Writing The Great Aussie Novel During NaNoWriMo

November 20, 2011 By Janine 1 Comment

Saturday 6.00am - Rise early to avoid the family. Sit down at computer. Write sentence. … [Read more...]

What’s In Your Handbag?

November 19, 2011 By Janine 7 Comments

My favourite part of the last Harry Potter movie was Hermione's handbag which managed to magically contain every item they needed in their great battle. It was the moment when we knew Hermione had grown up to be a woman. Lugging around thousands of items which might, one day, be needed to save the day. … [Read more...]

Morning Mayhem

November 15, 2011 By Janine 6 Comments

Through a stroke of good fortune (or employment as a radio producer of a morning show) I managed to avoid the morning rush in our house for three years. … [Read more...]

The Lunchbox Lottery

November 11, 2011 By Janine 5 Comments

Can the level of a mother's love & parenting ability be measured in the quality of the lunchbox she provides? … [Read more...]

Weekend Notes

WATCHINGI went to see Fiona O'Loughlin last night. She's the comedian who survived alcoholism, a two week coma from not realising, in her drunken state, that the heater in the dive she was living in was leaking carbon monoxide. Then went on to spend … [Read More...]

Weekend Notes

Watching We headed to the movies this weekend and saw the latest Spike Lee film, BlacKkKlansman. It's the story of the first black cop in the Colorado Springs police force, Ron Stallworth, who in the late 70's managed to infiltrate the Ku Klux … [Read More...]

Sleepless

So I've been awake since 3.00am. In that time I've signed the family up for an organizing app which can run a joint calendar, shared shopping and to-do lists and has downloaded a series of recipes that are supposed to make my "what's for dinner" … [Read More...]

The Widow Goes On A Date

The last time I went on a first date Bob Hawke was Prime Minister, Liam Hemsworth was being born, Madonna was singing Vogue on the radio, Macaulay Culkin was being left Home Alone and Kevin Costner was Dancing with Wolves. It was a long time ago … [Read More...]

Another Father’s Day

Hi Simon, How's things going up there? Did you have a beer with your Dad for Father's Dad? We blatantly ignored the day here. Just pretended it wasn't happening. We still think about you every day. I didn't post anything on Facebook because it … [Read More...]

Hellooo Again

Hi, I'm just here unwrapping the dust covers, brushing down the spiderwebs and sweeping up the left-over dreams of my tiny little space on the internet. I know I've been gone almost 12-months. I'm not even sure how that happened. A … [Read More...]

Milestone Moments

Hey Simon, Despite my best intentions to ignore the milestones they keep on happening, with or without you. We celebrated your Mum's 80th birthday back in August. A rushed trip of some 1,850 kilometres all up with just four days to do the 9 hour … [Read More...]

Weekend Notes

What have you been up to this weekend? Watching We caught Home Again in the cinema. It's the latest Reese Witherspoon film. It's a fun little comedy. Reese plays Alice a just-turned 40 divorcing mum of two. At her birthday drinks she … [Read More...]

Weekend Notes

As the weekend draws to a close here's a little of what caught my eye in the last 48 hours. Watching Saw Battle of the Sexes the new Emma Stone movie about the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. Oh what a time … [Read More...]

Could You Survive The Apocalypse?

South Koreans are buying "survival bags" and turning to YouTube for tips on making it through a nuclear blast. The New York Times is writing articles on How To Survive The Apocalypse and the doomsday preppers are starting to look like the smart ones. … [Read More...]

Home Alone: The Empty Nest

The empty nest looms in my near future. One more year before the youngest heads out into the world without my micromanaging her every move. I can feel the rotor blades on my helicopter starting to slow. I heard a whisper of what may … [Read More...]

Weekend Notes

It's a long weekend here in Australia. So it's been a lazy time. Perfect for some catch-up TV, movies and reading. Watching I've been enjoying Doctor Doctor it was shot in my old hometown of Mudgee and gosh it's looking … [Read More...]