Category: advice
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It’s Never ‘Too Soon’ For Laughter In The Face Of Adversity
We’ve had the usual mix of experiences over Christmas. Some of them have been as gloriously perfect as the anticipation and some have been the inevitable shite sprinkled on the top. That’s life. That’s the reality of the season for most people. Photo from Louis Hansel on Unsplash.com But it’s safe to say the fires…
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There is only one guarantee in life: Everything changes
Some people are resistant to change – particularly from middle age onwards – while others embrace it. Some of us want to cram as many crazy, new experiences into our twilight years, while others take comfort from what they know. Photo by Alexandra Ișvănescu on Unsplash On a personal level, I have always embraced change, which explains my…
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The 7 Best Ways To Find Your Christmas Spirit When You’re A Grinch
In spite of my newfound, VERY mature thoughts about the insignificance of consumerism in my life at this time here, I have launched myself full throttle into Christmas. Living room with full of Christmas decorations. To be honest, I’m a bit of a Christmas tragic. We were fortunate to have a mother who made the…
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It was the small, magical moments during our holiday to Hawaii that mattered most
Forgive me for my recent radio silence, but I’m struggling to get back into real time since our return from Hawaii. No doubt, some of you will be interested to know how we fared, having spent so much time reading about my angst in relation to where the fuck to take an anxious, middle-aged man…
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When You Don’t Feel Peopley Due To Anxiety
Mood-wise, I’ve experienced a bit of a crash over the past few weeks. That’s not unusual as you navigate menopause and anxiety, but it’s frustrating when I was about to launch myself into full holiday mode. Photo by Talles Alves on Unsplash I know stuff is serious when I’m not feeling peopley, because as a…
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17 Signs Your Dog Is “A Princess”
Did I mention that WE’RE GOING TO HAWAII in a couple of weeks? Of course I did. And, as you can imagine, it has been hard to contain the feverish excitement of the old man at the prospect of shopping in Honolulu, taking long, guided bus tours with complete strangers, and our first Luau. But,…
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5 Life Lessons To Take Away From “The Sopranos”
We’re grieving in our household because we’ve just completed the final series of The Sopranos. The Sopranos boxset available at Amazon. But before any hardcore Sopranos fans jump in with an “I told you so” assumption that our grief is linked to THAT final episode – trust me, it’s not. The old man loved the…
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Food Packaging: Has The World Gone Completely Mad?
I am slowly educating myself about my personal impact on the environment. It helps when you have a daughter who works in climate science, and who helpfully reminds you each time you forget your recycled bags at the supermarket about how many turtles you’ve just killed. Photo by Vivianne Lemay on Unsplash I admit that,…
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Every Cloud…And All That Claptrap
Photo by kilarov zaneit on Unsplash Sorry, sorry, SORRY for being so lax about updating you with my own particular brand of mayhem over the past few weeks. You know what house moves are like, and then there’s the day job, and an overdue revisit to my fiction writing. Added to which, some weeks it…
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You Don’t Have To Fit Into Society’s One-Size-Fits-All Box
As, once again, we compile the memories of twenty-five years together into boxes ahead of our next move, it seems appropriate to have a discussion about them. Boxes. Because I’ve noticed how good society is at putting people into them, as NC reminded me the other day when we were discussing the assumptions people make…
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Next Year, I Will Choose Another Date To Celebrate Australia Day
Something didn’t feel quite right when I woke up on the morning of “Australia Day” this year. You know me, any excuse for a piss-up and I’m there with bells on, but this year felt different. Sure, we had only organized a small gathering of friends at a local pub, followed by a nice lunch…
LOUISA SIMMONDS 