Twin Speak: What's your Christmas Wish List!

With Christmas less than 4 weeks away we thought it would be fun to see what every one's wish list is?

Bella: Now I am old enough to know that there is no such thing as the big jolly man dressed in red who stuffs himself down chimneys to deliver gifts around the world. BUT I still do have my wish list. And even though our family have a no gift giving rule and choose to spend what we would on gifts on an extravagant Christmas lunch out, I can still dream...even though there is basically fat chance of most of these gifts materialising. Still it's fun to dream!

Bella's Wish List:
Pandora bracelet with lots and lots of charms
Bryce Courtenay's book Fishing for Stars
A subscription to Digital Arts Magazine
The Trivial Pursuit Digital Choice
Tickets to Kings of Leon performing in March
Ralph Hot Perfume
Anything vintage or hanmade from Etsy
Makeup from MAC or Napolean
Aviator Sunglasses

Frankie Wish List
iPod
Prada Sunglasses
Cinema Parfum by YSL
PS3
Nintendo Wii
A new journal
A great book
Big funky beach bag

Twin Speak...What irks you?

Another eventful day at the shops. By now, it's probably quite obvious that Bella and I like to shop...if it be for clothes, groceries or little knic knax.

Frankie: Anyway, the other day while out shopping, we were on a purposeful mission and lo and behold we were encountered by both our pet irks...pet peeves...the bain of our shopping experiences...

Ladies and gentlemen...
1. Inexperienced trolley pushers &
2. Slow walkers

Now, I am sure we both have many flaws that most probably annoy other people. But today we are going to take an indulgent liberty in discussing the above two.

Inexperienced trolley pushers have the ability to ruin a perfectly grand shopping day. Not only do they ineffectively manoeuvre their trolleys, create unnecessary trolley collisions, trolley congestion by ridiculously stopping anywhere they like, but they do all this while also inhibiting unbearable pain on our ankles. As we encountered multiple trolley offenders, I could see Bella's New Year resolution of, "staying calm and becoming more patient" fly not only out the window but the universe.

And on top of all this, I then discover the growing epidemic of...'Slow Walkers'. Is it not less then 6 weeks to Christmas? Yes, yes it is? So why on earth are there ever increasing slow walkers taking up valuable shopping time and pathway???

Bella: Other than the above two pet peeves what also drives me bananas is:
1. Indecisive people
2. Pikers. People who say they will be somewhere and then at the last minute leave you high and dry
3. People who drive in the right hand lane well below the speed limit

And my biggest Pet Peeve is
4. Punctuality! People who leave you waiting!

Twin Speak: 24 things you didn't know about us...

I love the emails that you receive from friends where they ask you a bunch of questions to get to know you better. You then forward your response to the original sender and anyone else you want to include asking them to also complete the questions. You generally learn some interesting things :)

Bella: We thought we'd post a list of getting to know you questions just for fun! Frankie and myself will answer but please feel free to use the list to comment back to us, email friends or family or use on your own blog?

Warning: Sorry it's a long post!

1. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree in only one store which store would it be?
Bella: I'm torn. I'd have to say Mollini's shoe store.
Frankie: Witchery, witchery, witchery.
2. What song best describes you when you first wake up in the morning?
Bella: Sleeping In by The Postal Service
Frankie: Something from the Rocky Horror Show (Haha, Bella) No, it would be, 'Feeling Good', by Nina Simone
3. What Country would you most like to visit and why?
Bella: Russia, because I'm obsessed with Paullina Simons book The Bronze Horseman
Frankie: Ooh, it would be a toss up between, Russia, due to the same above reason, or USA, New York.
4. Coke or Pepsi?
Bella: Coke
Frankie: Coke
5. Desk: messy or organized?
Bella: Super organized
Frankie: Messy
6. Are you always early or terminally late?
Bella: Always super early
Frankie: Early.
7. If someone called you a bitch would you be offended?
Bella: No. I'd be offended quite often if that was the case :)
Frankie: Hmmm, depends. If I was being a bitch, then no, but if I wasn't, yes.
8. Favorite sport to watch?
Bella: Tennis
Frankie: Tennis
9. Do you squeeze toothpaste from the middle or end of the tube?
Bella: This is another bad habit of mine. I squeeze firstly from the top and then just continue mashing the tube until it comes out. There's no system involved.
Frankie: The top and then get frustrated when no paste is coming out, so I then hand over to my partner to get the remaining paste from the bottom.
10. Ever kissed a random person and then walked away?
Bella: Yes
Frankie: No
11. Favourite colour
Bella: Beige
Frankie: Ooh, beige, how ah, lovely. :) Green.
12. Would you ever have plastic surgery?
Bella: I'd like to say no but probably yes :)
Frankie: Ha, was just talking about this with the girls at work and I am going to say, Yes. Gravity is cruel.
13. Are you a beach, country or city person?
Bella: Beach
Frankie: Ahh, beach for sure, but cities do interest me.
14. Best vacation spot you've been to?
Bella: Vietnam
Frankie: Haven't really been too many places so I am going to have to say, Bali.
15. If you could own a non-traditional pet which would it be?
Bella: A baby seal
Frankie: A baby hippo...but it must stay as a baby for obvious reasons :)
16. Where do you spend most of your money?
Bella: Coffee
Frankie: Witchery
17. Favorite summer drink?
Bella: Capriosca
Frankie: Chocolate milk
18. Share one food item that best describes the last year of your life. (example: “frozen pizza” because I did a 180 degree turn this year, or “cinnamon roll” because it had lots of twists and turns but overall was pretty sweet)?
Bella: 2 minute noodles. Because my life has been pretty easy this past year.
Frankie: A chewy beef jerky...because my year has had some jerky, tough times in it.
19. What one item in the kitchen best describes you and your personality?
Bella: A blender because I'm pretty ruthless when it comes to making decisions.
Frankie: Right, kitchen....um, the fridge, because I always have food in me :)
20. What cartoon character best describes you?
Bella: I'm not sure? Frankie...suggestions??
Frankie: Hmm, for Bella I would say, Marvin the Martian, because he doesn’t take crap from any earthling and neither do you and for me, Garfield, because I always need food and hate Mondays
21. If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be?
Bella: New York
Frankie: New York
22. If you knew could you try anything and not fail (and money was no object), what dream would you attempt?
Bella: To be a travel writer
Frankie: To write my book
23. What super-power would you most like to have, and why?
Bella: Invisibility! You could just get out of soooo many situations with this one.
Frankie: Oh, invisibility to. Just think of the possibilities.

And the interesting one...try and guess which one we're lying about!
24. “2 Truths And a Lie” – Share 3 unique things about yourself and your life, 2 of them true, 1 false, and let people guess which one isn’t true.

Bella:
1. I snorted a red M&M out my nose once and then ate it again
2. I have two tattoos and 9 piercings
3. I have never smoked in my entire life

Frankie:
1. I have never been drunk in my life
2. I hate red M&M's
3. I drink 7 large coffees a day

Twin Speak: Fly your Freak Flag!

I believe that we are all entitled to fly our freak flag every now and then. By this I mean that we all have our little quirks, strange behaviours, hidden talents or even a body attribute we may have been born with?

Bella: For example I know someone, who looks very similar to myself but isn’t me, that will not eat anything the colour red. But I find this extremely endearing and personally I think one of her greatest character qualities. I love that everyone is different and these little behaviours only serve to prove that point. What a boring world we would live in if we were all the same.

So below are the things that entitle to me to fly my freak flag! What are yours?

1. I love the smell of paper. Whenever I receive anything in the mail after opening it usually the first thing I do is smell the paper :) I have found that bank statements and catalogues smell best..haha. Also I love the smell of new paperback books. CRAZY...I know.

2. I am obsessed with keeping the floors clean especially if it’s carpet. I have been known to run around the house in the presence of guests (usually only family or really close friends as I want to avoid being thrown in an asylum) with a little dust buster sucking up any little crumbs that might get away.

3. I have abnormally tiny ears. As in I don't think they have grown at all since I was born. They are really small and people often comment, point and laugh at them.

Frankie:
1.As Bella already mentioned, and she tries to mention it to every person we know and as often as she can :) I do not like a lot of things ‘red’, particularly red M&M’s. I think my phobia developed when I was a child and I witnessed a red M&M fly out of Bella’s nose when she was laughing at something and then picked it up and popped it back in her mouth…eew! So you can only imagine the challenge I face when someone purchases a bag of M&M’s during a visit to the cinemas. I have to inspect each one in the movie light, to make sure it is not a red culprit!

2. Next…I have an obsession with keeping my hands clean. I carry around wet wipes and those little bottles of anti-bacterial hand lotions just in case I come into close contact with a germ.

3. Finally, for some reason whenever I get angry I get this red line running down my forehead. My family used to make fun of me when I was younger for this and I remember a time when my cousin was trying to imitate me by running around the house like a mad person with a bright red pencil sticky taped to her head. Not funny!! Really, I think it’s a benefit and can indicate to family members when not to approach me, “oh the red lines showing, back away from Frankie”.

Twin Speak: What goals did you start but are yet to achieve?

Thanks to One Minute Writer who featured our prompt suggestion- 3 Goals!

Bella: We managed to grab the attention of some new followers which is always good in this competitive blog world. I hope Frankie doesn't start stressing too much (content, content, it's all about the content!!!) :) Coming from an online marketing industry I understand the importance of having relevant content but I think if we just remain ourselves and true to the point of this blog that should be enough and if not...oh well.

But the topic of 3 goals you want to achieve got me thinking about the opposite....what are goals that you have set out to achieve in the past but haven't...yet. Well, well...I have plenty :) My problem is...I loose interest after awhile. I think I'm like a goldfish sometimes, in that my attention span for new interest, ideas and ventures isn't long and I flit from one thing to another. So here are a list of my things:

- Learning Latin dancing
- Beach boot camp (I nearly died)
- Pole dancing (I nearly died...fell on my head)
- Sticking to a low GI diet (I love coffee and chocolate)
- Starting a cooking club with my family
- Writing a gratitude diary
- Working towards financial freedom (well think to be fair...this one is a constant work in progress)

There are many more. Some of the above I may take back on and try to achieve and others....well "Tell her she's dreaming!".

Frankie: Well I suppose the first way to achieving something is realising it...or realising that you failed the first time...but the good thing is, you've always got the next time.

So some of the main ones for me would be:

- Reducing my credit card debt :) (I did in fact partially achieve this one, but things have been super tough and I'd have to say this is a work in progress.)
- Travel (I have yet to achieve even a small portion of this goal. I have to admit though, I haven't been actively proactive in this one and always push it aside for my other so called priorities.)
- Exercise (Another on again off again goal...I wish I was dedicated like Bella on this front)
- Save, save, save (Maybe if I stop buying those damn shoes and bags I could actually get this goal off the ground) :)

We try not to get deterred by not achieving all our goals all the time..Tomorrow is another day!

Twin Speak: 3 Things...

I am not sure about everyone else, but I know I go through life regularly saying to myself, "I wish I did...."

Frankie: Most times, these things are equivalent to a mere dream. Unrealistic and so far fetched that I would have more likelihood flying to the moon. Now, I know the classic saying, "Anything is possible" but really, the probability of me travelling around the whole entire world in this lifetime is close to remote.

So...If there were three things that you really wanted to achieve in your life and actually could, what would they be? Mine...

1. Travel to my fathers home town again
2. Work towards finanical security
3. Write a novel

So what is stopping me?

Bella: I like this topic and it's one I contemplate all the time which is why my list is longer than 3 points :). Each year I usually write a list of new year resolutions I want to achieve. Usually these things are not overly hard to achieve and are of a short term basis. There are so many things though that I want to achieve in my lifetime! How can anyone be expected to simply remember every dream, thought, goal, milestone and crazy idea that they want to achieve...unless you write them down. I also think it would feel extremely rewarding to look back on this list in 5, 10, 30 years time and see how much you have achieved or extremely motivating to see how little you have achieved. So with that in mind, below is the beginnings of my list and I'll be sure to add to it as more come to mind.

Top three
1. Learn Indonesian
2. Go to Slovakia and visit my Father's grave
3. Write a recipe book

4. Go to Las Vegas
5. Volunteer with a charity or organisation and make a difference
6. Run a half marathon
7. Go on a cruise
8. Learn to knit
9. Organise and throw a suprise party for someone I love
10. Go on an unforgettable girls weekend with my sisters and Mum
11. Get over my fear and learn to ride a bike...properly