I recently heard about a man with the glass brain – the only person in recorded history whose brain turned to glass.
Author: Alexandria Blaelock
Life Cycles
I’m a little bit sorry to say I’m one of those people who needs habits and routines to get through the day. Or to put it another way, life cycles.
No man is an island
The poet John Donne was also the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, and it was in this role he said “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…”
Refining your goals
Today is January 30th. The year is 8% over. It’s time to think about refining your goals.
5 ways to help save the environment
You may hold the opinion that it’s not your responsibility. But what serious effort have you seen Government or Business make to help save the environment?
This Month’s Free Short Story
February’s free short story, Day the Wind Changed, builds on my February is the new January restart energy. Something to get you energised about restarting work on your goals.
Memories and unpacking
We’ve moved back into the house, and I’ve been unpacking, and each box is full of memories as well as artifacts.
2024 Transplantiversary
The last few months have been so busy I barely saw it coming, and now, all of a sudden, it’s my 2024 transplantiversary – my 13th!
Five stages of dog calling
This morning as we were walking Clever Girl, I heard a woman going through 5 stages of dog calling, and it occurred to me they’re quite similar to Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s stages of grief.
Use it or lose it
The other day I went to my local post box ony to find it wasn’t there. It’s disappointing on so many levels, but guess the old adage “use it or lose it” applies more widely than musculature.
Stripping Wallpaper and Life
After what seems like years of preparing and quote procuring and so on, we’ve finally made a start on the renovating the big house. We moved into the cottage the weekend before last, and over the last week, stripped out the kitchen, laundry and flooring. And started repairing the floor, and stripping off the wallpaper.[…]READ MORE?
Taking a Short Break
I wish I could say we’re taking a short break vacation, but sadly, I’m just taking care of a crap-tonne of pre-renovation stuff behind the scenes.
2023 Post-Mastectomy Summer Wardrobe Update
It’s time to examine the full horror of my 2023 post-mastectomy summer wardrobe update. I happily said, all I need is a dog walking dress and a top for $395; just enough to get me through the season.
Iceberg Dead Ahead
Do you sometimes think about what’s coming. Perhaps with a mixed feeling of excitement and dread, all the time thinking there’s an iceberg dead ahead.
Planning a Post-Mastectomy (flat chested) Wardrobe
Going by how much difficulty I had with my post-mastectomy Summer Plan, I wanted to write something specifically for post-matectomy women planning to go flat chested. This post will do until I can find the time to update the book with my findings.
Health Goals for 2024
You might remember, I believe “wealth” is more than just money. Health goals can help you make sure you’re healthy enough, to spend the time doing all the things you want to do.
Welcome 2024!
I’m sure I’m not alone when I say welcome 2024! For some of us, 2023 was a crap year, and I’m hoping for better in 2024. Can’t be any worse than 2023 (touch wood)
Thoughtless Shopping and Life
Recently I’ve been thinking that shopping can be a metaphor for life. Not so much the shopping itself, but why we are so thoughtless about the shopping. And living.
Reset and Take Control
There’s four weeks to Christmas, and five until we greet 2024. It’s time to start thinking about a reset and take control of your life.
Q3 2023 Review (eek) & Q4 2023 Plan (breathing out)
And now it’s time for the Q3 2023 review and the revised Q4 2023 plan. How awful the year is nearly over, but then again, I guess it just gets us closer to a new start next year!
The Defeat of Winter
rching something else, and came across the quote by Robert Haddon (see below) I’ve paraphrased in my haiku – the defeat of winter is necessary for the coming of spring. Very appropriate given we’re at the changeable part of the year – one day summer, the next winter.
Life Altering Experiences
I’d planned a different post, but life, and life altering experiences, have caught up with me. In particular, I haven’t shaped or trimmed my fingernails for a while, and recently cut one of my fingers with the nail of another.
Blundering About Like a Caffeinated Spider
You just need to read a couple of posts to know I like to be organised. So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone I feel like a caffeinated spider.
The Phantom Chicken
Haley Joel Osment may have been able to see dead people, (The Sixth Sense), but seemingly, I see a chicken that isn’t there.
Making Space
I’m not getting rid of my house, husband or dog. The change I’m looking for is simply making space. I’m sure I’m not the only one who looks back on the good old pre-pandmic days. And in my case back to the gold old pre-stroke days.
Q2 2023 Review (so-so) & Q3 Plan (hopeful)
I was hopeful for the Q2, and rest of year plans. And while the review tells me some of it went went well, others, not so much… As always, there’s a pivot involved. 2023 Vision Stephen King Famous Q2 2023 Plan My plan remained the same. But I planned to focus on publishing with the[…]READ MORE?
May 2023 Progress Report
May 2023 was a weird month ranging from laid out after my Covid vaccination to up and about, posing for a photshoot for new headshots. (Which went swimmingly, and you can look forward to seeing the new images soon).
Three Types of Beauty
According to my loosey-goosey blog schedule, today’s post is supposed to be about Beauty, but I really have very little idea what to write about. So, I do what I always do in these circumstances – a random internet search to see what comes up. Here, in order of listing, is what comes up in[…]READ MORE?
Q2 2023 Plan
Moving onto the Q2 2023 plan, I feel more hopeful about achieving something by the end of the year. Usually, Q2 is the Time of Great Forgetting. In the Northern Hemisphere summer is on it’s way, and goals just get buried under a load of summer related activities.
The Quest for Peace
A quest for peace often sends you away. Sometimes to a forest or jungle retreat, sometimes to a spa, and sometimes to a city depending on the kind of peace you’re looking for.
February 2023 Progress Report
February 2023 was a month mostly devoted to rebranding and redeveloping my websites. Not that there’s been a great deal to see on this site. Some of it was even on my Kanban boards. Highlights from February 2023 I admit having to give up on the novella challenge was hard, and I moped for a[…]READ MORE?
What’s a Good Book Like?
I’ve been reading a lot about book marketing and branding lately, asking the question, what’t a good book like? I even asked friends and colleagues, “how does a book make you feel?”
Injured My Hand
I injured my hand gardening over the Christmas/New Year break – couldn’t type, hold a pencil, paintbrush, or mouse for several weeks.
Read an eBook Week 2025
Smashwords’ 16th Annual Read an eBook Week 2025 Super Sale is here!
Mystery Mouse
While I was out in the garden this morning I saw a mystery mouse cadaver. I’m not sure whether it was a a mouse or a rat.
The good old days – a lamentation
It feels like every company on the planet wants a piece of me – more than I want to give them. Makes me miss the good old days.
Saving not Spending
Christmas is over, the January sales are over, and credit card bills are starting to arrive. It’s time to start thinking about saving not spending.
Deck Declutter
We’ve finally done a deck declutter, setting up a nice space outside to sit and drink coffee or relax and enjoy the quiet.
Happy Holidays 2024
It’s that time again. Time to wish you Happy Holidays 2024. This year the whole season has caught me unaware.
Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday is an event in November which takes place between the Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales to encourage people to shop locally.
Slow and steady wins the race
The other day, I watched all 36 strangely compelling minutes of a carpet cleaning video in which a man cleans a Persian Carpet, taking it slow and steady.
Minimally Viable Morning
Trades are visiting so early, I’ve been more or less in my pyjamas and bed hair getting them started, so it’s time for a minimally viable morning.
Walking in the rain
Sometimes walking in the rain on a rainy day is a blessing in disguise. If you need a bit of peace, taking a walk in the rain is a beautiful way to get it.
2024 Stringybark Short Story Award Finalist
Just a quick note to let you know I came Highly Commended in the 2024 Stringybark Short Story Award! And that my story “Witches Blessing,” is among the forty-one stories published in Crowd Surfing, the anthology containing this year’s finalists.
Generosity and Reciprocity
It has to be said, that not all acts of generosity are the kind that generate reciprocity. It is possible to give without expectation of return.
Freak Situations
In one of a number of freak situations, we recently endured a major power outage/failure/interruption caused by wild weather. Fingers are pointing, accusations are flying, and we’re ducking recriminations all round. More than half the state of Victoria was affected.
What is Proper Self-Care?
I’ve found self-care described as both frivolous and necessary, and the frivolity seems a simple distraction. So what is proper self-care? The kind that nourishes you in mind, body and soul.
Decluttering and Creativity
We’re in the process of sorting ourselves out for some home renovation. Clearly there’s decluttering involved. And some decluttering creativity as well.
2023 Post-Mastectomy Summer Wardrobe Plan
Five minutes ago summer arrived, so I decided to revamp my summer plan with the mastectomy to produce a 2023 post-mastectomy Summer Wardrobe Plan.
Happy Holidays 2023!
Time again to wish you Happy Holidays 2023 wishes – my tenth year wishing you all well for whatever season you’re celebrating at the end of this year.
November 2023 Progress Report
November 2023 was taken up with a lot of medical appointments. Which quite frankly, are exhausting.
Making Quality Connections
Moving on from energy, I’m considering one of the biggest energy penny expenditures, the relentless pressure to form connections with others. Connections through social media, in person, and with friends you haven’t met you.
September October 2023 Progress Report
It feels like a lot happened during September October 2023, but that’s mainly because it’s a relatively long time (8 weeks). During that time, I prepared to go into hospital, stayed for a week, and now I’m, out and still recuperating now.
Wonderful Habits and Routines
I’ve been thinking about habits and routines. I’ve written many times about morning routines, and each of these routines are actually long chains of habits.
2023 Summer Wardrobe Plan
As I sit here writing 2023 Summer Wardrobe Plan, it’s still winter out there, (just like last year), and Summer seems a long way away.
The Problems of #GirlMaths
I recently heard about #girlmaths, and it doesn’t make me happy. It involves specious calculations to reduce the cost of clothes/shoes/accessories to free…
A Tale of Two Stones
According to popular wisdom, rolling stones gather no moss. In the ancient days, the saying signified someone shifltless, who avoided their responsibilites. Perhaps a vagrant with no family ties.
Failure is NOT an Option
The last couple of months have been so brutal I’ve come close to admitting failure. So brutal I’m not going to mention them. (Aside from saying my health is good
Change is Good or Better
As it turns out June 2023 sucked so much I’m not even going to write about it, just let its memory slip into oblivion. I’m going to talk about change instead, because change is hard, but necessary.
Life Raft
r some reason, my mind turns to Titanic style life boats, along with the cutting edge cork life vests.
Little boats tossing and turning on the dark and stormy seas of life.
April 2023 Progress Report
April 2023 was a very social month, dominated by friends stopping over during their whirlwind visit to Australia.
Q1 2023 Review
My Q1 2023 review has mixed results. Q1 is supposedly the time of Great Excitement. When you load up with your new goals, and make good progress towards them.
2023 Winter Wardrobe Plan
Given how blah the weather was through Summer, it feels wrong to be working on my 2023 winter wardrobe plan, but here I am doing it anyway.
Expectation
Expectation is a way of thinking about the future. You’re expecting a particular outcome from the actions you’re taking. Maybe you’re following a recipe expecting for a delicious meal.
More Morning Routine
I’m not sure whether it’s because this is already an unusual year, but I’ve been thinking more about my morning routine. Perhaps because there’s been so little else to pin the days on, and the lazy, langourous, sleepy sense of nothing much happening lasts for about 87 hours per day.
My Ghost Best Friends Books
Many of you know I like writing stories about people with ghost best friends… Well, I was recently invited by Shepherd.com to share my favourites. The hard part was narrowing it down to just five!
2025 Winter Wardrobe Plan
Somewhere along the lines, I’ve managed to slip a year of wardrobe plans. Nonetheless, it’s time to look at my 2025 winter wardrobe plan.
The Wind in the Trees
We’ve had some wild weather recently and I noticed that sometimes, the sound of the wind in the trees is like the sound of the surf on the beach.
No Ideas or Inspiration
Now and again, I pitch up to my desk to find my brain is mysteriously empty. No ideas or inspiration to be found.
Have fun
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been hearing people say, “have fun.” Which is not the usual thing people say to each other. Or at least, not something I usually hear people say to each other.
Welcome 2025
As it turns out, 2024 was another version of 2023, so I welcome 2025 with open arms. Serves me right for saying it couldn’t be worse! Quick recap The usual tongue in cheek review of the last couple of years. Goodbye 2024 The 2024 horoscopes predicted government changes, and given there were a lot of[…]READ MORE?
The end of the year is nigh…
There are two weeks left until the end of the year. That’s two weeks to close out all those projects you had in mind as you started January. I have to say almost nothing I planned has come to fruition, and I admit to being disappointed by that. Though I wonder what it is that[…]READ MORE?
Quitting
Lately I’ve been thinking about quitting. In general, I’m the kind of person that just keeps moving on until the job is done.
Planning for Chaos
The next four to eight weeks are going to be chaotic, with house finishing noise. So I wondered, how can I plan when I know there will be chaos?
Sometimes you just have to start afresh
Looking at what remains of my floor, I’m reminded that sometimes in life you have to cut your losses and start afresh.
Being Grateful
Someone, somewhere, more or less, said when life get tough, think of stuff you’re grateful for. I know I’ve written about the little things, for those who worked through Covid, and for being alive. I wanted to write something else
Easing Back into the Swing of Things
When you’re done with the break, even if you haven’t finished all the tasks you set yourself, you have to get back to into the swing of things.
Reciprocity, Relationships, and Power
I’ve been thinking more about respect, relationships, and reciprocity. Mainly, as I mentioned, because we’ve started looking at updating the house.
Is It Reluctance or Agoraphobia?
were subject to the lockdowns, I used to joke I was in danger of becoming agoraphobic. And given Melbourne may have endured the longest lockdown on the planet, or the most consecutive days in lockdown, or if you compare a very small number of cities…
Writing Hangover
Now that it’s a new year, and work on the cottage is over, I’ve been trying to get back into my writing routine. But the thing making it difficult, is I’m getting writing hangovers. I’ll be walking down the street or around the supermarket, and I’ll think it’s weird that I’m “here” instead of “there.”[…]READ MORE?
Q4 2023 Review and Q1 2024 Plan
It’s exactly what it sounds like – I’m going to review Q4 2023, and taking the results into account, plan Q1 2024. As I mentioned in the 2024 plan, it’s all about building on last year’s foundations.
December 2023 Progress Report
Ah, December 2023 – the final lingering touch of one of my least favourite years. More appointments… Only this time following up on the surgery, though as a bonus, visits to the Cookie Shop. (Which didn’t inspire the story, but did remind me to publish it).
Joy and Sorrow of Christmas Lights 2023
We live near a street with “famous” Christmas Lights. It’s often featured in lists of “Best Christmas Lights,” and people come from miles around to see them.
My 3 favorite reads in 2023
After the success of my last list, I was approached by Shepherd to follow up with my 3 favorite reads in 2023!
Using and Losing Energy
I’m tired. I’m looking at all the stuff that needs doing, and I’m thinking I just don’t have the energy for this right now. Which would be fine if is was just a day or two, but it’s been weeks!
2023 Transplantiversary
As I write, today is my 2023 Transplantiversary, though you won’t see this post for a few days more. It was 2011 when the call came, and I berated the doctor for ringing and ringing all my numbers continuously until I finally answered. Not that I know anything about my donor, except that he/she/they died in the night. Most likely a traffic incident.
To mastectomy or not
While I don’t need to explain or justify my mastectomy decision, it makes a good opportunity to talk about how (and why) I made my choice, as well planning and long-term thinking can be useful.
August 2023 Progress Report
Here in August 2023, I’m back to cartoon head spinning as the month whips past me, leaving me wondering where it went.
2023 Winter Wardrobe Update
As usual, my 2023 winter wardrobe update shows an overspend, though at least I’m not overspent and underdressed, so that’s something at least.
July 2023 Progress Report
July 2023 was a much better month than June. A happier, more productive, and mostly more settled month.
Tidying the Garden
With a spot of sunny weather, and an empty skip replacing the full one, we spent a little time tidying the garden. And I ended with a daffodil on my desk in memory of it.
Utter Chaos
There’s a saying, or perhaps it’s a proverb or idiom about planning. I know it as When man plans the devil laughs… But I’ve also heard variations including, god, ducks, and chaos. Chaos Chaos, in the Ancient Greek creation myths, was the first entity. According to Hesiod, Chaos was a gaping abyss located somewhere between[…]READ MORE?
More on Labour Exchange
Aside from redeveloping the new look site, I’ve been thinking about labour exchange again. In Holistic Personal Finance, I posited a direct relationship between time, money and health. Creating an abundance of any one, depletes the others.
What to do next?
Lately I’ve been finding myself tired. There’s so much stuff going on I have no idea what to do next.
March 2023 Progress Report
March 2023 was a weekly mess of quiet preperation followed by a frenetic activity followed by prep followed by activity. I left the month almost as exhauted as when I entered it.
2022 Summer Wardrobe Update
Here in Melbourne, 2022 Summer was more like winter than summer, but none the less, here’s my 2022 Summer Wardrobe Update!
Alexandria’s Adventure in Leather Soled Shoes
Inspired by a conversion with Toseland (the cobbler) I decided to give leather soled shoes another try. The weather we’ve been having (four seasons in a day) hasn’t been the best time to start.
January 2023 Progress Report
January 2023 has been difficult for me without a plan to be going on with. I know I posted something towards planning 2023, but there weren’t any goals – not SMART, not HARD, not even getting better.
The Cairn at the Dog Park
I noticed this cairn at the dog park today… I don’t know who left it. Or how many people added to it, or why it’s there, or in fact, anything about it at all.