How’s that work again?

Are you someone who likes to find out how things work? Figure it out for yourself? Maybe with minimal guidance from someone else? Or would you rather quiz someone with specific details right down to the very last instruction?


I love finding out how things work. When I was little, I had a little calculator that had a clown face that you had to slide up to turn on. Well, I was curious as to how it worked, so I pulled it apart. I never got to use it again though because I couldn’t remember how to put it back together again!


Stories about getting hubby to work the VCR were reversed in my house. Hooking up more gadgets to the TV? That was my job. Got a new fangled digital camera to figure out? Yep, that would be my job again. I usually only read the manual if I really needed to.


Then I come across the people that aren’t so great at figuring these things out. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, because then I usually get to help out! (which I love doing ) I just wonder at how people’s brains can work so differently. When I need to explain something, I find that some can pick up my instructions fairly easily, while others just don’t seem to get it at all and I end up doing what’s needed anyway.


So, which one would you be? Do you like finding out how things work for yourself or do you find someone else to do it for you?

Cars vs. Public Transport

I love to drive. I mean, really love to drive. If people want to use me as their private taxi service, I'm fine with it. Want a lift to Newcastle which is 2 hours away? Sure! No problem! Stop offs along the way? Bring it. I have my own ways of dealing with other drivers and traffic which (usually) don't involve me screaming at other drivers.

That being said, when I had to give up my car a few months ago, I wasn't as sad as I thought I would be. Granted I hadn't been able to drive it for a few months before that because of a repair which was going to cost more than I could afford at the time, but it didn't affect me like I thought it would.

Now, where I'm going with this is; I've realised how lazy I've been as a car driver. I had lived under the assumption that if I don't have a car, then there are lots of places that I won't be able to get to. Not to mention incidental exercise had dropped significantly.

It wasn't until the other night when I left work of a mind to catch a different bus so I could go to Westfields on the way home to pick up some groceries that I realised just how much more I'm getting out and just how many places I can go on public transport. Even finding places that I never would have found out about had it not been for the bus rides. Then there's the added bonus of using travel time to catch up on reading, writing and drawing. OK, so the drawing thing is hard on the bus and my writing is full of bumps, but at least I'm getting more of it done than when I was driving. It's so much harder to quickly jot down an idea or do a quick sketch when you're driving... Plus I think there are some rules about keeping your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road...

So, I think I'm going to hold off getting another car. At least for a while. Anyone else decided to forgo having their own vehicle?

Besotted Wednesdays 23 Nov 2011

Bringing you things that have me drunkenly infatuated. Or is it infatuatingly drunk? Either way, it's things and places I love. 


For (probably a long) while, some of the links may seem like old news. This is because I currently have a backlog of pure awesomeness to sort through.



You may have heard recently that P.E.T.A are condemning Mario for his use of a Tanooki suit in the latest SuperMario. Here we have Mario’s response...

We don’t have Thanksgiving here, but even I have to agree with this. December hasn’t even started and already I’m sick of being overwhelmed with all the Christmas stuff in malls.

Which tablet computers do you prefer? Apple? Samsung? Sony? They might be a little small compared to this Android monster.

I just love ‘They Draw and Cook’. They combine two of my favourite pastimes! One of the latest recipes comes just in time for tomorrow.

I’ve always loved having a Nokia for my mobile phone, but even I had to admit that their game seemed to be sliding downhill rather fast. After seeing what’s to be released next year though, I’m hoping that they’ve realised where they went wrong and that this is the first step to getting back in the game.

I love fonts. Some may say that I far too many on my computer. I say there’s no such thing. Which is one of the reasons I love Smashing Magazine. This is just one of the many posts pointing the way to fonty goodness.

Rounding up with a comic. I just love Fox Trot. Anybody else have relatives like this at Thanksgiving dinners? Or any kind of family get together?

An accidental experiment in caffeine & sugar

Going through my notes, I came across one entry that I just had to post. It happened one cold winter morning...




On this particular morning, I had to leave the house early so I could get to the ATM to get money out for the guy who did my lawns as he had done my lawns a week or so ago even though I told him that I wouldn’t be able to pay him until payday. Anyway, most mornings I don’t have breakfast until I get to work though sometimes I manage to squeeze in a cuppa and some toast. Well, this morning I had a hankering for a frothy coffee of some sort and a bite to eat. After debating the issue for some time in my head, it was decided that as I had a bus to catch, and of course, no food or drink on the buses, that I would wait until I got into town. That lasted for all of about two seconds when I got to the bus stop and noticed the sign in front of the takeaway across the road. ‘Do the $1 danish’. Hell yeah! So 1 flat white and a cherry danish later. I had asked for some cold milk in the coffee so I could finish it before the bus arrived. Usually when I get a coffee, I ask for a small one as that’s enough for me. This time I forgot to specify and was presented with a rather large cup full of frothy wonder.

I did manage to finish that cup and my yummy cherry danish, but it wasn’t until I was on the bus safe from the freezing cold winds outside that I realised I should have waited until I was in town and had time to drink my coffee in my usual leisurely fashion.

On my bus trips to work, I usually do one of four things. Puzzles, homework, read or sleep. Today I thought I had best catch up on homework. After a couple of paragraphs I realised that I wasn’t making any headway and my thoughts were all over the place. More so than usual. Topics would change with blinding speed. Once I even thought, ‘My god is that the time?’ and I was staring out at the clouds.

Once this realisation hit, it became apparent that, contrary to previous beliefs, I am no more immune to the effects of caffeine than any other person. It had just never been so obvious as never had I drank such a large quantity of coffee in such a short time before. I’m actually amazed that I have managed to stay on topic for this long though I’m realising that some of my sentences are rather long. Also, there has been the odd pause here and there as I’ve either noticed something or some other thought has wandered in though thankfully they haven’t made it to paper.

And now I think writing it all down has done me some good as I’ve run out of steam. Besides, it’s almost the end of my bus trip and my thoughts are turning to the boots, jeans, and sweater I wish to purchase for my upcoming holiday.





Have you ever found out that something affects you more than you realised?

Gender definitions?

For many years, I've had this 'image' of what a woman was expected to be like, and what is expected from a man. I've also had the notion that if a woman deviates from this she is 'unusual', 'not like other women', 'a tomboy' and something along similar lines for men (though I'm sure 'nancy boy' cropped up a few times).
The reason I bring this up is because I've always felt like I'm one of the female oddities. I don't like shopping. I don't have a shoe obsession. I love cars, action movies and science fiction. In high school I was, at first, one of the few girls to do woodwork and in the end, the only one who stuck it out. Sure, I love the shiny, the cute, the teeny, but I rarely felt like matched what a female should be like.
Then I met the internet. After many years of travelling its corridors, I discovered (and picked up a few new quirks), that I'm not the only female like me. There a tons of car loving, action moving watching, sci-fi reading/watching females out there.
So when/where did the lines get blurred? Or was the notion that I grew up with completely wrong?

Besotted Wednesdays 16 Nov 2011

Bringing you things that have me drunkenly infatuated. Or is it infatuatingly drunk? Either way, it's things and places I love. 


For (probably a long) while, some of the links may seem like old news. This is because I currently have a backlog of pure awesomeness to sort through.



This is one of my new favourite etsy store's. CissyPixie has fashioned jewellery influenced by Twilight, Harry Potter, Hunger Games and others. I think I'll be spending a fair bit of my Christmas money there.


The Cheezburger network have introduced mini-sites! Claim yours now before you miss out on the opportunity to showcase your favourite lols.

For as long as I can remember, I've loved the obscure. Mysteries, paranormal investigations, strange facts and previously unanswered questions. So it's no surprise that I love Life's Little Mysteries. Handy little place to quench my thirst for random pieces of trivia.

Another place to satisfy my brain, Mental Floss has plenty of things to inform - or baffle - the mind.

There's nothing like a good photo editor. But what if you're on someone else's computer? Or at work where you're not allowed to install your preferred programs? This is where online editors come in so much handy! One of my favourites is Pixlr for emulating Photoshop so closely. OK, so I don't have all my brushes, but it's good for fixing things up.

Did you like cutting out pictures of things you loved and sticking them up on the wall, in a scrapbook, on a noticeboard, in your school locker, on your baby brother? You did?! Me too! This is why I love Pinterest. It's like a virtual corkboard of all the images that I love.

With Christmas coming up, are you racking your brain for a gift for your sci-fi loving friend? (You don't have to get me a present!) Geeksugar have come up with a handy dandy list of five items that are sure to win over your sci-fi friend.

O.C.D or just a quirk

I like things a certain way. I like things done a certain way. I like my piles of paper on my work desk to be neat. Even if I'm going to throw them out in a couple of minutes. (By 'throw them out', I mean put in the secure document bin for recycling.) I like the newspapers to be in a tidy pile in the work kitchen. I like the stools to be neatly in place under the bench. One day I was rearranging the things in the stationery/printer room because they had been (messily) put in the wrong place. A co-worker saw me, asked me what I was doing and then referred to me as 'Monk'.


Now, I've always been like this. I'll tidy up the greeting cards and magazines in newsagents. But never once have I thought of myself as having O.C.D. I still don't think I do. Of course, I've never actually seen a professional about it, but I still think they would agree with me. To me, O.C.D implies something more serious than what I do. I don't let it rule my life. It wouldn't stress me to leave something be.


Surely that's just human nature? Do you like things done a certain way? Would it bother you if something was  put in a different spot?

The Beginnings of my Ramblings

With so many random thoughts flying through my head space, I figured I needed to get it out somehow. I also figure that there must be others on a similar wavelength to me out there in the big wide world! So I’m putting pen to paper... or text to digital space as the case may be.

So who is this person emptying her thoughts into cyberspace? Well, I’m a mid-thirties mum who likes sci-fi/fantasy books and movies, gadgets, arts & crafts, reading (obviously), ice-skating (though don’t have much of a chance to do these days), and cars (not so much the mechanical aspect though). I’m also the biggest mushball you’ve ever seen. I mean it. You know those ads for Bondi Vet where some pet needs urgent surgery? Have you seen any episodes of Ghost Whisperer? Yeah, I’ll be the one blubbering by the end of it

You’re welcome to offer your own opinions on my ramblings, or even add your own! I may be one cat away from being a crazy cat lady, but human interaction is still a good thing. Right?

About Me

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Larissa
I'm a mum who (would you believe) is still trying to find her way. There's so many distractions in this world! A few years ago I enrolled to do a Bachelor's Degree in Naturopathy, now I'm questioning that decision. Currently re-exploring my creative side and this is where I'll be sharing it. Printables, drawings, my daughters creations, and whatever we whip up in the kitchen on the weekend. Explore, enjoy and don't be a stranger ;)
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