Author: queeenvk

Little, loud, left handed scientist.

I don’t check emails on Sundays

On By queeenvkIn Help, InspirationLeave a comment

In the pursuit of the mystical “work-life” balance I’ve decided to be more gentle on myself. In the hope of preventing major burn-out and those typical feelings of a metaphorical overwhelming crushing weight upon my shoulders, I’m not checking emails on Sundays.

That’s right, a break from work. Time to connect and spend quality time with my significant other. Refresh. Recharge.

Sundays are my rest day. The day to switch my brain off and rest so that I can have a more productive week.

Are you able to switch off and allow yourself a “weekend”? Let us know your tips/thoughts in the comments!

Great giant meatballs!

On By queeenvkIn FoodLeave a comment

Last night I shared on my new Facebook business page my success with trying out a new recipe. The recipe you might have seen around the internet lately, The Giant Meatball Stuffed With Spaghetti!!

That’s right, GIANT MEATBALL! SPAGHETTI! LOTS OF CHEESE!

Ultimate comfort food on these chilly winter nights in Sydney.

It’s an easy recipe (I don’t have the confidence as a cook to try any difficult techniques just yet!!) and it’s a bit fun.

Check out the link to the recipe below:

https://tasty.co/recipe/giant-spaghetti-stuffed-meatball

#plasticfreejuly

On By queeenvkIn Inspiration1 Comment

I’m over halfway through Plastic Free July (http://www.plasticfreejuly.org/) and I haven’t even blogged about it! If no one on social media knows about it, did it even happen? I’m not willing to take that risk!

It sure has been challenging so far, as you would expect from a plastic-free challenge.

From day 2 of Plastic Free July I was already already faced with many dilemmas!
The half price wraps at Woolworths are packaged in plastic! Do I need to make my own flat bread now?

The sandwiches I made for my work lunch have been wrapped in foil (which ripped) or put into lunchboxes.

I went to the butcher and interacted with staff (Argh human interaction!) to buy meat that wasn’t wrapped in non-recyclable plastic.

And the biggest thing was that instead of staring at all of the rubbish on the ground on the corner of my street I got a bag and picked up what I could. Wow, I never actually realised how many cigarette butts have been discarded along the footpath and nature strip. How very sad. Images of dead birds with their stomachs filled with bottle caps, lighters and cigarette butts have haunted me recently, along with the news of the sea life that are starving to death with their bellies full of plastic bags.

I’m hoping this helps raise some more awareness of the issue and please join up for plastic free July so that we begin to understand how much of our lives are currently wrapped in plastic!

The bane of sensitive teeth

On By queeenvkIn Beauty

Some days my teeth are so sensitive that even the cold winter air makes them sting as though I’ve just bitten into ice cream.

Recently I came across a whitening treatment that is suitable for my sensitive teeth. It’s more than suitable!

See my new Facebook page for the full story!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1796328777119632&id=1795757727176737

If you’re interested in learning more please leave me a message in the comments.

The blessing and curse of oily skin

On By queeenvkIn BeautyLeave a comment

Oily skin comes with the benefit of smoother, less wrinkled skin. However, if you are “blessed” with oily skin you’ll definitely understand all of the cons that come with the pro.

Other than looking incredibly shiny halfway through the day (blotting papers for the win!) oily skin often comes with the bonus of having GIGANTIC PORES. Huge, visible pores that cover the nose, cheeks and sometimes the chin.

I’ve tried toners and refining lotions to no avail. They all claim to make our pores less visible but I didn’t experience real results unless I used a mud mask or exfoliated the top layers completely off my face! But even then my large pores faithfully returned the next day.

One day, when I was still living at home with my parents, I noticed my mum had bought a bar of black soap. Black soap?! What is this black soap bar for? A mud soap bar? I’d heard of mud masks but mud soap?

Here’s a link to what I’m talking about: http://www.seacretspa.com/mud-soap

MediumPic_34_1.jpgSeacret Mud Soap

So I gave it a go. Washing my face with the mud soap almost daily left it feeling clean and fresh. I followed it with my usual cheap moisturiser and went about my day.

By the time I’d almost finished the mud soap (and it takes a loooooooong time to get through a soap bar when it’s only being used twice a day, if that) I noticed my pores were gone. Not just for a day, but gone. Makeup free confidence here I come!

Just as an aside here, I don’t wear makeup daily to work as I find it clogs my pores and can lead to breakouts. But there’s a bigger reason that I don’t wear makeup to work and it has everything to do with the psychology of being okay with my natural appearance.

Once my mud soap was finished I remained pore-free for a few months. That’s right, MONTHS. Going makeup free has never been easier. My morning routine is just a cleanse with any old cleaner then slap on some moisturiser with SPF.

Now I’ve noticed my pores are becoming visible in my oily visage again so I’ve ordered another soap bar for myself. It sits in the shower waiting for me and I am waiting for it.

Here’s to (relatively) flawless skin!

Fill us in about your winning beauty buys in the comments!

An ongoing issue

On By queeenvkIn Uncategorized

The saddest thing is that I don’t think I know many (if any) people who HAVEN’T experienced sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual violence of any form.

Your sister, your mother, your niece, your daughter, your grandmother, your aunty.

This applies to any gender.

Cured of depression?

On By queeenvkIn Uncategorized1 Comment

After almost 15 years of depression I have found a solution.

Or at least found the correct treatment for my brain.

This year I found out that I have PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder). I recently made the decision to use hormone treatment and now the general depression I feel throughout my cycle seems to have gone.

I feel normal again. I finally feel human again. I feel in control again. No longer sad for no particular reason.

I hope this information helps some people.
Here are some studies on the subject of reproductive hormone levels leading to depression.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432812004470
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432813005524
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440795/
http://press.endocrine.org/doi/abs/10.1210/jc.2007-1726

I decided to give crowd funding a go

On By queeenvkIn HelpLeave a comment

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that my current job is ending and despite applying for all the microbiology jobs in Sydney as they pop up on the job search websites, I still haven’t been contacted by any of them. 

I’ve begun putting my bills and other costs all on my credit card and it’s getting a little overwhelming. So I’m trying a bit of crowd funding to get me through. 

Here’s my crowd funding project page:

http://www.mycause.com.au/page/132046

Please help in any way you can. Even messages of advice and encouragement are welcome.