And the winner of the Lazybones giveaway is......

Okay, so I may make even the simple things in life a production. I could just write some names on a couple of plain pieces of paper and close my eyes and pick one, but where is the fun, or more importantly, the pizzazz, in that. 

Instead, I chose the crafty route, complete with Thor involvement. Even surgery and constant pain are no impediment to making this little draw an event. That's what Panadeine is for! Go big or go home, that's my motto. And if you can involve feathers, pretty paper, and the world's most gorgeous Great Dane, why not. 

Unplanned, I did just realise that the dress and cardigan I am wearing are also from Lazybones. Told you I love their gear. I blame my wild hair on not being able to lift my arms to brush it yet. Really you should be impressed that I am out of my pjs and have managed a shower. That's a feat and a half at this point.

Getting my craft on.

See world's most gorgeous, and patient, Great Dane in the world. His sister in the background on the other hand, is like the Loony Tunes, Tasmanian Devil and was not allowed to participate.

He may have been a bit reluctant to give up the winning entry.

Congratulations Kendall!!!

I'll be contacting you to organise your size and delivery. I hope you enjoy your lovely Lazybones pjs.

Thanks to everyone who entered the draw for the Lazybones giveaway. And thank you for supporting the blog. It's the readers and the community over on Facebook that keep me motivated to keep slogging away at the keyboard. I really appreciate all the well wishes, prayers and good luck messages that I have received both before and after my surgery. It seems that Jeri (my pacemaker) is working a treat and excluding the post-surgery malarky, I feel better than I have in months. Amazing what having your heart beat can do. 

And a big thanks to the fabulous and friendly team at Lazybones for sponsoring my blog's 4th birthday giveaway, and making sure I was the most comfortable and fashionable patient on the ward. Thank You xx

Cheers

Michelle :)

Blog Birthday Bonanza.

Today is my blogging birthday. 4 years! Who'd a thunk it? What started as me venting a lot of frustration and clawing back my sense of self, lengthy rambling post after length rambling post, has turned into so much more. Where I was when I began and where I am now, are two very different places. 

Back in 2009 I was rather lost. It's strange looking back now at how emotionally strained things were then. Sudden and serious illness has a way of hitting you for six. It leaves you reeling, and if you're lucky holding on by the skin of your teeth. The physical symptoms are bad enough. Chest pain that leaves you gasping in pain or collapsing tends to send your fear levels skyrocketing. But the changes to your sense of self and your relationships, and issues regarding loss and grief, can be rather hard to deal with. 

These days I am in a much better frame of mind. I have ups and downs but am better equipped to deal with them. I know I've faced a lot of bad health times and come out the other side. That knowledge makes it easier to cope when I'm stuck in that periodic quagmire of pain and fear, as my symptoms escalate. Strange to think that as my health has deteriorated my ability to cope with that fact has increased exponentially. 

What started as my personal venting has become a community, a place of shared experience and support. Advocacy and awareness have emerged and the blog has become a place to give voice to the patient experience not just for myself but for many. And I love the community that has sprung up here and on Facebook. 

And to say thank you to you, my fabulous readers, 

I want to celebrate my 4th blogging birthday 

with a GIVEAWAY. 

As I've mentioned many times, I like pampering. I think it is particularly important when you are chronically ill. We are in and out of hospital. Stuck in bed or on the couch, often for long periods of time. Times like that you need to make your world, as limited as it may be, as comfortable and lovely as you can. 

Anyone who has followed me on FB for any length of time knows I love Lazybones clothes and own more than a few of their pieces. I love the mix of vintage and feminine style. I love their dresses, but am particularly enamoured with their fabulous Relax range which I wear all the time. Practical, comfy, and pretty are a good mix. And, more importantly, can make you feel better even on your worst days.

And thanks to the lovely folk at Lazybones, one lucky reader has the chance to win two of their pieces. 

Up for grabs are two items from their Relax range, shown below.

(Rosita Top in Amalfi)
100% cotton voile, I love the loose fall of the Rosita top. So light and comfortable.

(Kate pants in Cream)
I love the detail on the bottom of the Kate pants. They are 100% cotton and light and flowing. 

How to Enter:

COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

The competition opens as of, 9am Friday the 19th July 2013 (Australian Eastern Standard Time).

To enter simply leave a comment at the bottom of the post sharing your favourite way to pamper yourself along with an email address so I can contact you should you win.

The giveaway will close 5pm Friday the 26th July 2013, (Australian Eastern Standard Time) using the Thor Method. With the winner announced Monday the 29th. 

The lovely folk at Lazybones were also kind enough to send me a pair of their soft and light Frankie pjs in Enna just in time for my surgery. If I have to be stuck in hospital I can now at least do it in style.

Thanks Lazybones!

Cheers
Michelle :)

Angus and Julia Stone, Mango Tree (2009)

And the Winners Are........

Ah giveaways, they do give me much pleasure. And paper cuts.

Sadly, I could not find my bag of feathers to make the entries. And really you just can't have a giveaway without feathers. Or dogs.

So of course I made Thor wear my pink feather boa whilst he selected the winners. And he was stoked.

He did enjoy rubbing his face on the entries in a weirdly overly enthusiastic way that left us all a little uncomfortable.

But eventually started picking winners despite his feathery embarressment.

 Though he was unaware he was also wearing the entries for a while there. He's not overly sharp.

 So I stupidly decided to get Freyja involved. Unfortunately, she is the energiser bunny of dogs.

 And lost the plot thanks to the excitement of falling entries.

 And decided that manic was order of the day.

Leaving me covered in these. 

 But she did manage to choose some winners.

And without further ado. And because I now need a nanna nap to recover. The Winners.

The winner of Prize 1: The MOR Cosmetics gift pack is....

Kelley@magnetoboltoo, congrats Kelley!!!!

The winner of Prize 2: Ode to Dysautonomia which had the gorgeous accessories and oils is...

 Hope Filled Living. Congrats!!!!!

The winner of Prize 3: the lovely photographic prints by Kyli Wolfson is....

 Cyndi Ogden. Congratulations Cyndi!!!!!

The winners of Prize 4: One of 5, 2 packs of Lindt Excellence A Touch of Seat Salt, are...

Kathleen Eakins!!!!

 Kim@Frogpondsrock!!!!

 RudeKitiKatt!!!!

 Katrina Horsfall!!!

 Coppelia!!!!

YAY. Congratulations to all the winners. Send your address to rustyhoe@livingwithbob.com and I'll post out your winnings as soon as possible so you can pamper up!

Thanks to everyone who entered. Thanks also to the generous sponsors of the giveaway who made this all possible. MOR Cosmetics, Lindt Australia, Claire Barnier, Tennille Pooley, Vickie Isaacs, and Kyli Wolfson.

Don't forget to check out all the fabulous pampering ideas over here.

And mostly I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me and my ramblings over the past three years despite consistently poor grammatical skills, an inability to use 'to' 'too' and 'two' appropriately, and frequent use of inappropriate humour. It's a rough road at times but your support has meant the world.

Cheers
Michelle :)
And just because it's so appropriate in so many ways. Hot Chocolate's, Everyone's a Winner (1978)

How do you celebrate when your blog turns Three? Why, with a fabulous Giveaway of course!

When I started this blog three years ago I could never imagined how much it would grow. Initially, it was simply a place to record my thoughts. My diagnosis of Dysautonomia was still relatively new. And I was still trying to traverse the ups and downs of living with an illness that had dramatically changed my life. I never thought anyone would read my ramblings. Well, apart from pity reads from friends and family. To be honest I thought I'd do it for a few months and then forget about it. But something unexpected happened.

One-by-one people I'd never met started leaving comments. People from all over the world, some with Dysautonomia, some with other chronic illnesses, some with no health issues of their own but who also had an equally warped sense of humour or could relate in someway to what I wrote. Over time more people found the blog and a really lovely community developed. I get emails everyday from people thanking me for giving a voice to their experience or helping them find a little light and laughter in the midst of what can be a truly difficult time. Those emails mean the world to me. Being able to help someone, even in a small way, makes the whole blogging process worthwhile.

But it's not a one way street. The support I've had from readers still blows me away. Complete strangers who take the time to care during the hard times and who can laugh with me during the good. Many of those strangers have become friends in every sense of the word, though we have never met face-to-face. That support and the sense of community make what is often a difficult time bearable. And for that I will always be grateful.

Chronic illness strips away much of who you are. It is hard. Damn hard. Sometimes you have to make a concerted effort to find something that makes it easier. For me it has been finding ways to pamper myself even when I am at my sickest. For example, I can whip on some gorgeous hand cream even if I can't sit up, or I can snack on my favourite treat whilst I'm stuck on the couch. Those little things make it a little easier to deal with. And this is what I want to share with those who have supported me through the past three years here on the blog.

I want to give a little something back to say thank you. And thanks to two of my favourite companies and some generous and talented fellow Dysautonomia patients I am able to do just that.

To celebrate Living with Bob's birthday, it's time for a focus on a little pampering. It's time for...

...a GIVEAWAY!!!!

Prize 1: 
For the past couple of years I have been using the gorgeous body products of a local Australian company, MOR Cosmetics. My sister first sent me their Marshmallow hand cream in a care package and from that time I've been hooked. And it is the Marshmallow range that continue to be my favourite in the fragrance range (as evidenced by the growing collection on my bedside table). The products themselves are luxurious, but it is the eye for detail, which includes the packaging that sold me. Anyone who takes the extra time to create such beautiful packaging knows about luxury and pampering. 

Huge thanks to the lovely folk at MOR, whose generosity means that I am able to share three of their lovely products from the Marshmallow range, with one lucky reader. MOR describe the Marshmallow fragrance as a "Vanilla Musk with Jasmine Flower gloriously rapture in this pretty, feminine fragrance. Sugar dipped Rose Petals with White Carnation & Cotton Candy blend beautifully to create a deliciously sweet perfume". I'd describe it as a little slice of heaven. 

The prize includes:



Marshmallow Body Cream: A silky, whipped cream designed for intense absorption, with emollient
to soothe & protect dry skin. The luxurious moisturising experience lingers throughout the day with a delicate, soft sweet scent.

Marshmallow Hand Cream: A rich, decadent cream that turns unkempt hands into the softest of
Marshmallow mittens. Shea Butter & Sweet Almond Oil mingle with extracts of Marshmallow, Peach & Vitamin E to pamper, restore and protect hands and nails.

Marshmallow Triple Milled Soap: Feelings of sweet nostalgia are kindled with this pink, vintage inspired, Triple-Milled Soap Bar that produces a soft rich lather which pampers and softens dry skin.


Bliss.


Prize 2:
I call this one Ode to Dysautonomia, and it fills me with pride. The Dysautonomia community is both generous and creative. This is a collection of awesome. Products range from jewellery and accessories to  beautiful aromatherapy products. Pampering in anyone's language.

Double sided headscarf (above) and rose hair clips (below) from Cherry Pie Accessories by Claire Barnier:  As Claire says "Every girl has the right to feel glamorous and I believe they can - it's all about accessories! I create many things from fabulous fascinators, cute kawaii hair clips, glamorous Rockabilly, burlesque and Pin-up styles to Punk and Gothic inspired pieces and generally gorgeous girly things. Cherry Pie accessories' mission is to make you feel fabulous by adding just the right touch to complete your outfit and put that spring in your step that only comes from finding the perfect accessory! Each product is handcrafted with love and Cherry pie's unique style using specially sourced new and upcycled materials". Claire has kindly donated the gorgeous double sided headscarf pictured above and hair clips below.

Metal Stamped POTS earrings from 'Tennille's Jewellery': Tennille creates unique metal stamped pieces in  copper, brass and stainless steel. The hooks are sterling silver, so safe for those with nickle allergies.

doTerra essential oil Introductory Kit: This lovely kit containing Lavender, Lemon and Peppermint oils was kindly donated by Vickie Isaac, whose daughter has been using them in the treatment of her Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). A beautiful accompaniment to any pampering and well being session. They can be used topically, internally or aromatically. I'm loving the freshness of the lemon scent. More information can be found at (rechecking the links sorry should be up again soon).

Prize 3:

2 Photographic Prints by Kyli Wolfson: Kyli Wolfson discovered her passion for photography in the beginning of her journey with POTS. It quickly became an outlet for her. She discovered that by taking pictures she could freeze a beautiful moment in time and allow others to escape there as well. After that, she was hooked! Kyli has kindly donated two of her beautiful photos size, 16"x20". Both of these photos (below) were taken on the beautiful Mackinack Island in Michigan, USA.   

Prize 4:
One of the quirks of Dysautonomia is that patients are often prescribed a high salt diet by their cardiologists and neurologists. Although necessary, it can be hard to stomach at times. Last year I discovered a most delicious way to meet part of my daily intake, Lindt Excellence, A Touch of Sea Salt. My discovery of this culinary miracle was most surely accompanied by a choir of angels and a beam of light falling directly on the neatly arranged blocks on the supermarket shelf. Salt and dark chocolate, this my friends is pure brilliance. Since that time A Touch of Sea Salt has had pride of place in my refrigerator. Word of A Touch of Sea Salt spread quickly and it has since become somewhat of an unofficial chocolate of the Dysautonomia community here in Australia. Now I can truly say my chocolate intake is purely medicinal.

Now thanks to the lovely people of Lindt Australia, who generously donated 10 blocks of A Touch of Sea Salt for this giveaway, I can share the joy.

To spread the joy there will be five chances to win 2 blocks each of Lindt Excellence, A touch of Sea Salt. 

 (So pretty)

How to Enter:

The competition opens as of, 9am Thursday the 19th July 2012 (Australian Eastern Time).

To enter simply leave a comment at the bottom of the post sharing your favourite way to pamper yourself.

For extra entries:

Follow me on Twitter 

Follow Living with Bob (Dysautonomia) on Facebook

The giveaway will be closed & drawn, 5pm Thursday 2nd of August 2012, (Australian time) using the Thor Method. 

COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.

A huge thank you to MOR Cosmetics, Lindt Australia, Claire Barnier, Tennille Pooley, Vickie Isaac, and Kyli Wolfson, for helping me say thank you to all those who have supported me and helped to make Living with Bob the blog it is.

Cheers
Michelle :)

And the winner of a copy of Charlotte Wood's "Animal People" is.........

Prize provided by Nuffnang Product Talk.

Well the day is here for the big draw. Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway, for a chance to win a copy of best-selling Australian author Charlotte Wood's fantastic new novel, Animal People.  As I  mentioned in the earlier post I use the Thor method to draw winners here on the blog. Seems very apt given the title and theme of Charlotte's book. And given the responses both here and on FB, I think most will appreciate the joy of getting your dog involved in prize draws.

For those who don't know, Thor is one of my two Great Dane's.  He had a rough start to life and we are his 4th, but most definitely final, family. He has some 'issues' (so as Mr Grumpy says, he fits right in here) thanks to his previous owners. He's very anxious, not overly bright, and his tail and back legs nolonger work well, but he makes up for that with 90+kgs of smelly furry love.

The Thor Method begins with the creation of the entries. Feathers, glitter and Dorothy Shoes are a must.

Then there is the oh so fun stage of getting Thor interested in the feather entries. Unfortunately, the glittery bird on the side of the plate was far more interesting, so this stage took far longer than anticipated.

 Finally, and with the prodigious use of bread treats, he started to seem a bit more interested.

Unfortunately, at the crucial moment he was distracted by a bright shiny object. Thank God we love him.

 Nineth time, and several pieces of bribery bread later, was apparently the charm.

And the winner is........

One soggy entry, and a quick chase around the living room later to try and get it back. Damn, he's quick for being so big and uncoordinated.

Brahm from, Alfred Lives Here. 

Congratulations Brahm. And if you pop over to Brahm's blog you'll see from his header that he is a very worthy winner.

Brahm if you'll drop me an email with your address (my contact details are up top), Animal People will be winging it's way to your mail box.

Thanks once again to Nuffnang Product Talk for the the opportunity to review Animal People and for the prize copy.

Time to go wash off the dog drool and grab the sticky tape to dehair my clothes.

Cheers
Michelle :)

And because anyone with a furbaby in their life is a winner, I give you, Hot Chocolate's, Everyone's A Winner.

"Animal People" by Charlotte Wood, Product Talk & Give Away.

(This review is part of Nuffnang's Product Talk. I did not receive payment for this review. However, I was lucky enough to receive a copy to read and keep, and another copy to give away to one lucky reader.)

(Very excited to receive my parcel)

I am a book geek. No two ways about it. One quick glance at my dusty bedside table makes this readily apparent. This is not a new phenomenon. I was the weird child reading Tolkien and Bronte in primary school. One of those strange kids who actually volunteers to be a library monitor so they have first access to all the new additions. Yep that's right. I was that girl. I knew how to party back in the day. I can even admit that one of my favourite High School trips to Melbourne was to visit an antiquarian book shop that looked like it was straight out of a movie. A beautiful blue stone building complete with muffled silence, lashings of dark wood panels, and precious first editions secured behind glass. Makes me wistful just thinking about it.

Very little has changed since that time (including my aversion to dusting, and never ending love of hula hoops. Remember those Big M ones that smelt like the drinks? I had a chocolate one that I loved dearly. Well, until my big brother gave it to the dog for a game of tug-a-war. Not that I'm still bitter or anything.) There is still nothing better than the feel of a book in my hands or the smell of the pages as you crack it open for the first time. Or even better the well-loved, dog-eared copies of your favourites, held together with sticky tape and prayer. Battered treasures that you pull out on rainy days or when you need that extra hit of comfort.

(If I make it small, you can't see the dust right?)

And, luckily I have been given the opportunity to feed my addiction, whilst simultaneously reviewing the latest offering from bestselling Australian author, Charlotte Wood. Animal People takes place over one day in the life of Stephen, a despondent, cafeteria worker from the local zoo, intent on dumping his girlfriend.

I came to this book with no expectations. I avoided reading any reviews and decided to dive in armed only with an open mind and a trusty block of chocolate. And I was rewarded with an engaging book that was truly a joy to read. Can I write a book review by simply typing the words "loved it" again and again? Probably not. Does it count that I teared up at the end as Stephen finds clarity in an unexpected moment? Is my emotional connectedness to the story and the characters an adequate reflection of the book? Or that I read it in two sittings as I became so drawn into the story? Emotionally, I'd give it an A+, but I should probably try a more intellectual approach as well.

Charlotte's paints a vivid picture of Australian city living. The familiarity of the scenes and attention to detail draw you in from the beginning. I particularly loved the early picture she painted of Stephen's vision of his mother on the other end of the phone tracing the flowers on her carpet with her toes. A level of detail reflected throughout the novel. The characters, from the main protagonist Stephen to those that pepper his life on the periphery, feel as though they have been plucked from the real world, giving depth and realism to the story. The slowly building tension is well paced. And the ending (without giving anything away) unexpected and cleverly hopeful, where she could easily have left the reader with a feeling hopelessness and perpetual urban disconnect.

The central character Stephen is as fascinating as he is troubled. Charlotte's use of his internal dialogue as he tries to make sense of the world around him, whilst also trying to preserve his self, is truly engaging. The oppressive heat of the day, the perfect mirror to the oppressive weight of Stephen's life.

The question of not only whether you are an animal person, but what exactly that means for how we relate to the world and those around us, is craftily played out throughout. Making the reader constantly review their own position of what it means to be one of the animal people, without it feeling forced or lecturey.

Overall, I found Animal People a really enjoyable read. And I have no doubt that it'll find it's place up there with my other well-loved, dog-eared treasures to be read again and again.

You can read more about Animal People here. There are also a series of great videos of the author discussing the novel.

Competition Time:

I have one copy of Animal People to give away to one lucky reader.

All you have to do is leave a comment here on the blog, twitter, or FB, and let me know if you are or aren't an animal person, and what that means for you. Make sure you let me know if you do tweet or FB.

Entries close: Midnight, Friday the 25th of Novemeber 2011 (Australian time)


Winner will be drawn using the Thor Method and announced on Sunday the 27th November 2011

Cheers
Michelle :)

OMG its a Giveaway!!!!

This little old blog of mine has almost reached a milestone, it will soon be two-years-old.  It's a very exciting time as I never thought I'd still have anything to write about two years down the track.   Between my apathy, lack of follow through and difficulty in coordinating breathing and.....well anything, it's amazing that it manged to get past the first sad little post.

I've been racking what little is left of my brain for an appropriate way to celebrate.  I considered chugging margaritas, dancing on the inside, face planting in a large soft mud cake, or, even doing a streak through the lines of shrieking fans outside the opening night of the new Harry Potter movie.  Now whilst a medicinal margarita and a cake of the chocolate persuasion are highly likely, I thought it would be nice to give a little something back to the lovely bunch of readers that have stuck by me despite my obviously increasing insanity.

It's GIVEAWAY time!!!!!!!

I've thought long and hard about what would be an appropriate prize for such an auspicious occasion and such discerning readers.  Of all my posts, there is one that stands out for the joy it seemed to give others.  Even a year later I'm still getting comments, both here and on FB.  I also love my shoes even though I am unable to walk in them.  Just to glimpse their glittery goodness out of the corner of my eye brings me great happiness.  And, as the more astute of you may have noticed, a picture from that post now adorns my header.

My tutorial on making Dorothy Shoes unearthed a desire that seems to have lain hidden in the hearts of women (and not a few men) the world over.  Glittery red shoes are the path to true happiness.  There is magic in them there shoes, and that magic must be shared.

*I also find it highly entertaining that my little post which contains information about unicorn farts has ended up on the Vogue forums.

Hello my pretties.

So in honour of that one little post and those glittery shoes of goodness.

I am giving away 

a pair of Dorothy Shoes 

to one lucky reader.

I know it's hard, but try and contain your excitement people.  Glitter fever is quite overwhelming, and frequently contagious.

And just think you too could be a crazy woman doing Blue Steel impersonations in her backyard.

To Enter:

All you have to do is leave a comment here on the post.
This giveaway is open to all readers, both here in Australia and overseas.
Feel free to Tweet or Facebook the competition to anyone.
If you happen to choose to 'Follow' the blog over on the side, or 'like' the FB page I'll even give you an extra entry (just make sure you let me know, brain challenged remember and I don't want anyone to miss out on an extra entry).

Entries close Midnight Sunday 17th July 2011 and the winner will be announced on the Tuesday.

***ENTRIES NOW CLOSED***

The shoes can be made in either the traditional high heel, or in flats.  They will be made to the winners size and choice of heel height.

So enter away people the magic of the glittery Dorothy Shoes of Goodness needs to be shared.

Cheers
Michelle :)

PS Thanks for all the well wishes during my recent tussle with the flu.  I think the delightful phlegm cement is finally starting to move off my lungs and I am hoping to attempt a full day out of bed in the next few days.  Brain may take a bit longer to de-fog as evidenced by my recent new phone debarkle.

Me: "It says that the temp is going to be 11 to 32, that can't be right?"
Youngest: "No Mum, that's the time".
Me: "Oh".
Youngest: walks away shaking head at my growing stupidity.

One step closer to the use of safety scissors. Sigh.

No this song doesn't really have anything to do with the post, well unless you like shoes a little too much. Not judging......much.  It's just an old favourite and it's my birthday, so there.