Innehållsförteckning för Issue 43, 2025 från that's life!

We’re thrilled to be announcing the winner of our Pets Win Prizes competition this week. If the suspense is too much, you can turn to page six now to find out who our wonderful winner and runner-up are. Choosing a winner was truly a tall order. Reading through all your entries is genuinely our favourite time of the year. You could hear the, ‘Aww, look at this one!’ and, ‘Oh, I wish we could give them all a prize!’ from team tl! across the office. It’s clear there are many truly incredible pets across Australia and New Zealand. How lucky are we? This year, as well as lots of lovely cats and dogs, our entrants included a baby red neck wallaby, a pair of guinea pigs, a budgie, a miniature…

CHILLI JAM AND BACON FRIED RICE SERVES 4 PREP & COOK 25 MINS 2 x 250g packets microwave basmati rice 3 eggs 1 tsp bottled crushed garlic 250g packet diced bacon 2 tbsp Thai chilli jam paste 200g snow peas, trimmed, thinly shredded 1½ cups frozen peas, corn and capsicum 4 green onions, thinly sliced 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 Heat rice in microwave according to packet directions. 2 Meanwhile, whisk eggs and garlic in a bowl until combined. 3 Heat an oiled large wok over a high heat. Add eggs. Swirl to coat base and halfway up side of wok. Cook for about 1-2 mins, or until just set. Slide onto a board. Roll up and thinly slice. 4 Heat same oiled wok over a medium-high heat. Add bacon.…

Spying a pair of discounted pyjamas on the shelf, I put them straight in my basket. The lovely cotton set had been marked down from $30 to just $2. What a bargain! I thought. I’d needed a new pair, but had held out until I found ones that weren’t just cheap but would last more than one season. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a very frugal person. My mum, Christine, who raised me on her own, instilled in me the importance of sticking to a budget and making a dollar stretch. A bargain shopper, she’d keep her eye out for a good sale, and also handmade some outfits. And while she cooked us nutritious meals at home, we had a special mum-and-daughter date night once a…

The street I live in has its own Facebook page where we can communicate quickly and easily with our neighbours. We give things away, like a glut of homegrown fruit and veg, or kids’ bikes that have been outgrown. Recently we were playing a game of ‘Wrangle the Rabbit’ when a neighbour posted about her escape artist bunny. Sadly, one type of post has become increasingly frequent, and that’s regarding missing deliveries. It seems there’s a porch pirate in our midst – someone who spots a parcel that’s been left at a front door and pinches it. It’s a growing issue around the country. A Finder survey revealed that around 1.4 million parcels were stolen over the past year with an average cost of $145. Here are a few tips…

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As my bub, Sienna, then six weeks old, snoozed in her pram, my phone rang. It was her doctor with the results of her heel prick test. ‘It looks like she might have cystic fibrosis. We need her to have some tests done immediately,’ he explained. I hadn’t heard of cystic fibrosis before, and when I phoned my hubby, Matt, then 23, with the news, neither had he. Panicked, we searched online and were heartbroken to read it was a genetic condition that causes mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system. Whisking Sienna off to a local doctor for blood tests the next day, in April 2015, I tried to stay calm. Back at home with Matt a few days later, a doctor phoned with the results.…

Halloween here isn’t exactly like what we see in the movies. No falling autumn leaves (we’re mid-spring, thanks), no pumpkins on every corner, and not every house covered in cobwebs and glowing skulls. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get into the spooky spirit – we just do it our way. So, whether you’re a fright-night fan or just in it for the lollies, here’s your no-fuss guide to Halloween. FUN FACT While many people think Halloween is an American tradition, it actually began as the Celtic Samhain in Britain and Ireland, celebrating the end of harvest and the beginning of winter. Bonfires were lit to ward off evil spirits and people dressed in costumes! 1 Decor from Bunnings to bone-chilling You don’t need to transform your house into a…

WE PAY FOR EACH PHOTO USED Kit-Kat in her matching hiding spot. Alison Buys, Butler, WA Maize’s first day at the beach. Tania Steward, Kensington Grove, Qld WINNERS ARE GRINNERS I won a $50 prize. Thank you so much that’s life! Trisha Laul, Palmview, Qld WHAT’S ODD? PUZZLE $50 CASH HOW TO WIN... This image has been taken from the film Lawrence of Arabia. We have tinkered with the image and added something that doesn’t appear in the original scene (4). Write which object doesn’t belong only on the entry coupon and you could be a winner. Turn to entry coupon (p50) to enter! Zoe and Maggie always look beautiful after being groomed. Nicole Hudson, Watsonia Nth, Vic My granddaughter Luna had a Dreamsicle Ice Cream Sundae for her sixth…

I ’m sorry, but you can never have children,’ my cardiologist warned. It was March 2021, and, aged 31, the news shattered me. Born with a congenital heart condition called transposition of the great arteries (TGA), it meant the two main arteries leaving my heart are reversed, resulting in poor oxygen flow around my body. So aged two, I had my very first pacemaker inserted to help regulate my heartbeat. Over the years, I had zero complications, but needed to have my pacemaker replaced every seven years. Then in January 2019, aged 28, I moved to Germany for work. There, I fell in love with an Aussie man named Luke, then 29, after meeting on a dating app. But two months later, while I was back at home in Brazil…

Gazing into the wild raspberry bush in the garden, my eyes widened. ‘Wow, they’re so beautiful!’ I gasped. Tiny fairies darted among the fruit. At seven, I’d never seen anything more magical. ‘Who are you talking to?’ asked my mum, Karen. ‘The fairies,’ I said. ‘That’s your imagination,’ Mum laughed. After that, I stayed quiet about the fairies, but I knew that another world existed. When I was 14, a group of us gathered at my friend Claire’s house for Halloween. She pulled out a dusty ouija board. ‘Count me out,’ I muttered. Something about that board felt wrong. Claire placed a glass on the board. ‘Who do you have a message for?’ she asked. The glass moved to the letter R. ‘Rachelle, that’s you!’ Claire shrieked. Suddenly scratching echoed…

Feeling the warmth of the sun on my bare arms, I couldn’t help but smile. I can be whoever I want, I thought, breathing a sigh of relief. Aged 26, it was the first time that I could dress however I wanted, instead of the long-sleeve prairie dresses I’d been made to wear my whole life. Born into a radical religious sect, The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), I was one of 14 children. The sect was formed after the Mormon church outlawed polygamy in 1890. Growing up, we were taught that every man in our community should have at least three wives, or more. Even my dad had another wife who lived with us, but she didn’t bare any of his children. Our leader, Rulon…

BURRITO BOWLS SERVES 4 PREP & COOK 25 MINS 500g lean beef stir-fry strips 40g sachet fajita spice mix 1 tbsp olive oil 420g can corn kernels, drained 3 green onions, thinly sliced 200g cherry tomatoes, halved 250g packet microwave basmati brown rice 400g can black beans, drained, rinsed 1 medium carrot, peeled, coarsely grated 1 large avocado, quartered lengthways, thinly sliced crossways Chipotle lime and herb dressing, lime wedges, to serve 1 Toss beef with spice mix and oil in a large bowl. 2 Heat an oiled, large, non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add beef in two batches. Cook, stirring, for about 3 mins, or until browned. Remove. 3 Combine corn with onions and tomatoes in a bowl. 4 Heat rice according to packet directions. 5 Divide…

VANILLA BERRY-BLISS TRIFLE CAKE SERVES 10-12 PREP & COOK 1 HOUR 40 MINS 250g butter, softened 1½ cups caster sugar 2 tsp vanilla bean paste 4 eggs 3 cups self-raising flour 1½ cups buttermilk Fresh blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, to decorate BERRY SAUCE ¼ cup caster sugar 400g frozen mixed berries 1 tbsp sweet sherry  FROSTING  500g cream cheese, chopped  1½ cups icing sugar mixture  ½ cup thickened cream, whipped  1 cup French vanilla double thick custard 1 Grease two x 20cm round cake pans. Line bases and sides with baking paper, extending paper 2cm above pan edges.  2 Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Stir in sifted flour with…

The mag with heart Jumping into the shower one day, on a whim I checked over my boobs for lumps. It was March 2022 and, having had a mammogram three weeks earlier that came back clear, I didn’t think there was much to worry about. But I stopped in my tracks as my hand glided over a tiny thickening on the side of my left breast. ‘Best to get it checked out,’ my husband, Paul, then 52, said. When I saw my doctor a few days later, she wasn’t too concerned. ‘I don’t think it’s anything sinister, but I’ll send you to the breast clinic for a scan,’ she said. I tried not to worry, focusing on my kids, Oliver, then 11, and Pollyanna, five. A keen runner, I’d also…

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