Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Good Morning!

I thought I'd share some delicious breakfast drinks with which to start your day.

The best one of all, and my favourite, which I drink on an empty stomach, is hot lemon water. Squeeze half a lemon (don't use bottled lemon juice) into your biggest coffee cup and fill it with warm water (not boiling). Don't eat anything until you have finished your lemon water.

Warm lemon water aids digestion, cleanses your system, boosts your immunity, clears your skin, balances your pH, freshens your breath, lifts your mood and hydrates your lymph system.

The next one is watermelon juice. A combination of watermelon, cucumber and mint leaves is lovely. First thing in the morning, juices should be either warm or at room temperature to be gentle on your body.

Watermelon contains vitamins A and C, potassium, lycopene, beta-carotene and antioxidants. It's very hydrating, due to it's high water content. It's a diuretic, so it relieves water retention. It has positive effects on blood pressure and cholesterol and balances your pH. The lycopene in watermelon provides a mild and natural sun protection too.


The third drink is a cup of warm green tea with the juice of either lemon, lime or orange. This has positive effects on your heart health and it lowers your bad cholesterol levels while raising the good cholesterol. The polyphenols in green tea and the flavinoids in citrus help provide 'some' protection against 'some' cancers. Of course the citrus provides vitamin C, which is a wonderfully healing vitamin - especially when consumed in your fresh, healthful, raw foods.

Of course, you should always follow up this great start to the day by being active and continuing healthy eating throughout the rest of the day.

It seems pointless to have such a cleansing start and then filling your body with toxic processed foods and sugars for the rest of the day, which puts pressure on your digestive system and doesn't give your body the nutrients to regenerate all the bits that it replaces in time.

The cells in almost all of your body, replace themselves over time. It takes 20 yrs for your heart to replace itself, 2-3 weeks for your lungs, 2-4 weeks for your skin, 5 months for your liver, 10 years for your bones, 2-3 days for your intestines, 4 months for your red blood cells, your eyeballs (except your cornea) remain the same for all of your life, as does most of your brain. That's just to name a few.

You need nutrients in your body to replace these cells, so if you are eating junk food, or processed food and not consuming enough good, healthful, fresh foods, then your body is going to struggle to replace itself and cause you health problems at a much earlier age than someone who is providing all the necessary nutrients to their body. Long term poor nutrition means big trouble for you!

So that's your education for this part of my course. Today's lesson is over.

Nite all.  

Friday, July 25, 2014

Bad Tipping

So the first two football matches for the week and I've already tipped the two losing teams .. ugh!

I have absolutely nothing to share tonight and I am about to go to bed because I'm feeling incredibly tired. It's been a very big week and I successfully fought off this cold, and I think my body is telling me GET ME TO SLEEP BEFORE MIDNIGHT PLEASE, I NEED TO REST!

So it's good night from me.

Nite all.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Turning 30!

My youngest daughter, Bubbles, turned 30 years young today. In her own words, this is how she spent the day...

"What a long exciting exhausting day!!
Being 30 is tiring.
I had an awesome day at work,
flowers from the girls,
a cake from the guys.

I come home to find Matt had decorated the shit out of the house!
I get a lovely call from mum.
I get picked up for dinner in a limousine.
I have a beautiful dinner with awesome family.
I got SUPER spoilt.

Couldn't be a happier girl right now.
Thank you all for making my 30th a day I'll never forget!!"
♡♡♡♡

She is having a big birthday bash on Saturday night and then another one when she arrives here in two weeks. Well ... a big bash with just the four of us, but it will be special!

We've organised a theme party .. but the theme is a surprise, so you don't find out til I post photos after the event.

Adoring Husband and I spent a good part of today picking up the final goodies for the celebration.

I wish I could be there for her big party this weekend, but AH will be there.

My throat is feeling much better tonight .. I believe that I have successfully fought off the cold/virus/flu before it set in and took hold! Thank goodness!

My challenge right now is to get into bed before the strike of midnight .. I have 8 minutes!

Nite all. 


It's a hit!

I just checked how many hits I've had on my recent 'filofax' post and *oh my goodness* it's a hit! Almost 200 hits and I wonder how many of them clicked on the link to Vegan Chickie's blog.

I guess that proves what she said about there being some obsessive filofax users out in the big wide world of the web!

I'm wondering if all of you know how to answer this for yourself ...


My label would have to be something about not waking me up. I value every minute of my sleep and if I am woken up from a deep sleep for any reason except something pre-arranged, then I am likely to be cranky all day .. and I mean ALL DAY.

Adoring Husband is aware of this after being on the receiving end of my day-long wrath on a few occasions. I become totally unreasonable and my brain just doesn't see sense. So perhaps my warning label would read:

"BEWARE! CRANKY, BITTER AND TWISTED IF WOKEN UNEXPECTEDLY"

I'm fighting some kind of cold or virus at the moment. About twenty minutes into our train trip yesterday, I felt my throat beginning to feel a bit tender, which was frustrating because usually when I feel that happen, I can tend to it immediately, but on the train, I had to wait it out.

So since I got home last night, I've been dosing up on raw honey and lemon, drinking lots of water and I juiced some organic oranges this afternoon and had a couple of big glasses of juice. I sat in the sunshine this morning for over an hour and have eaten lots of green leafy vegetables today, for lunch and dinner.

My throat still feels a little tender, but it hasn't progressed any further, so I feel like I'm holding it back well.

Another good night's sleep tonight should help, but it's already after midnight, so I'd best get moving!

Nite all.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Long Big Day Out

Here we are, at the end of a very long big day out.

4am start. On the train at 5.45am. Into the city at 9.50am. Back on the train at 4.55pm. In the car, driving home from the train station at 9pm. Pulled into our driveway at 9.30pm.

I'm well and truly done for the day.

At the beginning of the day, I was disappointed that I didn't take my camera, but by the end of the day, I was glad not to be lugging all that extra weight around town.

Needless to say, I don't have any photos to share.






The psychotic dogs were very happy to see us arrive home this evening .. it's nice to get such a happy welcome after a big day out.

Thank you to Happy Harry and Lady Lynn for being our friends.


Nite all.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Big Day Out

I submitted another assignment today, that was not due until Friday, but I needed to get it out of the way, ahead of a big week coming up for Adoring Husband and I, so I submitted it at 4.30pm today and it was marked and returned to me before 5.30pm. It was my best mark yet! 100%

Very happy with that!

My next assignment is due in 2 weeks and is a video presentation. This assignment is the one that almost stopped me from doing the course .. I am feeling very intimidated by the prospect and I think my time will be very limited to get it done. Fingers crossed for me please!

This is a photo that I took yesterday morning down by the river ...


It was a beautiful start to the day and the river was looking it's finest vibrant blue, with lots of bird life in our company from pelicans to cormorants to kites to egrets. I love the river on a bright sparkling Winter's morning.

Well, we've got a big train trip to Brisbane tomorrow, so I'm off to get myself organised before it gets too late.

Nite all.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Did ya miss me?

Well, I arrived home at 6pm yesterday and had to be ready to attend a 'Christmas in July' function by 6.30pm!

It was tight.

But I did it!

Unfortunately the date conflicted with other important functions in the area, so the numbers were down on recent years, but it was a great night that raised good money for the local SES group.

The meals were well catered, the Christmas fare was delicious and I really liked the entertainment .. I even danced with Adoring Husband .. and THAT doesn't usually happen unless I've had a LOT of alcohol to drink!

It was a happy, friendly crowd who enjoyed themselves because they were sharing an evening with friends. Here are some happy snaps that I have not edited .. they are straight from the camera, so you get to see the 'before' shots.








By the time we arrived home at almost 11pm, we went straight to bed and after some debriefing of our few days apart, fell into a very deep sleep.

Some exciting news for me today! Remember the assignment that I was most worried about. The one that I really struggled to understand and had to spend extra hours on extra research for it to make sense in my head? Well, I got the results today and it's another High Distinction with 98%.

I can't tell you what a huge relief that was for me. I am VERY happy with that result and am finally beginning to feel more confident about my ability to complete the course successfully.

Well, I have struggled with this computer and the internet tonight .. what should have taken me an hour, has taken almost 3 hours. Very frustrating indeed.

Nite all.