Supermarket Shelves & Food Security.

As most of you know we had a cyclone heading our way over Christmas. It didn't hit our city/town however it did go inland to the Kakadu region.

The cyclone/storm caused flooding and damage to roads and rail tracks, preventing road trains (very large trucks) and freight trains from driving into our city. We live far from the other side of Australia where everything tends to come from. Even our local food goes to the other side for sorting before coming back to our supermarket shelves - CRAZY!

People shopped a lot for Christmas meals. Then people shopped a lot for cyclone preparation. And then with the roads being blocked nothing was coming through. Coles Supermarket fruit and veg section had limited produce on offer when I went in at 7:45am. By 5pm I heard the was not a tomato or single lettuce leaf in sight. I heard there was hardly anything available in the fresh produce aisles.

Pears and Other Softer Fruits Such As Stone Fruit All Gone Except For A Few Tough Grapes.

These Last 4 Bags of Sad Rocket Were Quickly Snapped Up.

Shelves Becoming Bare.

Lots of Long Lasting Apples in the Background, All These Soft and Bruised Tomatos Were Gone By Afternoon.

I travelled extensively in Russia in 1978 and spent a few days in Moscow in 1984. I have seen the queues to purchase an ice cream cone as I stood a good hour in line too. I have seen long quiet queues in the freezing cold to purchase minimal items. A loaf of bread here and a warm hat there. Eye opening for a kid from a country with abundance and waste.

The shelves at Coles made me think a lot about food security, the future and the need to grow more of our own produce. Everyone can grow a little of their own food, even if it's just one small plant to start off with. A year ago I knew absolutely nothing about gardening or plants. Now as I have my small garden plot I am learning from books, blogs, other gardeners and best of all from my own experiences of trial and error. I am growing some of my own food and if the supermarket shelves have nothing to offer I can pick nutrient rich foods from my plot.

Are you growing in your garden, pot plant, styfoam box? If yes, what are your food for table successes?

On Holidays and a Cut Back In Pay.

Today I am on holidays for 4 weeks. Yeeee Hahhhh. Then back to work for 2 weeks on my regular hours and then.... DRUM ROLL... my hours are cut back by 25% for a 3 month trial.

That also means a cut back in my pay packet by 25% and a cut back in my Superannuation for retirement. Ouch!   But this is why I'm frugal and have been saving like mad, so that I can have extra time with my daughter.

I will be able to pick Dolly up from school each afternoon, help her with learning and other fun activities. We will have time to cook, craft, garden, read and play instead of me nagging her to eat quickly, brush her teeth and get into pyjamas. I can't wait for the lifestyle change!

We only have 1 car so to do this I will have to ride my bike to work and back each day. 1 hour of riding and as I get fitter this should reduce to 40 minutes of riding each day. Making me fitter, healthier, leaner and more eco. Extra gardening may mean more fresh produce. More time to cook may mean cheaper and healthier home cooked meals. So even though I'm cutting back on money coming in, I hope the change of lifestyle not only brings me more joy but also more time to be organised and savings in fuel, health and food.

Here's to a less hurried life! Bottoms up. Chin Chin. Cheers.

Use What You Have On Hand

Dolly is currently preparing 4 craft boxes for 3 friends and herself as gifts. Yes she's preparing a gift for herself too. How smart is that.

To present all the inexpensive and op shopped goodies as pretty as possible I have been working on making the boxes as gorgeous as possible to give it extra Zip Dang Bang! I have completed 2 so far (one a night at roughly 2 hours each) while my family sleeps.

The boxes were from The Rambling Expats workplace destined for landfill. Old A4 Illford Photography Paper boxes (back from the darkroom days). He saved them for me knowing I'm a hoarder of all good things. I started cutting random images from books and mags but then remembered these sweet calenders from 2010 and 2011 purchased in op shops for .50 cents each. So cutting and gluing ensued with beautiful outcomes.

 

These are not completed. They need one more lick of glue to varnish and protect, then I'm done. These are time consuming but I'm hooked as I have found it meditative to cut and glue in the quiet. We have a 70th Birthday party to attend soon. I'm planning to ask a shoe shop for a nice sturdy shoe box that I can cover. I hope to fill it with herb/rose petal sachets, chocolate and photos. It's for a man, so I will masculinate all my gifts.

Have you done anything like this before? It's my 1st time and I think it's quite nifty. Have you been using what you have on hand?

I might be away tomorrow as We are taking The Rambling Expat out for dinner - it's his Birthday. Pop over to his fishing addicted Blog to wish him a happy 45th (he only looks 30 - lucky Duck!) We've been together for 19 years. Who would have ever thought? My plan was to stay single and sexy all my life and then I met him... Now I'm content and Rubenesque :-)

Tightwads Part 1

Since I can't upload my photos tonight, I thought some of you may enjoy this documentary on You Tube instead of listening to my ramblings.

This is just part 1 - I'm sure you can find the other parts on your own.



What did you think? Very tight compared to me. But I found it very interesting..

Not Too Proud To Accept Your Castoffs

Many people feel too embarrassed or superior to give hand-me-downs to people they know. Either they give directly to charity shops or worse throw the stuff in bins so that no one can benefit from them.

Others feel too embarrassed or superior to accept hand-me-downs. They prefer to purchase everything new. Would never dream of accepting a castoffs or heaven forbid, step into a second hand shop.

Well not me... And my credit card is not maxed out, actually it's usually a $1 in positive credit. I use it sparingly and pay off any purchases within 2 days of using my card. I don't give it much of a workout because I don't buy much "new" stuff.

So when you give me your castoffs, hand-me-downs, outgrown stuff, unwanted items, used things - I LOVE IT! I can sort and take what I want, give to to others, put some on Freecycle or give to my local op shop. Not only are you making me happy with your used gifts but you are helping me save money towards my mortgage and you are helping the environment by giving the stuff another chance. Once I'm done with your stuff it will be passed on, repurposed, recycled or composted depending on it's use and state.

Our friend Nathalie and her gorgeous daughter gave us this lot of out grown books and CDs. We didn't say "No thanks" or feel embarrassed. We were thrilled to receive such a cool stash.

English Books and CD.

French Books and 8 CDs of Stories.

We sorted Dolly's book shelves to make room and have now prepared a bag of 10 outgrown books to give to a baby in the block of flats next to ours. We are not too proud to give and they are not to proud to accept and so the cycle continues.

We are not poor and could buy stuff, however we have decided to use our money wisely and want to look after our planet. How about you? Are you too proud to accept other peoples unwanted stuff?

Christmas Day

Today was relaxed. Dolly woke at 7:30am and said "Do you think Santa has come yet?" I said go and see. So she ran into the lounge and found many small parcels from us and from Santa. Dolly played with her Papa, The Rambling Expat while I squeezed in a bit more sleep.

Then the 3 of us made a batch of fresh pesto for my mum's Christmas present out of yesterdays basil harvest. We used basil, chilli, Parmesan cheese, garlic, toasted pine nuts and virgin olive oil. Simple luxury that is delicious on pasta, rice, veggies and by the spoonful. Mmmmmmm. Cost about $10 to make a jar full (pine nuts and parmesan are expensive here).

We then headed to my mums house for a left overs lunch from last nights dinner of Roast Pork, potatoes and veggies. Simple and delicious. On our arrival Dolly discovered Santa had left her a present at Grandma's, her beloved Rapunzel! Dolly jumped up and down on the spot about 20 times in her overjoyed excitement.

As you can see from the tutu I did not craft as planned. I decided to tell Dolly, that Santa had given a plain tutu for her to embellish herself. This worked a charm and she is looking forward to crafting her tutu into a work of art. This will be a fun and frugal holiday activity.

We had a simple, stress free, easy day just hanging out with my mum eating and watching French TV. On our return home we did a bit more cyclone preparation in the back yard as the winds may affect us tomorrow however it's believed we will not be directly hit. Tonight I will curl up with a book or watch a DVD that I picked up FREE from a Giveaway box at the office. Frugal life is good.

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates this time of year. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my ramblings, inspiring me and making my late nights fun.

Cyclone Making A Come Back, Op Shopping and Gardening.

It seems the cyclone will be heading our way as it has changed directions yet again. We may have gale force winds Christmas evening. However Darwin may miss out on being directly hit. It's a wait and see game with preparations thrown in. So far it's only predicted to be a category 2, but big enough to cause damage where I live.

This morning Dolly and I left the Rambling Expat at home for 2 and a half hours and headed to our local Salvation Army Op Shop (charity/thrift shop) (which I find over priced) and looked for the half price items (I was searching for heart shaped buttons). I was out of luck however we did make a few purchases.

• Dolly purchased a Tinker Bell costume - $2.50
• Baby socks & hat for her Dolls - $1 the lot.
• I purchased a skirt for $2.50 because the light cotton, bird print fabric was too pretty to leave behind.

Total Cost = $6 (hat missing from pic)

Fabric is a light cotton with pretty birds.

Dolly and I then went to our garden plot to catch up on gardening as I haven't done any in over 5 weeks. The garden plot helps to reduce our groceries costs, is a healthier option to sitting at home watching TV and has way less food miles then items from the supermarket. We weeded, pruned and fed the chickens spinach. As I went to place green waste in the compost bin I carelessly thought wow look at that pretty snake.

WHAT!!! Stopped myself in time as I realised SNAKE! Stepped back and withdrew my hand. I think this is a small Golden Tree Snake - not dangerous. But I still don't want to be bitten.

Golden Tree Snake?

She was keeping an eye on me for the rest of the time at the plot.

This is our lovely produce: If purchased in a supermarket this would easily be over $25 worth. I am so lucky to have a garden plot.

Healthy, Local and Organic.

• Basil from my plot and a friends plot (for pesto).
• A handful of a new type of snake bean I have been growing (to eat with lunch tomorrow).
• A few chilli's from another plot as their tree was loaded (to add to various dishes in next few days).
• Eggplants (I want to make chargrilled marinated eggplant if possible).
• Pawpaw (for snacking).
• Banana from our home garden (for snacking). These trees will blow down in gale force winds.

We ended the day with Dinner at Grandmas and then Dolly, Grandma, The Rambling Expat and myself driving around in our little car to see all the Christmas lights. Dolly had begged to do this and was thrilled by each house she saw twinkling. She asked if we could do the same. I said no and explained the financial cost and ecological waste involved.

How was your day? Did you have any time for the garden or other inexpensive pursuits?

Frogs, Cyclones and A Christmas Dash.

The Green Tree Frogs are croaking happily. There are about 20 or so outside. It's pouring which gives relief from the humid tropical heat. Here are some pics for you all to enjoy my loud company.

Beautiful, Bold and Loud.

Leaning Against My Happy Orchid

Another One Hidden Amongst Plants and Junk.

Eco-Frugal as I try to be, I am harvesting some of the rain water to water plants that are not in the direct path of raindrops. I also keep small buckets of rain water for Green Tree Frogs to lay eggs and encourage their reproduction success. We love to look at the tadpoles and give them lettuce to eat.

Harvesting Water. 2 Buckets in Background Full of Tadpoles.

As for the cyclone, it headed west and then changed direction and is now heading east. We may be lucky here in Darwin as it looks like it might skip it's visit to us after all. My louvers might end up intact and now on my urgent TO DO LIST. (Louvers are small glass windows that protect our tropical homes from the elements. If I remove them we are not longer protected. It's like you removing your windows from your home.)

Ceiling to Floor Louvers In Need of Replacing. These are Very Old and Dangerous.

Dolly came to my work building today and saw an area loaded and decorated with children's christmas letters to Santa and old toys. On our way out, she very sadly told me she did not see the tutu she wanted. I then realised she thought this was Santa's storage area and that she was upset she had not seen her name on the list of nice children. My sweet little girl has her heart set on that ugly badly and cheaply made tutu and now thought Santa was not happy with her!!!! I told her Santa has many storage areas and keeps most of his nice kids lists in his pocket and that I was 100% sure she was on it.

We were given an early mark at work so I tried 1 more time to find that out of stock elusive ugly tutu. It was not to be found. So I opted for a sweet and simple $14 tutu and will spend some time tonight sewing ribbons and flowers to liven it up. And maybe it will pass the test... I have held daily discussions that Santa does not always bring that wished for gift as he may have another gift that he really wants to give instead.

This Santa business (lying) is very complicated as my daughter picks me up on any conflicting information I give. 2 more days and it's over. Christmas is just not something I enjoy or want to encourage. But my daughters happiness and believing in the magic is beautiful and for this I will continue to make the effort. Childhood is so short.

How are you doing?

Christmas and Cyclones

I'm still not 100% better so I have been catching up on sleep. 11 hours a night most nights! Still coughing, sore throat, dizzy, sore back and general unwellness :-(  That is why I have been absent here...

We are also preparing for a cyclone which is thought to hit us on Christmas Eve. We have prepared "some" of our cyclone kit, we started to clean up our yard, we have had a huge termite infested palm tree chopped down yesterday and I will need to put our valuables and documents in the safest place I can find in our home.

If this a biggie I am sure one side of our home will loose it's louvre windows. They are old and we have saved all year to have them replaced. They go from ceiling to floor. We were supposed to have them replaced in November but the builder never got back to me and I have been too sick to be bothered. Now I'm bothered and it's too late :-( Some of my readers may remember Cyclone Carlos earlier this year.

Aside from that, last week I picked up 3 babysitting jobs. I made $120 (12 hours) to look after sleeping children. In that time I read, watched TV and crafted while keeping and eye and ear on deeply sleeping children. I used the money to purchase NEW stuff for Dolly's Christmas. Her heart is set on Rapunzel and a ugly tutu outfit she saw. She is sure Santa will bring these for her. (She has learnt a lot about Santa at school and from peers) I can't find the tutu outfit as it sold out quickly, but found a Rapunzel, Prince and Horse for my mum to gift at her place, from Santa.

And this is what I purchased for Dolly with my Babysitting money:

Mini Presents at Big Prices.

Another Mini Present - Too Cute - Maybe I will Play With Her.

• Wand $5 each - 1 for Dolly and 3 for friends = $20 (small local shop Yay).
• Mini Strawberry Shortcake Doll 1 for her and 3 for future B-Day Party gifts $3 each = $12
• Mini Rapunzel Doll = $23.72!!! Rip Off! - But she will LOVE this and play with it for hours.
• Mini Blythe Pet Shop Doll = $18.75 (This is from Santa)(I love this - I hope she does too)
• Crafting alphabet letters = $5.98 (expensive but creative and educational)
• Glittered crafting paper = $4.86
• Catnip toy for Dolly to give to our pet cat = $3.97

Total = $89.28. A crazy amount spent on new unecological plastic junk. I've been swept up in the crazy Christmas madness trap. I only wanted 1 "new" purchase and ended up with 4 new toys and 2 new craft items for Dolly. Luckily all of this came from the extra cash I made and I hope to make this the only NEW stuff purchased until next Christmas. Here is the second hand stuff I purchased for Dolly a few weeks back with good intentions.

I have $30.72 left in my pocket to purchase some yummies to share with my mum on a quiet and simple family Christmas lunch if we are not in the middle of a cyclone. I'm a Volunteer Admin person for the city shelter so will too busy in the shelter (with my family) to cook a Christmas meal if the Cyclone does hit.

Are you shopping for Christmas or for looming disaster?

Winners Of Housewife Superstar - The Very Best of Marjorie Bligh

The Winners Of Housewife Superstar - The Very Best of Marjorie Bligh by Danielle Wood book are:

Winner Number 1 - is Nadia.

Winner Number 2 - is Practical Parsimony.

To see their comments click HERE. They were selected by Random Generator - just like picking a name from a hat.

Winners,  Please email me your address so that the friendly Madeleine from Text Publishing Can post your books to you :-)

Lucky Ducks!!! I wouldn't mind this book on my frugal reference book shelf.

I Dedicate This Post To Dolly's Teacher, Ms Leah.

Dolly's preschool teacher Ms Leah has been the most wonderful start to schooling my daughter could have. She's smart, kind, full of fun, very loving, a great female role model, dances like no ones watching, creates with trash, encourages cultural diversity and speaks to students with respect. Everything that was important to me was enhanced by her.

We Heart Ms Leah.

I feel very sad that she will no longer be part of my daughters life (my tears are flowing). My daughter blossomed under her guidance. Dolly is very energetic but has a gentle heart. She is at times attracted to stronger children who bully her. She tells me she likes them because sometimes they are nice to her. Like all mums I worried on that 1st day of preschool. There were times at childcare my daughter would come home feeling sad and excluded with a tear running down her face. It would break my heart. With Ms Leah, Dolly's confidence grew and she has been made to feel proud of of who she is.

At preschool with Ms Leah, tolerance, difference and acceptance was promoted. The children all felt safe and were all able to grow into children ready to face the challenges of primary school. I always felt comfortable leaving my daughter in her caring hands and can only hope for more teachers like her during my daughters schooling life - however... I have worked in schools for many years and know she is a rare and special indeed. I must congratulate her parents on their remarkable achievement on creating such a special human being. But most of all I must thank Ms Leah for being the generous, kind and beautiful person she is.

THANK YOU MS LEAH WITH ALL MY HEART.

Lovely Readers, Tell me about a remarkable teacher that is/was unforgettable...

Sweet Homemade Chocolate Bars

On our arrival home I cooked quick angel hair pasta with a jar of sauce as we had serious business to get to. Dolly and I were on a mission to make decadent Rocky Road with macadamia nuts, rice bubbles, turkish delight, marshmallows, snickers, mars bar and of course good old cadbury milk chocolate.

This is the last piece for the major fancy gift pack as seen here and here that Dolly is giving her special person tomorrow. We did a little tasting along the way of course and at the end we both had a bowl each to lick and share. Ahhhh the Good Life :-)

Dolly Said This Looked Like Salad!

Mmmmmmmm, Chocolate in the pan ready to be harden in the fridge. We made 2 pans full = 16 generous chocolate bars.

Decadent!

When the chocolates were cut and wrapped in my new favourite style, they were so sweet and pretty I couldn't stop looking at them. I was inspired by a library book showing home made chocolate bars wrapped in pretty wrapping paper. I thought why buy pretty paper when there are so many super cute vintage books all ripped and damaged at the fraction of the cost, ready to use and preventing it from entering landfill.

Wrapped and Ready.

The completed gift is ready for tomorrow morning, being given as a Thank You from Dolly to someone she loves (and Drat - it's not me - I wouldn't mind getting this gift, I'll have to spoil myself and make a pack for me).

Crafted With Heart.

Break Down Of Gifts Costs:

• Rose Petal Sachets .80 cents each = $3.20
• Necklace = $1.00
• Bottle Top Magnets .5 cents each = 20 cents
• Chocolate $1.15 each = $2.30
• Vintage Staffordshire Plate = .50 cents.

TOTAL Gift Price = $7.20

I think the gift is very eco-frugal pretty and I'm feeling proud of my efforts. These 2 years has seen a big change in me from a buyer of regular stuff, to a buyer of discounted stuff, to a buyer of second hand stuff and now to a buyer of second hand stuff to recreate into other items. Many hours and lots of heart went into these gifts, which is a much nicer feeling then wandering around a department store looking for a generic gift like all the others.

Has your lifestyle changed in the past couple of years?

Craft - All Good and Frugal

Hi Everyone, Hope you are all well and not as hot as I am. It's sweltering here in the tropics. A little hard to cope with as it's draining.

For dinner tonight we had left over roast chicken cooked in a pot with carrot and broccoli. It turned into a lovely soup which I poured into bowls half full of rice. Healthy, cheap and yummy. And helping my family to shake these coughs.

Once I had Dolly in bed at 7pm I sat down in front of a the TV screen and crafted for 3 hours while watching the Closer.

YoYo Necklace - ready to swing around a pretty neck.

Shiny Bead to Hide the Snap Lock Button

And the 2nd present for Dolly's special person is completed. It cost me roughly $1 in materials from old clothes purchased in op shops, ribbon, 1 new snap lock button and new thread. Buttons were from freecycled buttons. It did however take me about 4 hours to complete as I kept making mistakes and having to unpick to resew. I guess I was blinded and distracted by TV.

Did you have a fab frugal day too?
Do you craft to save your pennies?

A Few More Days Before The Draw Of The Frugal GIVEAWAY

Hi Everyone.

Make sure you don't forget to enter my Frugal Book GIVEAWAY HERE.

I have 2 copies and it's an International GIVEAWAY - So Aussies and those in other lands can enter too :-)

I filled myself with Cherries, Blue Berries and Banana at my desk in the morning, expensive but vitamin rich. Lunchtime I had plain potato, with tomato and avocado to get good food into my depleted body. And then we ate out tonight - Pizza for the soul, after a long day at work, feeling still a little shaky but so happy to be getting better.

Hand stitching in the quiet

Tonight I'm having quiet time and hand stitching another gift for a person Dolly adores out of scrap fabric and old clothes :-)  The Rambling Expat and Dolly have both been fast asleep since 7:15pm tonight. My unwellness and coughing has really worn them out with stress and interrupted sleep.

What are you up to?

On The Mend and We Did Lots

Today was like a new me. So much better. Still a little trembly but nothing compared to last night. This is a long post of all the lovely things we did today.

Once Dolly arrived home this morning we headed to a FREE Christmas Family Fun Day. Dolly crafted at 2 of the tables from many on offer, sang christmas songs and met Santa. She didn't want to rock climb, go on the jumping castle or have her face painted which was unusual, but she may have been jittery from last nights fright. (The Rambling Expat has photos so I will add these tomorrow).

We then headed to the dreadful Spotlight where I spent money on new stuff which will help me use old stuff. I purchased pinking shears for sewing and mod podge for my earrings, magnets and other projects. I also purchased plastic storage boxes for our beads and other treasures. These I ahhhed and ummed about, for ages - however I purchased them as we currently use a million different bowls, tins and jars. I just want it in one easy area for Dolly's items and another for me in the aim to reduce chaos and clutter.

Dolly's Storage Box.

1 large box for Dolly and 2 small ones for myself. I now regret not getting the same one as Dolly as her compartments can be extended while mine can't. We started to fill them and I was able to empty 3 containers to relocate our goodies. Nearly all items are sourced from hand me downs (Dolly has a huge pile of 70's plastic beads in her box), op shop beads and broken jewellery, bottle tops and soft drink tabs from neighbours, buttons from old clothes and the list goes on. The only new item in Dolly's box is some pink wire and the only new item in mine is some of the earring hooks. Even my new in packet items were sourced from neighbours leaving town and op shops.

Started to fill her up with all of Dolly's treasures to craft.

My Box is half the size of Dolly's.

Sweetest Op Shopped Creatures. Dolly's Butterfly 10 cents, My Ceramic Owl .50 cents. 

After our quick shop we spent the afternoon at home on the couch sewing little rose petal sachets from chopped up old clothing, fabric scraps and a vintage sheet. I purchased the rose petals in a organic health shop a few weeks ago. I wanted lavender but the price was too high so opted for the much cheaper rose petals. They are used for cooking and teas, but crafting is an option too. I mixed 5 drops of geranium oil to intensify the aromas. This is what we made for someone special to Dolly (not saying in case she reads our blog).

60's, 70's, 2000 and 2010's Fabric. Pinking Shears Tested :-)

Pretty Pressie Ready to Give. Cost $3.20 - Time 2 hours with Dolly.

One Extra For Another Gift.

Our funky party animal neighbour Jacinta turned 50 last week. She likes to live loud, wears bright op shopped clothes and isn't scared of creative types. So we also made one rose petal sachet, added a earring stand and a pair of earrings for her. Dolly was so proud giving these home made gifts. Costs: Rose Petal Sachet .80 cents, earring stand $1.50, earrings .60 cents = Total $2.90, pretty cool on the pocket and not too hard on our time as it's so much fun making these items.

Jacinta's Pretty Gift Cost $2.90

And that was our day. As you see I'm on the mend. We kept our meals very simple. Lunch was tinned tuna sandwiches and fruit. Dinner was rice and fish fingers bringing out the kid in the 3 of us. Tomorrow will be a new day and lots of veggies for dinner.

Oh - And I decluttered by Offering on Freecycle, lovely Nadia picked up a milk crate of clothing, hand bags and other bits and bobs to rummage through. I also gave away to another Freecycler a long warm vintage camel hair and wool coat from my Melbourne days. I've been here in the tropics 7 years so it was time for it to go.

Did you enjoy your day today?

Back From Hospital

This afternoon we had to rush to hospital as my hand veins swelled, my lips tingled, my heart pounded and then the rest of my body tingled too. The Rambling Expat was outside with Dolly and I yelled come inside quick as I felt I was about to pass out. My mum came quickly to take Dolly and we rushed to hospital.

I'm home now, 6 hours latter. Still slightly tingly but much much better and less scared for my life. I had an allergic reaction to my antibiotic. There had been signs all week but I hadn't realised that they were signs until now. Vomiting, I put down to flem making me feel repulsed. Dizziness, I put down to coughing so much. Headaches, I put down to lack of sleep due to the coughing. Feeling Faint, I put down to combination of coughing and lack of sleep.

The hospital was FREE of course because our public hospitals are pretty good. I know many Australians think they are not good enough, and I believe they could be better, however comparing to many other countries - I think we are very lucky and will be even more lucky when we get them functioning better.

The doctor gave me medication to counteract the antibiotics by reducing the allergic reaction and they kept me in for a few hours to monitor me. I have been given a prescription for medication for the next 3 days that will keep counteracting the allergic reaction. I'm returning to work on Monday but still under the weather :-(

No photos again today. But I hope to blog some of my fun frugal projects that I hope to get going tomorrow. Dolly and I were getting our goodies ready to do frugal crafting when it all happened. She's at Grandmas sleeping now. She went to sleep upset as she had a big fright with my situation, didn't get to work on our project and probably wont be able to do a fun tropical early morning project with me tomorrow morning at the beach we had planned.

Hope you are all well and not trying any allergic reaction tricks too....

Don't forget my GIVEAWAY is open to everyone in every country for a fab Frugality Book.

Chaos and Wasting Money

I am at home off work all week sick. I thought I may get a couple of home jobs done but this virus has really knocked me about. The Rambling Expat is also feeling under the weather and getting himself to work and back without much energy for much more. That means our home is total chaos. It's always chaos but this time more then usual.

Last night I dragged myself to my daughters end of year preschool concert, get-together feast and disco. I had to muster all my energy to be able to go and watch her sing and have a good time.

I was unable to prepare any food for the event so purchased 4 pizzas with a discount voucher. I thought I would only have to pay $24 for the 4 pizzas but the bill came to $40+. When I said it was too expensive they brought the price down to $36. I left the store too tired to question why and frustrated at the big hole in my wallet.

Next week is our daughters last week of preschool so I wanted these last weeks to be extra special. She is growing so fast. It feels like it was only yesterday I gave birth to her. My little mermaid who swam the parameter of the birthing pool when she came out. The Rambling Expat said it was like she was aglow in the water with the darkened surroundings. Our own magical being :-) I need to get better to be able to make all her days happy and special. Luckily my mum has been keeping her until 7:00pm each night this week to help us out. The Rambling Expat picks her up, fed, washed and ready for bedtime stories and sleep.

Don't forget to enter my great GIVEAWAY it's open to everyone in any country.

FRUGAL INTERNATIONAL BOOK GIVEAWAY - Housewife Superstar

Hello frugality lovers. I have a special treat for you today that I am very very excited about!!! Text Publishing have sponsored 2 copies of The Housewife Superstar: The Very Best Of Marjorie Bligh to GIVEAWAY to my 2 winning blog readers. 

All you need to do is write one of your "eccentric frugal tricks/tips" in the comments below to be in the running. The competition is open to everyone and I will use Random Generator to pick the 2 winners.

Comp starts now and ends on the 15 December 2011 11:59pm Darwin Time.

Don't forget to click on the link above to read a bit about Housewife Superstar and Marjorie. What a woman. I'm sure we could all learn a thing or two from her, she reduces, reuses and recycles by upcycling! A real Frugalista this book is full of frugal ticks some bordering on eccentricity - LOVE IT>

 Housewife Superstar 
The Very Best of Marjorie Bligh

Danielle Wood

My Terms and Conditions:

• If you are not one of my lovely followers you must leave your email address in case you're the winner. But best to follow me and have your email activated to save yourself the hassle ;-)
• One entry only per person.
• Competition ends on the 15 December 2011, 11:59pm Darwin Time.

Disclaimer: I have been offered 2 copies of Housewife Superstar to giveaway and did not receive any form of payment or gifts myself.

(KATE you haven't made contact regarding your $50 Coles Myer win and your email is not active on your blogger account - can you please activate it.)

I've been sick - still

2011 has been my year of being sick. End of 2010 and beginning of 2011 I coughed my way through each day, feeling exhausted and no real energy or zest for life. Then I discovered I had whooping cough. Before I knew what it was I gave it to friend in France whilst holidaying (coucou Florence). Now that was one present that didn't need gift wrapping.

Recently nearly everyone in the small tight knit team I work in has been sick with a cold, so of course I caught it to. Over the weekend I was feeling better and ready to start a new week fresh and reving to go, but Sunday night I had a sore throat and by Monday midday was coughing at work. So yes, lucky me caught a second cold here in the tropics within 4 weeks. By Monday night the dry coughing was so bad I couldn't sleep and thought "oh no here we go again - it's whooping cough." But luckily it's not. It's viral and I'm off work for the rest of the week, in our small flat, lethargic, coughing and have the aircond on full ball in my misery. (My power bill will skyrocket).

My head has been pounding, my teeth are clenched, my chest is sore from the coughing and I am sick of being sick. 2011 has been the worst year ever in my life, healthwise. So this tells me changes need to be made. When I get better this week and I get to the supermarket and garden, I will be increasing our families intake of raw fruit, vegetables and herbal tea. I am also increasing my physical activity. I have expanded greatly in the past 3 years sitting at a desk job and my body has told me enough is enough.

Todays doctors bill cost me a whoping $70 and $20 for medication. I think I will get about $40 back on my medical expenses from the Government body Medicare. Being sick costs money, happiness and time. So I aim to get myself in better health starting right now. Preventative is better then a cure.

How about you? Healthy or in need of a lifestyle haul?

New Blog For Darwinites

Hi there,

I started a new Blog for people living in Darwin. Often people tell me they didn't know of an event or where to find FREE fun stuff to do. Since so many events come my way via word of mouth, notice boards, flyers and email I thought I needed to share them.

My new Blog is about events in Darwin and surrounds that is inexpensive or FREE.

I will try and list an upcoming event regularly. As an event is over, I will delete it so that people can look at the blog and know all events are current or upcoming.

So if you're in Darwin and surrounds CLICK HERE and follow or favourite. And if you see me at one of them come up and say hello :-)

The WINNERS are....

My Competition for some $$$ Sponsored by the delightful smelling Air Wick Aqua Mist and Soup now has winners.

My judge was Dana from Soup and this is what she said:

"What a tough choice it was!"  "I wish we could have given loads more prizes to all the great suggestions!"

So without dragging it out longer.... The WINNERS are:

1. Eve and the apple tree - has won a $200 Coles Myer Voucher.
2. Erica Louise - has won a $100 Coles Myer Voucher
3. Kate - has won a $50 Coles Myer Voucher

Lucky Ducks !!! I wish I could have entered :-)  But at least I have 3 bottles of lovely home scents to make my home smell fresh. You can read their entries HERE.

Thank you to everyone who entered and read my review of Air Wick Aqua Mist. It was because of all of you that I was able to have such a cool sponsored GIVEAWAY. Lets all hope another opportunity presents itself again in the future, because testing nice product for free was kind of fun and giving money away is a very nice feeling indeed :-)

Three cheers for Judging Dana who had the hardest job.  Hip Hip Hurrah!