I visited My New Shiny Shoes blog on Australia Day and my eye was caught by the picture of a packet of delicious Tim Tams. As an Australian who lived overseas for some time Michelle knows the foods that are associated with home.
Isn’t it funny that it is things like Tim Tams and Vegemite that we see as typical Australian food when we have such an incredible variety of tastes that are native to this land?
Food for Australia Day should really encompass the things we have come to know as Bush Tucker. No, I don’t mean witchetty grubs and so on, although there is a nice supply in the woodpile!
Lemon Myrtle is one of my favourite native plants. I love the scent of the leaves and the distinctive lemony-lime taste. We have lovely native fruits such as the native limes, raspberries and cherries. We have delicious nuts like the macadamia. We have edible flowers and some interesting native herbs and spices. Now that many of these are commercially available there is no reason not to cook with them.
So why don’t we cook with them? Are we too strongly grounded in our European heritage? Are we too stongly attracted by the Mediterranean and Asian influences that we see everywhere? I am all in favour of trying out cuisines of all sorts but I think that we could include the flavours of Australia in that search, too.
If you don’t know where or how to start then why not try a place like Vic Cherikoff and Dining Downunder? He carries a range of native spices, infused oils and sauces. More importantly he also has some recipe books which use our native ingredients. My choice would be the downloadable ebook called the Australian Menu Planning Guide which is great value at only $20.
Perhaps next Australia Day when we throw our good Aussie lamb chops on the BBQ we will have them seasoned with some gourmet Aussie spices as well.
For a good summary of bush tucker plants and where they grow visit Wikipedia, but don’t go out and help yourself as some plants can be poisonous.
Harmony Balls make a lovely soft, chiming noise as you move. The sound can be very relaxing and is a little like the chimes used in meditation.
This lovely little ball is new to Beauty Banquet. The delicate sterling silver pendant has been set with a clear crystal in the top. The silver casing has a latch so that it can be opened. Inside is a ball which contains a delicate bell which chimes or tinkles.
A Harmony Ball is a lovely gift to share with a special person. Not only are you giving them a beautiful piece of jewellery but you are giving them a little peace to keep with them wherever they go.
As you have probably noticed, I love to read other blogs and see what is happening. One of the blogs that I visit is Rainbow Designs, and once you see it you will know why.
Rainbow Designs stocks the most beauttiful gifts - sweets! I was thinking about Valentines for those people far away from us, and what I could send. I found this, and it is called “Hugs from Afar“. Perfect.
Isn’t is lovely? There are many more to choose from, but this pretty cow (not to mention the box of tasty treats) took my fancy.
Rainbow Designs even carry non-sweet gifts for those who prefer something different.
Or you could eat the sweets yourself and just give the hugs!
One of the biggest problems facing micro businesses is the lack of spare cash to spend on promoting themselves.
If you are in that situation then perhaps one of these three options is for you, particularly if your business or service is available to Australia, where these programs are running.
They are summarised in this little download pdf. Just click here to start the download.
Over at The Tall Poppy I saw a great little slide show of the items that are new in stock. One of the new pendants was made of purple jade. It is called the Purple Jade Flower Drop Pendant.
It was the colour that first caught my eye but I also love the delicacy of the silver flowers and vine that wrap around it. It is a generous sized pendant measuring 5cm x 2cm. The stone is ‘bombay jade.’
Jade is a stone that has been used throughout history and it dominates the art and culture of many Asian countries. Purple Jade usually comes from the deserts of Turkey and was widely used in the area to decorate their homes and their bodies. Purple jade was also used by the Romans to decorate their temples ( or so folk lore tells us). The colour purple has long been associated with mysticism, wisdom and love. You see it in the churches and robes of many religions.
The colour and design of this piece really appeal to me. Available at Beauty Banquet now.
Welcome to the January 2008 edition of mothers in business carnival.
We had a lot of submissions again this month which is great. I would appreciate a link back from authors whose submissions are listed here.
I would also like to remind authors that the topic must be of specific relevance to women in business, not just business in general. This carnival began because women find issues and challenges from business that men do not encounter. The carnival is designed to collect useful information all together in one spot as a resource for women in business.
Without further ado………………
Liz Fuller presents Today’s Woman Entrepreneur - Alicia Rosam of Ali J posted at More Than WE Know, saying, “Many entrepreneurs tell me that marketing and sales is their least favorite aspect of running their business. Go behind the scenes with this remarkable young entrepreneur and discover her secrets for gaining visibility in dozens of online and offline mediums. Even though she has only been in business a few months, her artwork is now hanging in public and private collections in 22 countries. There are bound to be some suggestions that you can mirror and apply to your own business.”
Lauren Franklin presents Once upon a time… posted at Finding my mommy voice.
Kenton Newby presents Can You Really Make Money Showing People “How To”? posted at KentonNewby.com, saying, “I had a talk with a family member the other day. He commented that he just didn’t understand how you can make money showing someone “how to”. Do you have that same blind spot? Let’s consider an example and I’ll let you do the math and be the judge.”
Michelle Cramer presents Overview - How to Write a Business Plan – Part 1 of 8 posted at GreatFX Business Cards, saying, “Part 1 in an 8 post series. If you’ve started a business or are thinking about doing so, then you’ve probably heard that you need a business plan. If you in any way hope to have investors support your company growth or to obtain a business loan, you have to have a business plan. You won’t even be considered without one. It is more or less the sales pitch for your business.”
Jenny presents November Earnings Report posted at the so called me.
sglover presents Sales & Marketing Women’s Biggest Business Challenges posted at Business & A Cup of Tea.
Hill Robertson presents Turn Your Passion into Your Profit posted at Hill Robertson.
Jay M presents Business Plan Basics II posted at 4 entrepreneur, saying, “How to write a winning business plan!”
Michelle Cramer presents How to Improve Your Credit Score posted at GreatFX Business Cards, saying, “What you need to know and do to improve your credit score.”
GWN Lifestyle presents Souper Easy Dinner posted at GWN Lifestyle, saying, “Soup and salad for dinner. Easy to accommodate to anyone’s busy lifestyle.”
Christine presents Finding Your Special Talent posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France.
Holly Ord presents Calling All Women Entrepreneurs posted at Menstrual Poetry.
GWN Lifestyle presents Girls Who Network Grow Rich Teleseminar posted at GWN Lifestyle.
iamawahm presents Be A Balanced Mom posted at Mom Works at Home.
Hill Robertson presents It’s a New Year - Get Your Butt in Gear posted at Hill Robertson.
Tiffany Washko presents Can You Make Money With a Blog? posted at Tiffany Washko - Mother, Writer, Environmentalist.
Liz Fuller presents Blogging and PR: Six Principles to Live By posted at Business and Blogging, saying, “Many small business owners want to market their business with a blog but don’t know where to begin. This post gives you six principles that you must implement to develop a successful business blog”
Liz Fuller presents 5 Questions You Need to Ask Yourself Before It’s Too Late - More Than WE Know - Information, Inspiration and Support for Women Entrepreneurs posted at More Than WE Know, saying, “We all think we are going to remember all the challenges, successes and mistakes we make, but in reality we forget much more than we remember. We need to take action if we are really going to reap the benefit of our experiences”
Michelle Cramer presents Business Instincts vs Data posted at GreatFX Business Cards, saying, “As business owners, we face a constant battle when it comes to the decisions we make - should we go with our gut instinct or chose based on the facts? It’s an everyday part of keeping things running, and can sometimes cause a bit of stress if our instincts and the data don’t match up.”
Christine presents Monetizing Your Website Through Inspiration and Desire posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France.
Jay M presents 10 Critical Steps to Writing a Business Plan posted at 4 entrepreneur, saying, “10 Critical Steps to Writing a Business Plan”
Matt OConnor presents How To Cash In With A Single Web Page posted at Adventures In Internet Marketing.
Sagar presents Balancing Work and Family: 100 Resources for Pregnant Career Women posted at Bootstrapper.
Balancing work and family; a woman’s point of view
Hueina Su presents Take Action Monday Challenge posted at Intensive Care for the Nurturer’s Soul.
Vahid Chaychi presents Can Your Life Partner Be as Your Business Partners Too? posted at Weboma.com.
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of mothers in business carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Technorati tags: mothers in business carnival, blog carnival.
Have you heard of Free Stuff Day? It is a new site here in Australia that gives you the opportunity to win stuff for free. They have even given away a car!
The way it works is that lots of businesses register at the site and offer goods for free. As a customer all you need to do is register and work your way through the listed companies identifying the things you really want. Answer questions, refer friends and earn points. The more points you earn the better position you are in to win the goods.
This is different from a standard freebie site because members have to work for their rewards so it brings a different customer base. These are people who are actually interested in the good offered by certain companies, not just hunting for a freebie. This is a win-win situation for all. Businesses build their mailing lists to targeted customers and customers get special offers and possible free items.
Clever idea. www.freestuffday.com.au
INSIDE THE FRIDGE of WAHM’s - how working mums manage it all!
Ever wondered how mums who work from home actually manage to keep the home running and run a business? As working mothers ourselves, we know how hard it is to juggle everything successfully. I know that I usually drop one of the balls as I juggle! We decided to talk to some successful WAHMs and find out how they do it.
Inside the Fridge is a sneak peak into the lives of some wonderful WAHM’s from around the world. Mums such as Jen The Domestik Goddess, Laura The Organising Junkie, Jodie from Groovy Games, Anita from Mommy’s Helper Online, Michelle from Tonic Gifts and many many more. We have interviewed them all and dragged from them their quick and easy dinner ideas to help us all be able to juggle the many different hats that we wear as mums. They have given hints and ideas on how to manage our hectic lives.
One of the most interesting things about these WAHMs is that they all show a sense of humour. Some stories are really funny! Each article captures the personality of the WAHM and the book is a great, fun read. This book is available by download from 2Paupers.com
The old saying “I may not know much abut art but I know what I like” is very accurate. Sometimes I look at a work of art and wonder why it is defined as art. Other times I see gorgeous paintings but can still detect that there is something missing in its makeup.
Why not see how you go in this test? Can you tell who is a real artist and who is the wannabe?
(Oh I love this painting!)
Blog-off!
Win yourself 8 weeks of free advertising on Little Blog of Secrets just by blogging!
The prize will be awarded to the person whose post is recorded as sending the most visitors to the Little Blog of Secrets site. The only rule is that the winner must be able to provide goods or services to Australia. The statistics will be recorded by the stats package behind the scenes, but we have installed a widget onsite which will give you a clue as to how you are going.
The Little Blog of Secrets is designed to support advertising members by referring new customers to their sites, and by reducing the cost of expo participation by giving them a grant towards the cost.
You can try to recruit advertisers and send them to http://advertising.littleblogofsecrets.com/wordpress/?page_id=4
You can promote the site to shoppers and send them to http://www.littleblogofsecrets.com/wordpress
How you do it is up to you. Here is the link to the little movie below. http://www.dvolver.com/live/movies-99540 You might even like to use that. Just remember to link to the correct link address for your purpose.
Now, go for it!
