There was ice all over my car windscreen yesterday morning. I don't remember EVER having ice on my car in Sydney before. I was so bloody cold last night that I couldn't get to sleep. Flannelette pyjamas, bed socks, doona, dressing gown draped over the top ... and still shivering an hour later. DD, however,... Continue Reading →

A few weeks ago, booking.com sent me an email with a header that said: "Alana, we've found last-minute deals for you in Ryde!" I thought it was a little odd, as I've never expressed the slightest desire to visit Ryde while on the booking.com site. I drive through the Northern Sydney suburb of Ryde on... Continue Reading →

I was shocked to read on smh.com.au at 8.28pm last night that "erratic swings give Labor hope." I was certain there was no hope for Australia. Especially after filling out that ridiculous senate paper at the polling booth. It was truly disturbing. Why the hell do they make you tick six boxes when the choices... Continue Reading →

The youngest's affection for the kitchen came in handy last night. After I cooked up burgers and homemade wedges dusted in Cajun spices - go me - it was time for some Election Day baking for the school cake stall. Nothing turned out quite the way I'd planned. Sigh. I'd decided to make "dirt" covered... Continue Reading →

I haven't worked full time in an office since my youngest daughter was born 10 years ago. I even managed - with the support of the most amazing deputy editor, Nicole Byers - to edit Woman's Day while working only four days a week. I didn't understand how lucky I was back then, when I... Continue Reading →

I didn't want to get out of bed this morning. Not because I was bleeeeeaaaaaak, which is usually the reason people don't want to get out of bed ... or because they're lazy or really good at sleeping or something, like my 12-year-old, who could quite happily stay under the covers until lunchtime. She doesn't... Continue Reading →

"You must really love swimming," one of my colleagues noted when I told her I'd been kayaking and splashing in the surf on the weekend. "Yes!" I replied. Then I paused, a little startled by my answer, and added, "Actually, I can't swim. I've always hated the water ... until lately." Two years ago, I... Continue Reading →

"One thing you might not know about me is that I am a punctual person," Mrs Woog wrote yesterday. "This is a recent phenomenon, rearing its head about the same time that I became obsessed with the weather forecast and when I started selecting clothing based on whether it would crush or not. It is... Continue Reading →

Back in 2014, when I was feeling a little down, the universe sent me a pig. It's pretty hard to stay miz when a squealing pig runs past you in a suburban Sydney street. It kinda startles you out of it. Yesterday, the universe got jack of my middle-class-white-girl moping about life's challenges and one-upped... Continue Reading →