10 Useless Pieces of Information About Me.

1. My signature coffee is a vanilla latte on skim milk.





2. I have a stationery obsession. Nothing excites me more than a good notebook, matching pen and coloured tabs in a folder.





3. I am a visual/ kinaesthetic learner- meaning to take things in and remember them I have to write or draw them – Visual to remember the image or notes and kinaesthetic meaning I remember by the movement of writing it down.





4. I write lists. Then I collate lists and write a list of all the lists I have.





5. My first car was a 1978 Mazda 323. When I drove along the keys used to fall out of the ignition and if I tried to turn a corner the steering lock would come on. This made for many fits of laughter in my uni days and kept my speed to 40 kilometres an hour.





6. I play the piano, but I don’t have one in my home. Our family piano is at my mums. If I go somewhere where there is a piano I sometimes pour out my soul into a long sonata and then feel fully cleansed and ready to face the world again!





7. I met my husband when I was assaulted by a gang of 10 juvenile criminals on a Sunday afternoon in the main street of town. He was my blue eyed policeman who came to the rescue. I believe that we were destined to cross paths. I have learnt through this that my greatest blessings come from my greatest adversities.





8. When I am nervous I say the most ridiculous things. It started when I was bitten by a bee at the town pool in Scone where I lived when I was eleven. I had to tell the manager because I was starting to swell up. He was a cranky man who said “ where did the bee bite you?” I replied “ up the deep end” He screamed “where did it actually bit you?” I cried and said “ on the second step on the ladder up the deep end” He screamed “DID IT BITE YOUR ARM, DID IT BITE YOUR LEG?” between tears I had a bit of a chuckle and showed him my finger!





9. For about eight years I was a school teacher. Now I see young men and women around town who remember me and say “ you taught me in 3rd class”. I go to the mirror and check my wrinkles. Surely I haven’t changed at all in the last 14 years.




10. When I was pregnant the first time my other Nanna who died in 1999 told me “when that child is placed in your arms you will feel a love like you have never known before” It is my single handed duty to tell this quote to every pregnant woman I come across.

Are You Fun To Live With ?

Poster from allposters.com



I was at an event recently where the keynote speaker opened her address with this question. It nearly knocked me off my seat.



Are you fun to live with ?



It really got me thinking. Am I fun to live with ? What would my family say about me if they answered the question honestly? If my husband was interviewed without me present, what would he say about me ?



I am asking you to ponder the question about yourself. Are you fun to live with ? Are you easy going, reliable ? Do you speak to your family respectfully? Do you model behaviour to your children that when they mimic it back to you they get into trouble for being cheeky and disrespectful?




Or, do you save your best manners and behaviours for strangers – because let’s face it, you don’t want people to think you’re rude and not like you ! Why do we serve up our worst behaviour for those that we love the most?



How can you be more fun to live with?

The Family Company - the best one to work for.

Our Family Boardroom.

No company could survive if they constantly missed deadlines, didn’t pay bills, had more outgoings than incomings, had staff that constantly yelled at each other, no filing system, no records. Can you imagine the picture? The company would fail for sure. It would be extremely stressful to work there and for the owners the burden would be unbearable.

Managing your home is no different to managing a company. Think of your home as your family company. If you were the CEO then all of your actions would be centred towards the betterment of your company, not any other company. Your company would come first.


How is your company running at present ? How is the monthly budget looking. Do you even know how you went this last month ? Do you know how you went this past year ? What are your filing systems like ? Can you put your hand on a piece of paper in under 30 seconds? Can you locate your tax summary for 2006 or your child’s immunisation records? How about a manufacturer’s warranty card or the insurance papers for the house ?


Does the company run smoothly? Are there standard operating procedures? Does each company member know what their job is ? Are tasks being performed or are deadlines being missed.


Is your company solvent? That is, are you financially viable ? Is your company going down the gurgler – is it falling behind year after year? Are the outgoings each month more than the incomings?

Who cleans the offices? What recognition does the caterer receive? When is the next board meeting and what is on the agenda?

Your family is more important than any other company in the world. Where do you priorities lie ? Do you give more to your workplace than your own home ? I am sure that you have heard the saying 'on your deathbed, no-one wishes they spent more time at the office'.

Here are some points to improve your family company.

1. Start a good filing system: even if you can't tackle the back log, from now on file every piece of paper that needs to be kept in a place where you or anyone else can find it in under 30 seconds.

2. Have a system for house cleaning and management. Develop a basic weekly plan. Break up tasks so you don't spend your weekends doing housework or washing and ironing. Remember, there are many jobs that fit into the 'stitch in time saves nine' category.

3. Grow some of your own food: Start with some potted herbs and move to planter boxes with a few vegies and then to garden beds. Growing food is economically sensible for a family, it is a fantastic activity to get children involved with and gives a tremendous sense of satisfaction that cannot be reproduced by any 'shopping activities'.

4. Finally take charge of your finances. If you are 'blocking' the truth, it is time to face your financial facts! You can't do anything about the problem unless you identify it and take charge! Work out where you are now. Look at my 'stop think do' programme on the left hand side for more tips. Taking charge can be extremely empowering.

5. Work on your logistics: Stop rushing around. Plan Plan Plan to alleviate chaos and bring peace to your household. Look at what you need next week or next month and do it now so you are not rushing around at the very last minute making everyone stressed. Group errands, minimise outside commitments and prioritise your home and family as Number One.

6. Work on your Family Relationships: If a company has disharmony in the workplace, they would call in an expert and do some personal development and team building exercises to improve workplace relations. Every company knows that when staff are happy and harmonious productivity goes up and staff turn over comes down. People are happy to come to work. Invest some time into improving your family relationships. Spend time together, schedule activities and outings. Have a family movie night where you make home made pizzas beforehand - each member of the house can contribute like a production line. Even a two year old can sprinkle mushrooms! Play a board game without the TV on or play a game in the yard or park. You will be surprised how it slowly changes thing if you invest the time.

7. Have a family meeting regularly. Kids love this, no matter what their age is. At the family meeting you can plan holidays, discuss behavioural expectations, talk about pocket money, discuss job allocations, give recognition for jobs well done. This is something you have to try - especially if you have children. They thrive on this sense of contribution they feel. When we first did this it was a little 'tongue in cheek' for me but once we got going I saw how fabulous it is. Now there is excitement when we announce a family meeting, or if things go off the rails wit behaviour, jobs etc we say 'I think we better call a family meeting' In our VERY serious voice LOL.

Try these steps and let me know your thoughts. Afterall, our family company is the best one to work for !

Hello Sweet Pea

A Sweet Additive Free Treat

Number Two son was looking for ‘something special’ because Number One son is away at school camp for three days.

That’s when I remembered Mr B ( my friends’ husband who is a stay-at-home Dad) raving about the marshmallow slice he made. It is based on those LCM Bars – the ones that are bars made out of rice bubbles with all sorts of bits on top that are hugely expensive.

The recipe is from Sue Dengate’s Failsafe diet. If you haven’t heard of Sue she is an Australian advocate for removing certain colourings, flavourings and preservatives from the food we eat. I attended her seminar a few years ago and it was life changing. If you or your children are unsettled, moody, tired or have challenging behaviours I suggest you visit her site at http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/ and read some of the material. She also has a couple of books. One which I bought called Fed Up and a cookbook and DVD that I borrow frequently from the library. Some readers may have seen Jamie Oliver’s School Dinners programme which also features in Sue’s presentation.

So here is the recipe:
200g white Marshmallows (Pascalls are Failsafe)
80g butter

4 cups rice bubbles.

1. Melt butter and marshmallows slowly, stirring constantly.

2. Pour goopey mixture into rice bubbles

3. Stir even goopier mixture until well combined

4. Plop out goop into lined baking tray. Slap goop until smooth and refrigerate until set.

5. Cut lovely marshmallow bars into beautiful rectangles.

6. Serve with a big smile and a joyful heart.

At forty thousand calories and two cholesterol points per slice, it’s an absolute gem of a recipe. Lucky school camps are a one off event! LOL

Blessed Are the List Makers....For They Shall Inherit Peace on Earth.

My first born son who recently turned ten headed off for school camp today. Here he is marking off his list.

His teacher ( the most organised woman on the planet) gave them a list of what to pack, but ( God love him!) he had to type his own list and put coloured headings and pictures so he could cross the items off as he packed his bags.

His father cannot understand the need for a list, but we all know that the world is divided into those people who love a good list and those that don't understand. God love the precious child - he has inherited my 'list gene'.

A Stitch In Time Saves Nine

A Stitch In Time Saves Nine.

This is a popular proverb whose origin is unknown, but was apparently made famous by Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women. There are various interpretations of what it actually means. There is the literal interpretation, that is, if you mend the tear when there is a small hole with one stitch it will save you having to mend it with nine stitches when the hole eventually gets bigger.

A more philosophical interpretation is one of avoiding procrastination. Do the job now before it develops into a huge black cloud that hangs over you and is much harder to do.

I like a practical interpretation. To me, A Stitch In Time Saves Nine means 'wipe the shower screen over a few times a week or it will take you 45 minutes of scrubbing mould on your hands and knees". Or what about " tidy each room, each morning, or it will take you hours of cleaning to get your house back under control" .

Whichever way you look at it, it comes down to a choice. You can do things as you go, or you can make your tasks much more difficult for yourself. I know which one I would choose. Last time I took ages scrubbing out the shower I promised myself ' NEVER AGAIN!'.