Tools, tips and education to help you live the life you choose

If you are wondering what has happened to the posts on this blog, I will be continuing my posts on the blog on my Coaching web site.  Same style, more stories, there’s even a video in the post I did this week.

Where is it?:  http://www.toplinesuccesscoaching.com/latest-news/ 

Check it out soon!

It’s that time of year again, the silly season, when we do the Christmas thing, whatever that means for you.  With young kids in the house it has brought new magic to this time.  Previously we enjoyed a quiet family Christmas, now there is more excitement and build up.  The number of sleeps to go is being counted down and checked numerous times a day.

We had a mini disaster last night.  You see we like to pretend that Santa comes on Christmas Eve and always leave something for him to eat and drink and some food for his reindeer.  One of the lessons we learnt early on is to put the reindeer food in a container.  The first year we spread it out on the lawn.  Do you know how difficult it is to try and get rid of out of the lawn so you can make it look like they have eaten it?  Last year we put a little bit of dried horse poo there to add to the evidence.

This year He has managed to get hold of some deer antlers.  We have been telling the kids that the reindeer change antlers every now and again and if they are extra good Santa will leave them Rudolph’s old antlers.  Son has written a letter to Santa asking for them.  Last night Daughter was helping Him make some Christmas decorations.  In a quiet moment she went and rummaged in the cupboard and guess what she found – the antlers.  He quickly explained that when they had seen Santa the other day he had asked Him to take the antlers as his sack was going to be rather full and if He could put them out on Christmas Eve that would be appreciated.  That seemed to be taken quite well.  The big question is can 4 year old Daughter keep this a secret from big brother?

Son has just woken up and the first thing he announced was ‘three more days until Christmas’.  He now wants to come and join me so I had better keep the earlier paragraphs hidden.  He has learned to read now so we have to be careful what we leave around at times.

This is just a short post to wish everyone reading this a very Happy Christmas and New Year.  I hope you get to enjoy this time of year whatever Christmas means to you.  I look forward to talking to you again in 2010, I have a few changes and surprises in store for the New Year.

I am sure it has been going on for generations, the age old quest to get kids to eat more vegetables.  Occasionally you hear of one that eats everything but more commonly it is stories of eating no vegetables, only this one or that one.  I have to admit we are in the latter category, we are hard pressed to get Son to eat any vegetable that is presented as plain vegetable.  Daughter will eat some and the other day decided she liked lettuce and cucumber so lets hope that continues.

As a result of our kid's habits I was quite amazed when we visited one of my brothers at the weekend and my sister in law was saying her 4 year old son was asking for more broccoli at dinner the other night.  This is a kid who  a few months ago went through a phase where he decided he liked about four things and they were hard pressed to get him to eat much else for a period – broccoli wasn't one of those four things.  So what was the secret?

Well it turns out her mother has a vegetable garden and the head of broccoli was grown organically and picked about 4pm that afternoon and cooked a few hours later.  Apparently it tasted beautiful, very different from your standard broccoli from the local shops.  Unfortunately my nephew didn't get his wish for more as everyone else had enjoyed their piece as much as him.

This did get me thinking again about vegetable gardens.  I have grown stuff in the past and there really is nothing like freshly picked and prepared veges from the garden.  It really is worth the effort and depending on your enthusiasm and space it doesn't have to take too much effort.  It could be anything from a few pots on a balcony to full scale vegetable beds and fruit trees.  Our book Home Vegetable Gardening is a great guide, it starts with the basics of how to choose a patch, soils and so on.  It is based on the American cycle so you need to convert the months to suit where you are in the world but the basics on plot selection, growing techniques, planning and so on are still the same wherever you are.  If you need a good basic guide to get you started, grab a copy.

I think that come Spring I will try and get the kids involved and get some vegetable growing, who knows they may even eat them.  Let me know if you have had any success with kids and vegetables and have any recommendations.

Travelling can mean different things to different people, for some it is backpacking by yourself through various little known places, for others it is going on a guided tour and for some it is spending time in a resort relaxing.  Whatever travelling means to you, there are a number of tips that will be relevant to you that are covered in our book 101 Essential Tips for Travelling on a Budget.

Yes, many of the tips are geared towards the budget conscious but many are general, like the suggestion to pack one of those cheap fold up rain coats or ponchos.  They take up very little room and can be carried around in your day pack or hand bag and keep you dry in times of unexpected downpours. (more…)

What are you doing this Easter?  For many of us it is a time to get together with family and friends and eat.  This great book can help you do that, it has over a hundred recipes from main meals to breads to desserts and yummy treats.

If you have kids then the rest of the book is for them, there are dozens of things you can make with them.  You can have bunny and egg creations filling your house.  Once you have finished creating then you can start the games.  Included are the age old favourites like egg and spoon races and variations on the easter egg hunt plus a variety of others I had never thought of.  We had an egg and spoon race at Sons party last week.  The kids had a great time and using chocolate eggs it doesn't matter if they drop them and they get to eat them once they finish so everyone gets something.

Now if that isn't enough in the book the last 15 or so pages have colouring in pictures and puzzles which you can print out. 

All up there is over 200 pages of food, craft and activities to keep you entertained this Easter.  Below is a sample recipe, craft and game to get you started. (more…)

Have you ever tried your hand at creating some of those 'creative' cakes, you know the pirate ship or the princess or just simply dressing up a cake with various piping and bits and pieces?  My experience leads me to admire some of those fancy creations you see in shop windows and magazines even more.  Like a lot of things it's not always as simple as it looks.  Check out the end of the post for my latest creation.

As this book explains cakes and cake decorating has been around for centuries, not always in the same format as we know today.  In times gone by producing an elaborately decorated cake helped your social standing and skilled sugarcrafters (cake decorators) were well regarded.

The book goes through all the different occasions we provide cakes for nowadays and the types of cakes you expect to see at them.  It also discusses the three main schools of cake decoration, the Wilton method, the Lambeth method and the Australian method.

Tips on how to make your cake are provided, after all although it is important that it looks good but it should also taste delicious.  The information on types of icing and how to ice give you some basics to start with.

Having given you a good background in Cake Decoratng the book then discusses the options for furthering your education.  And then if you are having success you can start your own business and advice on this is included.  You could have your own cake decorating blog!  Don't laugh, there are many stories around of people who started their cake decorating by doing a cake for a child's birthday or a family occasion where others have seen it and asked them to do one for them and so on until they have ended up starting their own business.

As a bit of an aside and inspired by the book and some of the tips I went searching for something to send to school for Son's birthday last week and I found these.  You get ice cream cones, put your cake mixture in them and then cook them.  Lastly you put some frosting on top and swirl it round a bit to look like ice cream and hey presto!  Apparently they were a big hit at school and all disappeared very quickly.  No, I don't think I am anywhere close to starting a cake decorating business but it was a bit of fun.

 Good luck with your creations and don't forget to post your comments or tips below, maybe you have a favourite recipe of idea to share.

Have you heard it said that we look like our dogs or vice versa?  While I have seen some funny photos to illustrate the point I would have to say that it is not always the case – I certainly hope it isn't in my case, although we are both starting to show some grey hair!  More to the point I think most of us choose a dog to suit our temperament or lifestyle – or we should do to ensure our lives together are more amenable.

Nowadays there are so many breeds out there to choose from, you just need to think about what it is you want, big, small, quiet, boisterous, long or short hair and so on.  You are sure to find something that suits.  One of the dogs that is often in the top 10 breeds chosen around the world is the boxer dog.  Our book Boxer Dog Secrets: The Ultimate Guide to Make Your Boxer Happy, Healthy and Obedient gives you all the information you need if you are considering or already have a boxer.

So what are you in for if you choose a boxer? (more…)

Whether you live surrounded by acres of garden or just a balcony or window box, I think it is difficult to match the joy and fascination of watching a butterfly, bird or some other animal enjoying your garden. Mind you the other day as I walked through the garden with Him and he nearly stepped on a snake it wasn't exactly feelings of joy that ran through my mind.  However to balance that we do get flocks of galahs and parrots and other birds enjoying the garden – until the Dog wakes up.

Gardening is one of the top leisure activities in the world and for many it provides a good source of exercise and can be a great stress reliever.  For others of us, it is just something that has to be done.  The good news if you fall into the second category and would like to attract more wildlife into your garden is that the type of garden you need to create doesn't need tons of maintenance.

So how do you get the birds and animals to choose your garden to visit? (more…)

I spent some of my childhood growing up in a little village on the coast of Norfolk in England.  One of my fond memories of that time was walking to the bakers on some Saturday mornings.  If we timed it right we could get there in time to get fresh bread rolls that were still warm.  I can remember hurrying home with my brothers to see if we would be allowed to attack the rolls while they were still warm, pulling them apart to devour the warm, doughy bit inside.

When I grew up it was before the days of breadmakers at home.  If you wanted to make your own bread it meant doing all the kneading by hand, sitting the dough in the sun to rise and so on.  My Dad used to make bread sometimes and I can remember that it wasn't an easy job.

Now we are spoilt, just tip a few ingredients into a machine, press a few buttons and come back in a few hours to find a beautifully cooked loaf.  We can sometimes forget that these machines can make more than just your plain white or wholemeal loaf, they can do as many doughs or breads as you can dream up.  If you can't think of many then check out our book, it has over 150 recipes, all suitable for making in your bread maker. (more…)

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