Table For Five

I may not always get it right in my personal life but when it comes to what I say on this blog and my public pages, I do tend to overthink it. Usually that's considered a bad thing when it comes to writing, particularly from the heart, but I have come to learn that in my particular area of blogging (budget and food) sensitivity of diversity is a severely lacking trait. Yesterday I watched a Thrifty Blogger fall from grace with one single indiscretion laying insult to a large group of readers. This lady has a reasonable sized following (although smaller now) and the opportunity to empower a great deal more but, disappointingly, has chosen to put down the very people who need her support the most. I won't go into detail but essentially, it was suggested that a lot of families make unhealthy choices simply because they are lazy. After  an overwhelmingly negative response to her post, she removed it, but offered no apologies. This is where I become disillusioned by th...

This week, The Living Room promised us so much in the headline “Feed Your Family For Under $100” but, like so many before them, delivered so  very little for far too much.

Everything becomes a juggling act when a two year old is involved. Even cooking dinner requires eyes in the back of your head. They're here, they're there, they're everywhere! Unfortunately, I do not have eyes in the back of my head. So, while the kettle was boiling on the bench behind me, I was browning meatballs in the pan in front of me and Miss 2

**I am not a consultant and receive no payment for this review. Let me start by saying, I am not a nail person. I’ve not even used nail polish for years, chips and scratches drive me mad! So when I was sent a sample pack of Jamberry Nail Wraps, I was feeling a tad out of my comfort zone but more than a little curious about how they would hold up against the housewife brutality that my hands are subjected to everyday. Since I’m far more comfortable with the Plain Jane look these days, I did feel a little bizarre. Particularly as, being only samples, the nails didn't match up. However, when my kids light up and declare me to be pretty on account of my fancy nails, it’s a melting moment. Yeah, it feels good. Application is Simple Believe me when I tell you, if I can do it,

When I tell people how much I spend on groceries, I often get asked, "How do you do it?" But, even after I tell them, I get bombarded with reasons why it's just not possible. Not possible? I do it, some do it for less!  I would like to respond to the most common comments I receive as I believe these to be the excuses that keep us from our

The Empty Pantry Challenge This past fortnight has been a huge challenge for me and I’m so glad the first stage is over. One of the biggest challenges faced by families making the switch to home cooking is the lack of pantry staples and the resulting cost at the checkout. You may have heard of the pantry challenge? Basically, you design your meal plan around

If you've been following my study of the sugar tree, thank you for joining me on what has been a flabbergastingly frustrating journey through the maze of fact, fiction and the downright ridiculous. Everyday, I come across people attempting to convince themselves and others that their choice of sugar is justified by some kind of health benefit or unique quality that makes it healthy.*scoff*  

After my son died, I had a recurring dream. The dream would occur not only in sleep but also in the hours I was awake. I sat, curled up in a ball at the bottom of a deep hole. It was bigger than a well but still perfectly circular.

Part Four When Rice Malt Syrup popped up on my news feed, I thought I might need my eyes surgically unrolled! Here we are again, debating another sugar myth, banging our heads against that ever rigid brick wall of ignorance.

How Housework can help you get in shape. Doing housework can be about equal in exercise terms to medium-intensity aerobics if you choose to put the energy in. Sometimes, a few little changes are all that is needed to make a big difference to your physical health and fitness. Once these things become habit, your daily household routine becomes your daily workout as well. Stop making things easy. Modern convieniences are great (I particularly like dishwashers and wish I had one) but they can make us lazy and prevent us from taking advantage of our full range of movement. The laundry trolley, for example, keeps us upright and limits physical exertion. These are great for people with chronic back problems who would otherwise be unable to perform the task of hanging clothes but for those who are able to do squats, this is the perfect opportunity to do so. Click here to see more ideas for getting fit in the laundry here. Keep moving Just standing still, you burn over 100 c...

If you haven't been following on Facebook, you won't know that I have signed for Mumma Plus Three's Spring Cleaning Challenge. Just like Christmas in July and being organised Christmas in December, every year I declare that next year, I will do it! This year, I actually am doing it (spring cleaning that is, Christmas will probably be a last minute rush as usual).

Part Three -The Sugar Files Does a muffin with a lower sugar content than an apple surprise you?

Part Two So you think I'm just another sugar basher, out to smear Coconut Sugar's reputation? Well, you are particularly right. I did set out at one stage to disprove that this sugar had any benefits over it's common comparison, white (or table) sugar, I was however wrong but not in the way you might expect.

Ever tried to motivate yourself with a mission impossible styled pep talk? It's OK to say no, I know I am one of those "special" kind of people and I'm OK with that. (If you said yes, we really need to connect!) Image source: GIFY.com

If you don't want to get cancer, don't eat, don't drink and don't breath. (Yeah, that last one will definitely save you the trouble) Volunteer or donate to help beat cancer: Daffodil Day

Are you one of those people who want to know what happened to Snow White, Cinderella, Briar Rose... etc... after they married their prince? As children, we don't question the "happily ever after". When did we get so old and cynical?

Because you didn't sleep today, Your mummy's in a spin. I had not time to wash, so I've nothing to dress you in. Because you didn't sleep today, Dinner will be on bread. I was going to make your favourite, Now it's sausages instead. Because you didn't sleep today, I don't want to hold your hand. Mummy needs a break from you, Don't you understand? Because you didn't sleep today, You whinge and moan and bitch. In trying hard to keep my cool, I've developed quite a twitch. Because you didn't sleep today, You won't go down for bed. Dear God child PLEASE! You're doing in my head!!! Because you didn't sleep today, I'm anxious and I'm stressed. Please child, go to sleep, Mummy needs some rest. Because you didn't sleep today, Your eyes begin to shut. But you open them right up again, THAT'S IT! I've had enough!! Because you didn't sleep to...

My husband and I were lunching at IKEA the other day with little Miss2 and Mr3. At the table next to us sat a mum and her little Miss3. Mum offered little Miss some of her salmon which little Miss declined, Mum then helped herself to one of little Miss' chips...... So now little Miss is screaming and writhing on the floor and mum's shoulders have slumped, I feel her remorse, IKEA chips are just not worth this torment. We look at her and smile, knowing the feeling well enough to know that sometimes you just need a bit of empathy to get you though. "They're all the same." I say, "Some days we can't do anything right by them." She looks at my two, "I'm glad I decided to stop at one. I hear it gets better though." Hmmm, I didn't have the heart to tell her, nor did I have the time to explain as we were moving on and kids don't like it when mummies talk, "Yes, it does get better," I lied.

I've got my silly on this week. The cold, wet weather has kept us indoors more than usual so, I've been exploring a few more blogs from the  Parent Talk Australia  website. Click through to Website