The art of laid-back parenting

The art of laid-back parenting

Given my eldest child is not quite four, my interactions with early childhood facilities have only extended to childcare and kindergarten.  I take a fairly laid-back approach.  Not so laid-back that I was happy to send my son to the creche with the kid eating paper under the table but laid-back enough to not be [...]

Digging for fire

It’s no revelation to say it, but my writing seems to flow better when there’s fire in my belly.  I’m never short on finding things to irritate, challenge or upset me and I quite enjoy tempering those emotions with some logic.  The resulting posts are usually the ones that touch a nerve with others.  In [...]

Cooking with fennel

I haven’t always cooked with fennel.  Growing up in a Caucasian household, it wasn’t a regular feature at the dinner table but I knew of its existence.  It wasn’t until I became friends with an Italian/Australian friend in high school that fennel’s connection with Mediterranean cuisine revealed itself.  I’d like to tell you about the [...]

Summer’s coming

As the days begin to get warmer, I’m reminded of how much I used to love summer.  Don’t get me wrong, we’re still friends, it’s just that my tolerance levels for sunscreen application, short clothing and screaming at people to keep their hats on rapidly declines under the pressure of extreme heat. A trip to [...]

I kinda-heart my body

This morning I bought a bucket of protein shake to help curb my hunger.  I hadn’t even heard of I heart my body day. I went into one of those vitamin super stores, the kind manned by men that can’t move their arms.  A hip young blonde with a Chinese letter tattooed on her wrist [...]

The ‘m’ word

This week Media Watch focused on personal bloggers.  I’m not going to dissect the show or get into my thoughts on the term “mummy blogger”.  I’m pretty sure we’ve been here before and it’s all getting very weary. Yes I find the term patronising.  No I do not like the negative discourse the word generally [...]

3 year old boys. The worst date you’ve ever had.

The greatest thing about bad dates is that eventually they end.  You can make false promises about catching up again, be upfront or even use the old “it’s not you, it’s me” excuse.  Back in the safety of your own home you can relax, knowing you will never have to endure a conversation about vehicle [...]

A mother-in-law tutorial

When it comes to mother and daughter-in-law relations, I am not the expert.  I am the undergraduate.  But this week I overheard a conversation in a childrenswear department that had me thinking perhaps I’ve learnt a thing or two after all. A fifty-something woman appeared to be looking for an outfit for her granddaughter when [...]

Down the rabbit hole

I like to live in a social media bubble.  Safe in my cocoon there’s an enlightening stream of wit, creativity and intelligence.  There are links to news sites, blogs and pictures.  Occasionally opinions are respectfully challenged, occasionally there’s banality.  But then I slip and suddenly I’m falling down a rabbit hole of decomposing rubbish. An [...]

What I know about writing

source I can still remember the handwriting test we took in Primary School.  The one in pencil.  The teacher looked carefully at my capital B and spoke encouraging words of a job well done.  She settled a star upon the page but she didn’t give me a pen. I watched everyone else take up their [...]

Mums Gone Wild. PB Style.

One of the greatest gifts you can give a new mother, old mother, tired mother, bored mother is time out with like-minded individuals.  Based on that simple fact, last weekend’s ProBlogger Training Event was like food for the soul.  Or wine maybe. I was all rather skeptical heading into my first blogging conference, convinced people [...]

Trolling, trolling, trolling

I’ve always defined a troll as someone who deliberately incites an argument, perhaps using insults, but last night’s Insight program on SBS clearly emphasised the distinction between inciting debate and bullying or abusive behaviour. Occasionally it feels like language is changing.  Misogyny now appears to mean sexism and all provocative behaviour on the internet falls [...]