It was great to meet up with the eldest over the weekend and get a glimpse into his new Melbourne life. He’s loving university, working on his art in the on-campus studio and the independence of living away from home. On Friday night I took him out for a cocktail and dinner, then on Saturday... Continue Reading →

I don’t like wasting money. Well, maybe on fashion. I love fashion so it’s exempt. Though I prefer to buy it on sale: Oh, and maybe on holidays. I love holidays, especially cruises, so they are exempt too. Though, again, I prefer to buy them on sale. Watching this current Uber Eats generation, for example,... Continue Reading →

I've been stung by the political version of an Irukandji jellyfish and can't shake the catastrophic feelings. The poison from the highly venomous jellyfish causes you to develop Irukandji Syndrome, which fills you with a sense of impending doom, along with extreme pain. I am terrified of the little creatures, which are smaller than a... Continue Reading →

The festival of the youngest's birthday continued on Monday night with a very special tradition: teppanyaki. And this year we had a new guest at the U-shaped, chipped Laminex table, the youngest's boyfriend Josh. It was Josh's first-ever teppanyaki experience, which included being showered with fried rice from a bowl tossed at him by the... Continue Reading →

Not-so-fun fact: Maltese terriers’ tracheas often collapse as they get older. It’s a genetic flaw. The breed doesn't have enough cellular rings of cartilage in its windpipe, which can lead to breathing difficulties. My dog Charlie is part-Maltese and his trachea partially collapsed on Friday morning. I am on intimate terms with Dr Google, so... Continue Reading →

Consumer group Choice chipped the Australian Government this week over its promise to deliver “the strongest ever protection” for travellers in its new aviation consumer rights charter. It turns out airlines will not automatically be required to provide refunds for weather-related flight delays or cancellations, with Choice senior campaigns and policy adviser Bea Sherwood noting... Continue Reading →

I went to a conference yesterday at ICC Sydney called Destination Australia, organised by Tourism Australia. Karl Stefanovic was the MC and raced over to give his opening spiel straight after filming The Today Show. He seemed very chill about the quick switch, whereas I was a bit flustered by only remembering the conference at 11.30pm... Continue Reading →

My head was aching as I walked to the bus stop after work last night. My job is very mentally intense and I was out of practice after my holiday. Returning to work on a Tuesday meant I was running a day late on compiling my weekly newsletter, which is called 'Insights' and is aimed... Continue Reading →

One of my favourite things about expedition cruising is seeing parts of the world that are difficult to access any other way. We disembarked the Scenic Eclipse II in Cairns yesterday after being lucky enough to visit Great Barrier Reef islands including Lady Elliott, Great Keppel, Percy and Magnetic. While some, such as Magnetic, are... Continue Reading →

One of my justifications for booking a 12-day journey from Auckland to the Great Barrier Reef aboard the luxurious Scenic Eclipse II was that the cruise ends today, on my 57th birthday. Happy birthday to me! Blimey, those 57 years went way too fast. As did the cruise. We will be very sad to disembark... Continue Reading →