I’m giving away this iPad cover. Isn’t she divine!? I luuurve this colour.

I bought it from here, so click over to read the specs.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and I’ll draw the lucky winner in a week.

I’m also giving away 2 x wrist key fob’s on this post, so don’t forget to enter that one too!

Good luck!

Have  you seen these wrist key fobs? They are the best! If you haven’t already got one well then you must!

Pop your keys on the end and wear the wrist holder. No more scrounging for your keys. They look great.

I bought my sister-in-law one a while ago and people are still asking her about it. I’d be lost without mine.

So, I bought a couple from OhKoey on Etsy and thought I’d give away 2 on my blog. Just leave a comment on this post! I’ll draw the winners in a week. The first winner will chose which one they like.

In this post I am also giving away an ipad cover. Now, head over and check that one out!

This is not a sponsored post. I was not given the items. I like to buy them and share with you because I really love that you keep coming back to read my blog! x

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Ever get a text message that wasn’t quite right? It’s was a bit weird?

Well, last week my husband got my sister a beauty with a text message…

I went to do some groceries and accidentally left my phone at home. My sister obviously starting texting me and my husband started answering.

I got home to find him with the phone in his hand, on the lounge, giggling and laughing with tears in his eyes.

He couldn’t breathe… “I just got Amie big time!”

Once I’d answered that I did not write the message about loving him so much, the phone call that followed from Amie was the funniest conversation I’d ever had. We snorted and squealed. She laughed and laughed and laughed…

It was funny because Amie fell for it and normally she’s far too clever for my husband and his jokes. She is not mushy at all so she would have found that strange that I’d write such a thing. Her eyes would have been rolling in her head and she would have thought it was gross. She even took the phone to her husband and screwed up her nose saying “Geez Katrina must be tired and delirious, what a weird thing to tell me.” Her husband looked at the phone and thought maybe I’d been drinking. Ha!

Once we stopped laughing her words were “I don’t know when, I don’t know what, but I WILL get him back.”

Hook. Line. And sinker.

God I love my family.

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Ever fleetingly thought what would happen if you woke up one day and couldn’t see your blog?

What if you couldn’t access the dashboard?

What if you frantically grabbed your phone, ipad, laptop… and still couldn’t see it?

I’m paranoid this will happen to me. I am no expert in the technical side of hosting, viruses etc (I just make the page look pretty!), so I would be just like you if this happened…

How would you get your blog back?

Nikki from Styling You and Maria from Crashing Red have both been faced with this. No blog. Just gone! (Both got them back, but we have learnt some stuff along the way). Maria writes and great article about it here.

Both believe a nasty virus got in somehow via a plugin and started destroying files.

There are some steps we can take to help prevent this, or at least back-up our blog so you don’t lose everything.

How to back-up your WordPress Blog

1. Always use the latest version of WordPress. Make sure your blog is backed up (instructions on how to do that below), deactivate plugins and install the latest version. Re-activate plugins.

2. Always use the latest versions of your plugins. Update them when you see them available in your dashboard.

3. If you’re really paranoid and you have money to invest in your blog (depending on how/what you use your blog for), I recommend you also buy a subscription to Sucuri Security. This is a site that will scan your blog every few hours for any little bugs that may attach themselves (and looks out for hackers!). They can find problems if they arise and delete them. Well worth it! I bought this subscription. It means that if I have a problem, they can detect it (plus I’ve backed up my blog content and layout), so I can put it all back together.

4. Back-up your blog.

This is the easiest part. It will take 10 minutes to initially set this up.

Download this plugin: WordPress Database Plugin.

Install it and edit the settings (TOOLS > BACK UP).

I have set mine to back-up daily and have the file emailed to me (now it backs up to the server because of it’s size). Send it to an email address that you know you can access through a different computer should your computer ever die one day! I know so many people that have email addresses they’ve set up on their computer years ago and don’t know how to access it elsewhere!

So if my site dies, I still have to find the right person to put it back together because I am not that clever, but I have all the precautions in place.

That’s it. So easy.

How to back-up your Blogspot Blog

If you have a Blogspot blog, the thing to remember is that you technically don’t own it. It’s not a self-hosted site. When signing up for a Blogger account you have agreed that Blogger has the rights to remove your site any time. So, we need to think of saving our time, energy, and money put on Blogger blogs by some means. It is much easier for a Blogspot blog to go ‘missing’. I wrote a short article about why I switched to WordPress after using blogspot for 5 years. There came a time when I realised my blog was a culmination of too much hard work just to lose it.

However, there are steps that you can take to back it up. If your site does go AWOL, remember, you have the back-up files, but you may not get your domain or all of your google indexing and page ranks back.

1. Go to SETTINGS > BASIC > EXPORT BLOG.

2. Take a complete back-up of your site (via Export Blog).

3. This will download to your computer. I always save it and then email it to myself. There are no features for periodic saving, so you need to remind yourself to do this often.

4. Now you need to download your layout. Go to DESIGN > EDIT HTML. Open a new file from your computer in Notepad (or the like). Copy ALL of the code from inside the Edit HTML box in to your blank Notepad file. Save it and email it to yourself.

*If you’re using the new blogger interface, go to Template (in your Dashboard) > Backup/Restore (top right). 

Now we have most of the big stuff covered. It’s peace of mind.

Hope this helps you in some way. There are plenty of other blogs who have written about this, so take the time to do some googling and you’ll feel secure knowing you’ve taken some steps to make your blog safe.

Happy Blogging. X

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Well here we are. The Chambo’s. New year, new journey…

My kids are all in the one place. One drop-off and one-pick-up. Life is pretty good. It’s those simple things!

Yesterday went off without a hitch. No tears from anyone. Just lots of smiles and excitement. I couldn’t be prouder.

Today Amie (my sister) is coming over from Albury. We’re lunching and stuff.

Plus, the highlight of my day? A man is coming to steam clean all my lounges and floor rug. Yippee! Freshness.

In the next few days I am going to do a post about securing and backing up your blog after a few of my fav bloggers were hacked recently. So come back for that!

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I haven’t posted much from around my house in a long time. Just wasn’t feelin’ it. You know how it gets! So here are some pictures of some of my stuff. I’ll give you a tour of my new bed-head when I finally finish it. So far Aqua is winning followed by Fuchsia! Have you voted? Click here to see what I’m talking about…

I’m leaning towards Fuchsia or even Yellow.. gasp! I know! I have so much aqua in my house already. I have aqua cushions on my lounge, aqua vases… but I do love it. Hmmmm.. decisions! Amie is currently making a bed-head too. yeah, we do everything together. Hers is out of hessian. I’ll get some pictures for you when it’s done.

…

My littlest kid starts big boy school today. I am going to be emotional! This is a big step for our family. My eldest will be 10 in a few weeks so I’ve been the ‘carer’ for so long. My husband says time for a job Katrina. Ha! See that, I laughed. Haha.. still laughing! No, really, I have contract work all year, so I’m looking forward to 2012. Bring it on!

This means tomorrow’s blog post will be the obligatory school photos of my boys

Have a great day! x

So, because I’ve shared it there, I thought I’d share it here. Why? Because I still get so many emails from blog readers asking about crohn’s. There are 70,000 Austrlian’s with this disease and my story is just like most of you with this disease. I bet that the majority of my readers know someone with crohn’s…

It’s a crohnic illness, that has me bed-ridden some weeks and then I bounce back like nothing is wrong. People don’t understand that every day is different and it’s a disease I cannot control.

At this very moment in time, I am struggling to control my crohn’s.

I’m having another flare. I have arthritis in my left ankle, it’s always swollen and I limp some days. I still have ulcers coming and going on my calf muscles. I am visiting the toilet up to 10 times a day, crohn’s is waking me in the night, I’m always thirsty, I’m weary, and I am exhausting all of my medication options. I have started yet another round of steroids to pull me in to line, but this is not a long term solution. Steroids are only for a few weeks…

I have no idea where my crohn’s will take me, but I am not worried, or frightned, or stressed. I was given this disease for a reason – I know that reason… because I can handle it. I can deal with it. I’m not dying. I’ll just get on with it!

So here is my story…

(disclaimer – I did not write this post for comments, so please, you don’t need to leave one today )

KATRINA CHAMBERS: HER STORY
A reality-TV celebrity talks about career, kids, and Crohn’s disease

By Rita White

Motherhood is a tough job. Doing a reality-TV program for two intensive months is a tough job. Managing a chronic illness is a tough job.

Fortunately, Katrina Chambers, who at one point had all three on her plate, is tough, too.

At 34 years old, Katrina is certainly living a full life. She’s mother to three young boys, aged 9, 6 and 5. She’s a reality-TV celebrity. And she has Crohn’s disease.

Diagnosis

“I started showing symptoms when I was 18 and at uni,” Katrina says. “At the time, I was living away from home and having a great time, studying and drinking and going out. Then I started feeling unwell. Originally I thought it was just a lifestyle thing and I’ve just got to rest myself. But then I started bleeding from the bowel and I realised that this was serious.”

She told her mum what was happening, then went back home to Albury in New South Wales to get it all sorted. “We saw a specialist and I had a colonoscopy and we learned I have Crohn’s disease. I was 19. I didn’t know anyone else with Crohn’s and I myself knew nothing about it. It took me a long time to comprehend what was happening. At the doctor’s office, we were given some printed information, then I went home and researched it some more.

“When you’re young,” she continues, “it’s really hard to be comfortable with yourself as a person. And then you get dealt with a disease that you don’t know anything about and you don’t understand why it’s happening.”

Raising a Family

Katrina kept her condition from everyone except her family, and back at uni, things settled down a little bit with medication. “I didn’t miss any uni,” she says. “I didn’t fail anything and I still got on with it. I got through all that and graduated, then moved to Wagga for a job and I’ve been here ever since.”

Things stayed manageable and life went back to normal, although she did have a flare-up soon after she married her husband, Andrew. But then she got pregnant with their first son not long afterwards, and she found herself completely symptom-free.

“During each of my three pregnancies and when I was breastfeeding, I was better than I had ever been.”

Katrina’s sons are now 9, 6, and 5 — three healthy, robust boys who are aware that sometimes mum has bad days and needs to rest.

“They know that I have some problems with my bowel and that that’s just how I am. They also know that when I need to go to the toilet, I need to go to the toilet. They understand and I sometimes hear them tell each other, ‘Don’t go annoying Mum — she’s on the toilet!’

“Andrew is so supportive as well. He’s just awesome. I don’t keep any secrets from him, and he knows that on some days I just have to take it easy, especially if I’m still in my pyjamas late in the afternoon.”

Katrina from The Block

Early this year, Katrina was a contestant on Channel 9′s The Block, a show where contestants renovate a home and get it ready for auction. She and her sister Amie Godde worked together as a team and toiled practically nonstop for nine weeks to renovate a house, all under the scrutinising glare of the reality-TV cameras.

“Doing the show and getting the house sold was a buzz,” Katrina says, “but all that stress, coupled with not eating properly during the weeks of filming, took their toll on my health.”

She had a flare-up and dropped 10kg during filming. She lost a further 4kg since completing the show.

These days, Katrina is living a much quieter life back home in Wagga Wagga NSW, and she takes it easy whenever she can, taking everything in moderation and paying attention to what her body tells her she needs to do.

“A couple of Easters ago,” she relates, “I got myself in a bit of a situation when I ignored feeling unwell. I ended up dehydrated and had to stay in hospital for four days.”

Fortunately for Katrina, not many foods bother her. She tends to avoid bread because of the yeast, and she doesn’t take alcohol as it makes her sick. But as long as she doesn’t overindulge in rich foods, she usually has no problems.

“I pick my battles,” she says. “If I know I’m not going anywhere for the next few days, then I’ll usually eat whatever I want. Not even Christmas is a problem. The Christmas stress doesn’t get to me. I’ve got three boys! It doesn’t get much more stressful that that.”

A Voice for Crohn’s Disease

When she looks back on her past fifteen years living with Crohn’s disease, she still considers herself lucky. She has a great career, three great kids, and a supportive husband. On top of all that, with her current celebrity status, she’s now in a position to talk to people about something that she kept secret for a long time.

“Apart from my family, I never told a soul about my Crohn’s disease for a really really long time. I hid it all the time. In hindsight I realise now that it’s easier to deal with it when people know about it. There would have been no more hiding, instead of people looking at you and saying, ‘Oh gosh you’re always so sick!‘ And although you really are lethargic and you’re not focused and you’re not motivated, if you’re forever just saying that you’re not well, others wouldn’t understand.

“I’m a really motivated person and I want to do well in everything. If you’re like me and you become unwell, it gets really hard. So you need to let people know: it’s a disease that you can come in and out of all the time, and sometimes you’re really well and sometimes you’re unwell. You need to let people know about it and they’ll understand that you have no control over it.

“When I finally started telling people — just around two years ago — everyone seemed positive. I tell them that it’s a recognised and fully known disease, and not something that I conjured up in my head. It’s really hard to manage, so I let people know about it.”

For Katrina, it’s been a journey not only of health, but also of self-knowledge, and an awareness that IBD needs to be brought out into the open. Speaking about bowel disease need not be embarrassing. Being open and honest about a condition that afflicts almost 70,000 Australians can only lead to greater understanding of the challenges that those with IBD face every day, greater acknowledgment of their needs, and greater support to find a cure.

Katrina Chambers has been through much, and we at CCA are grateful to her for sharing her experiences with us, and for her supporting what we do. We are also very grateful for the sisters’ donation of $10,000 to the organisation. Katrina and Amie won the money for their charity of choice during an appearance on Channel 9’s Hot Seat. They donated it to CCA as a way of showing their support to the IBD community.

Visit Katrina’s website at www.katrinaleechambers.com for more information on her latest projects.

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I’m up for a challenge. I think it’s time I made something.  It’s been a while between drinks…

So, we’re renting at the mo, so I can’t paint or bash stuff into the walls, but I can definitely sand furniture, make bed-heads and move stuff around. I have a great sideboard that I will sand up in  the next few weeks. Yep, I’ll share the before and afters.

Remember how I bought a new bed? Well, the intention was to make a bed-head for it. I’ve done one before, so I’m pretty sure I can do it again. BUT this could be hard because I was thinking of doing a chevron fabric. The zig zags could pose to be tricky dicky.

It’s only fabric, right? I can always change it if I stuff it up.

Now, the question for my lovely readers is…

which colour?

I’d love it if you voted. It will be fun to see what you think. Oh, and don’t forget to tell me which one you voted for, and why!

Today I am on the hunt for a new white Super King doona cover. I’ve tried hundreds (well, not hundreds, you know I love to over-exaggerate things) of online stores, so maybe I’ll head to the shops.

The unpacking is pretty much done and I need an escape, so why not go shopping for new stuff!

Drum roll….

Catheryn Walker.

Whoop! Yay! Hooray!

Catheryn, can you email me?

I moved house yesterday. It sux. I’m aching. It’s really early here and I’m about to head back to the old joint to clean. Can’t wait for next week when everything settles…

Miss you guys. Back soon!

Happy Australia Day! I remember making one of these huts once. Lucky I didn’t have to paint the flag on it

I’m hanging out with my friends and Amie is coming over for the day. I’ll be wearing a Kaftan (drawing the winner soon!) and eating snags off the bbq.

I’m moving house tomorrow, so back on board next week.

I have a new Facebook page here too if you want to join!

Have a great day.