​Do you have family traditions? Or even personal traditions? You know if you don’t you can start one today! A tradition doesn’t need to be a huge party or occasion. It can be as simple as eating fish n chips on the beach in summer or walking the dog on Sundays! Today our team share their traditions in their blogs and they are AWESOME!
 
Family traditions are important.
I have some traditions with my family, my mum and dad, and brothers. We see each other at least every week and they come to my house. My dad likes the BBQ and cooks for everyone. Sometimes my mum cooks too.

When they come over we like to talk about our holidays and we swim in the pool when it's hot. But when it's cold we go in the spa.

We have a tradition to go away for Christmas which I like. We do a cruise sometimes.
For birthdays our tradition is to go out to dinner all together. And every year I am so lucky I get to have a holiday for my birthday. This year is another cruise.

I love Disney and all my cousins do too. Which means I am good friends with my cousins.
I am the best sister, and best big cousin.

On Christmas morning I am still excited to open presents. I am always so lucky.
On Mother's Day I make my mum a cup of tea and she can enjoy it in bed and rest. I love my Mum and she loves me. This is a nice tradition we keep in my family.

I do a photo book of my holidays and a tradition of ours is that Mum and I will always take a selfie wherever we are. We have a selfie together in front of Cinderella's castle, in front of scary rides, and with our Frozen ice cream.

I think everyone has traditions that are important to them and their families. I will keep doing our traditions.
Thank you, Claire. 
 
Family and friend traditions.
I like to hang out with my friends and family sometimes.  I have fun with them and I can’t wait to go to Queensland with my friend and hangout with Kristian.  I cannot wait to see him and to get a new tattoo with colour, makes my friend happy.
 
On Mother’s Day I get Mum flowers and my friend too. Father’s Day I get Dad chocolate and my crazy little brother when it’s his birthday, I get him Lego.

Anyway, I had fun with everyone and my good friend, when I’m 30-year-old maybe I will have a big party for my birthday, I can’t wait to see what happens.   TJ
 
 
Traditions are something you do each year on the same day.  Either by yourself or with people.  In my family we don’t normally have traditions, but a few years ago I said to my dad, we could go to Cape Schanck where we scattered his Mums ashes at sunrise to see the sunrise over where we scattered  her ashes.
 
We have done this for a few years now.  Each Mother’s Day or on her birthday which was May the 2nd.   We would watch the sunrise,  then go for a walk along the boardwalk. After that we go get a coffee or a hot chocolate.
 
That’s really the only tradition we have, but I’m proud to have started it. 

I’ll list some other countries traditions found on “bored Panda” 
 
“International Hair freezing competition” held in Canada.
 
“Cheese roll” in England 
 
“Polterabend” in Germany 
 
“Boot tossing” in Finland 
 
Do you have a tradition or do you want to start a tradition with your family or friends, like I did. - Haley.
 
 
Dear readers today is a blog about traditions
 
Let me start by telling you about one of my families Christmas traditions. Every year on the 6th of December we celebrate Saint Nicholas and we call him Nicholas Mikl’os and the night before we polish our shoes. If you have been good all year you get a small present and chocolate and if you have been bad, you get coal.
 
This happens while the children are sleeping. This is a tradition I love.
 
Fun fact, the 6th of December is the feast day of Saint Nicholas and that is the reason for the date. Another fun fact is children put their shoes either outside their bedroom door at Christmas time, or near the front door. We put ours near the front door.
 
Another fun fact is many European countries celebrate Saint Nicholas too. I am Hungarian, this is why.
 
What are the traditions you celebrate with your family?
 
Written by Charlotte
 
 
Hello readers, welcome back to my blog! Today, I want to talk about family traditions. To me, family traditions are special activities that we learn from our parents and grandparents. They help us feel close to our family and create memories that last forever. 
 
I am lucky to have a big, loving family. My mum’s name is Vicki, my two sisters Elena, Emily, my brothers (and brother in law/s) Chris, PJ, Daniel, Conor, Jamie, my nieces and nephews. We always try to spend time together and have fun.
 
One of our favourite family traditions is taking a trip together every year. Sometimes we go on a road trip, and sometimes we travel overseas. This year, my mum wants us to go on a cruise together. 
 
I love my family so much. Thanks for reading my blog.  – Thomas
 
 
Hi friends how are you today?

Today’s topic is traditions and I have chosen to write about what is the reason for hot cross buns. I Googled “when did hot cross buns begin” and this is some of what I discovered.

They are believed to have begun in the 14th century by a monk, whose name was Thomas Rocliffe at St Albans Abbey. He gave them to the poor people on Good Friday. They were called the Alban bun.

The cross on the bun is believed to represent Jesus Christ, making them a traditional Easter treat. 

Queen Elizabeth the first ordered the sale of the buns only on Good Friday, Christmas and funerals.

Another tradition I discovered is the Pagans worshiped Easter, with the goddess of dawn and spring. It was a month-long celebration. it is believed in Paganism that the cross represents the four phases of the month. 

Traditionally Hot cross buns are eaten on Good Friday but now they appear at supermarkets on Boxing day.

Do you like Hot Cross buns and if so when do you eat them? (My favourite is chocolate and white chocolate and raspberries.) Do you have a favourite one if so what one do you like?

this is Bethany signing off until next week.
 
 
Hello and welcome to my traditional Thursday blog.  Today we are talking about traditions and how they shape our lives. I have a tradition every year of going to at least a day of the Boxing Day test every year. Every few years (depending on the fixture) we add either a basketball game or soccer game so our day usually starts about 8:00 am and finishes about 10:00 pm.
 
People who read my blog know that I love sports and I regard the 26th as my Christmas Day because there is so much sport whether it be the NBA (Christmas Day) or lots of local sports from the A-League to the BBL. Another tradition I had when I was at school we were allowed to watch the first ball of the first test match of the summer before going back to class. Do you have any sporting traditions that you do during the year? Thanks for reading my blog
 
Keep being awesome - Ben VR

Traditions and such.
When it comes to traditions I feel very much like Olaf in Olaf’s frozen adventure. Like Olaf I’m curious about other people's traditions and I find them really interesting because they’re all different and unique. I love learning about what everyone does for different celebrations and the traditions that they started whether it's been something that’s been in the family for generations or they got up one day and just started it up as something fun to do.
 
I know many different traditions that I’ve come across and been a part of through the years though I won’t be sharing them here because they are special to those people and I don’t have permission to share.
 
Olaf goes around searching for traditions in his frozen adventure and from what I’ve watched he discovers Most traditions involve coming together and sharing a memorable experience, there might be food and drinks, it could be somewhere memorable or special to the group and it’s usually something that would be done on the same day every year, month, week or on a special day.

In Olaf’s case it’s Christmas traditions. How great is Olaf? I love him so much! Maybe your tradition could be watching a Disney movie on a special day, may I suggest Olaf’s frozen adventure? Or The Lion King?
 
Imagine that you just get out of bed and think to yourself; I’m going to start a tradition!! Maybe for the family to make something special to pass on through the generations or just because you want to make that particular day a little more exciting.

Just right now I’ve been thinking about traditions people might have with their pets, something that brings joy and is a cute little bonding experience that makes our animal friends and family feel included.

I will be continuing my research on traditions probably all my life because I’m a curious human and I will also continue to love Olaf because he is a wonderful snowman. I’m not sure if I have my own traditions however, I do affirmations with my dog nearly every other day. So maybe that’s a tradition.

Have a wonderful day my friends,
Your friend,
Shan
 
 
Good morning readers
What I give my friend at Easter, which is a tradition, is to my friend Brianna.
I give her chocolate and she gives me lollies. I sometimes make her a special pretend gift cards on the computer. Once I made a card that said "you're invited to a weekend away somewhere and we can catch up a lot".

This is our tradition nearly every year that we do. I've known her for a few years now. Yes, she is good company.

With my mum and dad we do have lots of fun, we go out and have dinner sometimes as a family and sometimes we go to a Chinese restaurant and we have lots of food.

​Another family tradition is we celebrate Chinese New Year and we have lots of fun.
from Ben

Are you reading our blog in the daylight? Or is it night where you? What do you think about daylight savings? Do you prefer being outside in the day or the night? The time will change soon back an hour and daylight savings will come to an end. Will this disrupt your routine and how long might it take you to adjust? But let’s remember an hour lost, is an hour gained. 
We hope you enjoy our bloggers thoughts below on daylight savings which is right around the corner. 

Hello readers, welcome back to my blog, today we are writing about daylight savings.
For me I like when the day is push forward because I know that means longer days and summer is close. I love summer it is my favourite. For me it doesn't really change my routine but I still love it.
I always have a busy week. I have a lot of support around me and this make me happy.
I go to day program like Just Write, Hellow Media which is on Thursday, and I play basketball on Wednesday afternoon. Some days I have my work which is awesome. I love working at the Rosebud RSL, and Wheels La Cafe.

During spring and summer I spend a lot of time with my family and friends doing stuff like walking at the park, go shopping with my mum, having fun with my close friends and I spend time with my Brother PJ who drives me around in his van. He is a good brother.
Thankyou for reading my blog, Thomas 


Day light savings is coming to an end and today I am blogging about it to you. Hello readers how are you? Some days are longer and some days are shorter. In the summer it's longer. I can swim at 9 o'clock at night because it is still daylight and warm.
The winter is very dark very early and no swimming, as it’s too cold.
But guess what, I have a spa! I can sit in my spa in the winter to stay warm. In the summer it's nice because my dad is on the bbq and he cooks lots of nice food.

We are losing daylight soon because the days are getting shorter and it's winter coming.
My mum likes to cook pasta when it's cold, and my dad likes to do the bbq when it's warm in summer. That's when my mum does yummy salads.

I like winter because I can cozy up with warm clothes. But I also like summer because it's warm and sunny.
My blog is good today, from Claire. 


Day light savings... do you love it or hate it?
Our days will be shorter soon and it gets darker quicker.
Daylight savings gives me time to work on my mower for longer because it is light until 9pm some times. Daylight savings also allows me more time to work, catch up with friends and enjoy my life.  Going to the pub with friends and sometimes we go fishing and have lots of fun.
  
One day Gerry fell out of the boat and it was so funny. I hope I never forget that memory as he was dear to me.  Winters are good too with the bonfires.
Thank you to my readers every week,
Nick 


Why do we have daylight savings?  
During the summer months in Australia, we have daylight savings because we can utilise the longer days and the natural sunlight. 
How daylight savings works in the spring time, the clocks Spring forward an hour and in the Fall (Autumn) the clocks fall back an hour. 

Daylight savings has been around for many years, its lead to believe that Benjamin Franklin (he didn’t invent it) but suggested daylight savings to reduce the use of candles. 
Australia adapted to daylight savings for World War one and World War Two to reduce energy usage. 

An AI Review from the internet says “daylight savings didn’t start in the 1970s but it was widespread and adapted by many countries by the government seeing potential for energy conservation by maximising daylight hours during the nights”.

At first when the clocks turn either forward or backwards, I get confused, tired early, and I sleep in. But after a while I get used to it.

But I like both, because in the summer time I can stay out later with friends, without having to be in the dark of the night. In winter when it’s raining at night time, you can hop into bed and snuggle up with a warm doona and pets and watch a movie, not caring about wasting any daylight. 

Thank you for dropping by and reading,
Haley


Daylight Savings. Love it or loathe it...
In the grand scheme of things daylight savings isn't that big of a deal, that being said I don't know how I feel about daylight savings. I don't love it and I don't loathe it either, I guess I’m a bit of a fence sitter when it comes to daylight savings. I know that for me it causes a bit of drama with things like routine, sleep and confuses the heck out of the dog when it comes to dinner time. Once I get used to the change in times, I don’t seem to mind it either way.

I often wonder what my dog thinks is happening during daylight savings, I hope he doesn’t think that we are starving him for an hour, does he feel the changes in time and when its lighter or darker at night? I wonder if he feels shaken up by the slight changes in his routine and life? Honestly, now that I think about it it might be a lot harder on our animal friends than it is on us.

This feels like something that most people might overlook and I just had a discussion with Haley about how it must affect her furry family members and especially at breakfast and dinner or any other feeding times. I think that it is important that we give our beloved pets/furry family members some extra love and understanding because they might not know what is happening and that must be confusing for them.

I wish that I could explain to all the animals what is happening and why some things have changed in their routine. If anyone speaks cat, bird or dog maybe you could take one for the team and put the animals at ease. That would be awesome and the world would thank you or at the very least the animal world would. I think I might have gotten a little off track with the blog topic but that's ok, it’s still about daylight savings and I need to think about if I like daylight savings or not.

Do you like daylight savings or are you a fence sitter like me?
Have the best week and I support you!
Your friend,
Shan.


Do you like the start or the end of daylight savings and why?

Dear readers, today’s topic is about daylight savings. I don’t know if I really like the start of daylight savings and the reason is the days are longer. I don’t like losing an hour sleep at the beginning, some people are grumpy from losing sleep, but I do like daylight saving when it ends because I get one hour of extra sleep. The birds love it because they can stay out longer. 

A little fact about daylight savings is that it starts the first Sunday of October. 
The reason it began was to move the clocks forward in the warmer months so that darkness falls at a later time. 

Who came up with the brilliant idea of moving the clocks forward on the weekend… in the middle of the night? Why not move them ahead on a Friday around 4pm. I think there would be a lot of support for that. 
Daylight savings gives me more time to shop and see my friends.
Daylight savings is a huge mood booster.
This is Bethany signing off until next week.


Hello and welcome to another daylight-ful weekly blog. Today we are talking about daylight savings and how it affects people’s lives. Did you know daylight savings began in 1916 in Tasmania and a year later in the rest of the country and was periodic in the early days due to the war in 1942. After 1944 daylight savings was not used again until October 1st 1967 when it was reintroduced in Tasmania. In 1971 in Victoria, ACT, New South Wales and South Australia and Queensland all reintroduced it. It was abandoned in 1972 but was re-trialled in 1989. It was abandoned again for good in Queensland. Western Australia trialled daylight from 2006-2009 but was abandoned for is unpopularity. The Northern Territory hasn’t used daylight saving since 1944. I love daylight savings because it means we get more light.

How long does It take you to adapt? What are your thoughts on daylight saving?

Keep being awesome.
Ben


Good morning readers, today’s topic is daylight savings.
For me, daylight saving is when we gain an hour during summer and when we lose an hour during winter. It makes me sad when I lose one hour. Because I cannot see my friends. When the weather is nicer I like going for wheels outside with my support worker. 

When the day is longer I do more things like swimming, arts and craft.  I also like doing a podcast and Radio and l listen to music and my favourite  music is pop music.
Going out for dinner and coming to Umbrella Support on Thursday where I do blogging and Media.

How do you like to spend your day? Thank you for reading my blog. Ben 2



Dear readers, today topic is daylight savings.
Readers I have a question, do you like the start or the end of daylight savings? 
Let me start by telling you, I like the start of daylight savings because I have longer daylight hours. However, I don't like losing that one hour of sleep when the clocks are turned forward. But I gain an hour of sleep at the end of daylight savings. So I guess it all balances out. 

During daylight savings I like to listen to music on Spotify whilst sitting outside under the carport and I like to read inside and look out at the sun.

More daylight saving hours gives me time to feed the neighbour’s horses which I love and also more shopping time for Mum and I.

Daylight savings is ending at the beginning of April and I'm looking forward to having more sleep and no more hot weather.

Written by Charlotte

This week our bloggers are writing about a time they have experienced or will be experiencing that brings people together. We love hearing their stories about family and friends as well as times they have had that have brought joy!
 
We hope that you enjoy this weeks edition…
 
 
Hello readers, I hope you are well because I am bit tired today. This week we are writing about the long weekend and I can't wait for mine because I am planning to have a chilled one and stress free. I will meet with my lovely girlfriend, and I will watch my favourite DVDs.

On Saturday I will have a date with my girlfriend Claire and my support worker Matt will be there support us. We will go bowling and have dinner and we might go to a movie as well if we time.

On Sunday I am resting and watching my dvds in my cozy bed and hopefully I can see my close friends too the following day.
That will be all for my long weekend. – Thomas

 
Hello my lovely readers, today's blog is about the long weekend. I am looking forward to my long weekend, I always have a great plan because of my mum, she helps me plan it all.  She is an amazing mum and I am very grateful for her. On Saturday I will have a quiet morning resting before my date in the afternoon with my true love Thomas. We will go bowling and have a nice dinner and will be helped by Thomas's support worker Matt. It is warm weather on the weekend so I will probably swim in my pool. Thomas can too. I will miss my friends on Monday because it is a long weekend but that's ok, I will see everyone on Wednesday for bowling.
Thank you to my readers, Claire. 
 
 
It was Labor Day long weekend last weekend, and my plan as I write this blog is to do some interviews at Moomba on Friday night. I think I am doing two interviews when I'm there with Rechelle. She is my support worker extraordinaire. I will interview a person from travellers aid.

On Sunday I will have time with my mum and dad. I also live with two housemates in Box Hill and they are going away, so l am going to move to the family house and then when they get back, I will move back in with my housemates.
 
Over and out, this is Ben signing off for today – Ben
 
 
Dear readers today topic is  coming  together
 
 Let me start telling you about what I’m doing on the weekend.
 
Friday I’m going to celebrate my Aunty and my dogs birthday and my dog is turning  seven years old and  I’m feeling very excited  for  my dogs birthday and  I’m going to bake a  banana  and peanut butter cupcake and for my dog/s birthday and for Aunty I’m going to message her and call her. By time you read this her birthday would have already passed.
 
Saturday I'm  going to Fountain Gate to do shopping for my sister's graduation dress with my mum and sister.

I met  and made a new friend last weekend and this weekend were going to meet with her and mum and  we are going  to grab lunch while at shops and after that me and my mum might do our  nails .
 
Sunday, hopefully  it's a calm  and quiet rest day and I might spend time with my  family  and maybe even read one of my Twilight books.
 
What are you planning to get up on the weekend?
 
Written by Charlotte.
 
 
My grandparents are members of the Peugeot car club and it was a yearly thing to go with them in one of their Peugeot cars to a property in Phillip Island that I believe was owned by one of the Peugeot car club members. All the Peugeot car club members would come for a Christmas catch up, lunch and unofficial show and shine of the cars (they all were really clean and fancy). When I was in primary school, I would come with them and it was exciting to spend the day with my grandparents.  
 
On the drive up to Phillip Island we would stop for morning tea at a cafe/farm and I would have a sweet treat while all the members chatted away about this and that. I would also go out with my grandparents to see the animals that they had at the cafe. I always looked forward to stopping for morning tea because it was lovely to have that time with my Grandparents and felt very special to be with them. Of course, I also loved the sweet treat and seeing the animal friends.  
 
Once we got to the meeting place where we would have lunch in Phillip Island we would set up and my grandparents would have snacks and nibblies for us to have and everyone would start to catch up and look at each other's cars. I don’t remember if lunch was put on by someone else or it was bring your own lunch but it was a really good day of exploring and bonding with my grandparents.  
 
I remember one time at one of these events my Grandad trusted me with his really fancy camera and I went off and took photos of the Peugeot cars all lined up together. They liked it so much that it got published in the Peugeot Car Club magazine. That was really awesome for me because I loved having my photos appreciated. Everyone in the car club really love and look after their Peugeots.  
 
It was a really lovely time to share with my grandparents and it was great that they wanted to share the Peugeot Christmas get together with me.  
Have you got fond memories with your grandparents?  
Have a beautiful day and keep hydrated, 
Your friend,  
Shan  
 
 
Hi friends welcome back to my cozy corner today’s topic is coming together and I have chosen to write about my long weekend .

On Saturday  I went to my friends house and we had so much fun together. 

On the Sunday I got to sleep in and then mum made my favourite breakfast, which is pancakes with strawberries and ice cream. After breakfast mum and I went to Panda Mart, have you heard of it or been there. It’s a huge factory that sells everything but not food. I really loved looking at the flowers and having a good look around. We were there for 3 hours. After our big day shopping, we went Noodle box for our delicious dinner.

Monday was a public holiday and we went to Moomba. It was my first time there and I was a bit nervous and also excited to see the parade and the carnival with its many rides. It was so much fun.

After my busy wonderful weekend I got to go to bed early exhausted but happy.
What did you do for the long weekend. 
This is Bethany signing off until next week.
 
 
Welcome to my blog for this week  I am writing about the long weekend.
Saturday afternoon my friend is having his birthday party at the
pub, and we are going to have a nice dinner and a few drinks.

I am looking forward to catching up with them. I hope to see my friends niece as well because I have a crush on her and I my friend knows about this. I have known this friend since I was eighteen. He is a good mate of mine and he is the person who bought me my first drink at the pub. I am also excited to see my friends niece and I will try talking to her as well.

For the rest of the weekend I am planning to work on my propeller which I found in an 
antique shop. I am proud of my propellers that why I want to have a mechanic who specialises in aircrafts to look at it and tell me more about it. They can track the serial number and it can reveal lots of information on the planes origin.

Thankyou for reading, Nick 

It’s that time of the month again when our bloggers choose their own adventure and write about anything they like. It’s one of our favourites and we love hearing stories of such variety.
 
Last week, you would have noticed I didn’t write a blog. But I had a really good reason. I was in Hamilton Island soaking up the sun. 
 
I went to Hamilton Island with my friend and her mum and her mum’s partner.  
The first day we got there, we went to the apartment, dropped off our luggage and we got a buggy, because in Hamilton Island there are only a few cars on the island. We travelled around the island to have a look what was around.  I sat in the back of the buggy, let’s say it was very different. 
 
We named our buggy “Freddy”. We would always say thank you to Freddy. 
 
The first night we also went on a sunset cruise and buffet. 
Didn’t see much of a sunset as it was cloudy, but the cruise and the buffet were brilliant.  I even tried crocodile (tasted like chicken).
 
My friend and I went in a helicopter ride around the island and the surrounding islands, we got taken to Whitehaven beach. Guess what?, we had the beach all to ourselves, the helicopter polite was very shocked. Apparently Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales was filmed there.  It was the most amazing beach, we saw sting rays in the water. 
 
The following day my friend and myself, went for a walk to the highest peak of Hamilton island, the track we did was called Passage Peak.  It took a while to walk it but the views up the top was spectacular, you could see a 360 degree view of all of the islands surrounding Hamilton island.  On the way down I had a mishap and fell down.  I got back up and soldiered on.  My friend on the other hand she was worried, so I had to walk in front of her. 
 
The third day my friends mum and her partner went on an all day boat ride to the Great Barrier Reef, they loved it, they said it was a great experience.  They could even snorkel if they wanted too. 
 
While they were on the boat, my friend and I just lounged around the pool, waiting for our massage appointment.
 
The last day we all lounged around the pool, even when it poured down with rain, nothing was going to stop us from being in the pool. 
 
The night time at Hamilton island was so busy, We usually went out for tea, the food was delicious.  The buggies even had headlights on them. But they did make a horrible noise when reversing. 
 
We didn’t see much of a range of animals while in Hamilton island.
Mainly cockatoos, kangaroos and one snake on the walk at Passage Peak.  If you fed one cockatoo, the whole gang would come fly onto the balcony.  Funny story, my friend’s mum left her smokes on the table outside and when we returned, the packet was gone.  We found them on top of a bush underneath the balcony. How did we know the cockatoos took the packet? There were claw marks on the packets and a few cigarettes were marked too. Those naughty cockatoos. 
 
People say it’s expensive, but I guess if you save and plan ahead, it’s do-able.
 
All up, Hamilton Island was amazing and the weather was great apart from the last day. But that was okay.  We didn’t mind at all because it was still hot.   I would gladly go back to Hamilton island in a heart beat.   
 
I can’t wait for our next holiday to Wollongong for the darts masters.
I think  while we are in Wollongong, we might do the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb. Which will be amazing. 
Until next time. 
Haley
 
 
I have done travelling before I have been to Hong Kong for my birthday, and my favourite bit was the big Cinderella Castle. It is so beautiful.
I went with my family and it was a long trip. On the plane I watched movies and had a sleep.
We went on scary rides, I was so scared. They are fast and they are high.
The Mummy movie has a ride and it was scary for me. They wet me! But I did laugh and it was heaps of fun.  I went on other scary rides like the dragon boat park. It's on the water, but it's fun because you get wet too. Harry Potter rides too, scary dark and lots of fun.
Disney have the best fireworks and they are great. You can see lots of stars at night and I had hot chocolate. It is my birthday soon.
 
 
Next year I want to go to a different Disney for my birthday, Shanghai is on my list. I heard there is a Disney Island in the Bahamas which I might put on my list too.
I have three lists. I have a movie list with Krystle, and a travel list with mum. And we tick them when we are done.
I will do the rock the boat cruise next year it will be very fun.
 
Thank you for reading my blog about travel, and me
Claire. 
 
 
Hi readers, today we get to write about anything we want. It's a choose your
own adventure day. I want to tell you about a passion of mine which is riding
and fixing mowers with my friends. I started fixing mowers on my own when 
I was ten years old, one day I saw an old mower in the hard rubbish and I pushed
it home. It was a way for me to keep myself busy and learn.

I am very lucky to have a shed where I can spend a lot of time fixing my mowers 
and over the years I have watched many videos on how to fix them and I taught
myself  which is something that I am very proud of.

The exciting part about mowers is when I get to ride on them with my close friend
David. We go to Kilcunda every now and then and we have so much fun. Sometimes Dave comes with us! 

Do you have something that you are passionate about?
This is Nick the lawn mower guy.
 
 
Dear readers, today's topic is choose your own adventure.
 
Let me start by telling you about what I have chosen to write about, planning for a holiday.  
 
I’m planning to go to Brisbane this year. I went there two years ago and it was my first solo trip, it was fun and scary at the same time.
 
I'm looking at Virgin Airlines for their ticket prices and I might buy my tickets around Easter time as they usually have a sale.  That way, I don't have to stress about buying them at the last minute as I like to be organised.
 
Buying my ticket early allows me to save for all the extra things I need for my holiday in September.
 
Are you planning on going on holiday this year?
 
Written by Charlotte
 
 
Good day friends and readers, today's blog is a choose your own adventure and I want to write about all the lovely people in my life. I am lucky to have close friends, and family who I love, a best brother Chris and my beautiful girlfriend Claire. I have my support worker Jordan who is an amazing person. I feel good having so much support around me, this makes me happy and calm. Sometimes I can get overwhelmed by
people, but at the moment I'm working on myself to get along with my peers. It is not always easy but I have the support around me to help go through good and bad
situations.
 
Thanks for reading my blog Thomas.
 
 
Good morning and welcome to another choose your own adventure.  As we get ready to kick off another AFL and NRL season I thought I would talk about the travel the players and staff get and how easy it’s all booked and the money that they earn. I find it crazy that players and staff can earn millions of dollars yet everyday Australians struggle with day-to-day life.
 
How can the public struggle with buying food and basic shopping, yet players can get flown to exotic cities like Vegas for their job. How can big sporting corporations just ignore people who are homeless etc. Sports like golf do have charity events but these are too few and far between. How can sports organisations and clubs not see the impact of this when they go to local disadvantaged communities yearly for community camps, yet can easily accept contracts worth millions of dollars. My question to you is this. Has this ruined the enjoyment and overall life for players? Why has this happened and what can be done about this?
 
Signing off for another week
 
Keep being you – Ben
 
 
Hi friends how are you? Today’s topic is a choose your own adventure and I have chosen to write a made up story. For those who don’t know what a made up story is let me tell you. It is a story that you can make up using your imagination, it’s called fiction. 

My story is about the day I saw a Dolphin. Once upon a time I was walking along the beach when I saw a dolphin and the sun was shining and the sky was blue, no clouds at all. The ocean was a pretty blue.

I was feeling very happy when suddenly I saw a dolphin in the water. My heart jumped.
There was the most beautiful dolphin just watching me. All of the sudden it started breaching and rising up and down I was so excited I could hardly breathe.

This went on for a couple of minutes but it seemed like hours, I couldn’t believe it and then suddenly, just like that, it turned and waved goodbye. I nearly cried but my heart was so happy and sad at the same time. That day I was wearing my beautiful dolphin dress with a matching necklace and bracelet. I have now bought a new dolphin tracker necklace and it has a matching tracker bracelet to remind me of this special day. 

Have you ever seen a dolphin and how did you feel? 
I hope you enjoyed my story even though it was a made up story one day I hope it’ll be real?
This is Bethany signing off until next week.


I am Ben Chew and I like music and pizza and I also have a friend called Brianna. I like to come to meet new friends. I like swimming as well. I am excited to be here this morning This program is so much fun where we get to go blogging our own stories. I've got my own Instagram and my own radio show called Everyday People.
I'll see you next week
Ben Chew

Meeting people for the first time can be hard, and daunting..but also rewarding when the conversation flows freely. We are blogging about how we might use an ice breaker to start conversation with others, and how easy, or hard, it can be. Enjoy our weeks entry below, our bloggers personality really shine through in this one.



Hello, beautiful readers and friends!

Today's blog is all about icebreakers, conversation starters, and making a great first impression. When I want to befriend someone new, I always start with a smile. If they smile back, I take it as a sign to approach them and start a conversation.

My go-to introduction is: "Hello, I'm Claire. I'm a smart woman – and I mean that confidently!" This usually brings a laugh, as not everyone is bold enough to say something like that out loud. Then, I share my passions and hobbies, and express my happiness. I find that people are drawn to my positivity.

By sharing my interests and listening to theirs, I create a comfortable space for meaningful connections to grow. That's how I, Claire, make friends!

What about you? What are your favourite conversation starters or icebreakers? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Thank you for reading my blog, Claire.


Good morning to my blogging friends and readers. I love my close friends, they support me. I like to start a conversation by asking how are you and usually people say I am well thank you, how are you? Another question l ask is how is your girlfriend if they have one. In the afternoon I would ask how has your day has been? Sometimes I like to ask people how their lunch is and have they enjoyed it. 
I love talking to my girlfriend Claire and telling my family and friends how lovely she is, how much I love her and how good we are together. Sometimes I get overwhelmed talking to people especially if there is a lot of noise. But my media friends are caring too, 
Thank you everyone, your friend Thomas. 


Hi friends how are you? Today’s topic is conversation starters and how to start a conversation, and to keep it going.  When I researched there are three different suggestions to start and they are 1. Introduce yourself, 2. Ask questions, and 3, offering help.

Let me tell you how I would introduce myself, it would depend on the group though. If it’s a new group for example, I would say “Hi I am Beth what is your name?” Asking questions of people you know is easier and I would say something like “Hi how are you or good morning, how has your day been/going?”
As for offering help to people you know like family for example “Mum can I help with the cooking?” and to friends “I would say do you need a hug or can I help you with anything?”

I love talking to family and friends and telling them what I have been doing. I find talking to strangers hard but I’m learning to get braver.

How do you find talking to family and friends or strangers and what do you do to start a conversation with someone?

Signing out for the week, thankyou readers,
Beth


Dear readers, today topic is how to start a conversation.
Readers, I have a question: how do you start a conversation or use an ice breaker?

Let me start by telling you how I start a conversation. With people I know I would say good morning how are you and I hope you have a good day.
With my blogger friends it's usually "Hi I'm tired", as sometimes it takes me a while to wake up as I'm not a morning person or an afternoon person.
Another way I like to talk to my friends is asking how they are?
If I am not sure of the group or it might be a new group, or one I have just joined, I would say  "Hi my name is Charlotte" and I would share a little bit about myself.

Do you enjoy talking to people?
I find it easy when its someone I know.
Readers I hope you had a great read. 

Written by Charlotte


Hi everyone, Nick here, and welcome to our weekly blog!

Today, we're discussing how to start a conversation with someone new that you'd like to befriend. To begin, it's essential to greet people respectfully and be mindful of their personal space.

Personally, I like to start by introducing myself. I say "Hello", and I may mention how I know them (e.g., "I've seen you around here"), and they often respond with "Yes, I do remember you". This is how it helps me to break the ice.

I then share a unique hobby or interest, like my passion for lawn mowers. I've even fixed them up for racing – yes, you read that right! Most people are surprised to learn that lawn mower racing is a thing, and they often find it intriguing and entertaining, if a bit unusual too. 

By sharing my personal interest, I create a conversation starter that can lead to real connections and friendships.

What about you? What are your favourite conversation starters or hobbies to share with others?

Thank you for reading my blog, Nick.
For anyone who doesn't know me well, I'm not a big fan of starting conversations. I get a
little anxious talking to new people, also with groups of people and people with authority. (for example, police people). This is something that can end a conversation for me, before it can even start. I know that eye contact and speaking clearly are good foundations for a good conversation. Although sometimes eye contact is not possible, (shout out to my friends who may struggle with eye contact, you are valid.) I have found that starting off saying that I'm a bit anxious and might not be great in the conversation is helpful for me to take the 
pressure off, and it gives the other person an insight as to why I might not be at ease in 
the conversation.
From my years of experience with conversations with people, I have learnt that you can pretty much start a conversation with anything, it might even be something you can laugh about later. 
Even if, like me you're anxious and you start by explaining you are feeling that way, you can say something like “do you want to hear a fun fact?”, maybe tell a really awful 
dad joke which will start a conversation about how awful dad jokes are or even talk about your pets. I like talking about my dog and I will sometimes ask “do you want to see my dog?” (I show photos from my phone) and it leads into a conversation about dogs and if they have a dog. I have had someone start a conversation with “I know where you live.” 
Normally I wouldn't recommend starting a conversation like that but luckily for me that person is my best mate so it worked well for her and she wasn't wrong, she did in fact knew where I lived which was right down the road from her.
Once I get comfortable with people, I will talk their ear off until the cows come home or they ask me to stop whichever comes first and it's the highest compliment from me when I'm comfortable because it is hard work for me to get to that. 
I would like to end this blog by saying that I hope you are always met with kindness and respect when having conversations, no matter what walk of life you come from or what your abilities, because you have the right to be heard and your feelings are valid.
Thank you for joining the conversation and i look forward to our next blog,
Your friend always,
Shan.

Hello and welcome to another blog. Today we are talking about how to start a conversation. For me, it’s always sport or media. I feel like these are topics I can easily stay engaged with and focus my energy on my favourite things rather than focusing on the negatives. I also love talking about my favourite TV shows or movies. My favourite TV show is either Court Cam or any real-life police show. I also love Thank God You’re here and The Amazing Race. 

How do you like to start conversation? Do you have any specific conversation starters that you know both people will enjoy?

Keep being awesome. 

Ben

We all have a creative outlet, even if we don't realise. Do you dance, do you sew? Painting and drawing and even researching ideas for a party is a creative thing to do. Creativity is about allowing yourself to make mistakes. And learn from it. Our bloggers are realy quite creative and share their favourites this week. 


What sparks my creativity? 
I’m a very creative person, I love to find different ways to be creative through art, sewing, problem solving, tech and so many more creative outlets. I throw different ideas around in my brain and hope that it makes something beautiful or makes something work better. My creativity can also be really weird and may only make sense to me. That’s what’s magical about being creative you can create your own world through creating art or whatever it is you're creating. It doesn’t need to translate to others because they can create their own meaning from what you’ve created.  
Sometimes I’m not even thinking about being creative I just start doing and it’s wonderful because my brain does far too much thinking.  could power most of Australia with the power I’d generate from the amp of over-thinking I do. 
My first love was drawing. I’ve always loved drawing because I saw how good my mum was at drawing and it was something I wanted to also do. So I suppose my love for creativity started with my mum. Young Shan was inspired to be creative through admiring her mum’s drawing talents, and that’s a beautiful thing to think about. 
Sewing was born through a desire to learn something new and also because of COVID lockdowns. I love the endless possibilities for creativity and that I can create something from nothing. I use a sewing machine now but when I first started, I was hand sewing which takes a lot longer but is wonderful at keeping my brain quiet and it’s very relaxing for me. It’s super rewarding when I finish a sewing project and I get to appreciate my handiwork. I also really enjoy making things for people and I love that it makes people happy. Another thing that sparks creativity is a love for making others happy while bringing myself joy aswell, what a win-win. 
Honestly I could talk all day about the different forms of creativity I enjoy and what sparks them however, that would be a short novel not a blog. I believe the main thing that sparks my creativity is my own creative mind. I have always loved being creative and creating weird and beautiful things. 
What sparks your creativity and what is your favourite creative activity? 
Go be your awesome selves and choose kindness! 
Your friend always, 
Shan 

What’s sparks your creativity?
Usually my brain sparks my creativity, sometimes it sparks too much creativity for me, and I don’t know where to begin. 
I had an idea to start another blog but  I would do a puzzle and watch movies of the same theme. 
For example Disney puzzles, I would watch Disney movies. Superheroes puzzle, I would watch superheroes movies.  It went well, but then I had another idea of taking photos while I’m out in nature.  Im not a pro but it brings me joy, and im learning how to use filters and make more prettier photos. 
But I get into my head too much and I annoy myself and pick out things I don’t like about it or it not taking me anywhere. So I go into a down spiral and lack creativity, but it soon comes back to me with something different like drawing. I like trying to draw lyrics but in form of an illustration.
The other day I drew a skeleton hand with a halo and a human hand holding each other with  the lyrics from death cab of a cutie song “I will follow you into the dark”. But drawing kind of scares me due to all of the copyrights rules, so I just leave my artwork either in my portfolio or procreate. 
So really my brain is like a computer with many tabs opens and sometimes it freezes and then I get stuck but then I get re booted onto a different creative hobby.    
Haley.

When I am being creative I love it.  When working on my engine and when I cant get something undone, I use a big pole to jimmy the nuts off.  
Sometimes I have to crawl under the mower, but first I use a winch to jack it up.  I make sure the hooks are on tight and in the correct place.

I can look at a problem and figure out what tool I should use to solve it, like with engines. I love working on motors and figuring out how they work.
I have figured out that it's important to be safe, I always keep the winch on to support what I'm working on.  
Nick

Hi my beautiful readers, how are you? Today’s topic is what sparks your creativity. How I get creative is by knitting, karaoke, colouring-in and occasionally I do diamond art.

I am learning to knit and my plan is to make a poppy headband. It is relaxing but it’s very stressful while I'm learning how to knit and sometimes I have dropped a stitch, but that’s ok I can ask for help. When I first started learning to knit I was at blogging and Delia helped me and we did it during our break time. In a few weeks when it’s cooler we will start again.

I love singing especially at Dinner with Friends once a month and my friend Amelia always supports me.
I have many songs I love to sing to myself and to my friends.
Do you have a favourite song?
I do colouring to help me calm down or to relax and I love any colouring books. We have lots at Umbrella to do on a Monday and I love it.
I sometimes do diamond art because it’s calming and relaxing and it’s really fun to do different themes and it feels satisfying when I finish it.

What do you do to be creative?
This is Bethany signing off until next week.


My friend Aly she is special, kind, She is good and support me. I like music and I like to sing with her.   
Hello readers, today I am very happy to see my friend Aly joining our blogging group we used to be at the same school together and she is special, kind, and she is a good friend to me. My creative way to express myself makes me feels happy when I dance and on Tuesday night at Dinner with Friends I got to dance with my beautiful girl friend Claire. 
I love watching YouTube videos about dancing and this is the way I learned dancing. My love of music has made me dream about becoming a DJ. Since I was a little boy I have been watching HR Puff and Stuff. I like to watch Home and Away. Thank you for reading my blog, Thomas 

Disney is my favourite.
love to dance and sing and Disney music is the best
Disney makes me dress up, my favourite dress is the blue one like Cinderella. I love to pretend and dance all the time.
Cooking is creative I love to cook with my mum, fish was so yum with all the veggies.
My other favourite things to make with mum are chicken schnitzel with gravy and lemon. I like to get creative with mum and do baking like cakes and banana bread with a nice cuppa tea.
Singing is creative too and every Monday at handmade I sing at the park with my Umbrella
friends. I like to make up my own dances and songs.
Tuesdays is a creative day for me and I made a bear for Thomas with a love heart. I have done paintings and drawings too.
I listen to music on my phone and like to have music playing all the time. I go dancing with my friends on Wednesday nights we practice together and it is a lot fun. I am good dancing and I have been doing it since a little girl. 
Thankyou for reading my blog, Claire. 

Dear readers, today topic is creativity. I like to cook or plan for my big birthday coming up in a few months.
With my cooking I research recipes for dinner that are quick and easy.
I use Google or my recipes books to look for delicious meals or sometimes I go back to my favourite recipes which are Leek Chicken, Leek soup, coconut chicken and rice and spaghetti bolognese just to name a few.

Regarding my birthday I’m using pinterest for ideas for the most perfect cake, the theme and decorations, nails, invites and outfits.
I like to use pinterest when planning big events for ideas.
Do you use pinterest or Google to research ideas 

Written by Charlotte 


Good morning readers, my name is Alyshia I am happy to start blogging again and I hope you will enjoy reading my blog. Today, we are writing about what sparks my creativity.

Art. I love doing my art work with paint brushes and tools to create my art with my mind and I love using bright colors to do my beautiful paintings. It makes it stand out a lot better and makes me feel so happy inside. I love to make shapes and patterns with tapes and I'm so proud of myself.

Cooking. I really enjoy my cooking every Tuesday with Jessy we make different dishes together and I love the taste of the different meals that I make with her. I have a few favorites that we make often for example taco bowl, lettuce cup and butter chicken. I love good food and it makes me happy when I prepare dinner for family. I also go out for dinner with friends and my family.

Music and dancing. I love to listen to country music, and sometimes I listen to rap music, I also love pop music as well. For me, music is so beautiful to listen to. I love all the different kind of music and it makes me feel so relaxed, calm and it amazes me.

Thank you for reading my blog kind regards Alyshia 


Hello, and welcome to my latest blog. Today we are talking about creativity and how we are creative in our own lives.  I love tie dye and how different colors mean different things. Tie dye looks awesome and it helps people express who they are. It was first invented in 4000BC in India although it dated back to the 5th century in the Sui dynasty in China. It returned to trend in the 21st century and I personally love it. I got a tie dye pillow case and doona cover for Christmas. I love bright colours as they get me thinking about happy things and happy memories. I also associate tie dye with Summer and that also makes me happy. I love how different cultures have different techniques and how it looks so different but expresses the same thing. I also love how baristas are creative with their coffee art. It’s cool how they have their own artistic ideas and how they maneuver the milk to make the art. The word barista originates from Italy. The founder of the barista was Rajat Agrawal and the first barista was Pascal Rosee. 

Keep being awesome

Ben

​We’re feeling love this week. Being Valentine’s Day, we thought we’d take the opportunity to write about something (or someone) we LOVE!
 
As an additional challenge, today our support worker Jessy gave our bloggers a challenge to add the word “reminisce” to their blogs.
 
The Oxford dictionary describes the word reminisce as the following – to indulge in enjoyable recollection of past events. We decided that it meant to remember something fondly.
 
 
Hello lovely readers,
 
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I wanted to share my thoughts on love. As you know, I'm all about spreading love and kindness.
 
I'm thrilled to say that I've found my true love, Thomas. We met at Dinner Friends, but we didn't talk until we joined a program called Hellow Media. That's where our friendship began, and eventually, Thomas asked me to be his girlfriend. I said yes!
 
Thomas and I love doing things together. We go to the movies, participate in Hellow Media, Just Write, we go bowling, and attend Dinner Friends.
 
I'm so grateful to have Thomas in my life. I have been reminiscing about him a lot lately. He's an amazing person, and I feel lucky to have him as my boyfriend.
 
Thanks for reading, and Happy Valentine's Day to all my lovely readers! 
 
Claire
 
 
Thinking back about when my 2 nanas were alive and my pop.
They all had the kindest souls.  To me they were the greatest grandparents, they gave all of the grandchildren, all the love they needed, if not more.
 
My family often reminisce all of the memories we had with the grandparents. 
My nana Shirley, she was the kindest soul. I remember, walking home from school one day, as I was walking up to my house, there she was waiting for me and my brothers to come home. 
 
When we would go over to her house, we would do chores for her and my pop, to help out.  She would secretly give us $1 for helping.  And she would have a lolly jar, where she had her minties in it, still to this day, we have the lolly jar in the cabinet.  
 
She was the type of person who would never lie, but she told a fib about the place where she works, she said before she got the job, the workers had to roll their eyes out of the sockets. 
 
My Pop.  We called him Bob, he was a little grumpy, but nonetheless, whenever we would stay over at their house, he would wake us up at 6am, he would make the best omelette, but he would  get us involved by cutting up the ingredients. I also remember we went to a park for mushroom picking.  
 
He also had a veggie garden, we would pick the ripe veggies for him, but really it was 1 for the bucket, 1 for me. He didn’t mind. At all. 
 
Mary is my other nana, she was a lovely lady, 
When I was younger, I would get into her car, she told me. The car wouldn’t start unless I sung to it. So I sung to it!
 
When I got older, we would talk about horror movies and ink master the tv show.  We would go to the market, I would help her with her shopping, we would get in a bit of mischief, but no harm to anyone. 
 
Grandparents give the kindest and greatest love of all. 
Even if they’ve passed away, the memories will always be remembered and cherished. And you can always reminisce about the great memories, and you can feel their love again.
 
 All the best Haley.
 
 
Hello and welcome to another week of blogging. Today we take a trip down memory lane as we reminisce about the past and how it has shaped who we are today.
 
When I think about my past my mind always to 2008 when Hawthorn won the grand final and I was there. I also remember the time I fell in love with rugby league. I was up in Queensland waiting to be transported back to Melbourne after a femur fracture. It was NRL grand final day and it was a Queensland derby between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Brisbane Broncos.
 
I was a cowboy’s supporter for 3 years before I realized there was a Melbourne team. I have been a member of Melbourne Storm since 2008 and never looked back.
 
In 2005 I had Starlight wish where Spider Everett carried me through the Hawthorn banner. I remember also breaking my leg on a camping trip and not knowing as I have no feeling in my legs. My body went into shock and that’s how we knew. It’s amazing how my brain can remember things from 20 years ago but not from yesterday. How is your short-term memory?
 
What about your long-term memory? What are some of your favorite childhood memories?
 
Keep being your awesome self!
 
Ben
 
 
Tell your pets I said hi,  
Now the heading I have started with here has absolutely nothing to do with our topic today, I just felt it was important that I say hi. I will say hi to my animal family members for you our readers as well because why not?
 
I suppose this might actually tie into our topic too, we are talking about love and we have been given the challenge of using the word reminisce.
 
Technically I have already used the word so challenge done right? Look at me finding a loophole in everything, but no I will actually use the word properly.  
Now what does the word Reminisce mean? I’m so happy you asked! According to Merriam-Webster.com Reminisce means to talk or think about things that happened in the past. I think it’s something that I do quite a bit and I was happily reminiscing about my cats before I started writing this blog. Both cats have crossed the rainbow bridge now however they had very full lives filled with love and many laughs.
 
Pandora a beautiful black cat and Sirbastian a grey and white cat. They were complete opposites of each other Pandora the strong and sleek type of cat and Sirbastian the beautifully handsome but also a tad round.  
 
I do remember that Sirbastian would hunt feathers and he was always so proud that he caught the feather, he also used to sleep on a baby mattress that was under my bed and after he passed away, I kept the mattress under my bed for a long time because it had his fur on it and I wanted to feel close to him.
 
Pandora would sit with me in the backyard and we would just hang out like best mates. I remember when she would tell me off she would tap me with her paw and she never got her claws out because she was a gentle girl. I would also like to say that she was a good luck black cat. Black cats are not bad luck at all, they are good luck and you can’t change my mind.  
 
I remember my cats with all the love in my heart and I like to think that they are watching over all of us from the giant litter box in the sky.  
 
Also just to add I recently came across a gorgeous group of St Andrew’s Cross spiders (separate webs but same garden) and they look so peaceful in their webs it just made me so happy and grateful to be able to see them. Such beautiful creatures we have to appreciate in our world. Side note I saw them from a safe distance and would never try and touch them. I respect the space of all creatures always.  
 
Have an absolutely fantastic week filled with sunshine and gratitude!  
Love your friend,  
Shan.  
 
 
 
Hey friends, welcome back to our blogging corner! Today, we're talking about love and using a new word: "reminisce". According to the Cambridge dictionary, it means to think or talk about happy memories from the past.
 
One of my favourite memories is when I started writing made up stories. I was around 9 years old, and I would write about things I saw or felt. Some stories were happy, some were sad, and others were funny.
 
I'd like to share one story with you. I was sitting on the floor in my living room, looking out the window, when I saw something beautiful - a white butterfly sparkling in the sunlight. I loved butterflies, and this one inspired me to make up a story. I had my headphones on, and music was playing, but I couldn't take my eyes off that butterfly. I really love butterflies in general and I love how I feel about them.
 
What are some of your happy memories?
This is Beth signing off until next week.
 
 
 
Hi readers, the subject today is love or something you love to do. It can be anything like a hobby, listening to music, your family and I remember when I had a quad bike and the things that we got up to it is hilarious.

One time I went over the handlebars like superman. I was riding my quad so fast and there was a ditch and I fell off. It was so funny, my dad and my grandpa were watching from the balcony and were laughing at me. Luckily, I didn't get hurt.


Another time I was riding very fast around paddocks surrounded by a big hill doing donuts. I didn't fall off, it was so funny.

Another story is about climbing hay bales and jumping off and rolling down the hill. I did hit my head and I was not badly injured.

I have enjoyed reminiscing about my childhood memories today, I hope you have enjoyed reading about them and got a laugh too.
 
Daredevil Nick signing off until next time.
 
 
Dear readers, today's topic is love and I have been challenged use the word reminisce.
 
Let me start telling you about the word reminisce and what it means and it got me thinking of some memories.
 
This week is a mixture of feelings and memories some sad, some
happy, for me.
 
I would like to talk about my dogs who were rehomed.
 
They were two German shepherds and our first dog was called Lady and was a big puppy and then later we got a second dog and his name was Diesel.
 
They played and slept together and they were both  very hard to handle when we would walk them at the same time and we all loved our shepherds.
 
Another dog we have is a small French bulldog called Gucci. We love her and she is great at understanding how we are feeling especially this week.
 
Readers I have a question: do you have a pet that is there for you?
I have enjoyed talking about my dogs.
 
Written by Charlotte
 
 
 

Hello readers,
 
Today, I want to talk about love. I'm excited to share that I have a new niece, and I already love her so much. She's adorable, and being an uncle is an amazing experience. I feel very protective of her and want to make sure she's safe and healthy.
 
I've also been lucky to have close friends who support me when I need it. They're kind, respectful, and understanding.
 
In addition, I've met someone special - my girlfriend Claire. She's a lovely, caring, and kind person.
 
I'm also grateful for my family, who are always supportive of me. My mum is especially sweet, and I appreciate everything she does for me. I love her very much.
 
Thanks for reminiscing with me.
 
Thanks for reading my blog, Thomas.

It's that time again for our bloggers to get creative with their choose your own adventure blogs. We hope you enjoy love reading what our guys love to get up too, and what is important to them. Enjoy!


I love the 101 Dalmatians. 
I like the movie better as it's a funny story. Cruela de Vil steals the puppies and I don't like that, but is all works out in the end. It is an interesting story. 
I like to go to Datability with my support worker Jordan, 
I love my friends Zoe, Cindy, Ben, Claire, Nick, Jordan, Krystle and Matt. 
Thomas

Hello readers, welcome back to my blog. Today we are choosing our own topic. My first thought is always about my beautiful family and this is what my topic is going to be. In my family I have my mum Josie, dad Jim, my brothers are Michael and Robert and of course I am the Princess Claire. I am blessed to have a family like mine we care about each other. My mum is an amazing cook, I love everything she makes. My dad enjoys gardening at the moment he has beetroot, zucchini, beautiful flowers, lemon trees and a lot more that I will not mention here. Both my brothers work, and I am a lady with multiple talents. I am also an Aunty to three boys and two girls. There names are Ralph, Santo, Liam, Lexi, and Michaela. My family and spend a lot of time together, we travel and we have a lots of fun together. 
Thanks for reading my blog, your lovely friend, 
Claire 

We made my crazy cart big this weekend by cutting it in half and adding a piece so I don't have to fold myself in every time.  

I want to put brakes on my crazy cart so I don't have to use my feet when I want to stop.  I am also using an old ride-on mower for parts and I would like to get it going.  It is rusty, I poke holes in the chassis with the screw driver it is so old.  I looked at getting the fuel filter out but it was so old and dried up that it was hard to get on or off.  

I went to the lobster festival on the weekend and I had a good time. I just looked around and with my firefighter friend he let me turn on the water pump on the big fire engine, which was a thrill.

Thank you readers,
Nick


Hey friends and welcome back to our blogging corner, its a choose your own adventure theme today. I have chosen to write about getting my nails done. Something about me that I would like to share with you is I am a very girly girl and the things I enjoy doing are my nails. I have had different designs done on them and I love it.
This year for my birthday I got SnS baby blue french tips with butterfly transfer for my special day. I love getting my nails done because it’s relaxing and you can sometimes put your own music on if it’s not too loud. I try to get them done whenever they have grown out and I like to do different shapes.

Something new I would like to do is my eye lashes. If you want to get them done go to someone who is professional and don’t do it yourself. I am not sure if I want them because they are very high maintenance, it cost a lot of money and I don’t know if I have the patience to sit there for hours.

Is there anything new you would like to try?
Thank you for reading my blog, this is Bethany signing off until next week.


Where is the instruction manual? 

For anything that happens in life, I wish there were instructions that I could turn too and then it would feel a lot less stressful. Though, that would probably ruin the life experience and we’d probably never learn from our mistakes because we wouldn’t be going down our own path. We would be on the journey but following the instructions instead of our own minds and heart. I wonder if it would feel like our life is pre-planned for us and would we feel in control of our own lives? 

Writing this blog started as a struggle and I almost wanted to be told what to write because I was coming up blank. That’s what brought me to wanting an instruction manual for life but after reading the first paragraph you might have noticed I seem to have talked myself out of needing or wanting an instruction manual. Life is an extremely crazy time, with ups and downs but isn’t it wonderful that we are all going through life together? It’s really cool to know that there are so many who have come before us and left their own unique mark or stamp in life. Obviously I’m really into history, I really love people of the past and their stories of their life and experiences because they are important. 

Hopefully I have inspired you to find someone from our history (or any historical time) and learn about their life’s journey, it’s important that we don’t forget the past and the path that led us to today. Maybe in a way they are our instruction manual, as long as we take the time to learn and respect each person unique journey and story then we are really doing great things. 

I feel it’s important to add that with or without the instructions, each and every persons life and journey is important. Everyone has something to add to this life and one day I hope that we all can see the value that each of us add. You are always enough and I love you guys! 
​
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog/brain dump, I’m grateful for you and I hope that you have a wonderful week! 
From your friend, 
Shan 


Dear readers this week’s topic is a choose own your adventure.
Let me start by telling you what I have chosen to write about. That is my feelings.
I'm feeling a roller coaster of emotions and I'm not sure how to start. Have you ever felt like that? 

The reason I am feeling this way is because there is a lot going on in my world. I'm feeling sad, calm, happy and anxious all at the same time.

How do you handle feeling these emotions all at the same time?
What I like to do is go outside and enjoy nature, the peace and thr quiet. Often I read one of my favourite books, the Twilight series.
I find I can get into the characters and enjoy the story line. Readers, I have a question. Do you read and if so do you have a favourite book or author? 

I talked to some blogger friends and they like to watch tv and currently the show is MAFS for those you don't know. It's Married At First Sight and it's about people getting married to someone they have never seen. I personally like to watch I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here , and Deal or No Deal. I love these shows as they are funny especially the Deal or No Deal host. When these shows are not on, I watch movies on my tv.

Thank you reders for reading my blog. I'm feeling much calmer.

Written by Charlotte

So when I’m in the car, I make up stories about the passing cars. I thought I would share one with you today. 

There’s a car, a Nissan of some sort. 
There’s a man in the driver seat called Geoffrey, a lady named Barbara in the front passenger seat wearing pearls and a lady named Dorothy the back seat. 
Dorothy and Barbara were cheerleader friends since high school, and Geoffrey was the football Captain. They all still do everything together. 

They are heading towards the local Bowls clubs for a round of bowls and lunch.
A few months ago, Geoffrey and Dorothy secretly met up without Barbara, but it isn't what you think. 

They all arrived at the bowls clubs, had a round of bowls, they headed into the bistro for some lunch.  Once they entered the door all of the people in the bistro, yelled out “Surprise Barbara”
Barbara was in shocked, she couldn’t believe herself.  
All of her friends. There were even the ones who were from overseas.
It was a surprise party for Barbara,  Geoffrey and Dorothy planned it.
After the lovely lunch, it was time for speeches and cake. Barbara was so very happy, she said, it was the best Birthday party she ever had. She was so thankful for everyone

Thank you for reading my story, Haley. 


Hello and welcome to a blog about Love. I hope you brought some deuce. That's a tennis reference for those wondering. 
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Australian Open with work for All Ability’s day. I saw heaps of people in wheelchairs and they even had a blind tennis showcase on one of the courts. During the day, I unexpectedly ran into a friend who I hadn’t seen in about ten years who I met during a media course I did. It’s amazing to see events like this adapt to people with a disability.
 
I would love to see accessibility become normal and people with a disability not be seen as special at these events. I also got the chance to see Dylan Alcott who I’ve met a couple times at Ability fest. What do you think accessibility should look like at events? Do you think it will ever become normal? Have you ran into someone you know, unexpectedly after a long time?
 
Keep being awesome
 
Ben 

This is who I’ve met OR who I want to meet…
 
Lets show off a little! OR a lot!
 
Today’s blog has our writers sharing stories of famous people they have either met or would like to meet. This one is going to be FUN!
 
 Today's blog is about celebrities and who we have or would like to meet. 
I have met Blinky Bill in Queensland when I went to a theme park. I like The Wiggles, I haven't been to a show yet but with my support worker I will. Anthony, the blue Wiggle is my favourite because he likes food, like fruit- salad. And bananas. He's a good dancer and he is strong. So I would love to meet the Wiggles.
 
In Japan I saw the Aladdin characters, Jafar was so cool. And there were camels too.
I have some wonderful friends. Cindy, Krystle and my support workers. Matt is fantastic. I love my true love too. 

My best big brother Chris will come with me to New York soon and I hope to meet some celebrities there. New York have the big yellow taxi's.
 
I enjoy the wrestling and the music, so when I go to New York I would love to go to a wrestling show like Smackdown. I also enjoy hip-hop girls and their music.
I hope that celebrities are nice, and they would calm me because I would like to meet them. Thank you for reading my blog, Thomas.
 
 
Hello and welcome to my first blog for 2025. Today we have decided to blog about famous people we would like to meet or have met in the past. I have met heaps of famous people in the past. From sport stars like Dylan Alcott, Peter “Spider” Everett and Chaz Mostert just to name a few. I’ve also met Natalie Bassingthwaite (my celeb wife).

I would love to go to America to meet the Pittsburgh steelers and Pittsburgh penguins. While I’m there I would like to go to Manchester to meet the Manchester united players.  I have also met heaps of people through my podcast “Ben Sport talk”. Who have you met? Who would u like to meet?
 
Thanks for reading my first blog of 2025 and always remember to KEEP SPORTY!!!!
 
https://open.spotify.com/show/682cXPtR6B3iXN2ESgSd3Z?si=Go_GTzlHQoezn52WVvDNiQ
 
 
 Who would you like to meet or who have you met?
Celebrities are just people with a big fandom, but I have met a handful of famous people. Channel 7 hosts a Good Friday appeal telethon where most of the Channel 7 stars,  volunteer for a meet and greet. 
 
I went there a few times, and I have met Chris Hemsworth (AKA Thor) 
He was so lovely, I needed help to get off the stage and he stood up and showed me the way. 
 
The person I would love to meet is Johnny Depp. Ever since I was little, I’ve wanted to meet him. I also have a plan if I ever did meet him, to convince him, I was his wife. I won’t go into details, it’s a bit of a hostage situation, so I won’t mention too much, also it will probably never happen. 
 
If I could bring famous people back to life, there’s a whole heap of people I would like to meet but I’ll just name a few.
 
The members of the 27 club,  including Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse,
and Jimi Hendrix.  Why are they in the 27 club, you may ask?  It’s because they passed away at the age of 27. 
 
Another great person I would love to bring back is Robin Williams. 
He was a hilarious man, made everyone laugh. His movie Jack is my favourite. 
 
A few more people I would love to bring back to life in order to meet them are Heath Ledger (Dark Knight movie), River Phoenix (he passed away in front of the Viper Bar which was Johnny Depp’s Bar), see the connection there. Brandan Lee (The Crow), Brittany Murphy (Girl Interrupted), Steve Irwin  our very own Crocodile Hunter.
 
This isn’t going to happen without a seance but, I could try to arrange it. 
Haley
 
 
Hi readers, today's topic is about my favourite celebrity and how I would like to meet them. The celebrity I chose is super cool because he is the one and only Snoop Dogg, I have been a fan since forever. I got to see him performing at his awesome concert two years ago and I had a blast.

I would have loved to meet Snoop when he was here but it was very expensive. 
I love his music, and also the other rappers from both the East and West Coast. I like to learn the lyrics and understand the beef they have with each other. Like Drake and Kendrick Lamar.  

I have met one person who is famous on Australian TV, his name is David Field. He was the guy in the  "Kill Hungry Thirsty Dead" ad for Oak Milk. I have a photo on my phone.

This is Nick thanks for reading my blog.
 
 
Dear readers, today's topic is a celebrity I would like to meet and I would like to meet Sabrina Carpenter. The reason is I like her voice and I have only recently begun listening to her and really like her new song called Taste. She also has a perfume called Sweet tooth. I was given it for Christmas. I love that it smells like cherry.

Some facts about her are:
1  She was born on the 11th May which makes her a Taurus
2  She isis an American singer, songwriter, and actress
3  She was in the Disney show Girls Meet Worlds 2014 to 2017
4  Sabrina has won many awards for singing and acting
5  Her aunty is Nancy Cartwright, she is an actress but is more famous as the voice of Bart Simpson
6 She is friends with Jenna Ortega and she is best friends with Joey King

Readers I hope you had fun learning about Sabrina. Written by Charlotte

 
Hi readers, welcome back to our blog this week we are blogging about if we wanted to meet a celebrity, who would it be? I love Disney, and I would like to meet all the Disney princesses if I could. I have met Jasmine, Cinderella and Belle. This was in Hong Kong.
 
If I could have met Tina Turner I would have been so happy. I saw the show in the city and I love my t-shirt from the Tina show. I would wave to her, and I would ask her to dance and we would dance the Nutbush and Proud Mary together. 
 
I also love the Musical and the movie, Hairspray. The music is cool and I love the dancing.  My favourite song in the movie is call “I Can Hear the Bells”. I love this song because she is talking about how she feels about this new guy she just met and how this person has knocked her off her feet.
 
Also this movie has a lot of dancing which I love doing in my spare time. I wonder if ever get a chance to be on a live show like Hairspray how awesome that would be. I do have a little experience in performing in front of my friends at Dinner with Friends and I love it because it makes me feel like a superstar.
 
Thanks for reading our blog this week, Princess Claire.
 
 
Hi friends and welcome back to my blogging journey. Today’s topic is the celebrity I would like to meet.  I have chosen Idina Menzel. She is an American actress and singer who was born on the 30th of May 1971 in New York. She is Jewish and her parents originally came from Russia.

During her college years she worked as a wedding singer. She was in the TV show Glee from 2010 to 2013 and she became famous playing a character in the musical Rent.

Another fun fact is in the movie Frozen she sang and spoke the character Elsa both as a child and adult. Did you know that during her performance in Wicked she fell through the trap door and cracked a lower rib. She won a Tony award for her performance as Elphaba.

While Googling about Idina I discovered she could do sign language and there is a video of her signing to the song Into the Unknown. I would love to meet her because I love her voice and her music, she is so pretty. She is not afraid to make mistakes and she seems like a nice person when she has been interviewed.


All the best, Bethany signing off until next week.
 
 
 
Delta Goodrem, Luke Hodge and Lara Jean Marshall.  
What do these three have in common? Well, they are all celebrities, they are very kind and I’ve met them! Honestly I never thought I’d ever meet a celebrity in my lifetime so it was pretty special to get to meet these three!  
 
I went to a Hawthorn football club family day one year and you could meet some of the players and do different activities and one of the activities was to play Wii tennis against a Hawthorn football player and obviously we wanted to play against Luke Hodge. We did get to play against him however me not know how to play tennis in real life or on the Wii didn’t help our chances of winning. Holly and I lost Wii tennis against Luke Hodge and we couldn’t have been happier to be honest.  
 
I happened to notice that Delta Goodrem was the fashion ambassador for Westfield shopping centre one year and that she would be doing a live performance and meet and greet at my nearest Westfield. So I ask my Dad if it was okay if I went and saw Delta on his birthday and I was very grateful that he said yes! So at 7:30am on a weekday I was waiting to see Delta Goodrem at Westfield. I was 4th in line and she wouldn’t be there until at least 1pm but it didn’t matter to any of us. I spent that day being adopted by a group of complete strangers and it was the best day! Delta was extraordinary kind and I got a hug! Such a great experience!  
 
I got to meet Lisa Atwood from the Saddle Club! Lara Jean Marshall who is the actress who played Lisa was so very kind and chatted to us about Saddle Club and sang Hello World with us. I also got to watch her do her radio show too which always so cool! Honestly it pays to have connections and I’m so very very very grateful that I got to have that experience because it made my whole week.  
 
Have you met a celebrity? Do you want to meet a celebrity?  
Have a wonderful day.  
Your  friend 
Shan 
​

Twenty twenty five!
 
When did that happen?
 
Oh, I know, midnight on the 31st December last year! So, here we are with a fresh start, a new chapter to write and so much to offer. We were also so excited to welcome Haley to our talented team and can’t wait to share with you, our readers, the blogs our writers publish this year.
 
2025 is a new year and so this is what I plan.

I want to be a Navy Seal and I know it is a big dream of mine. 

I found weights at the tip where I work and I am working hard on my strength.

I work at the tip which I love because I find lots of awesome things. The best thing I found was my crazy cart, and it was small but I just fold myself into it.  They are fun and I'm looking forward to having more fun with it now I have replaced the batteries with my quad bike batteries. I didn't want to buy new ones when I have some already.

On Monday’s I will keep doing numeracy and literacy and blogging helps with my literacy.  I hope to keep getting better. I have a friend who has an airplane and we talk about putting it on a pole and using it like a weather vane, that would be funny.  

Thank you for reading my blog this week, Nick.
 
 
Welcome to a New Year blog... 
 
Happy New Year to all our readers old and new, I hope that so far 2025 has been good to you. For anyone that hasn’t had the best start to the year I just want you to know that your feelings are valid, you are loved, you are enough and you are allowed to take up space as you’re an important member of our beautiful world. Every day is a new fresh day and know that I am rooting for you and I believe in all of you. Just take it one minute, one hour or one day at a time. Do this year at your own pace and in your own time my friends.  
 
Starting a new year can be extremely exciting with all the festivities and such. Let me tell you though I didn’t make it to midnight, I rarely do get to midnight on New Year's Eve now days, I usually take a series of small naps and then get woken when the fireworks go off. Once upon a time I would stay up and I did parties (small gatherings) or I would spend the night at a friend's house and enjoy the night with good company. Now I enjoy naps until the fireworks scare my dog. He was very calm about it this year, though I'm sure he still feels like the fireworks are unnecessarily loud. For me though this is a perfect start to the new year, naps and my dog. Added bonus if you’re comfy and warm in bed.  
 
I feel like my blogs always end up as a TED TALK, a brain dump or a 300-word venting and education session. But hey this is my brain and it does amazing things for me every day and I haven’t heard any complaints. Mostly because I'm not listening for them.

I wonder what this year will bring for everyone? I’m excited to see and experience the new things that this new year has to offer. I hope that you are too and I wish you all the best for the rest of the year.  
 
Treat each other with kindness,  
 
Your Friend,  
Shan. 
 
 
2025 is a new year. Welcome back readers I am happy to be back. It's important for me to support my friends and they are supportive of me. I love and care for my friends.
 
Cindy is a good support she understands me and I enjoy working with her. 

This year I want to be more open to things that I haven't tried, like working on myself to be friendly with my peers. I will try my best to stay focus on my tasks for the day. I love blogging and I love my job on Wednesday. I have a new job at the coffee shop I go there on Mondays and Saturdays. I like serving the customers the food. There are times when I need to take a break something that I do is going outside to get fresh air or I can go on my phone. It helps me to be calm. 
 
I love my girlfriend Claire, I see her on Thursday we do a lots of fun things together.
Thank you for reading my blog Thomas.
 
 
Hi readers, and Happy New Year.  I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. Today’s blog is about the new year and what lays ahead for 2025.
 
For me, one of my 2025 goals is to get out of my comfort zone and try new adventures. 
Let’s just say I’ve started to pursue my goals.
 
I’ve started a new blogging group, where a group of friends write a blog each week. 
 
On the 2nd of January, I went on a train to the city with my friend and her partner to see Robbie Williams. I give it a 7/10 for a free gig.
 
I’ve also planned a 5km foam run with a friend, and an Amy Shark Concert, this is all in January. I’m also going to Hamilton Island in February with my friend too, on our own.
 
Also I’m trying to do a photo a day with a caption about the photo for fifty-two weeks, so by the end of the year I can look back and see all of my memories of 2025, the good and the bad.
 
Well that’s just two months into my 2025, I can’t wait to see what else the year will bring me. - Haley 


Hey friends today’s topic is what I am looking forward to this year in 2025?

For me it’s my birthday for those who don’t know my birthday is the month after Christmas and it’s the 20th January, this will be my biggest birthday celebration because I will be turning 20 years old. I am still planning on where I will have my birthday. It is very overwhelming for me because I don’t know where to have it or who to invite. I have a few ideas on where to have it , like bowling or karaoke or just having it at home or maybe hire a room, too many decisions.

I am looking to doing my usual activities like Handmade, Cooking, Bowling, Blogging and Hellow Media. Hopefully horse riding and finding out if I can start getting my hours in with my driving instructor, and especially catching up with friends at parties. A special thing I am looking forward to is re-joining a choir as it’s lots of fun.

Looking at my list I think it’s going to be a good year for me.
Do you have plans for this year?
Do you make a New Year’s resolution?  I don’t know if I do but lots of people do have new year resolutions.

Thank you for reading my blog my dear readers,- Beth
 
 
Dear readers, welcome back and Happy New Year. This week’s topic is the New Year.
 
Readers I have a question:- What is something you're looking forward to in 2025?
 
Let me start by telling you about what I am looking forward to this year.
I’m looking forward to achieving my goals like 120 hours of driving and applying for jobs locally. I’m looking forward to my independence and not relying on other people or taxis.
 
I’m applying for jobs in the hospitality industry and I would like it to be local, and if possible in a cafe. Travel is something I'm looking into, hoping to visit my family interstate and fingers crossed there could be a surprise trip.
 
Who knows what the future holds but I’m looking forward to 2025.
 
Do you have plans or dreams for the year or are you just happy to see what the year brings?
 
Written by Charlotte
 
 
Hello my readers, Happy New Year and welcome back to our blog.
I am so happy to be back to my routine and seeing my friends at my regular programs.
 
I had an awesome break over the Christmas holidays. I went to Hong Kong with my family.
 
It was a great experience to be at DisneyLand I felt like a princess. When I was there it was truly magical and I loved everything about it. I was brave and did a lot of scary rides. My favourite part was seeing Belle in Beauty and Beast show. Hong Kong is big and it was hot too but I got to cool down at the pool.
 
This year I am looking forward to my birthday which is in March and my next holiday. My mum is planning another Disney cruise for me because I loved it so much the last time I went and I know it’s going to be amazing. How lucky am I. 
 
Thank you, readers. Until next time, Claire.