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My father left when I was three, so when I was growing up, it was always just mum and me. The two of us were very close; sometimes I felt like mum was more of an older sister than anything else and she made a lot of sacrifices to be the best single parent she could be, giving up promising career promotions, material treats for herself and dating.
The biggest thing my mum gave up was finding another husband and I certainly didn’t encourage her. I wanted it to be just the two of us forever!
So you can imagine how threatened I felt when Mike entered the scene. Mike moved in next door, newly divorced and from interstate. The sparks between him and mum started to fly almost immediately. I would watch sullenly as Mike came around to ask for advice about the city; where the best restaurants were and which day was garbage collection day. At 15, just starting to be interested in boys myself, I could see where it was all going.
Sure enough, within a couple of weeks Mike was asking Mum to go and eat at those restaurants he’d been inquiring about and I knew I had to put a stop to it. I hadn’t had a father for 15 years and I didn’t need one now! And I certainly didn’t want it to be Mike who, with his tall, dark and handsome looks and kind and generous personality, seemed way too good to be true. I was determined to show my mum that he was only going to break her heart.
I started off small. On the nights of her dates I would suddenly get sick so that the date would need to be cancelled. I figured Mike would only be so patient before he moved on to someone who didn’t have a troublesome daughter for baggage. That worked for a while, but it was only a matter of time before Mum wised up to my deceit. Even worse, Mike actually seemed to understand! Apparently he had children too, who lived with their mother interstate, and he understood that it was hard to see your parent dating again.
When I found out that Mum and Mike started seeing each other over lunch instead, when I wasn’t around, I was furious. But by then it was already too late. Within a few short months of Mike entering our lives, my worst fears were realised: he and my mum were engaged! I knew I had to up the ante if I was ever going to hope to sabotage their relationship!
I pretended to be really nice to my future stepfather as I planned my course of action. The only thing I could think of doing was to put a wedge between them. They were both pretty stressed out about the wedding so I knew that was going to be my target. I had to disrupt the wedding somehow, but I had to do it so it looked like Mike’s fault.
It wasn’t too long before the perfect opportunity came up. Being a wiz with computers, Mum decided that Mike should just make up the invitations on the home PC to save money. They worked on them for hours, changing fonts and coming up with fancy lyrics to invite their friends and family.
“I’ll print them off tomorrow and post them,” Mike promised, when they were finally perfect. I watched them secretly from my chair in front of the television. I knew just what I had to do!
“Goodnight!” I announced cheerfully, letting them both know I was going to bed. I had to be above suspicion. I lay in bed for an hour, waiting for all the lights in the house to be switched off, then another half an hour to make sure all were sleeping. Then I got up and went to the computer. I opened the invitation file and in 30 seconds, I had changed the date of the wedding — to two weeks later! I had no idea if Mike would check the invitation again before he printed them, but I was willing to bet he wouldn’t. They’d already spent so much time on them.
As the weeks went by, I waited to see if my plan would work. RSVPs began pouring in, but nobody seemed to realise that everybody’s wires were being crossed! I couldn’t wait until they did, and for the fight to begin! But it never did: nobody ever caught on! I began to get nervous as I realised the wedding was, in fact, going to go ahead — and it would be ruined!
I’ll never forget Mum’s face when she realised, the night before the wedding, that all the guests who were supposed to be coming to the rehearsal dinner, were not coming at all! But far from blaming Mike, she blamed herself — for not proofreading the invitations properly! And Mike blamed himself too!
With a very small group of the family and the close friends who were in the know because they’d been invited verbally, Mum and Mike got married anyway. I spent the day overwhelmed by the guilt that, for nothing, I had ruined her special day.
Picture posed by model.
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Include plain yoghurt in your breakfast as it aids digestion and keeps you feeling full for longer.
— Georgia
I have two small children and find it extremely difficult to exercise. So I bought a double jogging pram and some leg weights and strap them on and walk/run 10kms. The weight has fallen off so much that in 4 weeks I have lost 4 kilos!
— Kristina
A survival guide to eating out … without pigging out!
By Judy Davie
**”I stick to my diet really well at home but my husband and I often go out to dinner with friends. When we do, my diet goes out the window. Can you help?”
— Ann**
Without fail, people trying to improve their eating habits and lose weight inevitably slip up when they dine out. What you eat might be harder to control but the excuse “It’s a special occasion so I can treat myself” is no longer okay, especially when you’re eating out so regularly.
A dinner in a restaurant or at a friend’s place with a shared bottle of wine, a bread roll with butter, chocolate mousse for dessert followed by a coffee and a little sweet treat will set you back an extra 3,400kJ and that’s before you’ve eaten anything worthwhile. You’ll notice, however, from the list above, that these are all things you can easily go without.
Given how often you dine, it’s worth committing to memory the basics of healthy eating and weight loss. That way, when you do go out to eat you can apply this knowledge and follow the restaurant advice when you’re selecting off the menu.
Waiters are used to people asking for variations on the menu — many people today have food allergies and the chef has to adhere to their requests. Don’t be embarrassed to ask them to make modifications to your order.
If you’re in doubt about how a meal is prepared and want to avoid excess fat and kilojoules, ask the waiter. He’s trained to know his menu and should be happy to tell you more.
People eat more at buffets, banquets, smorgasbords and other meals where there’s a large range of dishes to select from, so where possible choose a restaurant where you can order your own meal, or, fill your plate once with the variety on offer and don’t go back for more.
If your friends harass you to eat up, tell them to get off your case. What you eat should have no bearing on them and the enjoyment of the evening. If it does then it’s up to them to address the issues they have with food and alcohol. No one would force a person with a peanut allergy to eat peanuts or a recovering alcoholic to drink alcohol. Weight and obesity is a legitimate problem in our society, it’s not okay to try and stop someone from reducing their risk of chronic disease.
Suburban mum Jacqueline Feilich has turned her Elvis obsession into a successful full-time career.
At first, you don’t know whether to call her Elvis or Lisa Marie. Either way, Jacqueline looks as though she has sprung from the Presley gene pool.
The resemblance is uncanny. It’s no wonder this Elvis-mad mum-of-two from the Sydney suburbs says with confidence that her stage name She Is The King is spot-on.
In the ultra-competitive world of the “Elvis tribute artist” — they hate to be called impersonators — she is rising to the top, too.
Last year, Jacqueline came second in the invitation-only Elvis Tribute Competition in Las Vegas. It was a major achievement, given some overzealous male Elvis nuts stole her costumes and she was forced to perform in just a pair of jeans and an Elvis T-shirt.
“It was a real turning point for me,” Jacqueline tells Woman’s Day. “All those years living and breathing Elvis paid off. I could take my vision of She Is The King and make it work in Elvis’s heartland.
“This has been me since I was three,” adds the 36-year-old. “Elvis, the voice, his movies, listening to him on eight-track cassettes as I sat in the back seat of my father’s 1970s Thunderbird. Elvis really is my world.”
“I used to think my dad was like Elvis,” Jacqueline continues. “And when Elvis died at 42, I’d pray that my dad would make it past that age. I didn’t want to lose Elvis and my dad. Even in my teens, I could be cranking Midnight Oil, but Elvis was never far from the turntable.”
Naturally, she had an extreme reaction on that sad day in 1977, when she heard Elvis had died.
“I can’t believe it’s coming up to 30 years … and it still hurts,” Jacqueline says. “Every year, I’m beside myself. I can’t speak.
“The day he died, I was only seven, but I remember I had to have three days off school. I was locked in my bedroom, hysterical.
“This anniversary [on August 16], I’ll be in Memphis yet again. I wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world. I want to be as close to him as possible.”
With her star on the rise, Jacqueline is soon to release her first Elvis tribute album. She is currently promoting the first single, the all-time classic Viva Las Vegas.
She is also on a high with news that she’s been accepted to perform in a tribute competition in Elvis’s home town of Tupelo, Mississippi, in June. The contest is endorsed by Elvis Presley Enterprises and the winner will be regarded as the ultimate Elvis impersonator.
“It’s going to be amazing,” says Jacqueline, who sings in the same key as Elvis. “And this time I’ll make sure nobody steals my costumes!”
She is an open book about her Elvis obsession, but keeps her private life under wraps. Does she live “In The Ghetto” or have a “Suspicious Mind”? Jacqueline isn’t saying.
Yes, she is a mum. Yes, she has a special room she escapes to which is filled with The King’s memorabilia (“It’s where I feel my most peaceful”), but that’s all.
“I’ve got to keep some things a mystery,” she says.
With that, those trademark shades come down, then … Elvis has left the building again.
The most used cat — and sometimes puppy — toys in our house are the laundry lint balls … with the added bonus of picking up the pet hair from the floorboards and carpet as they play!
— Leanne
This is our 12 week old Great Dane pup Oliver on graduation night at puppy pre-school. He passed with flying colours and all the girl puppies were very impressed with his tie.
— Denise
Here’s our gorgeous Bichon/Poodle Freddie wearing a tea cosy that a friend knitted for us!
— The Dickson family
These are my two lovely boys. They just love showing off. Deni (the bigger fluppy dog) and Sparky the spunk!!
— Gina
My young spunk Toby sporting his new winter outfit.
— Caroline
This is my beautiful purebred Pomeranian, Simba. He is such a poser!!
— Shannon
“When I grow up I want to get a pair of thongs just like Mum’s. Actually I think I will just have Mum’s and wear them now.”
— Zac the cat
Tiger loves to dress up in disguise!
— Erin
Our Maltese x Shih Tzu Gizmo is such an important part of our family that we just had to have him take part in our wedding day. We think he looks adorable in his little tux. As you can see he’s definitely not camera shy.
— Melina and Mathew
Here is a pic of my little Missie, whom we adore. She is 7 years old, a cute Maltese!
— Doris
Up for adoption
George is a house trained young puppy with plenty of energy. He is well socialised with other dogs and would suit most families with older children. To find out more about George and the hundreds of other animals looking for new, life-long homes go to: www.petrescue.com.au
