Photo Credit to: anonymous9000

Many of us love using the internet to Google and shop online etc.; however my personal experience has been that sometimes websites you visit SCAM people who put their trust in those websites and you will inevitably lose money.  Some of the checks you can make are listed below but are not always a guarantee that they are safe sites.

• • Check to see if there is HTTPS:// at the start of the  website
  • Contact information
  • Read the fine print
  • Check forums
  • Check Fraud websites to see if they are listed on it

The websites listed on www.big-girls-dont-cry.com have been contacted and I have purchased from most of them personally and haven’t had any problems.  If you are unsure at any time please contact me by email at katly@big-girls-dont-cry.com and tell me your concerns and I will double check those sites out.  If you are still unsure use them at your own risk or pay them the old fashioned way by money order or bank cheque.

I recently Googled a website for movies, I didn’t want to download illegally so I tried to find some site that you pay a fee and then you can legally watch these movies online.  Even after I checked this site out using the above checklist I still got scammed out of $AUD42.00.  The thing that made me most upset is that this site is now no longer in existence so there is no place I can go and contact these people.

I also had to be on hold for 30 minutes to my bank to put a stop on the card and have this replaced.  So let’s recap here: I lost money, I can’t watch these movies anymore, I wasted 1 hour all up on the phone with my bank putting a stop on my card, and as it turns out I think these scum bags will get away with it.

All I wanted to do was watch a few movies legally online and I got more then I bargained for.

For Australian Residents if you are unsure about a site please got to this Australian website that the government has set up as SCAMWATCH.

Australian readers use

http://www.scamwatch.gov.au

USA reader’s use

http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Internet_Fraud.shtml

International

http://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/legat

I couldn’t find an International site so I have used the FBI site for international as they have partners around the world which could assist you in cyber-crimes or at least point you in the right direction.

I guess the lesson for today is look into getting one of those VISA debit cards that you get in the post office which isn’t linked to your bank that you can use online.  This way if you need to purchase something online you can put money into this account at the Australia Post and you won’t be jeopardising your accounts at the bank, so if you have to lose money it won’t be your life savings.

If you have any other fraud sites that you would like to share please email me and I would be happy to post them as a follow up.

I plan to go fishing, walking and if the weather stays warm even swiming.  You just feel relaxed and free to do what ever you like.

Try it sometime people.

Photo Credit – Family albumn

Most people take for granted that their parents and siblings will always be there, as I found out that I was to lose my both my parents and somehow being so far away from my siblings it feels like I lost them too.  It has been hard for me because we all lived together until I was 32 years old.  We did everything together – picnics, night clubbing, dinners and outings, video nights, drive ins.  Now even though I am only about 1 and a bit hours away it feels like I am in another country.

Everyone has gone on with their lives and forgotten what we all meant to each other.  I though haven’t forgotten and will always treasure our times together even if they have forgotten.  I recently got in touch with some distant family members and I received in the mail the other day 2 DVD’s with footage of my parents, us girls as children and other family members.  It was so good to see my mum and dad happy and healthy again and how they interacted with us kids.  I meant the world to me.

Maybe this year will be a year where we all connect again and realise how important we are to each other and that we are all we have left really.  I hope my siblings feel the same way as I but one can only hope.

I may or may not finish the list but it will be fun to update you as to how I am going with it.  Whether or not I succeed with it is not the point, the point is that I try to fit in a fun action packed year if I can possibly manage it.

I am merely a simple girl with simple goals but I know what ever happens this year that I will do my best and have fun along the way.

What will happen after 40?  Well who knows but that will have to be left as another post.  You may have a list of your own that you would like to share with me and my readers, I look forward to seeing your lists appear on my site.

1. Blog more
2. Complete my book
3. Spring clean the house
4. Catch up with friends and family more
5. Have a dinner party
6. Have a Tupperware party
7. Talk more with my husband
8. Plan my 40^th party
9. Sort out my family photo albums
10. Create a family photo album into a book and give my sisters a copy
11. Sort out my study once and for all
12. Finish a major project at work this year
13. Eat more vegetables
14. Fix the photo frame of the kids and then hang them up in the house
15. Call the plumber to take out the heater
16. Call a plasterer to plaster the hole the heater will leave
17. Paint at least the lounge, kitchen and dining room
18. Pay off some debt so I can buy my King Furniture couches
19. Buy a new rug
20. Call an electrician to put in a fan in my room, some extra power points, a fan in the toilet, some power outside, and a sensor light at the front.
21. Get rid of clothes in my cupboards once and for all
22. Sell my dining table
23. Buy a new dining setting
24. Exercise more
25. Paint the front door charcoal
26. Keep in contact with Lidija
27. Go camping with my husband in our new trailer
28. Give fishing another chance
29. Cook more
30. Learn to bake better
31. Do a photo shoot with Jacqui
32. Wax my eyebrows
33. Wax my legs (finally)
34. Dye my hair
35. Read my Twighlight books
36. Get out of the house more
37. Continue my word of the day in Facebook
38. Book into a day spa again
39. Tell my niece and nephews that I love them
40. Be true to myself

My list is complete; we change, grow and evolve into new people all the time.  I just hope that the next 40 years will be as interesting as the first 40 have been.

Enjoy!!

I am surprised how easy it is to eat Subway or salads and fruit.  I have really enjoyed eating this type of food.  I am also at that point again where I am sick to death of take away food.  I crave a low fat healthy home cooked meal.

Tomorrow night I am making pork cutlets, mash potato and vegies (beans, snow peas, maybe some carrots) haven’t decided yet.  I always grill my meat so I know it will be lovely and I have purchased these cutlets with most of the fat already taken off them.

My aim this week is to just buy loads of salad stuff, as well as actually use what I have in the vegie patch, got some zucchini, cucumber at the moment.  Might be ready for picking this week so will enjoy eating them.  I have also been drinking more water instead of heaps of soft drink which is a small change but a good one I think.

So anyway just thought I would share my thoughts today.

Photography is her passion and I thought it would be great to go around Melbourne and take pictures in our wonderful city.  I will keep you posted as to when this will happen.

This shoot will be about the re birth of BGDC and well myself.

Have a great weekend!!

Photo credit: Floyd Brown

Don’t you sometimes feel like people are Pete repeat. The same old lines – people are obese because of bad choices and lifestyle. I feel like people keep saying this and really don’t understand what they are actually saying.

There are many reasons why people are obese and not all of them are because of poor choices and bad lifestyle. I am now being Pete repeat because I keep getting the same comments on my site but one liners and nothing more.

Come on people give us something we don’t know, and look into your comments content a little further and then make an informed comment.

Till the next time

I truely find it unbelievable. Thank you to all whom have read it.

Photo credit: Enrico Weber

This Winter has been getting me down, it is so cold I can’t be my happy go lucky self.  Even the hubby gets the Winter blues.  I am so glad spring is upon us.

10 things to do in Spring is a great way to start the season and do all the things  you probably couldn’t do because of this aweful Winter weather.  I don’t know about you but I am totally over it now.  I love nothing better than to feel the the warm sun on my face and breath that fresh air.  That is after I take my allergy pills LOL.  I’ll leave that one alone, till I write about it.

So now that Spring is upon  us what list of things will you do? feel free to write in and share with us. We could do with a list to get us all motivated, me included.

Photo credit:  Andrecarol

We consume so many foods and don’t really know what is in them; yes I am talking about fresh vegetables and fruits.  Chemicals are still used all over the world on crops.  As many of you already know I am married to a wonderful man who just so happens to have a green thumb. 

My husband has created our very own veggie patch as well as some lovely herbs.  The reason I am telling you this is because they are chemical free and will no doubt be the yummiest tasting vegetables you will ever eat.  So I thought I would write a post on the benefits of having your own vegetable garden.

Whilst it costs money to set up and maintain your garden it can ultimately save you money with your grocery bill.  Not to mention the fresh produce you have in your back yard that you can come home from work, go outside pick your lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber, along with some parsley or basil to create a wonderful salad with your lean chicken, fish or meat.  On the other hand you might be feeling the cold like I am and come home, dig out some carrots, beans and even potatoes and leaks to create a warm comfort food soup, infused with a little chicken or beef or lamb it will warm the most fussiest of hearts.

The main point of this post is to show you that you can eat healthy and have fun watching your vegetables and fruit grow right before your eyes, then think of many different combinations to make a healthy, low fat meal that is also packed with nutrients.  This will assist you in losing weight because you have these foods at your doorstep (well in your back yard) anyway. 

Now I realise that some of you are not much of gardeners – neither am I really, however I see how my husband’s eyes light up when he plants something from a seed and it grows into a lovely healthy vegetable that we can eat.  I am more of a herb gardener – you can do this in pots and they look lovely on a window or balcony.

Photo credit: Mfoley25

By having herbs and vegetables in your garden you can really make the most wonderful meals and you will know they are fresh because you picked it from your own garden.  So why don’t you give gardening a go for the pleasure of watching something grow, for the peace it gives you, the health aspects and not to mention that gardening is a great exercise for you to do without you even knowing it – and it certainly doesn’t feel like you are slogging it out in the gym.  I hope this inspires you all to start growing something of your own.  I would love to hear your success stories.

Here are some helpful sites for you to visit that will help you set up your own gardens with the help from the professionals.

Suburbanfarmer

One Green Generation

Vegatable Garden Feng Shui