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Choice
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What, Why, and How of Pleasure
When times get tough, one of the first expenses cut is pleasure. In the face of all other considerations, it becomes frivolous and wasteful. And yet, without pleasure, life can look and feel very grim.
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Public Bathroom Benefits
A while back, someone told me that most people are too lazy to travel more than one or two cubicles in a public bathroom. And the longer the run, the cleaner the end is by comparison to the beginning.
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How to Respect All People
Respect; politeness, honour, and care shown towards someone or something that is considered important (Cambridge dictionary) When
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How to Solve the Time Management Mystery
I was chatting about the Time Management Mystery with some creative friends the other day. Actually, we were whining about how we have so much to do, and not enough time to do it in. And speculating how some of the creatives we’re inspired by manage their time.
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Thank You Mrs Sparkle
Mrs Sparkle is the most selflessly loving person I know. She’s always making and doing things for other people, and no one ever says thank you.
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Remembering and Forgetting
Not long ago, Katy got in touch. And I was remembering that she taught me one of the most important lessons that I have ever learned.
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Joyful Memories from Gifts of Love
I’ve already talked about realia; the stuff used by historic figures or at historic events and therefore worthy of collection. But as it turns out, we leave us day-to-day reminders of themselves as well – Gifts of Love.
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Understanding Choice and What To Do With It
A while back, almost at the start of this blog, I talked about a place for setting goals for choice. And when it came down to it, understanding choice – consciously making choices, not having them thrust on me. Mind you, that also came with the intention of getting good at cryptic crosswords and I…
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Creating a Happy and Healthy Home
Recently there have been a lot of changes in the Blaelock Household, with the aim of creating a happy and healthy home.
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Electricity Humbug
The other day, our electricity went out, and I was a little surprised about how dependent on it we’ve become. Even though I’ve written about that before.
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How to Save Your Private Papers for Posterity
I’m working on a new book and over the last few weeks I’ve spent many hours snooping about in century old private papers.
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How to Mind the Beeswax of Business
I’ve been thinking about minding the beeswax of business. It started when I was happily watching a period drama.
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Do You Think You Have Control of Your Life?
Do you have control of your life? Most people would immediately say yes, but few bother to think about how. Or if in fact they do. Following on from Mother’s day, I’ve been musing about my mother. I admit I am probably more fond of her now that she’s dead than when she wasn’t. We…
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How to Choose What To Do First
It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I have so much to do that I’m not sure what to do first. Or second. Or last for that matter.
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Are Traditional Family Values a Good Thing?
Here in Australia, we’re just a couple of weeks away from the Federal Election. Like all elections, the bulk of candidates are campaigning on Traditional Family Values.
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How to Renovate Your Life
Pretty Girl’s experiencing a new interest in things that make Labradors happy – she makes me think there are times you need to renovate your life.
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How to Conduct a Rewarding Research Project
Today’s post is for Emily, who recently read about my Research Outfit and wondered exactly what kind of rewarding research project I’m tackling that risks my hair getting caught in machinery.
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How to Plan a Bright Future
I’ve been reading Any Ordinary Day and thinking about what makes a bright future. In the book, Leigh Sales interviews people about their first-hand experiences.
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What labels do you wear?
Since the Christchurch attacks, I’ve been thinking about how we label ourselves. The need we seem to have to package ourselves in a way that makes us appealing to others.
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Books: to keep or not?
Since I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, I keep falling over intense, library voice (whispered) bookish debates about books – to keep or not.
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Year of the Pig Perspicacity
If you hadn’t noticed, we’re just starting the Chinese Year of the Pig. I have a few words about pig perspicacity. Mainly because it’s a nice alliteration.
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How to Win in the Sales Season
It’s sales season again – that time of year when it seems everyone is trying to get their hands in your wallet. Preferably to empty it, leaving you (and their competitors) with nothing.
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Wishing on a Moon Balloon
We’re blessed by lunar events, including supermoon, blue moon, blood moon, partial solar eclipse, and a total lunar eclipse. Like a big old moon balloon.
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What is Love?
I’ve been watching a few romances lately, and I can’t help asking, what is love? Bearing in mind the standard romance book/movie/song story line where a person meets another person, falls in love, has a big fight, gets back together and lives happily ever after.
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I miss you so much
One of the key Stoic philosophical foundations is preparing yourself for misfortune. There’s a sort of miss you or make you risk management element to it.
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How To Apologise Like You Mean It
There’s been another round of dud apologies, and I just don’t get why some people find it so hard to apologise. Perhaps they too have a mother who spent years demanding that they apologise like they mean it. And when (if) they do, it’s often too late – the horse has bolted – the damage…
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The Pleasure and Pain of the Stories You Tell Yourself
They say there’s a novel in all of us, but it seems to me that the stories you tell yourself on an average day could write a novel a day for the rest of your life. And still not make a dent in your story.
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Your Role as Purchasing Agent
Have you ever thought about your role as a Purchasing Agent? Or are you like most people who just buy stuff?
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How to Recognise and Take Advantage of Opportunities
You’re only a few steps from losing or winning it all. You just need the ability to recognise and take advantage of opportunities that come your way.
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Life Is All Too Short
Life is a finite thing. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Sometimes life is all too short, and sometimes it’s way too long.
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How to Make Good Purchasing Decisions
Here in Australia, the Banking Royal Commission is well underway. And you may wonder what this has to do with good purchasing decisions, but at some point, we all chose to buy their services, and some of us chose to invest in them, and all of our superannuation funds invest and bank with them.
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Why You Should Joyfully Embrace Difference
Except now and again, a singularly bright person stands out. They choose to embrace difference and drawing on their individuality, get out there and make an impact.
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5 Tips for Surviving Renovations
We’ve been renovating our bathroo; it’s been what you might call interesting… With that in mind, here are my top 5 tips for surviving renovations.
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Dealing with Assisted Death
Following a multi-party, Upper House inquiry into “end of life” choices; Victoria may become the first Australian state to permit assisted death.
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Life is What Happens When…
Just recently, I have heard many different iterations of “Life is what happens when you are planning other stuff.”
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Double Jeopardy in Jumping to a Conclusion
I confess that I saw this drawing “Jumping to a Conclusion” first. And having found the image I knew I had to write something to write about so I could use it. Like the creative writing exercises I used to do in primary (elementary) school. Only different.
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Why You Should be Grateful for Your Life
Thanks to a whiny conversation overheard on a train, I’ve been thinking about how you (and I) should be more grateful for your life, and that you (or I) aren’t living someone else’s.
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Will HARD, SMART or Better Goals Make You Happier?
I think that one of the essential components of a happy life is setting and achieving goals. Many others agree, that’s why the planet is awash with exhortations to set goals for 2017.
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Where in the War Zone is the Peacetime Blue Sky?
This weekend, in retrospect, has been a little surreal. Despite being at its core a perfectly ordinary peacetime weekend for this time of year.
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How to conquer fatigue; Physical, Mental and Spiritual
I don’t know about you, but I am really tired. I need to know how to conquer fatigue. Not just the physical fatigue that’s at the root of it, but mental and spiritual fatigue too.
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Election Day Reflection
Today I fulfilled one of my obligations as an Australian Citizen and voted on Election Day in the Federal Election.
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5 Brave Steps to a Joyous New Life
I recently re-read Third Act Trousseau, by Kay Noske, I was saddened by her undertone of wistful regret but inspired by her choice to create a new life starting with the things she missed out on.
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Take a Little Time-out Competition Winner
Thank you all for visiting my site during the little things blog hop, it was a pleasure to meet so many new people. And now it’s time to announce the Take a Little Time-out Competition Winner.
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Importance of Free Will in Destiny
After the destiny post, I was accused of being depressing. Not what I hoped for, but it leads into a discussion about the place of free will/autonomy/human agency in destiny.
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What Makes It Your Destiny Anyway?
I have been thinking a bit about Destiny recently. I’m not sure why – some, or all, or none of the following:
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I seem to have lost a week…
I seem to have lost a week, I put it down for a moment and now it;s vanished. It must be true that time won’t wait, I am flotsam in its wake.
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For Better or Worse, Life goes on
My Aunt’s funeral is over and according to popular wisdom I’ve said my goodbyes and should move on, but I don’t want to rush forward yet. Life goes on; and at this time of year, life is relentless.
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How Not to Regret Your Life…
My Aunt’s is the sort of thing that makes you think about your death and wonder how not to regret your life.
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2015 Summer Wardrobe Plan part 3
In part one, I talked about the basics, part two a wardrobe review, and now in the 2015 Summer Wardrobe Plan part 3, it’s time to refine the plan.
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2015 Summer Wardrobe Plan part 2
In part 1, I formulated the basic plan. Now, in the 2015 Summer Wardrobe Plan part 2, it’s time to get a bit more specific about the details.
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2015 Summer Wardrobe Plan part 1
After four years of unemployment, I must buy clothes for the life I’m currently living. It’s time to develop a 2015 Summer Wardrobe plan.
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How Wardrobe Reviews Make You Happy and Boost Personal Power
I recently watched a video where women talked about the life-changing nature of KonMari-ing their closets. How their wardrobe reviews boosted their personal power, and made them happy.
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How to Identify a Marriageable Man
This led me to wonder whether there was a time when men were mercilessly judged by women, and actually there was; as a marriageable man. It was about their suitability as husbands so perhaps more realistically the scrutiny came from girl’s fathers, but girls were given advice about what they should consider and this is what I am presenting to you today.
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A Critique of Glamour’s “24 Fashion Essentials You’ll Need in 2015”
In a large nutshell, this is my problem with “fashion essentials”. An essential is something that you just can’t do without; the air that you breathe for example. Fashion is a customary or conventional way of doing something; in this instance, a way of dressing.
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How to Get Exercise Into Your Life
have been thinking a lot about exercise recently. I have acknowledged in my last few progress reports that I need to move more, but I haven’t actually done anything about it. Shame on me.
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Happy Life
Given our recent trip back to Perth, you may have guessed that the happy life, or worthwhile life has been back on my mind.
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Dealing with Aging Parents
We just got home from a mad dash back to the town we grew up in, to visit our respective aging parents who have assorted medical problems, and are approaching the time when we don’t know when/if will be the last time we see them.
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Misfortunate Life
Today has been one of those misfortunate life days that never really got off the ground, where everything went a little wrong and took a hundred times more time and effort than it was really worth to fix it. One of those days where you would just have been better off if you took yourself…
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About Anzac Day
Saturday 25 April is Anzac Day. Along with Australia Day, it marks a key date in the development of both our Australian national character and calendar.
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What is the Inherent Nature of Waste?
They’re buying new comfortable things and discarding old uncomfortable things – piles of stuff waiting to be collected by the council’s hard waste removal contractors.
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My version of string theory
In previous posts I have referred to my life as being like a tangled ball of string – I wasn’t specific at the time, but I imagine it as the kind you get when you give a cat a ball of wool to play with. When you try to unravel it, you pull one strand and all the…
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Life is Like a River
I was thinking that in metaphorical terms, my life is like a river flowing from birth to death (I’m staying away from what happens next for the time being).
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How to Manage Employment Misery
After hearing about some of Toseland’s workplace issues this morning I wondered whether I might in fact, be the lucky one. No employment misery.
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How to Manage Unemployment Misery
I’ve talked before about the perils of long-term unemployment, and full-time unemployment (and unemployment misery) continues to rise…
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About Australia Day
Today (26 January) is my national day; Australia Day. On this day in 1788, our first Governor Captain Arthur Phillip arrived in Sydney Cove with the First Fleet to establish the first British Penal Colony.
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How to Make the Perfect Pizza
One of the rare pleasures of unemployment is the time you can spare to make “real” food. Today, it’s the perfect pizza.
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What Wisdom?
What wisdom? I see it as a very practical kind of everyday thinking. A little book learning, the capacity to read a situation and the ability to use that information to make a wise decision.
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The Virtue of Wisdom
So, wisdom huh? Not just nous, but a bit of book smarts too. A little something to have my back when I am out in the trenches defending my point of view.
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The Wisdom of Choice
Today I am taking a quick detour to talk about expectations, reactions and the wisdom of choice (or free will).
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Eek! There’s a Spider in the Bathtub
A little off topic, but I had to share this. I recently watched BBC4’s Spider House, and it was absolutely fascinating!
