I'm the strangest mix of confident and insecure. I'm not sure how someone manages to be both at the same time. But I do. There's a little voice inside me that takes constant pot shots at my self esteem, telling me I'm a failure. Tanya Hennessy posted a video about her inner voice recently: But... Continue Reading →

The eldest asked to see a doctor yesterday. Since the eldest has a terrifyingly high pain threshold I decided that was a sign the hijinks knuckle was probably broken. I headed to work at the crack of dawn, well 7.45am, so I could meet the eldest at a medical centre with an x-ray service after... Continue Reading →

I was an "easy-o-sy" baby according to my grandmother. And I've generally aged into an "easy-o-sy" 50-year-old. But there are some single mum mornings that push me that little bit too far. Yesterday was one of them I woke up at 5am and was too stressy to get back to sleep. To keep the house... Continue Reading →

The youngest had THE most awesome time at the 2018 Australian Rope Skipping Championships, but she was feral with exhaustion when she finally got home last night. Grouchy as! So I couldn't get much out of her, other than that her elbow and her knee and virtually everything in between was really hurting. I think... Continue Reading →

I started excitedly typing these words last week: "I was thinking it was just me ... but it turns out I'm not the only 50 year old on a high." I'd just read an article by Jonathan Rauch, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, who has written a book called The Happiness Curve: Why... Continue Reading →

The youngest is heading to the 2018 Australian Rope Skipping Championships today ... without me. My ex and I decided to divide and conquer. He gets Canberra for Nationals, I get Shanghai for Worlds. My end of the deal sounds glam, but I'm thinking I'd rather have Canberra. It's only four days and two and... Continue Reading →

The youngest had a school band performance last night. Normally I'd bake something for the fundraiser stall and volunteer to help on the night while proudly watch the performance. But I had a parenting clash and baking issues ... so I couldn't do any of those things. Rewinding to Tuesday night: life gets pretty frantic... Continue Reading →

People pop up from my past when I least expect it. I got a frantic text the other night from an old colleague. Her new Kmart pie maker wasn't working - the bottoms were burning, but the tops were still doughy. She recalled my historic fondness for pie makers and hoped I'd be able to... Continue Reading →

For a long time I forgot that music is such a buzz. I shut myself off from its joys during my dark years, but it was a huge part of my life in happier times. When my ex and I moved to Singapore after getting hitched, we bought three big CD folders that we alphabetically... Continue Reading →

I often beat myself up about the "should have dones". Whenever I walk the dogs in the park, I'm reminded of the years I spent there with little ones and my heart aches a little. Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got til it's gone ... Back then, I... Continue Reading →