Happy New Year!!!

Wishing you all heath, wealth and happiness for 2009!!!

Wee Rider - A Fun Ride for Little People on the Go

This year for Christmas we have started to get back into a fitness routine as a family. As part of that we bought a Wee Rider so that we could all go riding as a family. We took it away with us before Christmas when we went on Minibreak up the coast for a few days (we were alittle naughty and got our present before Christmas) and we have used it on the bike tracks near where we live. I have become a big fan of it.

What I like about is is

• Enhanced safety because adult's arms surround child.
• More comfortable, enjoyable riding experience for child - no more staring at your back! - Our son is one of those boys that keeps turning around when he is in the shopping trolley so that he can see forward. He loves to be able to see where he is going. He would have hated one of those baby seats that sit behind the rider.
• No dangling arms or legs to reach wheels.
• Better communication between adult and child - You don't have to turn around 180 degrees ... or yell
  
• Child is visible at all times by rider.
• Child 's needs can be heard, seen and attended to more easily.
• Child can sleep when you are on a ride by putting their head on the padded rest.
  

If you are considering doing some cycling and want to be able to take your little person along ... I would recommend considering the Wee Rider.

Wee Rider in the Press ...

• Babynews.com.au
• Mother and Baby
• Sunday Age Gift Guide
  

At Home Mum told by Vodafone: No Phone for you

I could not believe this when I read this today.

Lyndal Fair, 36, a mother of three, said she was shocked and embarrassed when staff at a Vodafone store told her they didn't sell phones to full-time mums because they don't have real jobs.

Ms Fair is a full-time homemaker for husband Michael and their three children - Hannah, 8, Nicholas, 6, and Gabrielle, 3. She was lucky to be able to stay home to care for their children because Mr Fair earned a good wage as an industrial electrician.

Vodafone spokesman Greg Spears confirmed on 16th December the no-housewives rule and said getting her husband to buy the phone instead was the quickest fix.The policy was meant to stop people signing up for phones they couldn't afford and unfortunately didn't take into account that many stay-at-home mums weren't short of cash.

This is appalling and discriminatory. I would have thought that Vodafone, the world's largest Mobile telephony provider would be more enlightened in its policies.

The additional question is ... is this discrimination illegal?? If a service provider discriminates without looking into an individuals personal circumstances (and therefore capability to meet their contract) and makes a blanket policy that rules out a segment of the community like this is it illegal??

Whatever the case ... I am really surprised that Vodafone would have have such outdated and inflexible policies ... SHAME VODAFONE SHAME

Merry Christmas!!

Words of Wisdom

I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot...and missed. I've failed over and over again in my life. And that's why I succeed. --Michael Jordan

To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition

To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labor tends, and which every desire prompts the prosecution.

--Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) British Author

Cigarette Butt Litter - Dangerous, illegal and bad for the environment

Before I start I will admit I am a non-smoker that has never taken up the habit. It is also fair to say that I am not a fan of cigarette smoking. One of my many objections to cigarette smoking is cigarette butt litter. It is dangerous, illegal and bad for the environment.


Cigarette butt litter is a growing problem in Australia, particularly since the banning of smoking in office buildings, and more recently in pubs and clubs. Australians litter more than seven billion butts each year, with the Keep Australia Beautiful National Litter Index showing that cigarette butts make up a staggering 49% of litter.

Cigarette butts are harmful to our environment and can take years to break down. They can leach toxic chemicals such as cadmium, arsenic, lead and zinc into water within one hour of contact and can be carried by stormwater into our rivers and bays, potentially harming our marine life.

Did You Also Know?

• Cigarette butt litter is the world's greatest environmental litter problem?
• Globally, approximately 4.3 trillion butts are littered every year. In Australia we contribute around 7 billion of those cigarette butts annually. In most western countries cigarette butt litter accounts for around 50% of all litter!
• Almost 1 in every 3 cigarette butts end up as litter.
• Young children are known to pick up and ingest cigarette butts. Reports have described severe toxicity among children who ingested cigarettes, cigarette butts or snuff, including depressed respiration, cardiac arrhythmia, and convulsion
• Cigarette butt litter dramatically increases when smoking bans are implemented.
• In Australia, NSW smokers throw away enough butts to fill up 7 Olympic swimming pools.
• It can take up to 12 years for a cigarette butt to break down.
• Butts have been found in the stomachs of fish, whales, birds and other marine animals, which leads to ingestion of hazardous chemicals and digestive blockages.
• Cigarette Butts thrown from a car windoe can start a roadside fire or even a bushfire
• 7% of Australia's bushfires are caused by discarded cigarettes
• And the final most important thing to know about cigarette butt litter is: Only smokers can stop the litter.

Urgent petition in support of Italian language education

I have received today a letter from Co.As.It that I thought needs to be shared and circulated.

I am a big fan of bilingualism and the work that the Italian government does both within Australia and around the world to support Italian language and culture in migrant communities. I see the drop in funding is a direct threat to this. I encourage you also to sign this petition.

To read the letter from Co.As.It - http://www.coasit.org.au/Events/Urgent-petition-in-support-of-Italian-language-education.aspx

Dear Friend/Colleague,

I write on behalf of the Board of Directors to seek your support.

The Italian Government is proposing a dramatic reduction in funding for the promotion of Italian language and culture abroad of up to 50% starting from 2009.

If this decision is confirmed the teaching of Italian in Australia via Co.As.It.'s Insertion classes in State and Catholic Schools will be dramatically affected with large reductions of students learning Italian to be estimated in the thousands.

It remains difficult at this time to assess the exact future repercussions, however we are sure that the position of the Italian language, culture and community itself, for which generations of Italians worked hard to achieve in Australia will be placed at great risk.

The General Committee of Italians Abroad (CGIE), a worldwide representative body, has organised a petition to be presented to the Italian Government to appeal such a decision.

In order to sign this electronic petition you need to visit the following website:

http://firmiamo.it/petizionemondialecontroitaglidellafinanziaria

The website is in Italian and we hope you will be able to complete it. Please note that one of the compulsory fields is labelled CAP. In Italian CAP stands for Postcode (Codice Avviamento Postale), please enter your Australian postcode and AUS if you wish.

I kindly ask you to share this letter with family, friends, colleagues, students and anyone who shares an interest in the maintenance and promotion of Italian language and culture in Australia.

I thank you in advance for your support.

Lorenzo Fazzini

President

Long Lost At Home Mum ... Back

Hi ... I should apologise for my tardiness for not writing. These last 6 months have been very busy for both myself and my family for boht professional and personal reasons and I have not been able to devote the time necessary to complete this blog. I hope however that things have changed and I hope to be back to writing regularly.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.