Testing this:
August 25, 2011
by Toni
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November 24, 2010
by Toni
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Traditional Christmas
Christmas is not far away… it’s only 1 month & 1 day till Santa arrives and from what I have found many people are struggling this year.
With that in mind, it’s time to think of a traditional Christmas just like we had when I was growing up. And that means that we won’t be spending hundreds of dollars on the kids and grandkids this year. Instead we are opting for smaller gifts and that makes sense.
It makes it easier if your kids don’t expect too much… which of course many do. They don’t understand that times are tough, so perhaps it’s time you were open to them and explain that the funds just aren’t there this year.
Just because the funds aren’t there, you can still have a fantastic Christmas. Going back to the simple things in life will see that you can enjoy Christmas with your family.
Here are a few ideas to help you along:
Invite the family but also ask them to bring along a plate. Plates filled with meat, salads, sides, starters… nibbles and anything else that might be needed. If everyone contributes, Christmas Day can be a lot of fun.
Secret Santa — everyone brings one present each for Christmas to a person that has been chosen for them.
Keep the gifts to a low price. It’s amazing what you can find when you think about it.
If your kids expect lots at Christmas… tell them the truth but find something that they would like without going overboard.
If you are stuck for things to make or cook at Christmas – go to Christmas Cake Recipes – Fran has some excellent recipes online for you to help make Christmas very special.
December 10, 2009
by Toni
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Living with Addictions
Living with Addictions – Alcohol, gambling, drugs etc.
When it comes to true life experiences somethings are often hard to comprehend. Life is not easy for people living with an addiction, they appear to be blind to what is happening to their lives until finally one day they wake up and realise what they are doing.
Alcoholics anonymous is there for those who are affected by alcohol.
There is help for drug addicts where some governments here in Australia even going as far as putting needle rooms in different suburbs where heroin addiction is so high. This is to make it safer and to possibly stop the dealers making that next sale (unfortunately they will go on to the next person or suburb).
When it comes to drugs there is also the addiction to prescription drugs, so when I say drugs I am not talking about drugs you can buy on the streets.
Gambling is a huge problem in our society too. It is a massive problem. With horses, greyhounds, casinos, (one armed bandits) poker machines or slot machines, cards etc. many many people are affected by gambling. Yes they do have support for gamblers as well.
Please share your addiction story and how you cope with the readers of Her Online Mag….
There is always another side to an addiction. Many families are affected when it comes to having an addict in the family home. For some alcoholism, gambling and drugs affected the lives of loved ones, wives, husbands, children immensely.
Families separated, the physical and emotional abuse is all too much, the anguish, the loss but yet the love continues until enough is enough.
If you have been through an emotional rollercoaster ride while a loved one’s life changes so dramatically causing yours to change too, please share your story. Some readers of Her Online Mag may have been through the same down and up times as you and some feel that they are alone in the world…
I and the team at Her Online Mag know that no one is alone in the world and with having seen alcoholism and a gambling addiction at work no one knows what the other side feels, is going through until they speak out.
Many women, children and men will never say anything at all about what is happening to them, how their lives are changing and it is hard to help when they won’t open up to anyone not even family or friends….
If you have suffered in silence and would like to share your story please contact us today.
December 2, 2009
by Toni
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Senior Moments – Not Always What We Think
We had just got home from a pleasant hour or so shopping and having a coffee at our favourite café down by the beach and as we got out of the car I made a comment to Stuart about something we had seen in town. He looked at me with a rather puzzled look on his face and then laughed and apologised for having a senior moment.
But I know that behind that laugh was some concern that the senior moment might have been a hint of worse to come in years ahead. I know that Stuart, at 58, is particularly concerned because his mother suffered from a dementia like disease for some years before she passed away and he worries that he will go the same way.
Stuart is not alone in worrying about ‘senior moments’ many, many people worry that those momentary lapses in concentration are a precursor of something much worse to come.
However, some recent research by the University of New South Wales has shown that many Australians are worrying unnecessarily about their mental health. It’s perfectly normal for people to have ‘senior moments’ as they age but people tend not to be prepared for it when it happens.
If you were to ask Stuart he would be quick to tell you that his body might be that of a 58 year old but inside he still thinks and feels as if he were only 19 or 20. Many people are just the same and so when ‘senior moments’ occur they are not ready for them.
For most people those moments are nothing more than signs that they are aging and not signs that they are drifting into dementia. In fact the University of New South Wales study showed that only 43% of those who had ‘senior moments’ were displaying any signs of significant impairments that might be a sign of the onset of dementia.
Researchers suggest that these figures now show that many people become overly sensitive to the possibility that they are developing dementia. These people are probably not the best judge of their own mental state because they almost automatically believe that they are beginning to suffer from dementia.
For Stuart that should come as a great relief … if only he would stop worrying about it.
February 13, 2008
by Toni
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Australia Says Sorry
One single word ‘Sorry’ means so much to many, many people. It can’t take away the pain or the sorrow or the hurt that has been experienced, but it is a start. The pain stays buried deep in the heart but today the Australian Federal Government paved the way for a reconciliation that no other government could or would provide in the past.
Saying sorry on the 13th February 2008 is an historical moment in time for those that were taken from their mothers and for the mothers who lived with a loss that many do not understand.
Throughout Australia today, Australians came together to listen to an apology made to the Stolen Generation and their families and for those that understood why today was important realised that saying sorry is not about compensation, it’s not about money, it’s not about claiming land rights; it is saying sorry to heal the wrongs of past governments and councils that allowed aboriginal babes to be taken from their mothers.
The full apology;
“I give notice that, at the next sitting, I will move:
That today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment.
We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations – this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.
We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.
For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.
For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.
We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.
A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.
A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.
A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.
A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.
A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.”
A historic day for the nation – Australia Says Sorry
October 7, 2007
by Toni
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Support For New Mums
It was fantastic to see that there is support for new mums after all and it will come from the federal Labor Government.
The new funding commitment means that new mums will have access to support that at the moment is very hard to come by because pre-natal and postnatal depression are not often recognised.
It was great to see that Kevin Rudd’s vision for support will see all pregnant women screened before giving birth and after when the baby is approximately 2 months old.
Knowing that all new mums will have that support is comforting. What will make this package more comforting is to ensure no new mum is discriminated against. All new mums include single women, women who have private cover and women who can’t afford or who don’t have private cover.
This is definitely a plus for the health of new mums and their babies and families. A large number of women do suffer from depression during their pregancy or after the birth and knowing they have the support is great comfort to them and to everyone close to them.
September 13, 2007
by Toni
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Solarium Campaigner Dies of Skin Cancer
I am sure everyone in Australia has heard a little about Clare Oliver a positive girl who was determined to spread the word about the evils of using a solarium. Clare was a Melbourne woman who developed melanoma after using solariums and has sadly lost her battle with cancer.
I remember her interviews and they were heart wrenching but at the same time she was determined to make changes so that others didn’t suffer like she did.
You can read more about Clare Oliver’s battle with cancer and her will to help others understand at the ABC News Website and you can see her see her extended interview from the 7:30 Report…
August 17, 2007
by Toni
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Fast Food Healthy Alternative
Fast Food Healthy Alternative
We all know that burgers and chips and other fatty fast foods aren’t good for us and I’m sure a lot of us were quite happy to see the fast food chains introduce their healthy alternatives. Not only could we still grab a fast meal but it was good for us wasn’t it?
Well maybe it wasn’t good for us after all. Researchers in Germany have found that the so-called healthy alternatives offered by fast food chains can have similar effects to other meals they serve.
You can read the full story here
August 15, 2007
by Toni
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An Exotic and Passionate Small Car
These days buying a small car makes a lot of sense. Not only are they cheap to run but they’re environmentally friendly too. Small cars are also a wise choice if you’re limited in what you can afford to pay.
Competition in the lower end of small car market is really hot at the moment and you should be able score a good deal. But what if size is important but price point isn’t? What if you would like to add some European flare to your driving … And still grab a bargain?
Well if that’s what you want then meet the Citroen C3.
It’s a small car that really stands out in a crowd. This fine Frenchman certainly isn’t cheap but at the moment Citroen Australia is offering some great drive-away deals that make it very tempting.
August 5, 2007
by Toni
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Homeless Women
I am sure many of us cannot fathom the difficulties some women endure when they live on the streets. And I am sure it happens in every state but this morning the news headline “Sydney homeless women overlooked” for services, brought home the realisation that many women, from young girls to mature aged women live on the streets.
Of course as the article explained women are overlooked because most people would associate homeless people as men of varying ages. But no one seems to think that a woman or a young girl could possibly live on the streets.
Knowing that there are girls under 18 that do live on the streets, I believe it is very true and it highlights the need for more accommodation to be organised through the governments to accommodate the needy.
Sure a lot of us will say that it is the fault of their own that that happens, but let me point out that some do not have an option. Some people are lucky to have a home to go home to, they have a roof over their heads and they don’t have to rely on others to live.
Everyone has noticed the growing need for housing for everyone, but it’s not the rich that go without, they can afford to live their lives the way they want to, while others are not so lucky. Some home life that was reasonable is no more through possibly some fault of their own but in the majority of cases, the breakdown of a family life, the lack of job, the inability to take on employment for one reason or an other or the inability to find affordable accommodation are some of the reasons why people, including women live on the streets.
I know of some girls who have left home because they couldn’t conform to their parent’s way of life and feeling like they don’t belong so they leave that home and live on the streets because they have no where else to go.
It appears that homelessness is becoming a crisis that all governments should be aware of and more funding should be available to help those that cannot help themselves. Mission Australia has provided over the last year beds for about 600 homeless women, but when more than 1000 women have been turned away from one crisis accommodation centre in the inner Sydney suburb of Kings Cross, it makes you wonder how many women have no where to go each year across Australia.
When girls have to live on the streets because they feel they have nowhere to go, no family to turn to or prefer to live their life in the streets there is a major problem that needs help from all governments throughout Australia. The lack of facilities to help combat this issue is truly amazing and until you know someone who has had to endure life on the streets for one reason or another, you will never truly understand why or how it happens.
Toni Livesey