We have 2 indoor dogs and I cant say its really a problem at all. Perhaps the fact our living areas are upstairs helps- the dogs don't traipse sand in because by the time they do the stairs I guess its all fallen off their feet. They tend to live on the upstairs verandah waiting to come in. They both have baskets inside and after a cuddle we just send them to their baskets where they sleep or sometimes romp around together. I don't think I would get a drooly dog just on principle. One of our dogs- the larger one- loses a bit of hair but never enough that its ever bothered us. The smaller doesn't malt at all. Neither are ever allowed on furniture. So....2 indoor dogs here, very little mess. The kids however....

M- Nasi Goreng (fried rice) T- Cauliflower cheese and salad W- Borcht (beetroot soup) Th- Vegetarian gluten free home made pizza Fr- Vegetable stew and brown rice S- pasta and pesto (gluten free pasta for half of us) Su- Mushroom Frittata

We live in a hot dry climate, we are all fair skinned, and we manage to get through every summer without sunscreen.

There is a great difference between using coffee as a drug to get through the day, burning out your adrenals, and drinking many cups a day, especially of instant.......and savouring a luscious cup or perhaps two of good quality coffee. Unfortunately, many people do the former, when it is only the latter that could be called remotely healthy.

We have couple friends and single friends. We don't "go out" with other couples very much though, as a couple. There is one other couple we invite over sometimes- they dont have kids so it works best if they come here. Over the years, we did used to have more couple friends. Nowadays, I think its more singles- and even when the singles are in a relationship, its a "girlfriend" for me or a "guyfriend" for dh, and we dont necessarily both relate to both - just one of us relates to our friend.

Just for another perspective again...I agree about staying out of the sun, except for a certain healthy amount, but I really don't think sunscreen is a healthy thing at all. I live in a very hot, dry climate and I cover up and rarely go out in the heat of the day. The only place I ever put sunscreen, and I only use clear zinc (which has its own controversies), is my nose, because it gets burnt easily. I dont use it on my kids. The skin is an organ and even 'natural' sunscreen is a chemical.

Just keep trying different things till something clicks. For my kids, although they have made plenty of homeschooling friends over the years, their main friends now are through the Scouting movement and they dont see hoemschoolers so much- except the couple that are in their Scout groups. Thats what clicked for them. If soccer doesn't work...try something else. I think...he is 6, it will be ok, especially because you care and are working on it. I did have to come out of my shell though, and really communicate and connect.

We have a shihtzu cross jack russell- quite furry- dh trims the dog's face (and rear end too!) to prevent messiness. I dont tihnk its much of a problem anyway- eating a chicken wing or mince meat is less revolting by far than eating tinned food. I guess it is messier than dry dog food.

What is your motivation for changing? What does the habit give you that you don't want to let go of? Why are you late? Do you not give yourself enough time to get ready? Do you have some unconscious program that says no one else's time is as important as yours? Are you rebelling against "the rules", against being told what to do and when to do it? Is it a way of asserting your individuality? If it is purely a habit and there are no underlying reasons left....then to change a habit, you have to consistently do the new thing for 3 weeks or so. Do you really want to change? Then just do it. Don't make excuses.

My views on ageing differ from the mainstream. First, I think its important to develop an attitude of acceptance and grace about growing older, rather than "fighting" it. No matter what you do, you are going to get older, your bits will sag, you will get wrinkles, and unless you are platinum blonde like me (:001_smile:) you will go grey. You will also tend toward putting on a bit of weight, which will definitely mess with your head if you still want to look young and slim! So...the sooner you develop a good attitude towards it all, the better. A sense of humour is very helpful. Wrinkle creams- we have a consumer magazine here in Australia which tested lots of different creams from the cheapest to some very expensive ones. The feedback was...expensive ones are a waste of money. They are a con. I use normal, health food shop moisturisers and at 43 do not have wrinkles although my laugh lines are definitely slightly more pronounced than 10 years ago! Supplements - I would not rely on supplements to balance the effects of ageing. Eat well, mostly plants. Coffee fires off the adrenals, which contributes to stress, which contributes to signs of ageing. Drink lots of water to keep yourself hydrated- for every cup of coffee, have at least one glass of water, plus more. Alcohol is very ageing. Again, drink lots of water to balance the effects of alcohol. Calcium- Western countries already have the highest intake of calcium and still have the highest rate of osteoporosis. You need magnesium and silica to take calcium into your bones and build them, not more calcium. Taking calcium does very little. Eating leafy greens and less meat, and little sugar, will help build bones. High protein (meat) and sugar leaches calcium from bones. Magnesium is a good supplement to take. I take food supplements rather than artificially created synthetic vitamin supplements. Spirulina, maca powder, raw cacao, various herbs, goji berries, chia seeds, and colloidal magnesium and iron. Exercise? Whatever you enjoy- just do it. There is no one way to exercise. Just move, most days. Ideally, a variety is good- cardiovascular (bike riding, brisk walking, jogging etc), weight lifting and weight bearing, and stretching. But something is always better than nothing. Fresh air and sunshine are also important. Mammograms? I believe that doing a self test regularly in the shower or in bed- and becoming very familiar with your own shape and texture- is far better than exposing your body and breasts to radiation regularly. There is a lot of evidence that mammograms actually cause cancer. Just google "dangers of mammograms" and see what comes up. Sleep is very individual, but if you know you arent getting enough...well, you know. You get enough when you feel well rested, most of the time. For myself, I sleep 7-8 hours a night, and then frequently have an afternoon rest. I get insomnia at some times of the month, and my afternoon rest keeps me going. I walk regularly, and do yoga, chi gung, dance, and sometimes weights. I do not push myself- I only do what I enjoy. I am about to start a Wu Tao class which is a type of dance related to tai chi. I eat well, make a lot of vegetable juices, try and keep my system fairly alkaline, eat a lot of raw foods, eat meat or fish only when I crave it, and stay away from sugar, white flour/wheat, and fried foods mostly. I eat a fair amount of organic foods. I take herbs for issues that come up, and for takign care of my organs such as my liver. I use natural products for shampoo, conditioner, and moisturiser. I dont use soap or cleansers, as they dry out my skin and I don't think they are necessary. I don't use chemicals in my hair or on my skin. My routine is very basic and simple. I sometimes weat a bit of makeup, but not daily.

I remember Steve Irwin being interviewed on Denton (probably Australian) after his son was born. They had wanted a boy and they did some whacky things that Steve talked about with great humour- I think he had to keep his testicles really cool or something. Anyway, it worked! I would certianly play with more alternative methods that didnt involve too much interference or technology, but that's about it. I miss Steve!

Turning 30 was really hard for me- much harder than turning 40. It kind of felt like the end of my carefree twenties, and now I had to be a real Grown Up. On the other hand...I did start to feel more mature and I did enjoy that. DOnt worry about nto doing anything with your life. Many , many women do "something other than child rearing" after their child rearing days are past. Once you get up to your 40s, you realise, life really does get better as you get older, and there is still plenty of time to do what you want to do. I now look at women in their 50s and think, gosh, they dont look so old after all :) Enjoy your 30th borthday and embrace your age. There are a lot of good things about getting older, and you are not old yet!

I didn't do many chores as a kid but it wasnt for lack of being told- its just that my mother didnt know how to make me do them consistently. She would keep me on and make me clean my room all day Saturday every few weeks. She would ask me to clean up after myself when I was in the kitchen being creative, but she wasnt good at making sure I did, so she resented me cooking. She meant well. She didnt like housework herself, and did have a cleaner when I was younger. But she wasnt good at helping me make routines, or break down my room into sections, that sort of thing. I was terrible at keeping house until I lived on my own for 18 months when my kids were about 6 and 8 years old. My husband was older than me and was very good at keeping house and it was the source of many arguments that I was not. He couldnt understand or relate to my lack of skill or even a sense of being house proud. I just didn't get it and it was always a struggle. It definitely was one factor that contributed to our separation- arguments over housework, especially since he had clients at home. When on my own, a cousin put me onto Flylady and it honestly changed my life radically. Suddenly things started to make sense- there was a way to make it all come together. I stayed with Flylady for years. Soon after that I started homeschooling- I can't image having done it in my previous state of overwhelm and chaos. And soon after that, dh and I moved back in together. So my approach to my kids comes out of my own background. I want them to at least know how to do it all. They do their own washing. I teach them to do their rooms in bits. I have them clean parts of the house. They are learning routines. They look after the pets- something I wasn't good at. I don't see myself as a servant to my children. I do love to do things for them, and sometimes it is easier to clean up after them than to get them to do it...but I don't think it helps in the long run to do it too much. I wish my mother had foudn a way to compassionately and lovingly teach me how to take care of myself. I would have loved her to come and hlep me clean my room and talk to me. I do remember her teaching me how to clean the bathroom basin and I enjoyed that job. I have tried to make cleaning a bit fun for my kids- and break it down to small tasks. 10 minute tidies. Music. A sense of humour. Encouragement. Just trying to find my own way, trying to do it better than my mum. Maybe they will do even better with their kids.

Sufficient to be clean? 5 mins or less Sufficient to feel really wonderful? 10 minutes or so. I luxuriate in hot showers, and then finish off with cold.

I think I was read to a fair bit, especially by my granma- but only until I could read myself. I am sure my brother was read to also- but he never became an avid reader. My dad was/is an avid reader and it was something we shared- he would pass on books once I was old enoguh to read adult books (early teens). He was the one who turned me onto historical fiction (Jean Plaidy), Sci Fi (Asimov etc) and Fantasy. My mum has never been much of a reader. My kids are still read to- but neither is reading in their spare time anymore. However, that might change.

As fas as I am concerned it is unquestionable that everyone needs a balance in their lives and time doing things other than electronic entertainment, whether its teenagers or adults. Teens (and adults) need time outside, doing physical activity, they need to develop their persons in many directions- socially, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually etc. I feel that too much technological entertainment narrows these potentials. It does, at the same time, open up wonderufl potentials in other directions- such as socially, and also creatively (my dd is a whizz with Photoshop and other media programs), but of course there should be balance. I find that computer , PS games etc, are addictive and it is a rare child, teenager OR ADULT who can easily and effortlessly monitor and manage their own use of these things without some serious self discipline and often outside help. For adults, our desire to spend time with our kids and put food on the table act as natural moderators- and we can recognise out own patterns and hopefully kick ourselves in the butt enough to not get too addicted. For our kids, it may not be so easy to self monitor and self moderate. I know my two kids would spend all day some days on electronics, if allowed to. I set boundaries for them because they appear unable to set their own, quite often. Sometimes they will just go off any do something else, but really, not much else except socialising in real life, is exciting enough to get my teens off their electronics. At least they have good social lives so there is a good balance. And they have me..to make them get off their butts and their electronics and DO SOMETHING ELSE for a while. When we were kids..it was the TV. Now, it is so much more! Yes, I think there ae benefits to these things...however, its a slippery slope and I am not sure if it is ultimately more beneficial to go outside and dream in the sunshine, build things, paint, ride bikes etc as predominant forms of entertainment. However, I think the electronic entertainment is here to stay, so we are trying to find a way with it that is healthy and at the same time allows the kids to reap the benefits. Particularly as homeschoolers, - dh and I dont easily restrict their social time online because many days, it is their own social time with kids their own age.

Wow, you did well to keep using a computer for 9 years! That is stone age material! Enjoy your new computer and its whizz bang fast features.

Our supermarket bill has dropped dramatically- our fruit and veg bill has tripled. That's due to a change in diet for us. For fruit and veg...I go to farmer's markets, Italian delis that sell B grade stuff from local farms, and our local markets. Cleaning products - we don't get many at all. I use vinegar in the toilet bowl once a week. I wipe the bathroom sink daily, and only use spray once a week. I tend to spray the kitchen sink daily. We just dont go through many cleaning products. Value your time, too. If you are time rich and money poor, you can cook more from scratch and but a lot less processed foods, which will considerably lower your supermarket bill. If you are time poor though..you will need to balance differently. I am about to start meal planning because I know we will waste less food that way, and we have got to the point we need to save on our food bill, particlarly as I prefer organic nowadays. There are so many ways to save money- only you can work out the right balance for your family.

Lol, we have those sorts of issues all the time. My kids do kitchen duty alternate weeks, and frequently "forget" to put the dishwasher on. I think it's because they just dont take ownership of household duties. They are a "chore" to them. They don't see the bigger picture, just the fact that doing this chore is taking up time that could be better spent doing something else. I would say, for my kids, 14 is too young to "expect" that sort of initiative, but that doesn't mean I am not working on it! You should see the pouting around here this morning because I asked them both to do some vacuuming and clean their rooms! Not to mention, I cook for 15 or so people every Saturday morning- at 9.30, the dishwasher still hadnt been turned on when it was supposed to be turned on last night. Which is very inconvenient for my job!

I dont drink coffee- I do drink tea though and my morning cup of tea is very important to me- but still, I think the internet would win. Somedays I surprise myself by going for a walk or doing housework before turning on the computer, but normally- it's the computer.

Thankyou- thats my dream! We rent..but I am still doing the best I can!

I can really agree with this and it was what I was going to suggest. If you can access fresh comfrey leaves, crush them up and pack them on and wrap the toe in plastic wrap, then cover in a sock. We also have ahad near miraculous recoveries from various injuries with comfrey. I have some growing in the garden just in case.

Hasnt happened with dd15/16 yet. Shes a sweetie who is pretty reasonable. I think ds14 was born knowing everything, but it got considerably worse around age 12, and is quite painfully extreme at 14.

I think it's probably because we share a lot, but not necessarily very skillfully at times. We don't always empathise well or take the other person into consideration. And we can be a bit over sensitive and take offence too easily. I am reading Non Violent Communicaiton by Marshall Rosenburg, and I am realising how unskillful a lot of my communication really is. There are ways to communicate through conflict and differences that most of us have never learned and therefore can't actually access. A whole new paradigm is opening up to me. My dh definitely loses friends at times. He is very outspoken and has no problem speaking his mind and sometimes people take offence. They do usually appreciate and admire him after they lick their wounds, though, and eventually reconnect. I am much more careful, but recently I did get quite offended with a friend's behaviour toward me- fortunately her communication skills are quite mature and she has managed to keep connecting with me through teh conflict, so our friendship, while different for me, has not been discarded altogether. I think men and women do communicate differently, and women probably communicate from a more emotional place a lot, leaving themselves open to emotional reactions more than men. I think its up to women to learn the communication skills to build friendships and maintain them, including conflict resolution- scary for many of us. On the other hand...there are times when we outgrow a particular friend, and it is just time to move on, and sometimes something like an argument may be a catalyst for that. Hanging onto a friendship that no longer serves, that drains or is too one way, is not so good either.

Yes, I understand, and it will be difficult. However, the system that exploits these countries and their environments at the same time as donating to them...is also part of the system that is collapsing.