Freedom or Financial Debt.

Hi Everyone,

I've been watching a bit of Ted lately and becoming inspired by people who are living or doing things I would like to try out. We don't have access to regular TV in our home so the net, blogs, You Tube and the likes are my relaxing evening entertainment. So while everyone else talks about the newest popular TV show and run out to buy the same lipstick as the main character, I'm watching something that is expanding my mind and encouraging me to not fall in those consumer traps.

Many of you living the frugal lifestyle will know of Adam Baker and the changes he made with his wife and baby for a simpler lifestyle - they aimed for freedom, to get off the financial debt round-a-bout. Well the exciting thing is you can watch him talking about his experiment or lifestyle change and how it worked out for them. So sit back and put your feet up for 20 minutes and enjoy!

Don't forget to let me know what you thought... Are you aiming for Freedom too?

Stephanie @ Frugal Down Under.

Kony 2012

I know Kony 2012 has caused much debate and criticism. The issue is complex and has been shown too simply. But I just want to view my thoughts on why I support this movement.

Firstly it has grabbed global attention and woken many people from their long sleep on Child Rights. It has started the discussions. It is using social media for a human rights cause. And all of those things rock me.

For too long celebrities and brands have been in the spotlight and attention of our people. Celebrities twitting about what they just bought or did. People Face Booking and liking brands. Everywhere we turn we are bombarded by images, symbols and products of celebrities and brands.

Now one organisation is the using the same social media tactics to gain attention for the plight of disadvantaged children that are enslaved for sexual servitude or to become child soldiers, forced to kill their loved ones and communities. Putting aside all the criticism towards the organisation I think working for the rights of humans with passion is worthy. I also don't see it as a competition of one organisation is better then another organisation. Instead I see one man who had the vision and passion to do something instead of nothing. And that I applaud.

What I also find formidable he has targeted his audience well. Youth. Many have disposable income, passion, time and ready to act. They also form cliques and group quickly. They are our tomorrow and will need to clean up our world mess with fierce determination. They are my hope for a better future for my daughter and our planet. I'm a dreamer but dreams can become reality.

I hope when my time comes, I go to dust with pride and satisfaction in how I spent my time on this earth. Right now I don't feel that, but I am making changes to get back to what is important to me because somehow I forgot in the daily grind.





Do you have any people or organisations that inspire you to do better?

In Peaceful Activism,

Stephanie at Frugal Down Under.

Finding My Long Lost Motivation

Saving For Travel recently commented that I seem to be very motivated at present. I sure am!!! Much of this has to do with Dolly being in big school and arriving home exhausted. This means we have been keeping everything low key, eat early and in bed by 6:45 for 20 minutes or so of bedtime stories.

The Rambling Expat and I both lie in bed with her taking turns reading books. Once done she has been falling in a deep sleep by 7:15pm. I read my own books until 8:00pm (Current bedside book is - 7pm Bedtime) and then get up for a relaxing shower and tidy our home for 30 minutes. The chaos is slowly reducing as I rid of clutter and organise.

By 9:00pm I am sitting at my desk going through my paperwork, finances, bills, to do lists and so on that have been neglected for months. Each day something gets finished off and I feel amazingly energised and satisfied by the advancements I am making.

At 10:00pm I may work on a craft project or read my FREE magazines I have picked up from the library or giveaway shelves. At the moment my pile is high with investment, mortgage, gardening, home and money magazines. I tag articles I want to re-read, action or copy. I place copies in a folder I have named Frugal. I cut out real estate or jobs I'm interested in and paste them into a old 2007 work diary for future reference and knowledge building.

Getting Organised.

By 11:00pm I'm checking emails, blogging and visiting blogs until 1:00am. It's a new routine and I never stick to routines. But I would like this one to stick as I've been on it for 9 days and it's moving me forward. There is still a long way to go in my disorganisation but I'm hopefully getting to where I want to be.

So thanks to my sweet Dolly being so exhausted, I have uninterrupted hours to catch up with months of neglected TO DO LISTS.

How about you? Any new routines moving you forward? Any thing you want to share?

Spent A Little Credit

Remember when I took FREE books to the 2nd hand bookshop for shop credit? Well I went in and spent $20 of my credit. That leaves me a huge $40 still available to spend.

I'm building up my bookshelf with resources for simple living, frugal living and eco living. In the process, I'm removing books that I know I wont read again or are too frivolous to have access to space. In their place I am placing cooking, gardening, crafting, DIY, self sufficiency and other must have books that will cover my new obsession and lifestyle choice.

So what did I buy? Two new books on food preparation. The 1st is an easy to read book on preserving foods "A Year In a Bottle". The other is "Slow Cooker" both by Sally Wise. Both excellent resources to make use of my garden produce and teach me new skills in using my slow cooker to it's full potential.

A Year in a Bottle - Sally Wise

Slow Cooker - Sally Wise

Those living in Darwin and wanting to know where the bookshop is located; the book shop is in the Darwin City Mall (next to the Red Cross Op Shop). There is another 2nd hand bookshop in Nightcliff Shopping Centre called Gordon's Book Exchange - I've heard he also gives good book credit.

All these small steps to improve my life and make in more wholesome is making me very happy. I've also been decluttering and taking 1 bag to the op shop most days. Now if only I could stick to one kind of sleep pattern and be less chaotic...

What about you, any eco-frugal wins lately? Sleep pattern all over the place? Chaotic?

Busy and Staying Frugal

H Everyone,

I didn't post yesterday as I have been so busy with Dolly during our holidays and today is another busy day. I am working hard to avoid temptations of money spending and still decluttering 1 to 5 items per day.

This is My Today:

7:45am - Gardening at our plot.
8:45am - Home - Dolly plays - I Blog.
9:30am - Quick showers and dress.
10:00am - Go to Kevin's Kids Disco (Free Event of Course)
12:30 - Inexpensive Lunch of sandwiches and fruit.
1:30pm - Head to town to see if I can exchange books I collected for free here and there (aiming for a Borneo travel book).
2:00pm - Post a cookbook (I no longer wanted) which I sold on Fishpond.
2:30 - Library - enjoy the cool aircond, browse books and magazines.
4:30 - Home - unwind, read a few bog posts, cook, eat a pasta dinner (last light was chicken satay with peanut sauce and veggies. Cost me $6 to make 11 generous satay. Cost at supermarket $1.50 each. Cost at Takeaway shop $3.00 each.)
7:30pm - Bed - Watch movie from a colleague's collection.

Free Books I Hope to Swap For A Book I Really Want.

So that is my busy frugal holiday day, penny pinching and fun :-)

Keep commenting and if your a lurker say "Hello" :-)  I hope to catch up with blog reading tonight.

FREE 2012 Simple Savings Calendar!

Here's the link to the FREE Simple Savings War On Debt Calendar. I printed mine out and am ready to tackle 2012 with more fabulous frugalness and saving madness.

Sure it says Australia and New Zealand! But hey! All saving money and the planet tricks and tips cross all borders don't you think. We all work of similar principals where ever we are   :-)

So what about you, are your going to squeeze each cent out of the dollar for a better life?

Are you going to think about all your purchasing actions carefully and see if they are good for your pocket, loved ones and planet?

Are you going to lead a less hurried and more thoughtful life?

Are you going to laugh more and enjoy your short time here on this wonderful planet?

I know I will try real hard, and those baby steps of mine are getting bigger, prouder and more definite. Here's to a wonderful 2012! Happy New Year!

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.

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?

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?

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?

Do You Crave To Pay?

Hello there global bloggers,

I've been thinking again about how activities that are FREE often don't get a full turnout and yet when people have to pay there is often a waiting list or queue. Is it putting on monetary value on something makes it more desirable?

A couple a weeks ago I took Dolly and myself to a couple of fantastic eco craft classes at the public library. They ran for about 2 hours each, both on the same day. The program was well organised. The teachers skilled and professional. And they were really in line with my aims in life.

This Is Me - My Daughter is My Photographer :-)

The 1st class was a Rip Wrap class where we Ripped old pieces of salvaged fabric and clothes and Wrapped them around old coat hangers and foam to turn them into amazing colourful creatures.

Coat Hangers

Add Foam Bits

Wrap Ripped Fabric and Decorate

The second class we used recycled bits and pieces such a cardboard tube, plastic, broken jewels, recouped beads and butterflies cut from magazines to turn them into exquisite dream catchers. It's amazing what you can do with discarded items and a little know how. And a great way to spend Saturday. (I don't know about the feathers and I should have asked as many craft feathers are obtained in extremely cruel circumstances from our feathered friends).

Dolly Working Hard to Catch Her Dreams

A Couple Of Others Created By Other Older Children

Now my query above about a monetary value is because all these wonderful FREE events I go to, don't have a huge turn out. However any similar payable event with all the bells and whistles always have queues miles long.

Do you find that events that need to be paid for seem more desirable to attend? Is it because the quality is better or are we all so sucked into the buy buy buy ideology, that we think FREE means B-Grade or Charity. Tell me what you think...

Bargain Galore

I load my arms with some of the best goodies on offer, head to the self service machine, swipe my card, bag up my items and leave smiling. I get that same "entertainment feeling" that shopping gives without the guilt and gloom as my bargain was FREE. I shopped at the public library and the card was the good old fashioned library card.

Friendly Children's Area - Where Kids Can Play and Read.

People need to use their libraries more. The more people use them the more books will be on offer and the less risk of libraries closing down due to the lack of use. This particular library I frequented today has a eclectic group of patrons. It's Sunday afternoon, there is nothing to do and it's balmy hot. The library offers a friendly, airconditioned facility, furnished with chairs, desks, computers and lounges. And best of all it's full of reading material for all types of people and tastes.

As I've mentioned before I love the fact that I can take a whole pile of books and movies home and return them when I'm done. A great solution to my hoarding behaviour. And because it's FREE, I take a risk in my book choices knowing if I don't like my pick it's not a problem as I can swap it for a better choice.

I use 3 libraries and they come under the 1 city council body. This means I just need one card and I can return my books to any of them at any time through a outdoor slot. I love the ease. Our local libraries have also recently added the offer of WIFI. Today I saw a blue collar worker sitting back chatting to a mate through Skype. And I thought how wonderful the facilities on offer are. They really do allow for people to come together under one roof without the need to spend $$$.

Here's my very interesting loot today. I've already dipped into The Spend Less Handbook. Gittinomics looks super interesting, click here to read a few pages. Daddy's Little Earner is one of those sad life stories of abused children. Soap making still on my mind...

All Non Fiction and 3 DVDs

Here's Dolly's pile to expand her imagination and reading knowledge. How lucky we are to have access to books and to know how to read.

Charlie & Lola, Unicorns, Santa's Birthday, Fairies and Talking Animals

The Rambling Expat still has 8 popular and recent French books to get through that I purchased earlier this year for 50 cents each at the op shop!!! Top score, as I must admit the library can be lacking on recent books in French. But look at this great community announcement on the noticeboard.

FREE Japanese Cultural Day and Activities.

Have you been frequenting your library in search of those eco frugal living books such as money, crafting, cooking and the likes? What's been a great eco frugal inspiring book you've read lately? Mine has been Radical Homemaker. LOVED IT!!! Ask your library for it as you might enjoy it too. By the way, I'm a Feminist and do not view this book as move away from Feminism. I see the world issues of global warming needing new leaders, new ways of doing things and that also means new waves and theories of feminism. So what book has inspired or interested you lately?

Snake Bean Community Garden Fundraiser

On Sunday I lifted my head a bit before 6:00am, chopped down 6 banana leaves, cut them and washed them in preparation for a Snake Bean Community Garden fundraiser where we would offer them as plates, instead of paper plates. The beauty with these is once someone has finished their cake they can just toss their "plate" in the garden.

Preparing Banana Leaves for Serving Cake

Quick Cut and Rinse

Then off to the Botanical Gardens to drop off tables and chairs and home again to get my family to the event. The Friends of the Botanical Gardens were having their huge yearly plant sale. So our garden group piggybacked their amazing day with a cake and tea stall right in the path of all their customers. Our group is made up of many talented and variously skilled people; some made cake, some made preserves, some potted plants and some harvested produce from the gardens. I'm not good at that stuff so I had found another way to contribute.

Some of Our Group Members Packing (and tasting) at the End of the Day.

The previous week I called Bunnings and spoke with the Community Activities Officer asking advice on how to apply for a donation for a raffle. The bubbly Janet explained how I had to apply and what type of stuff I could request. So my friend Tif made a gorgeous letterhead for our group and I was able to write up an official letter asking for garden donations for 1st prize. I was so thrilled when Janet from Bunnings called to say she gave us a wheelbarrow full of gardeners delights!!!

Donation from Bunnings!

Tif was able to get a 2nd prize of a Bokashi Composting Bucket from a local shop Eco Solutions (they also donated plates and cups to serve our goodies). And as a 3rd prize we have a box of fresh produce from the garden and a bottle of local honey that I was donated from a local bee keeper I know at Humpty Doo Apiaries.

Donation from Eco Solutions and Humpty Doo Apiaries.

I've never really asked for donations before and I started on an impulse with the honey, which built my courage up to ask Bunnings for a donation to. I'm so impressed and amazed with the goods we were donated and am very thankful. Our fundraiser brought our Snake Bean Community Garden more then $1000 in the 4 hours of selling raffle tickets, cake, tea, coffee, ice tea, plants, fresh produce and preserves. We will use the money for chicken feed (we have 5 chooks now!), a new sturdy ladder, maybe tools and other items to make our garden a happy educational and productive place for us and the general public.

Produce from the Garden on Sale.

As for Dolly, she spent roughly 4 hours with the chooks calling one Penny and nagging her to eat her spinach. The Rambling Expat went home early, did the dishes, did the laundry and cooked an amazing dinner in the slow cooker of locally hunted Magpie Geese from a fishing buddy.

Another happy frugal day, surrounded by happy people, jobs done at home and Dolly reveling in free play with her buddies outdoors. I plan on a quieter week this week and travel for work next week. How about you? Keeping up with the tightwads or competing with the Joneses?

Poverty Awareness Week

Dolly and One Mob.

We went to a Poverty Awareness Week Community Dinner hosted by My Sisters Kitchen. We placed our $10 donation in the bucket for the 3 of us. (The buckets seemed sadly empty for the number of people in the venue). I had also packed our own cups, plates and cutlery in my basket for the event to avoid having to use any wasteful plastic and paper items keeping to my eco ethos.

We queued to serve ourselves at the buffet loaded with Nepalese and African type dishes cooked by My Sisters Kitchen refugees and new migrants. We guessed what the dishes were and ate our spicy meal, (Dolly could only eat the non spicy salad and white rice). It was a bit overwhelming hot for me at times, so I had wished I had not served myself so much. Nevertheless I ate all of my meal with teary eyes and a burning mouth. LOL.

Dolly and My Plate (The Rambling Expat is Busy Eating His)

There were also community groups performing to entertain the crowd. The Tongan Youth Group sang, played music and danced to the sounds of their islands. We also really enjoyed One Mob, a group of Aboriginal men from the Arnhem region.

Demonstrating Traditional Dance.

It was an enjoyable and feel good night of food tasting from other cultures without the restaurant prices. We supported the important community project through our donation and our presence. And it allows us to dialogue with our daughter about poverty, the issues that surround it, what we can do about it and how lucky we are, to not be living in poverty.

Do you try and attend community events that support others and inspire you or your loved ones?

Dolly Made Dinner

Sunday afternoon was unpleasant as I have had a red puffed up irritated eye. I was hoping to just relax at the nice cool clean library while Dolly played and looked at books. But I had asked Dolly early on in the morning if she wanted to cook in the afternoon and she happily shouted "Yes!" So the library was ignored and cook she did!

I gave her the ingredients and talked her through the process. She rolled, cracked, grated, measured, stirred and poured. (The Brazilian Spinach from our garden was placed uncooked in the mix).

All Mixed and Ready to Bake.

Mmmmmm, Dolly on Her Way to Master Chefdom.

 2 hours from her commencing, we ate and it was delicious. The spinach leaves peeking out of the quiche were thin and crackly. Just divine.  The best part is she said to me "I don't like spinach". To which I replied "But you LOVE spinach quiche you make yourself" and to that, my influenceable daughter replied "Oh yes, that's right" and gobbled it all up :-)

It then rained, so to end our day we went puddle jumping and umbrella twirling. It was so much fun. Loving the simple things in life and the changes in weather. The library was not missed. My eye was irritated either way and my 4 year made our family the most yummy frugalicious dinner. I am living the good life on days like this and Dolly is skilling up for life.

Do you have tricks to get your family to eat their greens? Any skills your children are eager to learn? Have you been jumping in puddles lately?

National Ride to Work Day

Today I pulled out my bicycle and participated in the Australian National Ride to Work Day. I had previously put up a poster in a prominent section of my work division to encourage others to ride too and sent out a few emails. I was happy to see one of the bosses had seen my call to action and participated in the ride.

Bikes Taking a Well Deserved Rest

I would love to ride everyday as it's only a 15 minute - easy ride to work BUT, I like to drop off our daughter to school with my fishing addict partner the The Rambling Expat. And this means we are late for work everyday and stressfully rushing against time. It is also super hot at this time of year. The weather is between 26C and 33C with humidity at 79% and I was HOT HOT HOT. My face was flushed, my forehead perspiring, my glasses fogged up and my hair a mess. Not a pretty sight but boy does it feel good to be ALIVE.

So anyway I peddled to work and met up with a group being escorted by pedaling police on the way. I peddled with the group with a proud feeling of comradeship and joined everyone at the FREE celebratory inner city park breakfast of sweet or savoury buns, juice, water and bananas. Once done I headed to my buildings bike cage and shower room, then my desk.

Hot Sweaty Posing Before Heading Off To The Shower Room

I think I will try to make this a weekly event as Dolly does not go to school on Fridays this year. While she is driven to Grandma's I might try to ride to work if it's feasible in the hot weather and tropical monsoonal rains.

Biking has so many personal, financial and environmental benefits:

• Less road congestion.
• Less pollution.
• Preventative health issues.
• Exercise and fat buster
• Inexpensive (cheaper then fuel)
• Fun
• And a great mental health booster

Do you have a bike gathering rust that needs to be used or are you a keen biker? How do you feel about biking about?

Family Crashing in Our Bedroom

My cousin, her daughter and friend came to our side of the world from France. To keep costs down they stayed with my mum in her tiny 1 bedroom apartment and (only) one night at our slightly bigger home due to me having to go to work most days. We freshly washed the sheets and had them drying in the sunshine all day so that they could sleep in sunshine smelling sheets; a treat they don't get in Paris.

I tried to have my messy cluttered home cleaned up before they came for the sleepover - I forced myself the tidy up 30 minutes a night for about a week - but I'm a little piggy and have a bad bad habit of dropping stuff at the nearest point instead of where it belongs. So I tidied and dropped, tidied and dropped. Our home also has very limited storage space for our STUFF. (I've been watching The Block to get DIY renovation ideas.) So it looked better but was still not clutter free.

The Parisian girls slept in our beds, in our room while the 3 of us squatted the office/clutter room and squeezed in on a smallish mattress. Dolly even fell out of bed in our home camping trip - luckily it was a thin mattress on the ground.

We Happily Gave Up Our Beds

And We Slept Amongst Our Clutter

Cousin Love Makes it, Worth It.

Our neighbour Mr T lent us the mattress that we slept on, that way we didn't have to sleep on the ground. I was going to go out and purchase one as I will need a new mattress for a long term guest in the near future. However purchasing in a limited time frame and under pressure usually means a fantastic deal is passed by for an expensive choice. So I was happy to borrow and will search around for a new mattress/bed calmly in the few weeks.

Do you have guests come and stay? Where do you put them?

Keep Your Frugality Happy

I've been away from my blog as I hurt my back 2 weeks ago. I went to public hospital to be looked at where the 6 hour wait was long due to a horrific accident in Darwin that took the lives of 3 people. Two are the parents of 2 gentle boys I once knew. They no longer have their mum and dad and I feel deep sadness for them.

The accident was early Sunday morning between a fire engine that was rushing to a fire and a 4 wheel drive with four tropical architects talking excitedly about a new project. They didn't hear the blaring sirens and smashed right into the fire engine. At the hospital people with small injuries were complaining of the wait. As for myself I was grateful to be Alive with only a minor ailment as I saw family members of the accident victims run in and a priest walk out.

Life is short. It can all go horrible wrong in an instant. So please, live a frugal and simple life, but most of all be happy. That is important. Don't cheat yourself from happiness, good times or laughter. Save for the important things in your life however don't be so tight that you become a cheapskate to yourself. If you do, you may miss out on the happy moments you create for yourself and others you care about.