Gentle Giants

 

Humpback Whale 

Revitalise Me Deodorant

     As far as natural deodorants are concerned I am well educated on the subject. I have tried mineral deodorant sprays, crystal sticks, Toms, home made recipes... Just about every type you can think of and sadly none of them have done the job, meaning I stink. Now I know that the smell of your sweat has a lot to do with diet and the bacteria on your pits but I'd rather not go into too much detail on that...
     There are many reasons why you may choose to give up standard deodorants. For me it was evidence linking aluminum (found in most antiperspirant deodorant) to cancer. It was also the fact that some deodorants made my skin break out in a rash. Looking at all of these chemical filled deodorants on the shelf designed to stop my body from doing what it's meant to just felt wrong. So I made the switch and after trying many brands, types and even making my own I resorted to the fact that natural deodorants would never compare, I was wrong.
     I can't remember how it is that I stumbled across The Physic Garden on Instagram but I do remember calling it The Psychic Garden for a good few weeks. The Physic Garden is a relatively small online business located in Melbourne, Victoria and is run by a naturopath and healer named Charelle. The store is stocked with natural, handmade vegan skin care from deodorants to balms. The entire aesthetic of this website makes me want to become more sustainable myself. Charelle created The Physic Garden as a way to connect people to the healing properties of nature everyday. If that wasn't enough to sell you the prices on this site are great too! If you're interested in purchasing any products I will link the website. Some Australian stores even carry her brand in stock so make sure to check the stockist page on her website.
     I purchased the 30g Revitalise Me deodorant as a trial size. It contains Shea Butter, Bi-Carb Soda, Arrowroot powder, Olive Oil infused with Calendula, Candelilla wax, Essential oils (Lemon Myrtle, Rosemary and Tea Tree) all organic ingredients. She also has relaxing and sensitive deodorants available which sound just as lovely.
     So on to the review! I have to say the packaging was very neat and beautiful and even though I only ordered such a small product it really felt like a lot of care went into my individual purchase. The first thing I had to do was a sniff test. You can really smell the lemon myrtle with a hint of tea tree although it is NOT overpowering. To use this product I have a tiny wooden stick and I apply a pea sized amount to my underarms. You could use your fingers but I prefer not to. I haven't noticed any smell, excess sweat or uncomfortable caking.
     The real test came today when I did a long and hard work out. Typically this is where all of the other deodorants fall short. I am so excited to announce that after this treacherous work out I smelled fresh! I did a little victory boogie and immediately began planning out this blog post. I will continue using this deodorant and possibly try out the other scents. If you're like me, and have been searching for The One, here it is! A huge thank you to Charelle for making such wonderful products.

Website -  https://thephysicgarden.com/collections/all

How to Move to Australia - Getting Health Cover

     Welcome to my second addition to this series all on how I moved to Australia. This post will focus on healthcare options while traveling or moving to the country. Please note that all information provided is my experience only and it is always very important to do your own research.
     The first time I came to Australia I was on a temporary visa, meaning I did not have the intention on moving permanently. The best health care option for me was to buy insurance created for those traveling in Australia temporarily. There are plenty of insurance options within a reasonable budget, you can visit sites like compare the market to find the best deals for you. It's pretty straightforward from there, you will get a healthcare card and be covered for what was specified in your plan. Most of this is for emergency cover meaning ambulance, and hospital fee's.
     If you are planning to move to Australia or stay here for longer than a holiday period here is what I chose to do. I arrived on a working and holiday visa (temporary) and signed up for a BUPA plan. This covered me for ambulance, hospital, $350 worth of dental and a small optical plan as well. BUPA has tons of options so you can add on whatever suits you or your family. If you don't have healthcare to put in in perspective a typical doctors appointment will cost you out of pocket around $70 dollars. My average cost for prescription medication ranged around $14 dollars and my average dental hygienist appointment was $95. So if you choose not to be covered these are some costs you can expect to pay and that doesn't include emergency situations.
     Becoming a resident means that you will want to enroll in Medicare. Australia has a universal healthcare system that provides free or subsidized healthcare. Meaning that if you went to the doctor with your medicare you would pay $70 but receive $45 back. So your appointment now costs $35 instead of $70. To enroll in Medicare go onto https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Visa/Medicare and make sure you are eligible.
      I applied for Medicare by downloading and printing the enrollment form at home, I then filled out my information and went to the Centrelink/Medicare facility. (I will link the Medicare enrollment form below). Make sure to bring your passport and all identification with you to the office. I only needed my passport, Australian drivers license and my permanent residency form. When you enter into the facility make sure you tell them that you are a permanent resident enrolling in Medicare and it cannot be done online. They often usher you in without listening and then find out that the application cannot be done online resulting in a longer waiting period. Once you get called to the desk you will then hand over your completed form and all identification listed previously. They will check your passport to make sure the visa is linked and sign you up for Medicare. After that you will be issued a temporary Medicare card and a new one will be posted to you in the mail. The temporary card will work for any appointments so don't worry. The entire process is very smooth as long as you have all of your documentation and information filled out correctly. I hope this article helped you and good luck on your journey!

Medicare enrollment application - https://www.humanservices.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/3101-1306en.pdf

How to Move to Australia

       

-Questions to ask yourself-

For what reason am I moving?

What is my current financial situation?

Is there anyone in Australia to help make the transition easier?

How tied am I to my homeland?

Do I need fast internet?

     Ok, so the last one is a joke. But if you’ve ever used Australian internet you can surely relate. It’s important to ask yourself these questions because moving here isn’t the easiest or cheapest thing, and you need to be set in your decision. Reasons for moving may include change of scenery, a new job opportunity, education, or a partner to name a few.

     What is your financial situation? This is critical because moving to Australia can be very expensive, and not only for the application fee. Anticipate background checks, health checks, and possible taxation from your home government if you’re working in Australia while you wait for your residency.

     Do you know anyone in Australia to help make the transition easier? If you have a partner, family, or job willing to sponsor you it can make the whole process a lot easier.

     How tied are you to your homeland? Even if you’re coming from a western culture, Australia will be very different from what you are used to. Unless you’re from California, they always fit in here. I strongly encourage you to visit or temporarily live before deciding to apply for a long-term visa.

     I recently had my permanent residency visa granted within 9 months! My waiting period was supposed to take anywhere from 12-16 months, but I got through very quickly. This is most likely due to my reason for moving (my Australian fiancé), hiring a migration agent (Godsend) and having a clean record (both medically and criminally). So for anyone looking to get a partner visa here is how I did it.

     I started off moving to Australia on a working and holiday visa. This allowed me to stay in the country and work for 12 months. I applied for my permanent visa before my temporary one expired, which switched me over to a bridging visa. So, first of all my partner and I had been together for four years which meant we had plenty of evidence to back up our relationship. Second, we had lived together for at least 12 months prior to applying. Then we registered our de facto relationship through New South Wales. This set up our successful visa application. After that we searched online for a migration agent whom we felt comfortable with, had good pricing and amazing success rates. It’s important to do your research so you don’t get scammed. I will be writing a post about my experience with a migration agent another time. So working with the agent we were able to fill out the application step by step, get my medical exam done and hand in our evidence. The final step was getting my criminal checks done by both Australia and America. For this I also had to be fingerprinted. Once this was all done it was just down to waiting. The way the visa process worked for me was we did things step by step rather than all at once. Once your visa is approved you are all set! If you are getting a permanent residency you will be able to apply for Medicare right away! However, you will be on a temporary residency for 12 months, sort of like a trial period. This will grant you the same rights as a permanent resident though so don’t worry! There really is so much to cover on this topic but I wanted to start by outlining what I went through for this process and then I can go into more details in the future. If you have any specific questions please feel free to comment! Good luck with your visa process.

How to Live Away from Loved Ones

     I am very fortunate to only be a Skype call away from my family and friends, and understand that many people aren't as blessed. Whether they are poverty stricken, in the military or in any other difficult situation I truly feel for anyone in this predicament. Sometimes this may feel like a first world problem because we do live in a time when the world can be explored within a 24 hour plane ride, but living this reality has taught me it is only a transitioning problem. Yes my mail may be air carried and take two weeks to arrive and maybe seeing my family isn't an 8 week boat trip arriving on Ellis Island but it is still difficult to be away from family. 
     I try to push any concerns to the back of my mind. Trust me if I let my anxiety have it's way my pictures would be like the before and after shots of president Lincoln. Common stresses revolve around tragedy and what if's... Could I get there in time? What if the flights are booked? What if we can't afford the journey? None of these situations matter because they haven't happened and stressing about them won't make them less likely to happen. That is the first key to living away from home.
     The second is to have a solid reason for being away. Fighting for freedom, earning an income, being with your partner. These are all great and valid reasons for being away from home and having a strong reason will anchor you in your decision. Whenever I feel like giving in and going home I look at my partner and realize that it is worth it.
     Thirdly, stop thinking that everything has changed. There may be a few new stores, maybe your nephew has grown five inches since you last saw him but people change and things happen. Whether you were there to experience it or not people grow up, buildings fall down and life moves on. Romanticizing your old life isn't going to change your current situation, which brings me to my next point.
     Create your own life. Maybe this is a friend circle or a work routine but create a life where happiness can grow. For me it is adventure and building my relationship. Being in a new country means that everything is new and exciting. No it isn't always fun but taking my camera along for the journey makes it worth capturing! It's important to log off Facebook, step away from the timeline photos and live your own life.
     Lastly, visit home. Keep in touch with your family, remember birthdays. This will help you feel connected. You may not be in the photographic evidence but you will still be in your loved ones hearts. I hope this post helped you, good luck!

Why Renting Sucks!

      Now I know what you're thinking. Of course renting is terrible, you pay upwards of twelve thousand dollars to live in someone else's investment. Besides the obvious things such as applications, deposits and landlords what sucks about renting?
     First of all the fact that your home never really feels like your home. Often times you can't paint or fix up your place. We've been blessed with horrible green curtains and an 80's brown bathroom. While you may be thinking you can at least change the curtains, I'm here to say, not in my budget! The windows are huge and to get curtains for them all would cost well over three hundred dollars, no way!
     Secondly, our neighbors smoke. Now I don't really care about the life choices of others, but when your way of smoking is sitting in your bathroom with the fan on I will have an issue. Living in an apartment means that you get the cigarette stench blowing through your bathroom and kitchen fan, how fantastic! I know you could have similar problems if you owned the apartment but the difference is you could fix the issues yourself. My partner and I often feel guilty about complaining when something doesn't work and we have come to realize that it doesn't really matter because the owners won't fix it properly anyway.
     That brings me to my next point, living in a construction zone. When we moved into our latest home we were told that the deck wasn't up to scratch and would need to be fixed. This would take a maximum of two weeks we were assured. We had hammering through our Birthdays, Christmas and other holidays. It has been three months of one feeble old man installing a new deck and trust me, I am feeling it. He is a nice guy, don't get me wrong but I don't want hammering and awkward greetings in my own home. If I owned the apartment I would've hired a proper team to assemble it but the owners were more concerned with saving money than doing the job properly.
     So why does renting suck? Because you pay 300 dollars a week to get a run down apartment full of problems and bad neighbors and you have no power to fix any of it. It doesn't come with air-conditioning? Oh well... The plumbing is broke? You can go without water for a week. No TV? Who cares it's not a necessity! Congratulations, welcome to life!

Returning to America!

     It's official! I will be returning to America for three weeks in June. I am so relieved that the tickets are booked and I will be seeing my family in three months. In June it will be two years since I left for Australia, two years since I last saw my family. My fiance is coming along for the journey of course, I need him to keep me sane for the plane ride! I also need to see a doctor for some anti-anxiety medication for the flight. In total it is 21 hours of flying so in other words, a must! I've tried everything from travel calm, Sea-Bands, Valium and lastly Ativan. Ativan has been the only thing that can calm my anxiety. Some people ask if it's really necessary but when you are shaking on a flight for 15 hours and can't eat I would have to say the answer is YES! Unless you struggle with bad anxiety it's hard to relate to what others are suffering with. If you see someone struggling on a plane please just have some patience they most likely don't want to be there anymore than you don't want them there. For my family I will fly around the world, so wish me luck!

Journal

 

     My best advice for staying committed to journaling is to have a vision and a beautiful journal. The reason behind a lot of YouTube vloggers is the documentation of their life. I wanted a more personal and private documentation of mine. I also see my journal as a form of moving forward with depression. Sometimes I am able to look back at old entries and see how far I've come within the last few months. It helps me see that anxiety, depression and struggles do not last forever. I'm hoping that when I'm done with my journal I can hide it in a an attic or pass it down to my future children. I make sure to include historical events including politics and the Olympic game results. I think that details like these are what makes journals interesting and timeless!

3 Things That Happened When I Left America

     It's been almost 2 years since I moved from my small town in Northern Michigan all the way to the Far South Coast of Australia. My partner and I were in a long distance relationship and decided to close the gap. I thought Australia and America would have many similarities because they are, after all, both westernized countries. I was wrong. Not all of the changes I have made to my life have been difficult or negative but they have taken me awhile to get used to. Here are three things that happened when I moved away from America.

1. I lost weight. This is something that happened within two weeks of arriving in Australia. I lost about 10 pounds without any significant diet changes and better yet the weight stayed off. I'm assuming this is because Australia has stricter guidelines to the food they allow their citizens and residents to consume. It also has to do with the change of culture. In America it was common to eat out at least three times a week, but here many people opt for a picnic made at home. Cooking your own food is usually a lot healthier and cheaper.

2. Became environmentally conscious. I cringe at the thought of myself lugging my pop cans to the store to earn a few dollars. Or throwing anything, and everything away to fill up more landfills. I can't say that I'm perfect now but I have come a LONG way. In Australia the trash services are "free" and they also give you a bin for recycling and outdoor waste such as branches. All of the toilets here save water by having the two options, you can imagine what they are for. People here are just generally more conscious about the environment and the little things that you can do to have a positive impact.

3. Pay attention to American politics. I am ashamed to admit it but honestly while I lived in America I tuned out all news stations. Patriotism was ingrained in me since I was a child and I also grew up in a very conservative family. By the time I was a teen I only wanted to escape the voice of Bill O'Reilly. I never knew how much other countries payed attention to what America is doing and why shouldn't they... Their decisions effect us all. It wasn't until I moved overseas that I started understanding politics/policies and also realizing how wrong many of them are.

     I'm still changing as person and I expect to find many more differences as I transition into a permanent resident. But here are the biggest three changes I have seen since moving, I hope this post provided some insight for you!

Oil and Wax Burning

     I buy all of my natural soy wax melts from a small shop in Cobargo called Twig & Feather. These melts are handmade and top quality. I find that I can personally use each melt about 7 times but it really depends on how long your burn times are. Each carton of 6 costs under 10 dollars. The oil burner pictured below is also from the same shop.
     You start off by breaking the wax melts, kind of like an ice cube tray. You then place one into a clean oil burner and light a candle underneath. Once you are finished using a melt (after around 7 uses) you can melt the wax and then before it dries wipe it out with a paper towel. I will be using my new vanilla scented soy wax melts today but I also have the scents Australian bush and passion fruit, lime & orange. If you would like to use an oil burner for your essential oils simply fill the top with water and a few drops of your favorite oil. If you are unsure of how to diffuse your oil properly you can watch a simple YouTube video online.

Peppermint

Edith Pearlman

Thursday afternoons with Edith Pearlman

Australian Lingo

                   Here are some of the terms that I first noticed when I moved to Australia. After a lot of confusion I finally learned the local terminology although I still need to learn a lot more. On the left side is the American way and on the right is the Australian.  

Shopping Cart - Trolley 

Trunk - Boot

French Fries - Chips

Chips - Crisps

Cotton Candy - Fairy Floss

Pop/Soda - Fizzy Drink

Hoodie/Sweatshirt - Jumper

Trash - Bin

Napkins - Serviettes

Pacifier - Dummy

Cookie - Biscuit

Liquor Shop - Bottle Shop

Gas/Gas Station - Petrol/Petrol Station

Cooler - Esky

Liquor/Beer - Grog

Electric Kettle - Jug

Supper - Tea

Kiss & Co

Current Favourites

     So lately I've been trying to focus on my mental and physical health. I'm far from perfect though. I still reach for delicious hazelnut chocolate, but I'm improving. 
     If you really want to change your stress relief methods I would highly recommend the book The Mindfulness Key by Sarah Silverton. This book teaches you how to deal with stress, anxiety and depression using mindfulness in a non-religious way. So it's really opening up this technique and spirituality to a wider audience which is really amazing in itself. Dymocks has this book in stock for around $22.99 aud.
      I was gifted a pack of Sierra Bees organic lip balm recently and I'm so in love. I'm very pleased that my fiancé bought me 8 or else I would run out quickly! These come in a variety of scents such as mint and tamanu & tea tree. The best part is these are USDA organic so you can feel better about the ingredients your applying to your lips! You can buy the 8 pack online for around $8.00 aud.
      Peppermint oil is something I discovered after suffering from motion sickness while driving. My driving instructor opened her pouch of essential oils and put a dot on my wrist. She had me sniff my wrist until my sickness faded away. Ever since then I have kept peppermint oil with me for migraines, stress and nausea. The peppermint oil pictured above is from the brand doTerra and it is pure essential oil, in other words very good quality! I purchased this in a natural store for about $30.00 aud but I'm sure you could find it online for a cheaper price.
     The sponge pictured above is actually my skin saviour! I purchased the ecoTOOLS pure complexion facial sponge on iherb.com for about $9.00 aud. Even though this is something I will need to repurchase every other month it is completely worth it. My skin was so broken out and ever since I added this into my skin care routine my skin has been glowing, literally! 
     The Soothing Spa Eye Pads by SpaLife were another iherb purchase. I bought 2 packs and they each have 4 treatments included. You get the at home spa experience and you don't even have to cut up any cucumber! These retail for about $2.70 aud.

Falling in Love Online

     A lot of people ask me “how did you fall in love online?” and that can be a very awkward and confusing question to answer. Mainly because I didn’t plan on falling in love but also because I fell in love the same way as everyone does. These questions are the hidden boxes in your parents closet. You just simply don’t open them and when you do you instantly regret it.

     When I started talking to my now fiancé I rudely told him that I planned on being single for the rest of my life. That I would be the crazy animal hoarding woman at the end of the road. He laughed at me and took it upon himself to prove me wrong, that is the first time to date that he has ever been right about anything. Every time he complimented me I slammed it to the ground, I was used to being used. I quickly realized that he had nothing to gain by living 9,506 miles away and talking to me through Skype. He understood my raw edges, the reason why my walls were so high.

      I’m sure to an outsider our plot was easily detectable. A handsome intelligent Australian down on his luck after surgery. An emotional unstable teen on her 17th birthday, oh how tragic. We spent hours playing lagging monopoly games on Pogo, and even longer trying to start online movies at the same time. I often fell asleep with the blue Skype light shining in my bedroom, suddenly I realized. I really don’t want to get cancer from the number of signals blasting through my brain every day. So Daniel started to make trips around the world to woe me like the young chap that he is. Sometimes I even received flowers in the mail, unannounced from my star-crossed lover. It became apparent that we had to be together so that is exactly what happened. I gave away 95% of my possessions that wouldn’t fit in my two suit cases and made the long journey to Australia. To this day the Skype ring tones gives me a shock of PTSD.