It’s also great to show another shade of your personality, and proove that you’re brave enough to venture into another kind of fashion category. On the sly, it’s quite frankly, a great excuse to dress casually and not make a lot of effort, but still, project a knowledge of what’s the coolest and trendiest items on the market to wear. Of course, this style does have masculine elements to it, but that’s the whole point because it’s like a direct rejection of the dainty dress and high heels for something a little more sporty.

Camo
Image credit – Geneva Vanderzeil

The classic 90s tomboy jackets

The tomboy culture really shot to fame when it was part and parcel of the rave culture, especially in the 90s. No longer did some women want to be seen in floral prints and thin stem high heels, with lots of makeup on. It soon found itself a home in music as artists like Fergie and Gwen Stefani adopted the image for themselves. The camo jacket becomes a staple in the movement, and still to this day, looks fantastic in an urban setting. You can also wear a camouflage cap with your pony tail, slipping out the end of the cap. Equally, you can wear a denim jacket, with patterns of white ink sprayed all over the front and back. You can also have the style of the jacket, ripped, torn and or shredded. These jackets have a subtle but evident, attitude to them and can shrug off the feminine elements without going too far.

Jeans
Source – waizy79

Straight jeans that don’t care

Part of being a tomboy is to make a statement that you’re not trying to look pretty, and you don’t fuss over your figure and the shape of your limbs. Straight jeans with a two tone go well with this style because unlike skinny jeans, they’re not meant to hug your hips and thighs. They’re made to be functional so that you can run in them too. Especially if you have a composite material that’s synthetic but might also have a bit of cotton in it so that it can stretch. The colour of this item could be grey, black, or a blue. However, you could also opt for a beige or khaki green if you want to venture out of the norm and try a little updating to the look. Straight jeans won’t be snug around the ankle area either so that you can wear boots or sneakers with them.

Tan Boots
Photo by – Robert Shele

Boots or sneakers?

Like every style, the tomboy look has evolved, and some might say, has become a part of the streetwear style. Made popular by students and urban music artists, streetwear incorporates a mix of clothes like hoodies, bomber jackets, ripped jeans, together with sportswear like sweatshirts, running bottoms and sneakers. However, just like the camo jacket, you could also wear desert boots that punch out a little more, with their heavy-stock designs. They have a masculine look because the section of the achilles heel is taller than most women’s shoes. You could also visit website to explore flat sneakers like Vans and Converse styles. You could also explore the urban Nike range that possesses elements of the running shoe but have been designed to wear as part of your daily outfit.

naplete

Graphic design t-shirts

Here’s where you can make the ultimate statement as a tomboy; the graphic on your t-shirt. You could go for the classic white t-shirt with the splattered of black paint with bands like KISS, The Who or The Rolling Stones. But, the truth is, you can have whatever design you want, so feel free to print something off that fits your personality and style, and have it custom made at a t-shirt printing business. The question is, can any colour work? Perhaps not. Oranges, yellows and greens, don’t really fit the neutral style of what the tomboy look is about. Blues, greys, whites, black, and duller colours work better as they have more of a masculine quality to them.

If you don’t want to dress in the same old fashion of the dainty feminine chick, the tomboy is a great swap so you can take on the urban look, but still be grounded in the history of the culture. You’re also backed up by many pop stars who regularly take up this style in music videos, so take the leap and explore the style a bit more.

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That time we drove to Broken Hill

Broken Hill Welcome sign

So, I happened to be on a few weeks leave and a friend asked if we would come up to Broken Hill to collect him and his bike. Sure, why not!

ROAD TRIP!

Ford Concorde Red Dirt Australia

Took us awhile to get going in the morning, whatever, no rush. The usual “boring” drive that is the new hunter Expressway. I’m not dissing it, it’s great that it’s such a boring road, but it makes it difficult to a) stay awake and b) stick to the speed limit! Good roads like that deserve higher speed limits! If only Australian drivers could handle such things….

Oversized vehicle mining equipment Golden Hwy

Once we hit the Golden Highway, there was a fair bit of giving way to Oversized vehicles – either mining vehicles themselves or trucks carrying huge pieces of mining equipment. One time the police even cleared three lanes for one truck! No photos of the glory that is open cut mining in the Hunter, I couldn’t bring myself to look at the vast holes long enough to snap a picture.

Duneedoo Swan Motel
Swan Hotel, Dundedoo.

We took regular stops and driver swaps on the way. I eventually got brave enough to cruise at highway speed on the undivided roads! *clunk* goes the trailer. I also didn’t hit any roos, though there was one dumb sheep that walked in front of me deliberately I swear, and a couple of roos on the way home that seemed to have death wishes.

I didn’t know there was soooo many goats out there!!! So many cute baby goats following their parents around. So cute. I wanted to steal one! The goats were way smarter than the sheep, always running away from the cars rather than towards. There was also a few cows that just stood there and watched us go by, knowing they could cause us all manner of grief if they could be bothered to walk onto the road.

Bruce beret ibis menu space panda tshirt

We stopped for the night at Dubbo as the the sun was going down. Booked us a room at the Ibis Budget Dubbo. I booked through Booking.com while parked on the side of the road, and got us a room for $79, including Continental buffet breakfast! They normally charge $9/head for that.

Dubbo Ibis Breakfast

So the breakfast spread included the usual cereal, toast and spreads, along with youghurts with fruit, juices, tea and coffee. The room was “okay” . I found the bed quite comfortable, but Bruce found the foam mattress topper overheated him. The curtain main have come down while we were trying to adjust it, but ok well. We also had wifi in our room even though it’s meant to be only accessible from the common areas, because we were on the ground floor near the pool. I also got all classy and drank the wine I’d brought from home in the plastic cups provided in the room. ;) Oh they had good biscuits, as did the other two place we stayed. You know those prepaced two bikkies you get in your tea and coffee making facilities? Couldn’t fault any of them!

Sticky fried pork

We wandered down to the Golden Dragon Chinese Restaurant (36 Victoria St, Dubbo NSW 2830; ph (02) 6882 6663) as it was the Chinese restaurant open on a Tuesday night (our first and third choices were both closed Tuesday nights). We had fried rice, garlic chicken, and the above sticky, shiny fried pork. I swear it was like eating Lolly Gobble Bliss Bombs with the stickyness in the teeth. Apparently there was meat in there! But we got through it, our wine, and promptly fell asleep back at the ibis after watching Blades of Glory, that I happened to have seen at work, well parts of it, a few days earlier!

Golden dragon chinese tables
Classic country town Chinese restaurant stylings

Dubbo Ibis Hotel
Ready for bed!

After breakky and trying not to yell at the morning television that was screening in the cafe, we found some decent takeaway coffee at Grapevine near the courthouse and then were back the road by eight, aiming to reach Broken Hill before the roos got suicidal again.

There was a lot of…. not much. Wide, flat, open. And driving. Much driving.

passegering

So flat

Rainbow socks and red dirt

Antipasto

Dinner was found at Alfrescos Cafe (397 Argent St, Broken Hill, New South Wales 2880, Australia +61 8 8087 5599)…. so, while wrapping out heads around the half hour time difference, we nommed down this HUGE platter. So very very full! Which meant that the pizza we ordered, though a little over-cooked, was saved for breakfast and snacking on the next morning’s drive.

alfresco cafe

pizza

Full tummies and a few glasses of wine made the bed at the Hilltop Motel (271 Kaolin St, Broken Hill NSW 2880 ph (08) 8088 2999) inviting enough, watching the ABC on whatever timezone we were in and it’s usual Wednesday night satire until I couldn’t fight sleep any more

silverton sign

Silverton and the Mundi Mundi Lookout were about as touristy as we got.

Vast spaces of nothing, views to the border and relics from the days of the silver mine (hey creative name for a town right?) and Mad Max.

Silverton

Mundi Mundi lookout

Just so damn open.

hubcaps

Our aim for the drive on the Thursday was Cobar, so I booked a couple of rooms at the Cobar Central Motor Inn (18 Murray Street Cobar NSW 2835 Phone: 02 6830 2000). There was this weird system where you checked in at the motel across the road.

I love lamp

The rooms had this funky lamp, and pre-marked bedspreads and walls. Classy :)

Cobar Central Motor Inn

The shower was hot and the bed comfy and I slept like a log after the boys brought me back Subway.

blue bathroom

Daily grind Nyngan

Daily Grind Cafe in Nyngan (97 Pangee St, Nyngan NSW 2825) was our breakfast/coffee stop for the morning on Friday, toasties all round and some nice coffees to sip while seeing the other side of the railway station and the helicopter.

Daily grind Nyngan

Of course there was just the fun to be had of being in the Bogan Shire. Yeah, not much excitement :p

helicopter

Big Billy

I have to say the only other pauses of note that day were the big billy!! And getting back to Tronno and getting back home for my birthday the next day!

at coles

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4 Strategies for Cleaner Floors This Spring

cherry blossoms

When winter finally eases its grip and warmer weather moves in, you might find that windy, wet spring conditions make keeping your home’s floors clean a big challenge. People and pets track in mud, dead leaves, and all types of dirt, soiling hardwood and carpeted floors alike. However, there are a few tricks you can use to keep dirt and debris outside where it belongs instead of spending all your spare time sweeping and vacuuming as spring rolls around.

 

1.     Keep Some Entrances Closed

 

If you have back and side doors on your home, this usually means more sweeping and mopping as snow melts and you battle muddy or wet footprints each time family members come and go. To reduce the amount of debris being tracked in, you can keep one or more entrances closed until the weather turns warmer. This can be especially helpful for entrances that face directions where the wind blows in from most often, as more debris might enter the home on blustery days.

 

2.     Keep Interior Doors Shut

 

Sometimes, windy weather or negative air pressure in your HVAC system can cause doors to fly open and push dirt, hair, and other types of debris into corners and even as far as rooms on the other side of the house. After some time, each room’s floor may become more challenging to clean. To prevent this, keep interior bathroom and bedroom doors shut whenever possible.

 

3.     Use Door Mats at Every Entrance

 

Because dirt and mud people and pets track inside can contribute to built-in grime that makes floors difficult to clean, preventing it from entering your home in the first place can be important. Putting a door mat at each entrance is an effective way to trap dirt, but only if you use them properly.

 

When choosing door mats for your home, consider what type of dirt gets tracked in most often. If you live in an area that features a temperate but wet spring, choose a rubber mat with wide squares and a wire mesh that fits the underside so that your guests can scrape mud from their shoes. If you live where springtime is dry and windy, choose a mat that is easy to pick up and shake out. The type of mat you choose can go a long way in keeping dirt outside, where it belongs.

 

4.     Give Your Pets Their Own Entrance

 

Dogs that gallop through puddles and mud and then charge into the house along with your kids can be tough on your floors, and you may find yourself mopping up paw prints almost constantly during the wet weather. While you cannot teach your pets to wipe their feet, you might consider installing a pet door at an entrance where you can keep them confined until they dry off or until you can wipe their feet. A short length of hallway, covered with rubber mats, can go a long way in keeping the rest of your floors cleaner.

 

The fight to keep your floors clean during the spring can be daunting, especially if you have children and pets. However, keeping these strategies in mind as spring arrives can help you win the day and enjoy the warmer weather instead of dreading it.

 

 

 

 

 

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Affordable Prescription Glasses from GlassesShop.com

How much did your last pair of glasses set you back, including lenses? I think the last pair I bought from a retail store set me back over $500 and they weren’t even a “brand”.

That of course was before I realised you could, and trusted buying, glasses online. Being a brave, older-apparently-still-millennial, I’m used to paypalling away and having items shop up from all over the world, so, while it may seem strange to buy something so specialised from some place in the internets, it’s really just a matter of getting your Medicare-funding eyecheck every two years, making sure the optometrist writes down your full prescription, and setting about looking at all the colours and styles you can get with some button clicks … and for as little as $50! Honestly, the last pair I bought online only cost me $50 which included things like anti-scratch coasting and high density lenses for coke-bottle grade scripts like mine.

GlassesShop.com offered me some eyeglasses to flash around the internet and my real life from their range, and I decided to get these ones:

Fiona in red glasses

The Oversized Cateye or High Pointed Eyewear Vintage Inspired in red. ($29.95) I’ve never gone catseye glasses before, despite so many other kitty items in my life, and I can totally say I pull these off!

Fiona in green glasses

The other pair, the Lina Rectangle in Green have grown on me in time (and after some compliments on social media!) Again, this $29.95 pair is a departure from my usual style in that it’s a light colour with clean parts while I usually only wear solid dark colours these days. But I like it, and for that price why not have a pair for each day of the week? Afterall, people are always looking at your face.

new glasses on blue schoolchair

I already have some prescription sunglasses from awhile back, but maybe next summer I’ll get another :)

Have you ever bough glasses online?
If you haven’t, maybe try GlassesShop.com, with the code GSHOT50 for 50% off frames with free standard prescription lenses :)

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