Table of contents for TAK2431 in Take 5

Lots of people put me to shame on these pages. Those who go above and beyond, like giving up their time to learn something unique, start a million-dollar business while raising kids, or help lots of people in the community. But I have truly been put in my place by sixyear-old Jayde this week, who started copying her mum and lifting weights (p26). While I can barely do one push-up, Jayde can lift 18kg and competes in comps! What a legend. We loved Glendyr and Doris’s story over the page, too. Not only did Doris show great kindness, but a heap of people helped them get back in touch after years apart, including the local butcher! If you’ve got a reunion story, we’d love to hear it. We’ve got some…

In the lead up to our wedding day, my fiancé faced the hardest challenge of his life… Lois Jackson, 30. As the cute guy in the fireman’s outfit flirted with me, I couldn’t wipe the grin from my face. It was 2010, I was at a costume party at uni, and I’d been eyeing up the fireman, Ed, all night. Aged 21, he was three years older than me. “What do you actually do for work?” I asked him. “I’m a professional rugby player,” he told me. With his 193cm muscular frame, it made sense. “I play netball,” I told him. Ed asked me out and I discovered he was funny and kind, too. Soon, we were a couple. After university, I got a job training netball players. Then, in…

Mocha hazelnut friands MAKES 12 PREP 15 MINS COOKING 20 MINS 6 egg whites 1½ cups icing sugar ½ cup plain flour ¼ cup cocoa powder  125g hazelnut meal  185g butter, melted  1 tbsp instant coffee powder 2 tsp hot water  100g milk chocolate, melted  12 hazelnuts 1 Preheat oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan-forced. Grease a 12-hole (½-cup) friand tray. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites in a large bowl until foamy. Sift together the icing sugar, flour and cocoa. Add to egg white with hazelnut meal, melted butter and combined coffee powder and hot water. Fold in gently until combined.  2 Spoon the batter into prepared holes. Bake for 20 mins or until a skewer inserted at centres comes out clean. Stand in tray for 5 minutes, then turn out onto…

My hubby did the unthinkable as I slept inches away Yvette Slater, 36. Taking a sip of wine, I glanced over at my family watching TV in the living room. We’ve finally made it, I thought, relieved. It was March 2023, and in our seven years of marriage, my husband Matthew, 35, and I had endured our fair share of ups and downs. We had three kids between us. Matthew had Blake, 12, and I had Amber, 11, both from previous relationships, and together we had Kiera, six. We’d moved to a new city for a fresh start and it felt like we’d finally come out the other side. Our brood was happy and Matthew and I were stronger than ever. Just then, my phone pinged with a message from…

While it’s the cosiest time of year, cold weather can wreak havoc on our skin, making it dry, flaky and more irritable than usual. When this happens, it can be tempting to get rid of some steps – like ditching a cleanser – as they’re known to strip the skin. But a change in season doesn’t mean ruling out this essential step completely! Making some smart switches to your regime can help cleanse your way to a clearer complexion. Here are our top picks… 1. HEY BUD This gentle gel cleanser uses a powerful duo of hemp seed oil and grapefruit extract to help balance and brighten. Plant-based sodium PCA is used to deeply hydrate, purify and boost moisture for a refreshed complexion. Hey Bud Daily Hemp Gel Cleanser, $29.99…

My daughter’s new ‘friend’ used her teeth as a weapon Amy Taylor, 39. As I unloaded shopping bags, my daughter sighed. My friends never want to do anything fun,” Kenzie, 19, huffed, looking at her phone. “Then make some new ones, love,” I laughed. Kenzie was my eldest daughter and worked as a supervisor for my cleaning business. Hard working and responsible, she was always there to help me care for her younger siblings, Theo, 13, and Aiko, three. “Why don’t you put something on the local girls’ group on Facebook?” I told her. With that, she uploaded a post about herself to the page. Within minutes, she had a flurry of messages from girls who lived nearby. “A girl called Taymah seems nice,” Kenzie said. “She wants to meet…

Pork fried rice SERVES 4 PREP 15 MINS COOK 10 MINS 2 tbsp vegetable oil 2 eggs, lightly whisked 2 tsp freshly grated ginger 1 tsp five-spice powder 1 cup shredded, cooked pork 450g packet microwave jasmine rice, heated 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 cup frozen peas, thawed 1 long fresh red chilli, sliced 2 long green onions, sliced 1⁄3 cup coriander leaves 1 Heat half the oil in a frying pan over moderate heat. Add eggs, swirl to coat the base. Cook for 2 mins. Turn out onto a plate; roll up to form a log. Slice. 2 Add remaining oil to pan. Add ginger, five-spice powder, pork and rice; cook and stir for 3 mins or until heated. Add soy and oyster sauces;…

Amanda Baldwin, 38, Sydney, NSW. Sitting on the couch, my eldest boys, Camden, four, and Nash, three, wanted to show their new baby brother their favourite movie, The Lion King. They doted on threeweek-old Boston. But when I fed Boston, he vomited everywhere. It happened after every feed. He wasn’t putting on weight, either. We’d seen the community nurse a few times a week, who recommended different feeding techniques. But now Boston looked lethargic, with sunken eyes. “Mummy, is he all right?” Camden and Nash asked. “Let’s get him checked at the hospital,” I said. An ultrasound found he was born with pyloric stenosis, a condition where the opening between the stomach and small intestine thickens and blocks food. He had a simple surgery where an incision was created in…

I thought I was in safe hands with a doctor. But there was something I didn’t know… Charlotte Osborn, 35. I sat my partner, John*, down at the kitchen table, then asked him to close his eyes and hold out his hands. “I’ve got a surprise for you,” I told him, placing a positive pregnancy test on his palm. He opened his eyes and grinned. “I knew it!” he said, pulling me in for a hug. I already had a son, but this would be John’s first. We were over the moon, but I was also nervous. I’d been born with congenital heart defects, which meant my body was under extra strain and left me struggling to breathe. Due to this, during my first pregnancy, doctors had to battle to…

Don’t let my girl’s slender frame fool you… Megan Warburg, 32. Standing at the side of the soccer pitch, I cheered on my daughter as she ran towards the ball. “Go Jayde,” I encouraged. Despite only being three, Jayde had already developed an appetite for sport. She also did gymnastics and swimming and was constantly dancing and running around. “I don’t know where she gets it from,” I told her dad. Her father played soccer when he was younger, and I worked out at the gym to keep healthy, but we weren’t particularly sporty. But when Jayde turned six, while taking CrossFit classes with my friend, I fell in love with weightlifting. I hired a coach and started training with weights five times a week. Sometimes, I’d bring Jayde along…

Greek lamb shanks SERVES 4 PREP 10 MINS COOK 8 HOURS 10 MINS 4 lamb shanks 2 tbsp plain flour 2 tbsp olive oil 10 baby chat potatoes, halved 1 brown onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tbsp tomato paste 1½ cups white wine 3 cups chicken stock 1 cup pitted kalamata olives 2 tbsp dried Greek oregano ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus extra, to serve Crumbled feta, oregano, roasted baby potatoes, to serve 1 Put lamb and flour on a large plate. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. 2 Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add lamb. Cook, in 2 batches, 5 mins or until browned. Transfer to the bowl of a slow cooker. 3 Add potato,…

I’m using humour to change perceptions of sex work Kaytlin Bailey, 37. With wide-eyed wonder, I read about the lives of the great courtesans of Europe. I was a young teenager with a unique fascination for the sex workers of history. These women wrote their own stories, I thought. And defied the gendered expectations of their age. I wanted to be like them. In 2005, at almost 18 years old, I used the internet to connect with a community of people involved in this ancient profession. As I chatted with women in the industry, I began to realise how unjustified the negative perceptions around sex work really were. After a year in the industry, I went to university where I studied sex workers in history. My senior thesis was on…

LEO July 24–Aug 23 The New Moon this week is a reminder from the Universe that it’s never too late to do things differently. You’re at the start of a very intense cycle which will last several years, and it’s about shedding the past for a brighter future. ★What do you need to start shedding? SCORPIO Oct 24–Nov 23 The New Moon this week is in your Career Zone as Mercury starts to reverse in your Connections Zone. If you want a restart professionally, you could reach out to an old colleague or revive an old project. ★ Everything old can be new again. AQUARIUS Jan 21–Feb 19 If you want to start all over again with your partner (or an ex), now is the time – especially as…

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