KEEP IT IN THE PHAMLY

I worked at Universal Store's Banger Beach at Stereosonic in Perth over the weekend. It's all fun and games until you get a bandana sunburn and tan line across your forehead because you kept telling staff to be sun safe and didn't tell yourself. Ijiut.

I found out the red, stingy face way that I'm allergic to a preservative called hydroxybenzoates. I loved my Neutrogena Oil Free range the past few years but all of a sudden my face tingled whenever I use it. I don't know if it's the new formula or whether my skin has gotten sensitive over time from my Oratane acne meds. Being a bit dopey, I thought the redness in my skin was from being generally hot and sweaty after blow drying my hair. But no, it was my skin reacting to the moisturiser.

I am a firm believer that life is too short to use stationery and accessories that don't bring me joy (spoken like a true stationery addict). Which is why I have a BYO stationery policy in my professional life and I'm so loud about it, a colleague I haven't worked with for over 2 years remembered not to supply me with any stationery on my first day in a new job.

The good thing about workaholism is people love hiring me so I've jumped from contract to job to contract to job to contract. The downside is I haven't had a proper holiday in 5 years. So this year when Chris & Chrissy announced their Bali Wedding in August and I learned my former housemate/family would be there, I booked my flights and forced myself not to look for work after my last role finished. Best idea ever.

Mum Pham passed away on August 17, 2011 but we honour her memory on August 17 in the lunar calendar, which this year falls on August 31, 2015.

I adore my nieces to the point of obsession and sometimes I worry I'm like one of those doting parents who thinks their child poops rainbows and vomits unicorns, but even worse because I'm only an Aunty. I feel vindicated for thinking my nieces are exceptional little human beings because last month Middling Niece was given a spirit of the school award (one student gets this per year level) that said:

Back in the day when I used to be a party animal instead of hanging out at home/parks/sanctuaries/zoos with animals, my friends and I would throw some pretty wild warehouse parties. Throwing parties fits into Mum Pham's other people's happiness life philosophy. I met some brilliant people and made lifelong friends and created awesome memories for people during my warehouse days. Thanks to Gmail hoarding, I was able to find all the old invites and take a walk down memory lane. They were fun to write and even funner to live.

This year's Eurovision reached maximum excitement in the Pham household since our adopted (and much beloved real own) country, Australia got to take a real part. Plus for the first time Eurovision was broadcast in Grandpa's home country of China. So many levels of woohoo!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! And this year it's made better because Austria invited Australia to be a wildcard entry into the grand finale as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations and 'Building Bridges' theme. Best news, guys this means our votes count this year...I am SO excited.

Mother's Day had me thinking about Mum Pham as it always does. ​Mum Pham loved watching TV game shows like Wheel of Fortune and the Price is Right because she got a thrill from seeing other people's happiness. She didn't care about the actual games, some of the time I don't think she even understood what was going on in the show but every afternoon like clockwork she'd be at the TV enjoying other people winning because happiness breeds happiness.