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Challenges and Goals – Is Creating A List Worth It?

September 4, 2012 By Janine 7 Comments

Bird On A Flower

Spring has arrived and we unwrap ourselves from the cocoons created during the cold weather. As the sun warms our thoughts turn to new beginnings, spring cleaning, getting ourselves back into action. In my world yet another birthday is rapidly approaching.  Not as significant as a birthday with a "0" but a midpoint "5" is still pause for serious … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Project 44 Tagged With: Goal setting, Life Experience, Project 44

If you want to publish a book … you’ve got to WRITE

August 17, 2012 By Janine 9 Comments

It is 10.54 am on my day off from my real-world job. When I decided to work part-time the aim was to spend my day off writing. Get a book published. Uncover that latent dream from underneath the grown-up world responsibilities of kids, mortgage, bills and ... well you know the drill. This morning I was determined. My only responsibility was … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Project 44 Tagged With: Books, roi social media, Writing

The One Where I Try To Exercise

July 10, 2012 By Janine 24 Comments

After the great shopping disaster where I was unable to find a suitable outfit for "my body shape" I decided with just four months of my Project 44 challenge left I probably should tackle the one goal I hadn't even attempted yet. The losing weight one. The treadmill was unearthed from the garage when I first announced this goal, and has sat … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Humour, Project 44 Tagged With: Exercise, humour., Project 44, Treadmill

What we need around here are some spreadsheets

April 26, 2012 By Janine 11 Comments

It's been 157 days since I launched into my "achieve every goal you have every imagined" year. There's 209 days left until I will once again be facing a cake adorned with candles and lamenting the passing of my life. It's becoming increasingly evident that organisation is the key skill I am lacking when it comes to achieving my desires. I get … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Project 44 Tagged With: Achieving goals., Family, Goals, Project 44

Project 44 – The Struggle

February 11, 2012 By Janine 17 Comments

Regular readers will remember I embraced a mid life crisis late last year and decided to whip myself into a frenzy of self improvement for my 44th year on this planet. In one frantic 12 month period I was finally going to tick off some of my long standing to do/wish list items in my Project 44 challenge. Well I'm two-and-a-half months into this … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Project 44 Tagged With: Achieving goals., humour., Life Experience, mid life crisis, Project 44

What’s a Perfect Life?

February 3, 2012 By Janine 19 Comments

How would you define a perfect life? Then how would you get it? There's a blog called Inspiration and Chai where a former palliative care worker has created a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. Bronnie Ware, in her work with the dying found there were five themes running through their list of regrets as life drew to a close. I wish … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Project 44, Uncategorized Tagged With: Perfect Life, Project 44, Top Five Regrets

A New Year Begins

January 1, 2012 By Janine 9 Comments

Well the first of my goals for 2012 is down the toilet. I didn't win the $31 million Lotto draw last night. So instead of shopping for a new, highly expensive car this morning, I've got to settle for a cup of coffee (instant I can't afford one of those fancy schzmancy machines) and a blog. It's the day of resolutions, when all the world unites in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Project 44 Tagged With: Beach photo, David Fitzpatrick, Goal setting, Life Experience, New Year's Resolutions, Photographs., Photography, Port Macquarie, Project 44, Writing

Letter to my 16 year old self

December 9, 2011 By Janine 25 Comments

Have you seen the book "Dear Me, A Letter to My Sixteen-Year-Old Self"? An array of celebrities write a letter to their teenage self. If you could jump in the DeLorean and head back to the future to meet up with the kid you once were what advice would you offer? Here's my attempt. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Family, Family Living, Humour, My Favourite Posts, Project 44, Writing Tagged With: Aging, Book, Family, Family Living, humour., Letter to 16 year old self

NaNoWriMo – The Confession

December 1, 2011 By Janine 8 Comments

Big cheers please, my friend Michele from Savannah Photography completed the 50,000 words  in 30 days for NaNoWriMo. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creativity, Humour, My Favourite Posts, Project 44, Writing Tagged With: humour., NaNoWriMo, Writing

NaBloPoMo Celebration

November 30, 2011 By Janine 10 Comments

On this last day of November I can celebrate my successful completion of NaBloPoMo. We won't mention NaNoWriMo - that will get it's own blog of humiliation tomorrow. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging, Creativity, Project 44, Writing Tagged With: NaBloPoMo, Project 44

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Janine Fitzpatrick is a personal blogger with an untidy house, imperfect children and no celebrity friends.

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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...]

Grey stairs.

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...]

Father with two daughters.

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...]

Daisy flowers

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...]

A messy scrapbooking desk

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...]

Picture of a beach.

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...]

A Bag of chips, wine, chocolate, lemonade and magazine. A parody of a bug out bag for the apocalypse.

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...]

chocolate and wine

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...]

iVillage

Janine Fitzpatrick is a personal blogger with an untidy house, imperfect children and no celebrity friends. Read More…

Grey stairs.
Father with two daughters.

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