Archive for November 2011
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Let’s Get This (Organising) Party Started
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Time to make lists that are just a little bit more adventurous than this.
Earlier this year, when I finally admitted that I needed help to deal with the physical and mental clutter that was overwhelming me, I chatted with the rather awesome Adele Blair of Blair Lifestyle Management and Green Apple Organising. Adele was very encouraging and supportive, assuring me that together we could tackle the clutter and reclaim my life.
Then I sent her some photos of my home.
It’s entirely possible that the poor woman hyperventilated at the immense task ahead, but to her credit she rallied quickly and sent me some very encouraging emails with a few tips for getting started. I also signed up for her newsletter, The Juice, receiving a free ‘Top 20 Organising Tips’ ebook with my subscription.
So what happened next?
The emails sent by Adele have been gathering virtual dust in my inbox and every now and then Adele has been sending me a ‘just checking in to make sure you are ok’ email, which has been lovely. My organising plans have been sidelined by a few family dramas and my own issues, but I am finally feeling ready to make the transition from talking about getting organised to actually organising.
Late last week, I finally opened those ebook files sent so long ago by Adele and, what do you know, that actually contain a whole heap of interesting and helpful information that make me feel like getting organised is actually achievable. Who knew?
It’s going to take some time, but I’m up for the challenge and I am more than ready to deal with the mess and disorganisation that has felt like a weight on my shoulders for so long.
I can highly recommend Adele’s newsletter The Juice if you want some great tips on keeping the chaos at bay. I’ll be working through the Top 20 Organising Tips ebook here over the next month or so, but you can cut to the chase and get your own copy by subscribing to The Juice here.
After months of talk, dithering, procrastinating, faffing about, feeling sorry for myself, making excuses and generally putting off until tomorrow what I just don’t feel like doing today.
It’s time to get this organising party started.
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Rethink Breast Cancer Ad – Clever or Sexist?
1While browsing my Facebook newsfeed this morning, I found a video by the Rethink Breast Cancer campaign (via Tanis the Redneck Mommy). The video aims to increase awareness of the need for women to perform breast self-examinations regularly and promotes a free app for iGadgets and Android (Your Man Reminder) which regularly reminds women to perform breast checks.
My first reaction was to laugh. I think that this ad is a very clever concept to grab women’s attention and I think that they will be far more likely to download this eye-candy breast check reminder than they might be with a standard reminder app. If the aim is to get more women detecting breast changes early, then that’s a smart marketing win in my book.
BUT…
Watching the ad reminded me of a post written by Trae at Where’s My Glow some time ago about sexism in ad campaigns. While I found the Rethink Breast Cancer ad very entertaining and quite amusing, would I be amused or offended if the ad featured a series of Pretty Young Things in their underwear as a prompt for men to remember to visit their GP for a prostate check? Statistically in Australia there is a similar incidence of breast cancer in women (1 in 9 women diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 85 – Australian Government: Cancer Australia) and prostate cancer in men (1 in 9 men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime – Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia), so you could argue that such an ad would be equally justified.
Of course, given the body parts under discussion, it can be a fine line to walk between informing people and sexual overtones. The negative response (by a small minority, I should note) to the ‘Feel Them Up Friday’ Twitter initiative of Carol Duncan (@CarolDuncan) and Sarah Pietrzak (@SeraphimSP) last year comes to mind. You can’t please all the people, all the time.
My mother is a breast cancer survivor. I have already had my first mammogram and ultrasound and will need to continue with regular checks now for years to come given my family history of the disease. More women should examine their breasts regularly for changes and I hesitate to take a negative view of anything that is going to encourage them to do so.
What do you think? Is the Rethink Breast Cancer ad clever or sexist? Would you download the app? It is available through iTunes in Australia (just search for ‘Your Man Reminder’).
If you would like to know more about breast cancer, how to perform a breast self-examination or anything else about breast cancer diagnosis, research and/or treatment, please check out these very useful links:
- National Breast Cancer Foundation
- Australian Government Breast Cancer information
- Breast Cancer Australia
- Cancer Council Australia
- Register4 (breast cancer research project)
- Girls’ Night In – raising money for research into women’s cancers
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Coconut Ice Recipe
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Home cooking guru Sandra Reynolds of The $120 Food Challenge posted her mother-in-law’s coconut ice recipe on her website today. I have a little bit of a coconut ice addiction, so I couldn’t help wandering over to check it out. Unlike my family recipe, the recipe Sandra shared used Copha. I mentioned to Sandra that I preferred the condensed milk version and told her I would post the recipe for everyone to share.
Tragically, I didn’t have any photos of my coconut ice on hand, so I had to make some this evening after dinner. Isn’t that sad? A whole container of coconut ice sitting in my fridge simply because I wanted to ‘keep it real’ rather than posting an image of someone else’s, possibly copha-based, coconut ice. See what I’m willing to sacrifice for my blog?
Coconut Ice
Ingredients
750g pure icing sugar
250g desiccated coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla
400g can condensed milk
Pink/red food colouring
Method
- Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Add coconut. Mix well.
- Divide mixture into two bowls, placing half in each bowl.
- Add half can of condensed milk and ½ teaspoon of vanilla to first bowl. Mix well and press into baking paper-lined slice tin.
- Add food colouring and ½ teaspoon vanilla to remaining condensed milk. Stir until combined. Add to second bowl and mix well. Press into tray on top of white layer.
- Refrigerate until firm.
- Cut into bite-sized squares for serving.
Tips
- You may need to knead the ‘dough’ a little to get it to mix completely. I usually mix together with a knife as much as I can and then turn it out onto a cutting board to press it together.
- I make my coconut ice in a plastic container that is just a little bit smaller than an average slice tin. I line it with baking paper and place each layer straight into the container, which means less washing up afterwards.
- You don’t have to stick with traditional white/pink coconut ice. I’ve seen in made in team colours as a snack for grand final day, green/yellow for Australia Day and more.
- For Easter, divide the mixture into 2/3 white, 1/3 yellow form a small ball with the yellow mixture then surround this with the white mixture to make an egg shape. You can leave this as it is, or coat it in chocolate if you really want to OD on calories.
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