My Attempt at Making French Bread!

High Suicidal Risk for University Students

I was recently speaking to a friend, and we found in some scholarly articles that University students have one of the highest suicidal risks in society.

When we found this information, I realised that most of my friends have become depressed at some point while studying in university. I even was told by a friend who saw their friend at college standing on top of her railing planning on jumping off the balcony as they felt as though they couldn't cope with university, luckily this person got the help they needed and has a better handle on things.

The pressures of university, have all got to all of us. Or life changing events can have a huge impact. The thing is, is that sometimes you can't handle everything yourself, and confiding or getting help is the best thing. It's better to get help, or help another person you know get the help they need.

The thing is painful conditions always pass, whether they be mental or physical. One of the worst things you can do is take drugs and alcohol to numb the pain. If you look at it from this perspective, you would never advise a friend to take their life because of their problems.

A short list of things you can do, or advise a friend to do (beyond blue website):

1. Seek information: There are lots of information on depression, anxiety, postnatal depression and other documents, it is good to develop an understanding on what you or your friend have been feeling or the symptoms.
2. Talk to a health professional in person or over the phone, there are many helplines which you can contact. Some treatments can include counselling services or in some cases medical treatment may be needed.
3. Eating well and exercising will help immensely. Exercise stimulates endorphins and will make anyone feel better.
4. Get into nature - a walk on the beach, a horsehide, walking the dog can improve your mood.
5. Write down or blog your feelings, meet a friend for coffee.
6. Take time out to relax, do yoga, read, do a painting.
7. Stay away from drugs and alcohol they are depressants.

There is so much information on the internet, and so many helplines. There is so much help and resources out there, so if it is yourself or someone you know you can acquire the help you need.

Some Australia helplines I found on google included:

• Reachout
• Beyond Blue
• Lifeline
• Kids Helpline

xox V

Remedies: Ingrown Toenail...Gross

So I had the not so happy experience of an ingrown toenail these past few weeks. I have had it before, at least three years ago now and was able to cure it by a really easy home remedy my doctor told me to try. And I mean REALLY easy. I have found that lots of people experience this and many go through surgery without trying home remedies themselves first so I decided to post this. You never know, might come in handy.

Ingrown toenails almost always occur on the big toe. There are a few things that can cause it and these should definitely be things you should avoid when feel your toe start aching. Here are a few things you can do to cure and releave some pain.

Picture from http://www.bodycarespecialist.com/pedicure-supplies

• Don't were tight or heeled shoes. If you can wear open toe shoes to allow your skin to breathe and not be packed tight inside a shoe. (Unfortunately for me this was not possible walking around campus all day and then in tight fitting ice skates the next. Ouch)
• Soak your toe in HOT water, the hottest water you can bear, the warmer the better. This not only helps kill bacteria and keep it clean but helps bring any infection or puss (I know really gross.) to the surface and eventually releases. I read you should soak for at least 20 minutes every day.
• After soaking feel free to rub on some antibacterial cream to the toe. 
• If you can, put some gauze roll in between the toe nail and skin, if it is the corner of your toenail digging into the skin this shouldn't be too bad to do. If it was like mine, the side of your toenail growing in too far, you probably won't be able to do this. 
• Pain relievers are good to take too if you can't just lie on the couch all day. 
• Make sure that you always cut your toe nail straight across the top, curving it and cutting the corners can cause ingrown toenails. Make sure to tell the pedicurist to cut it straight if you get your toes done often.
• Having a rounded toenail surface rather than flat also makes you more prone to get ingrown toenails so take extra care in looking after those toes!

Take care!

~M

Book: Tomorrow When the War Began

I recently read the series "Tomorrow when the War Began" by John Marsden. I literally could not put the book down, it was so thought provoking and engaging.

The novel sets place in a fictional town known as Wirrawee, in Australia in the outback. The main character is 17 year old Ellie, who is a farm girl and knows about cattle, how to shoot a rifle and things like using a chainsaw. Ellie decides that instead of going to the yearly Wirrawee Show that her and her friends from school go camping out in the bush. She organises a group with her best friend Corrie, Corrie's boyfriend Kevin, Lee who is Vietnamese and works at his parents restaurant, Robyn the daughter of the church pastor, her neighbour and close friend Homer who is Greek-Australian and Fi who is the daughter of lawyers, and even though she doesn't know much about farming they ask her to come along.

The group of teenagers go out to the bush to camp (to me the landscape reminds me of the blue mountains) while they are in a place known as "Hell" cut off from the rest of civilisation, Ellie wakes up to notice fighter jets in the night sky. They aren't too worried, thinking that these jets are just the Australian Army planes.

However, once they return home to their parents places, they find that Australia has been invaded and the population has been imprisoned at the Wirrawee show ground.

The teenagers, soon have to fight for their survival and I did not find it farfetched at all. It makes you think about what is right and wrong, loyalty, friends, in a way the book kind of reminded me of the mateship that is outlined in Australian Army history, such as not leaving anyone behind. It's not all brave though and the characters have meltdowns and breakdowns, many people die and friends are lost. Being in the generation that I am in, it makes me actually think of the fact of the generations before who had to fight for their freedom and in turn guaranteed our freedom today, it puts in perspective of what our population would have to do to protect our country, friends and family, that if we lost our homes, freedom, how would we cope?

They have already made the movie for the first book, I enjoyed it even though it was a low budget. The books are great though. There are seven book in the series.

Happy reading! xox V

Sunburn Remedies

I went on a mini vacation to the gold coast and got very sunburnt by the pool, I've never really been sunburnt so I had to look for what works.

1. Sunburn cream: I tried this first, and it was nice and cold upon application but as my skin was so hot it started to heat up to which made my skin sting. I also had to use an entire bottle and it wasn't too soothing.
2. Spray for sunburn: The spray was a burns and antiseptic spray and it felt nice and icy cold from application but could only be applied every couple of hours, and after a while felt sticky and my skin felt stretched and sore.
3. Aloe vera: I got some aloe vera plant from my mum's garden and its so good, cold and soothing. This plant is also good for cuts, blisters and is usually in lotion, this plant is so handy to have in the garden. To apply the aloe vera you just snap it in half or peal the skin off.
4. Tomato: An old family friend who is literally like a grandmother to me, told me while we were having coffee that tomato rubbed on the burns will take the sting out of the skin. I went home and cut a tomato and applied it on my skin, seeds.

The best remedy in my opinion was the tomato and aloe vera applied one after the other. I then did some research on these remedies. Tomatoes contain an antioxidant called lycopene which research is beginning to show can protect the skin from UV damage and sunburn. I researched a bit of aloe vera and it was said to be used by the Ancient Romans and Greeks for wounds. I definitely know that these two worked on my sunburn better than any of the products from the chemist as I could apply them also as much as I preferred.

Oh and the best part is, that aloe vera and tomato are so cheap to use instead of buying products!

xox V

My opinion is to use the aloe vera plant from the garden and tomato for sunburn it worked so much better than the lotion and burns spray.

Golden Buttermilk Cupcakes

Delish! I made these two nights in a row now, and the disappear faster than you can say "CUPCAKES!" Everyone in the family loved them and couldn't but have two ;) What I like about these is that they are so amazingly simple but still satisfy that spot, especially when they are fresh out of the oven and warm. It's been so rainy and gloomy outside that warm soft cakes and treats are a necessity for the evenings inside. So here we go. Hope you enjoy them as much as my family did! (Unfortunately they went to fast to take pictures ;p)

Ingredients

1 stick of butter (or 4 ounces) (I used salted and just don't add extra salt to the recipe, if you have unsalted, go ahead and add a pinch of salt into the flour mixture)

1 cup of sugar

1/8 teaspoon of vanilla extract (just estimate, we love vanilla over here so I probably put in more like 1/4 teaspoon)

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350F. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Preparation

1. I used my KitchenAid mixer with the paddle, it definitely makes it so much more light and fluffy. I recommend getting one if you think it is a worthy investment :)

2. Mix the butter and sugar together until creamy, add the vanilla extract and mix.

3. SIFT (don't skip sifting) the flour and baking powder together (and salt if you used unsalted butter). I just dump all of that into the sifter and sift it all at once...it will mix as it sifts! Give it a little stir after to make sure the baking powder is distributed evenly.

4. Add half the flour to the wet mixture, mix, add half the buttermilk and mix. Repeat for the rest, alternate flour and buttermilk.

5. Spoon into the cupcake cups and Ta Da! Into the oven it goes! How much easier could it possibly be!?

6. Bake for about 20 minutes. All ovens are different so as soon as the edges of the cupcake turns golden they're ready!

You can do anything with these cupcakes, add frosting, dust with icing sugar, fill the center with jam....There are endless possibilities.

Recipe adapted from Celebrating Cupcakes and Muffins.

New Years Resolutions

Ok, I know it's already halfway through the first month of the new year, but hey, new year resolutions are important so I had to think about mine for a bit. I have never really laid down new year resolutions for myself in the past, they've always just floated around in my head as a possibility, an "I should try to do that" kind of a thing. And you can bet what happened...nothing. I wasn't sure I wanted to do them this year, it felt like too much commitment, why can't I just roll with the punches? But almost everyone makes resolutions. Why? Well here's what I think...

First of all, people like to have a goal, something positive to work towards. That's a great thing! Goals keep us motivated and on track and in control. The new year is a fresh start, when could be a better time to give your own life a face-lift? I also think a lot of it has to do with tradition and culture, and the fact that everyone does it. I realized a lot of my friends go to measures of writing down their resolutions and posting them on the refrigerator or bedroom door and yet the next day...they walk straight past it. Don't put in the effort of setting yearly goals if your not even going to take note of them.

I'm not sure if I like the idea. I'm all for improving lifestyle and making goals for yourself, don't get me wrong. I just feel that a lot it has become...commercialized. I'm a pretty spontaneous person, I like to adapt as I go, I see something I'd like to try, try it, drive by a girl running and say yeah I really should be doing that. lol

Maybe I don't like the idea of new year resolutions just because I don't trust myself to complete them considering I haven't in the past. I've also heard a lot of people saying that they don't like resolutions because they think they will disappoint themselves and others...if it leads to that misery, why even go down that road. The fact is that resolutions are pretty much personal, you make chose to share them, but when it comes down to it, they are for YOU. Who will care if you complete them or not? (Different story if you're doing them to impress) It's definitely not because I can't think of them...my life is far from perfect and could use a good lot of resolutions. Motivation? Well, depends for what. I guess that could be part of the problem. Have you noticed it's so much easier to work out when you have a buddy to help push you along? (where are you V when I need you? ;p)

Well here we go, I am going to document some of the things I'd LIKE to make my resolutions, but I'm not promising anything. (This post might be deleted in about a week if it ends up disastrous ;p).

1. Exercise every day of the week (weekends off). V, let's make a new schedule for ourselves (and post a workout play list on here!! <--genius idea ;P)
2. Start skating again...even just once a week!
3. Get into this program at the place I ride and get hired!!
4. Save money...my travelling will definitely be become less this year so hopefully this is a possibility.
5. Keep my room clean!!
6. Take time to pamper myself.
7. Become an expert cookie decorator! (and maybe start a site to sell them!)
8. Go visit V!! <3
9. Post on this blog at least twice a week.
10. Start working toward my future and a future with the boy and become more open with it to my family and his.

and lastly...

11. Continue working toward become an INDEPENDENT WOMAN.

Well, let's concentrate on ourselves this year ladies, let's make ourselves happy before anyone else. And if that includes moving forward with a special someone that's great. The important part is to base your decisions in life on your own happiness, don't try to please someone and make yourself miserable. It's a new year and fresh start. I can't wait to go on this journey with all of you. Cheers!

XoXo

~M

How to Deal with Grief?

This is a post, that is personal yet I think it is really important to outline especially M & V is a blog about becoming and learning how to be an independent woman.

My parents split up and my mother and I moved when I was twelve, this was because my father was physically and verbally abusive, although he was only physically abusive to me not my mother. My mother was forced to leave, as if she didn't child services would have taken me away into foster care. Dealing with a parent who is physically and mentally abusive is very difficult, but like everything you can overcome anything you put your mind to.

Just before my 19th birthday I came back from Canada and my father had cancer, and I was asked to be his Power of Attorney, he said a lot of hurtful and nasty things to me during this time, even though I was there for him. I tried to be strong, and I was undertaking a full time dual degree at university in Business & Law and also working part time in a law firm.

The hardest thing for me, was talking to people I didn't tell anyone until he passed away the day before my 19th birthday, even my closest friends didn't know, I think it was because of my difficult past with him. Instead of dealing with these things I went to Canada to work in the ski fields and it was probably the best thing for me to do.

The thing is, I know it would have been easier for me if he was a different father figure in my life, and for a while after his death (I am now 21) I think i was mourning the father I never had.

Everyone deals differently with grief, I really struggled because of the hurt I went through in my life with him, but I mastered my courage finally and let go and scattered his ashes alone without anyone holding my hand, and I let go of my past while I did it, and I wasn't angry, or sad or resentful I just felt like I was accepting the past and accepting that he is my father, I do love him and he was good in other ways, there are just some things that no matter how much you analyse or think about you can never figure out. You just need to accept things, and move on.

It is hard, harder if you are mourning for a relationship you never had and never can have. What I learned was all I needed was time, take care of myself, the snowboarding helped, and I focussed on work and university. Really, you can overcome anything, you just have to be strong, resilient and you will have weak times, but in the end you just get a little bit stronger, and you will be so much stronger and happy, I know because I have been there. There are seven stages of grief:

Acceptance & Hope - you learn to accept and deal with the reality of the situation. This is where you will find a way forward. You look forward and plan things for the future, the wrenching pain will be gone. You will once again anticipate some good things to come. This is where I'm at now. :)

Capilano Suspension Bridge

While I was staying at the hostel in downtown Vancouver I met a bunch of awesome Aussies and we ended up at Capilano Suspension Bridge.

Capilano Suspension Bridge is one of Vancouver's most popular tourist attractions. It is just minutes from the bustle of downtown Vancouver and offers a unique mix of adventure, history and culture.

The bridge is actually Vancouver's oldest tourist attraction, originally built in 1889 it is 137m and 70m above the Capilano River. Surrounding the bridge is a a twenty-seven acre park, with a Totem Park, Treetop walk and tours. The gift shop also has some great homemade fudge.

Here are a few snaps we took on the bridge. ~ V

Whister-Blackcomb Mountain (Venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games)

There are multiple reasons why you should seriously plan on skiing or snowboarding whistler mountain, one being the 8000 acres of skiable terrain, rising a mile above the valley of Whistler.

Here are some points of why it is such an amazing destination:

• Greatest vertical, usable terrain for skiing and snowboarding in North America.
• Consistently ranked in the top 5 for North American resorts selected by industry magazines.
• Best parks and pipes in North America.
• Largest above tree line terrain and bowls in North America.
• Long ski season with skiing and riding into July.
• Amazing BC apres ski and nightlife.
• World class shopping and dining.
• Glacier skiing - the only resort in North America where you can ski or ride on a glacier, right in the heart of the BC mountains.

I have travelled to Whistler on many occasions, it makes for a great day trip from Vancouver. It has a pretty Australian feel, and is known for the place to go during Australia day. There are many bars and a great night life.

I added a few photos of my former coworker and I at the top of blackcomb and a chopper we snowboarded past! ~ V

Take a Road Trip with Friends

Big White Ski Resort, BC Canada

This is an extract from one of my travel journals while I was working in Canada at a ski field and the week I got back from Canada.

After finishing work at Grouse Mountain at 3pm our crew (known as work as A Crew) took two cars, a GPS, monster energy drinks and packed the car with snowboards and made the six hour trip to Big White, for an amazing two day road trip.

Big White Ski Resort, or Simply Big White, is a ski resort located 56 km southeast of Kelowna. It is the second largest resort in British Columbia after Whistler-Blackcomb and is the sister resort of Silver Star Mountain Resort. The resort is seriously recommended if your into knee deep POW POW and the tracks are some of 7km in length. Keep tabs on your buddies, because you will loose them sometimes in that big white fog.

There are some good bars, places to eat, night life and cheap ski in ski out hostels.

With this road trip, we found the road was quite dangerous, it was windy and there were a lot of semi trailers on the windy mountain highway.

Brisbane to Sydney

Brisbane to Sydney was another trip I made after getting back from Canada with a friend from university. It took us eleven hours straight, only stopping for petrol along the coastal road. We left on the Friday night and left Sydney on the Sunday morning to drive back to Brisbane for class on Monday. The trip definitely requires a lot of monster energy drinks, snacks and a good iPod playlist!

Also note, that if you are driving back to Brisbane through the night, keep an eye on the petrol gage! We realised on our way back that small country towns seem to close their petrol stations at night, we actually drove for 81km's with the fuel gage on empty. We actually pulled into a police station so they could direct us to the closest petrol station, so if this happens search for a police station where you could get help, especially safety is so important when its just you and one of your girlfriends travelling alone. I would also recommend taking more people for this trip so you can take it in turns to drive, and take rests as we didn't and we were exhausted in Sydney and after the drive back. ~ V

Beauty Regime's

Okay, so writing about a beauty regime was M's idea....okay so here is mine. Italicized is M's.

• I use proactive I don't use the three piece system I only use the face & body wash, its in a big bottle which lasts many months and I apply the proactive green tea moisturiser. That's all I use to cleanse, morning and night in the shower. It has this minty feel after or something, your skin feels so refreshed! I love this product! Been using it for three years now! I did use proactive also for a time, but it didn't help my skin much, dried it out in places and just didn't help the acne in others, everyone's skin type is different so experiment and see works best for you. I use Biore Pore Unclogging Scrub for my face in the shower each night (I found using it twice a day really dried out my skin). It definitely gives you that fresh minty feel and gently exfoliates. In the morning I do a light wash with a light facial soup and add moisturizer. ~M
• I use the product "whiteglo for models", its so cheap its around $10 in the chemist and comes in a packet with the toothbrush and toothpaste. The toothbrushes are so soft, and amazing if you try them you'll know what I mean. I also don't drink coffee hardly ever, but if I eat or drink foods which can stain my teeth I always chew some "extra" gum so my teeth stay white. For our American readers, I've heard good things about Crest whitening treatments that you can get from your local pharmacy, although I haven't tried them myself. Unfortunately I use extra fluoride cavity protection toothpaste rather than whitening so I'm not an expert in that field either, since I have cavity prone teeth. If you are willing to spend the money, the whitening kits that your dentist put together for you work great...planning to have mine done as soon as I get my next appointment. ~M
• I wear a retainer as I used to have braces, anyone who uses a retainer place your retainers in water with steradent tablets for dentures, they'll be brand new if you do this!
• I never ever! Go to sleep with makeup on to avoid a breakout! I don't care how tired I am I will force myself to get up and wash my face! This also applies to brushing your teeth, don't make a habit, unless you don't want your teeth later in life!
• I don't drink often. Drinking alcohol also can make you break out more, alcohol also has a lot of calories, and when your hungover the next day its hard to work it off when you're feeling sick. Try to limit your drinking, your liver, skin, complexion and wallet will be much happier!
• I use a good body wash, at the moment I'm using pamolive shea butter, its better than cake soaps. Cake soaps make your skin feel dry and sticky. Also a massive pump bottle will last longer! I use Victoria's Secret's Seduction body wash, yes...oh la la, but it smells so lovely and fresh, rich at the same time! It's great, I have a problem with things drying out my skin but this has been great so far, smooth and silky! Shea butter is ALWAYS good though! ~M
• I exfoliate! With a body scrub! YES! Also, before I put on lipstick when I wear it, i get a warm wash cloth (not the rough kind, like a small towel) and gently exfoliate my lips! I know, sounded strange to me at first also, but it helps get rid of those annoying bits of skin and makes your lips a lot smoother..especially for those of you that have bad habits of picking your lips (which you should stop right away!) or dry lips. Make sure you ALWAYS add a moisturizing balm before and after your lip color! ~M
• I use the body shop's honey and oat face mask and the seaweed mask they have too. I don't use them often, just whenever I feel like giving my skin a treat and relaxing!
• I try and drink at least 2L of water a day, I carry a 1L bottle around me all day, at work, at home, in my bedroom, its good to keep hydrated! I really need to do this, next thing on my shopping list...a pretty water bottle ;) ~M
• Eat healthy food! You can't expect the exercise you've been doing to work if you haven't been eating the right food. Food and exercise go hand in hand. Grapes are supposed to help your skin! Fruits and veggies always good. It's hard, but I've heard eating red meat once a week is the best way to go! Still gives you the protein without to much excess calories. A balanced diet is the key!
• Have sufficient sleep, it makes an amazing difference to your day!
• Use sunscreen! Please don't fry your self in the sun with tanning oils, do it yourself spray tans are much safer. ~M
• When I straighten or use heat near my hair I always use a heat protective spray in my hair. I used to use a leave in conditioner also, works too! But I do need to get a protective spray. ~M
• To avoid frizzy hair, after shampooing, I ring the water out of my hair and apply conditioner and leave in for a few minutes before rinsing. YUP! ~M
• Just another side note about what makeup I wear everyday. I NEVER use liquid foundation. I've tried lots, too cakey for me. I started using Victoria's Secret Tinted Moisturizer in light. Gave a great color and glow to my skin without feeling heavy. Doesn't give the coverage but definitely something I recommend. So much more airy and healthy for your skin. ~M

Well thats all I can think of

~V & M

Cookie Decorating

Yup! My new stress relieving hobby... Decorating sugar cookies (well technically you could decorate any kind of cookie but traditionally it's a delicious buttery cookie full of sugar). Over the past month or so I have collected over 150 cookie cutters and supplies such as piping icing tips, special icing coloring, sprinkles, and shimmer dusts. I love decorating the cookies. I never realized how much practice and skill it took. 

Take a look at these amazing sunflower cookies by The Sweet Sugar Belle...

Check out her blog, it's absolutely amazing, and she's one of my favorite cookie bloggers!

I hope I can decorate like her someday! It has been amazing how stress relieving this art is...and the tastiest form of art ever! I recommend you all to try it, start from the basics. The snowmen and snowflakes above were my second go at it and I've already learnt so much. I love the snowmen! Here are a couple of my favorite...

Cuties :) and definitely not perfect yet. 

If any of interested HERE is the recipe I use for the sugar cookie again by the Sweet Sugar Belle.

And HERE is the recipe I use for the Royal Icing from Bake at 350 another amazing blog to visit! (There are lots of different kinds of icing...I like Royal Icing because it doesn't take away taste from the cookie...the focus is on the cookie not on the icing. If you wanted a more flavorful icing you might use Buttercream Icing.) 

Enjoy the cookies, sometimes too pretty to eat! And perfect for homemade gifts for whatever occasion. 

Don't like the lighting...ugh haha (first pics are much more realistic ;)

XoXo 

~M

Individual Cheesecakes & Strawberries

This recipe was adapted from "Foods for Friends - Deserts"

• 100 grams sweet biscuit crumbs
• 90 grams toasted flaked almonds
• 90 grams white chocolate
• 60 grams unsalted butter

Lightly grease a 12-hole standard muffin tin. Line each hole with two long strips of baking paper in the shape of a cross to help remove the cheesecakes.

Put biscuit crumbs, almonds, white chocolate and butter in a bowl and stir until just combined, adding more butter if the mixture is too dry. Divide mixture among the muffin holes and use your fingers to press it over the bases and up the sides, smoothing with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate crusts while preparing the filling.

Filling:

• 2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
• 250 grams softened cream cheese
• 90 grams superfine castor sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 125ml whipping cream
• 1 egg white

To make filling, put 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl and sprinkle with gelatine. Leave the gelatine to sponge and swell.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and orange zest in a small bowl and sprinkle with gelatine. Leave the gelatine to sponge and swell.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and orange zest in a small bowl with electric beaters until light and creamy. Beat in the orange juice until combined. Stir in the gelatine mixture.

Whip cream until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white with a clean whisk until soft peaks form. Fold cream and egg white into cream cheese mixture. Spoon into prepared crusts and refrigerate for several hours or overnight, or until set.

Macerated Strawberries:

• 500 grams strawberries
• 1 tablespoon of superfine castor sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 2 tablespoons orange juice

To make macerated strawberries, cut strawberries into small pieces. Combing the strawberries with the sugar, orange zest, and orange juice and refrigerate for several hours.

I have attached a photo of my outcome. :)