That's me there with my friend's clothesline in the background, enjoying a glass of bubbly on cup day. 

I was born in Australia in 1966, and live in Melbourne, Australia, with my five wonderful children who are aged from 4 to 16, and our pets.  We have two cats, a very demanding Eclectus parrot and a puppy.

I work from home running my first site: GetMyselfOrganized and this new blog.  I spend a lot of time cooking, doing housework, buying groceries, driving children around and generally being climbed upon, singing nursery rhymes, telling them I don't know how to do their maths homework and being forced to listen to terrible pop music.  I'm your typical frazzled, busy single mother.

Special skills

I can touch type, make decent lasagne and wiggle my ears.

My adventures on the internet

My adventures in internet marketing first began in September 2006, looking for a way to work from home to support my family, fitting in with the many commitments of motherhood, the main one at the time being breastfeeding twins, which I did at the computer.  I began by writing an e-book about household and personal organization, and have expanded into this website as a base for all future adventures. 

I was inspired by a friend's website, BellyBelly (all about pregnancy, birth & parenting) to do something on the internet.

I then discovered the lovely Flylady to read about my favourite topic - having an organized home.

Googling for ways to make money on the internet, I ended up purchasing The Waterhouse Report, an e-book which explained how to research a market and publish an e-book to be marketed using Google AdWords.  I followed the instructions to the letter, invested in the Perry Marshall book as well, and managed to get it up and running.  That site is www.getmyselforganized.com - check it out!

Making it profitable was another matter, and the only thing holding me back seemed to be that I was drowning in a sea of technical problems, from the shopping cart service not working, the tracking not working, and lots of silly little mistakes I made along the way.  I found it very difficult to do the technical stuff. 

Being a beginner in the wild west world of internet marketing and publishing, I invested in some sturdy gumboots for wading through the ever increasing piles of dung dressed up as information products and software tools, and have managed not to waste time or money listening to too many self proclaimed gurus.  Armed only with FrontPage for Dummies and some very rudimentary instructions on how to set up an AdWords campaign, I beat my head against many a brick wall just trying to get the technical stuff to function.  This is where I've scrambled to so far, with no IT or computer background and a very short attention span.  Aren't I clever?

Expanding into a blog seemed the natural thing to do, and when I saw what Steve Pavlina was doing, I thought yes, this is for me.  I can write and write to my heart's content, and get paid for it, on my terms.

The subject matter

Psychology and personal improvement, understanding how to get control over the aberrations of one's own mind, are things I've always been fascinated with.  I'm interested in reading anything which might contribute to a better understanding and mastery of myself, and I believe that freedom and happiness are within our control by learning how our minds work.  I don't claim to be educated or knowledgeable about these or any other subjects, but I feel very comfortable writing about them.  I think that in talking about my own efforts to understand and apply concepts and ideas, I will find ways of expressing them which may make them more accessible to more people.  After all, I'm not alone in wanting to gain more control over my own life.

Personality

For those interested in astrology and so forth, I was born on the cusp of Aries and Pisces, in the year of the Horse.  Jungian personality surveys seem to come out different every time I do them.  The last two I did came out as ENFJ and ESTJ.  I think I have some creative tendencies, as I enjoy music and art, but I suspect they're kind of introverted or repressed, as I feel I'm a very analytical type of person, as my writing probably reflects.  I have a morbid fear of haircuts, I'm obsessed with organization, and prone to slight exaggeration.

My resume

My work history is all over the place, beginning as a tea lady at age 14, working in a shoe factory, sandwich bars, retail, publishing, car insurance, waitressing and bar tending, workers compensation insurance, as a restaurateur, and in a health insurance call centre.  I did my Higher School Certificate (year 12) at night school at 19, and made 3 lame attempts to get started on an arts degree.  I also failed a sound engineering course in my teens.  (Failed the recording session but passed the theory exam).  I have no formal qualifications at all, but I can read!

Interests

I enjoy music, (a lot!), reading, writing of course, movies, TV, keeping pets, roses (the only plant I can't kill), art, dancing, comedy, history, psychology, home aesthetics, and I'm very fond of beer and pizza.  I look forward to travelling one day.

Values

I value honesty, openness and good manners.  I believe in not judging people, in the power of forgiveness, and in taking responsibility for oneself.  I value family very highly, and feel very fortunate to have a large one of my own, which is what I always wanted.  I look forward to lots and lots of grandchildren, great grandchildren and so on.  I'm fastidious about communication, accuracy, getting things right, that sort of thing.

But enough about me, tell me about yourself - what do you think of me?  Yes, that's a joke.  (I'm quoting Bette Midler).  Don't go emailing me, unless you have something very insightful, and well, complimentary to say.  About me.