Recycle your old mobile phone
Jul/100
Do you have a collection of old mobile phones taking up drawer space at your place?
There are over 20 million unused mobile phones in Australia. We can put them to good use in the fight against youth cancer.
Sony Australia has launched a recycling program this year to support CanTeen in their mission to provide 15-30 year old cancer sufferers with the services they not only need but deserve.
They need the public’s support of The You Can campaign to fund the establishment of youth cancer centres across Australia.
www.youcan.org.au
So, what are you waiting for…click the image to find out where to send or drop your old mobile phones.
Melbourne Career Expo 201
Jul/100
The Herald Sun Career EXPO 2010 is on again at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Clarendon Street, Southbank.
DATES:
Friday 30 July 10am – 3pm
Saturday 31 July 10am – 4pm
Sunday 1 August 10am – 4pm
click image to go to www.careerexpo.com.au for more info & free ticket
This expo extends its reach to school leavers, students, graduates, job seekers and people looking for a career change. With more than 120 exhibitors and a highly targeted attendance of over 18,000 expected, this event should not be missed.
Parent Teacher On-Line
Jul/100
Our school has just introduced an online parent-teacher interview booking service. I’m really impressed with how simple it was to navigate, and found it much quicker than filling in boxes and searching through a teacher list using the old method.
Once logged on with our family password, my child’s list of current subjects and teachers appeared. I selected the interview start time that suited me and the 5 minute allocated time per teacher was automatically completed. Just needed to print out my booking and that’s all there was to it!!
It probably is a good idea to be one of the first parents to book while there are plenty of times available. Click on the PTO image for more information about this innovative program.
Parent Teacher On-Line
For future reference, I’ve added a link to this site as a teacher resource.
How fresh is our orange juice?
Jul/100
click on the image above to go to www.truthinlabelling.com.au
An extract from the www.truthinlabelling.com.au website:
“The saying goes, ‘you are what you eat’. Well, if that’s the case, then we, as consumers, have a right to know what we are eating.That’s why it’s vital that we are able to trust the labelling on food products to tell us the ingredients, where the product was made and whether or not the product is fresh or not.
But, believe it or not, Australia’s current food regulations don’t require this truth in labelling.There are a range of issues when it comes to truth in labelling, and where our regulators are failing consumers”.
As a parent, I’m really concerned at the state of our food, especially the ‘fresh’ produce that is anything but fresh!
It is becoming so difficult to know what you’re buying…even if we decide to squeeze our own juice, how can we be sure the fruit was freshly picked? I’ve signed the petition on the Truth in Labelling website. Why don’t you join the campaign?
Lynda
How to Crochet a Scarf
Jun/100
- Now the fun begins
After a weekend of shopping with my sister-in-laws (and that’s a whole other story) I was surprised at the variety of scarves available and range of costs. I found scarves from as little $25.00 to $80.00 but never at price or colour I wanted.
So, the only alternative was to choose from the vast array of wools and make my own. Timing could not have been better because no sooner had I decided to do so, Lincraft advertised wool specials. Although the wool I decided on was not actually on special, being a Free Lincraft club member the balls were discounted $2.99 instead of $4.99. In my hot little hands I now have four balls of Lincraft Baw Baw 100gm Yarn, which looks like it is straight off the sheep. I purchased a 10mm crochet hook at the same time and am all set to go. Unfortunately it has been close to 30 years since I last made granny squares (motifs) so I have also had to hunt out the school book club purchase at that time to get me started. If you don’t just happen to have a 30 year old book laying around check out Lincraft’s free patterns, on their project page.
Just looking at the crochet book has brought back to mind the feeling of excitement I use to have choosing, then waiting for delivery of the book club orders my parents allowed me to buy. I am so glad my kids have also had this experience of saving & waiting for the reward.
You may wish to browse your book shelves, as I have done, as everyone would have their own treasures that have been forgotten. Not only will you get a free trip down memory lane but your own children will enjoy Free projects from the past.
Simple Savings $21 Challenge Result
Jun/100
Well I completed the $21 challenge easily, having only spent $15.40 on some essentials I had run out of . With these purchases and use of other food items I already had at home, I had enough food to feed the family for a whole week.
What I really was impressed with was by taking “stock” of every item of food in the pantry, fridge & freezer I had the best clean out I could remember. Some of those spices had expired a long time ago! So not only will we not die of food poisoning any time soon, I now have more room in the pantry for fresh ingredients.
Also, as an added bonus some new and tasty meals were provided to the starving hordes. The whole experience has given me fresh inspiration for meal ideas, which takes the hassle out of arriving home late and having to decide what to cook because of the pre-planning.
The book is now a handy reference guide as it is full of recipes and has a great substitute ingredients list that is very useful. I feel I definately got my money’s worth as it is something you can do each month to make significant savings when needed.
Please leave a comment if you too have tried the challenge, we would love to hear you thoughts.
Pamphlet Storage Solutions
May/100
Does it feel like there is just too much paper flying around your house? If you are anything like me between the school notices, sporting pamphlets, weekly bills, junk mail etc. piles of “stuff” just seem to grow on bench top counters and spread from room to room.
I had devised a system of pegging information related to each child on the side of the fridge (under their name label) in the past, but since a recent declutter, a good friend showed me I still did have a white fridge under all the magnets & notices and insisted I rehouse this “stuff” again.
Hence I still liked the pegged idea and decided to take it behind a closed laundry door.
- Hide Notices – Inside the Cupboard
I was also aware that some friends used A4 folders, in their bottom kitchen draw, to store their “stuff”, but I wanted something a bit quicker/easier. I wasn’t convinced the inside of a cupboard door was the right location so, luckily I kept an eye out, and have just located this handy A4 storage box at Howards Storage World.
With the dividers included, I have not only kept each child category (by stapling their previous name label to the divider), but have also included the sporting schedules, part-time job information, take-a-way pamphlets etc. Now I feel organised & decluttered as it is so easy to quickly stash the notices into this box so the house “appears” to be in order. I have also made an incoming & outgoing divider to make sure everything is looked at and dealt with on time. Obviously if you are crafty this box can be “dressed up” to make a statement of its own.
Do you have any storage ideas you have devised to keep your home is ship shape condition? We would like to hear about them so please leave a comment.
Organize Your Home Office – Better Homes and Gardens
May/100
We all know how much more efficient we work when we have an uncluttered space.
I’m sharing with you one of my all time favourite American sites that inspires my creative side. There are so many ideas for updating your home and garden, you’ll be hooked in no time!!
Click on the link below and you’ll see what I’m talking about…
Organize Your Home Office – Better Homes and Gardens.
While you’re there, check out the Get Organized with Labels video - it’s full of some great, but simple ideas that are really stylish. If you’re a scrapbooker, you’ll probably have supplies on hand. Also, the video on mud rooms – very American, but practical.
We’d love to see any before & after photos or ideas you’ve tried to get more organised.
Snack Ideas
Apr/100
If you are like me with a house full of hungry teenagers, the wallet can take a beating on trying to fill them up straight after school. Trying to keep the more expensive treats for the school lunchbox, the kids were getting bored with the sandwich maker option, so I had to come up with other ideas or listen to “there’s nothing to eat!” day after day.
The lastest stroke of genius I came up with (because it was a Free solution) was our newly acquired popcorn maker.
- Quick snack idea
Not wanting the kids to load up with fatty foods, I wanted to keep to an idea that would be quick and easy for them, no clean up for me, whilst still satisfying their hunger.
Luckily I had flybuys points expiring in June, so whilst perusing their latest catologue, I came across the popcorn maker. Not only has this little machine ceased all starving complaints, it has cost me nothing in the process!
Have you come across any snack ideas ? We would love to hear about them so please leave a comment.
Healthy Food & Lifestyle Show
Apr/100
Loving any reason for a day out with the girls (away from housework) I was somewhat surprised at how much I really enjoyed the Healthy Food & Lifestyle Show, recently held at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.
Just like most parents I try to be good, by scouting around for healthy food options for the kids, limiting take-a-way consumption, whist putting in an effort to cook nutritional meals. Sometimes though, lack of enthusiasm gets the best of me, because it can be quite daunting sorting through the latest reports/information of what is good for you. You seem only to get it right when there is a new article to say “reduce this/increase that”, because of our ever changing world.
What I loved about the show, besides all the free taste tests & gifts, was the array of healthy products available, that demonstrates it doesn’t have to be that hard if you know where to start and what to look for. Besides the food stalls, we came across meditation products, bone density testing, exercise suggestions, just to mention a few.
It was so nice to have someone else coordinate a show that supplied information on health considerations instead of trying to find it all out for yourself. I would highly recommend the show to anyone who needs fresh motivation to head in the right direction to keep fit and stay healthy.
As an added bonus it will take me some months to work through all the new recipes I have picked up on the day and besides being healthy for my family they didn’t cost a cent.
helping others
kiva blog
- Kiva's Social Enterprise LabKiva will be hosting their very first Social Enterprise Lab!When: Wednesday, August 11th, 12:30PMWhere: The Hub SoMa: 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CAThe Social Enterprise Lab will be a chance for those interested in learning and exploring the pitfalls and triumphs of early stage organizations. Whether you are an avid Kiva Lender already, or are just in […]
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