You still get colds in Queensland

The flora of  Eucalyptus ~ stunning and natural  

Achoo ~ 'scuse me ~ gotta a lurgy...

Because I have been on such a run of medication, the last thing I really wanted was another tablet or some syrup which is going to dry out my nose but keep me awake all night. And I am not a fan of the chest rubs which contain petroleum and other nasties. But I do have alternatives, one which I have used since MudGuts was a baby. Because he cant use any additives or chemicals, finding a chest rub free of additives was quite a task 20years ago but there was one and I've stuck with it since I stumbled upon it.

Having touted the Bostitos Eucalyptus Oils for cleaning, freshening and disinfecting, I was asked if I'd like to try another great product. Blow me down (with a good snot into my hanky) if it wasn't our favourite chest rub. Affectionately known as the BearRub, EukyBearub is an Australian owned and made chest rub using the natural properties of eucalyptus, menthol and rosemary to help sooth the aches of a cold or flu and ease the blocked noses of little ones, helping them rest, sleep and get well faster. And I don't think you'd find that statement on the press release or packaging.

I truly find EukyBear to a much better option to put on your little ones chest or back. Even babies can tolerate EukyBear ~ just put a little on their singlet or jumpsuit and you'll notice it is not as over powering or tear-inducing as some others. Plus it doesn't have that burning feeling on the skin some chest rubs have, perfect for the big babies often known as husbands...

Not that I need any incentive to use EukyBearub - now in a non-breakable easy to squeeze tube - the makers have kindly offered a tube of EukyBearub and a cute cuddly Koala which I will be giving away as a prize to a reader and follower of Mands on a Mission. 

Because I have a head cold and am in no condition to think of anything tricky or clever, simply post the following statement (exactly) either in the blog comments below, on the facebook page or via twitter.

I'm going to snuggle up with #EukyBearub when I have a cold ~ Thanks @MandsMission

Each mention gets you an entry and, if you get a friend to follow the blog or facebook (I'd like to include Twitter but it confuses me still and would hate to miss someone by accident) - get your friend to include "my friend (your name) suggested I follow" and you can have an extra entry.

Entries close Sunday 31 July 2011 at 5pm with the winner announced the following week. Every entrant will be listed below so please let me know if you've not seen your name appear within 24hrs of your entry. 

These people are in the running to win a cuddly koala and tube of EukyBearub (total value $40)

1. Kimmie
2. Hells Bells :D
3. IMG (Helen)
4. Jan
5. Sharynne
6. Leimay
7. Leila Matthews
8. 

Don't be a goose ~ get your entry in now :D 

Aluminium Beanies and Credit Card Covers

Have you discovered Pay-Wave and Fast-Pay?

And have you thought that waiting an additional 30 seconds to pay cash or sign an approval slip might just be better than waving your 'drastic fantastic plastic' past a machine which deducts money without confirmation or receipts required??

As of the weekend - all transactions using Visa, Mastercard and America Express under $35 no longer need you to sign or enter a pin. Some businesses have this operating to accept purchases up to $100. Apparently this makes for quicker service, but I am not sure I like this new policy. Seriously, how long does entering a pin or adding a signature take. Does it mean if you lost your Pay-Wave enabled credit card, it would be so easy for the finder to rack up lots of purchases less than $35 before you had even realised it had gone.

Coles do it, KMart does it ~ even McDonalds do it. I think what annoys me most is the shifting of responsibilty. I pay fees (sometimes) and interest to have a credit card and now it is my responsibility to ensure it is in my possession at all times and that nobody can swipe it to charge a zillion $34.95 purchaser. What happened to businesses ensuring it is me using my card (PIN or signature).

Fair enough if an individual was to choose to participate (which is what I thought the other pay pass thingo was all about - the one for under $100 purchases) but for Coles to have made a unilateral decision that staff are not going to ask me if I wanted to use a pin for a purchase anymore ~ well I am a little annoyed about this 'advancement'! 

National Australia Bank (NAB), do not allow its customers to opt out of having payWave-enabled Visa cards. Apparently it is the same for Mastercard's contact-less payment systems.  Customers who are unhappy with the way payWave permits transactions without the requirement for either PIN or signature have been advised to refrain from having a Visa card attached to their account. And that works how?

Personally, even the advertisement on television showing the frustration caused by a person inconveniencing others by paying cash instead of just flashing the card past the machine to pay for lunch seems to be more a human intervention into a robotic environment. I don't like it and don't wish to participate. Why is life becoming more frantic, fast and fan-dangled. Not all advancements seem to allow us time to relax.

Be it right or wrong, I have scratched through my chip so I can only swipe my card to use it through eftpos systems and will need to sign on all occasions. As I have not opted into the PIN aspect of my credit card this does not phase me.

I apologise in advance for the poor sods who will be standing behind me at the checkout for an additional minute or so while the check out operator must print out a receipt for me to then sign. I promise to have a working black ink pen with me at all times to speed up the process by a few seconds. 

At least I know I wont be required to purchase a new credit card holder to ensure my card won't be swiped when these new NFC (Near Field Communication) enabled iphones hit the market. That will mean you can read your RFID card code into your phone, and the new wave of electronic pickpocketers won't be able to get my credit card information.

Now to get Husband on board and scratching his chip...

Moving Madness

Well ~ just had our first 'blow out'. As the car has done around 300,000kms we decided getting new suspension as we will be towing a campervan for a good 3000km. $2600 and it has totally wiped us out. We are so travelling on the smell of an oily rag - and we need it to be petrol!

It's been a real achievement to ensure our shopping has remained under $25 each week for the past six weeks. We have all the amenities bill up to date or in credit - so we can at least get some dollars back when we get into QLD. 

Still need to organise car and van insurance ~ get the landlord insurance activated ~ transfer the VOIP phone and internet transferred and cancel all the power, phone and other such standards. Oh boy its going to be a full on last week!  Thankfully we have two to go :D

Chat soon friends ~ hopefully I'll be able to be back in the next day or so.

A Wintery Wordless Wednesday...

And being -2.7 this morning ~ cold enough to leave ice on a duck's butt ~ it was "hello winter ~ thanks for the icy slap in the googlies..."

Ice - cubed ~ for the fairies in our garden to add to their drinks...