35 Words of Some Sort of Wisdom Gleaned from Some 35 Years of Life

1. Peanut butter toast is the ultimate comfort food. Especially when you have a migraine.

2. Reheating your buttered peanut butter toast in the toaster is probably not recommended when your brothers are allergic to peanuts.

3. Don't make any decisions such as point 2 whilst attempting to function with a migraine. In short...don't do anything!

4. The worse you absolutely feel, the more make up you have slathered on your face the most comments on how well you look you will get. One of those inversely paradoxes of a scientific theory.

5. The best 25 words or less competition entries can be written late at night when absolutely shattered. Brilliant poetry can flow.

6. Don't write text messages or blog posts when in above frame of mind...nobody wants to read that verbal garbage.

7. Patterns (sewing, crochet etc) are not designed to be followed...mostly. They just invoke too much stress and perfectionism.

8. Recipes likewise.

9. Measurements in baking are a rough estimate only. Except making Macarons...but I blame the fact mine always fail on our humidity. Well that's what the Parisian chef in the cooking class reckons about the Australian climate. So I am holding up that.

10. There is no such thing as a baking fail. A whole lot of "caramelisation" and "added crunch" is entirely acceptable. Tell everyone you have made a "sunken banana cake" with confidence and everyone will be excited by this awesome use of extra cream cheese frosting.

11. Baking may fail, though, if you do not secure it in the car carefully for transportation. Cleaning pavlova off the backseat of the car is secondly bad only to turning up with an empty tray because the supermarket was closed resulting in no dessert! End of the world.

12. Measure twice in projects, cut once....yes. This is advisable...otherwise you spend hours coming up with creative solutions...and turning it into new projects.

13. Faith doesn't make pain disappear. Faith gives meaning amongst the pain.

14. Smelly things stink...and don't get any more beautiful the more beneficial the aromatherapy properties are. Flowers on the other hand...

15. Always buy yourself flowers. Regularly. Don't wait for someone else to give you them.

16. If you are broke, and can't justify flowers, go foraging. Your neighbour isn't going to notice the missing branch/plant/best roses off their bush...surely.

17. Secateurs are entirely acceptable to take when you go walking, late at night, through the streets of your suburbs.

18. Bending down to "tie" your shoelace is a handy way to snatch succulent cuttings from unsuspecting neighbour's.

19. Succulents are most definitely not unkillable!

20. Be prepared. Think ahead people. Carry your metaphorical pocket knife with you at all times. Know your future, know Christ.

21. Fairy lights make everything pretty.

22. Slow cookers are the best for hospitality and parties. The best.

23. Comparison sucks. Comparison to others, comparison within your self, comparison to those with the same disease. Take tired..there are different kinds of tired...they are not worth comparing they can be worlds apart from each other in meaning.

24. Netflix is your friend.

25. Dark chocolate is your friend.

26. Sunset and water views are good for the soul. The one who created them abundantly more so!

27. You only realise how much you like running until you can no longer run...maybe it's like a withdrawal to a drug! All those good endorphin's and all.

28. Be bold. Teal was my favourite colour before it became everyone's favourite colour and trendy. So now when it goes out of fashion...it will really go out of fashion for me!! Until it has been long enough and then I will be cool before the cool kids again.

29. Coffee. How come it took till my thirties to officially meet you?

30. Turning thirty is good. Not just for the coffee. Much better than your twenties. Mine has been...apart from that whole major chronic illness factor.

31. Play to win. Go hard! Be a (mostly) good sport. Be smart. Think outside the box, or the court, or the cards...But play to win!

32.Words hurt. So does being hit in the face close range by a ball in indoor soccer, and phantom appendix pain, and pimples on your nostrils. It's all relative, and interpretive.

33. You know your body. Trust you. Don't feel dragged down by doctors or others. Trust what you know to be true with your body. I would say trust God more than yourself too...He is the one that knows you intimately!

34. If you are ever wondering "should I keep this?". The answer is always yes, because it may be useful. I don't know if it is my inner infants teacher, crafter or hoarder genetics speaking but yes it will one day be useful!

35. Lists are great! Especially a good to do list. Especially a list you can cross things off. And a list that you get to the end of!