Category: Blogging

Originally posted here in 2008. Updating it for 2025.

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends.

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags, much easier

Real tree or Artificial? Still artificial

When do you put up the tree? 1st December

When do you take the tree down? Recently it’s Boxing Day or the 27th December

Do you like eggnog? Not really

Favourite gift received as a child? Still the dolls house my dad built me. It’s now with my youngest niece.

Hardest person to buy for? Everyone.

Easiest person to buy for? Hubby

Do you have a nativity scene? a tiny one from Mexico that hangs on the tree

Mail or email Christmas cards? Neither. Usually it’s a text or social media post.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Honestly can’t think of one

Favourite Christmas Movie? Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas

When do you start shopping for Christmas? Boxing day sales. I’m getting better at putting things away through the year.

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yeah

Favourite thing about Christmas? Still the food. Nothing beats fresh seafood, salads and a roast turkey

Lights on the tree? Yes

Favourite Christmas song? Carol of the Bells. This version by Trans Siberian Orchestra is still my favourite. I also love their song Christmas Eve / Sarajevo

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Prefer to stay home but travel is as far as Dad’s or the in-laws. Sometimes the other end of the state if we’re spending Christmas with my brother.

Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer’s?
Rudolph, Dasher, Donner, Blitzen, Comet, Prancer…..um that’s all I can think of (without the help of Google lol)

Angel on the tree top or a star? It’s a weeping angel from Doctor Who

Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We let the kids open one on Christmas Eve & the rest on Christmas morning

Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The crowds when you go shopping & Mariah Carey

Favourite ornament theme or colour? Still love anything silver or purple.

Favourite Thing for Christmas dinner? Turkey & cranberry sauce

What do you want for Christmas this year? Lego botanicals, Bunnings gift cards, sleep

Snow Christmas morning? Wishful thinking – it’s summer here. Though it did nearly happen a few years back.

When I first started Nightwolf’s Den back in 2007, it was a simple space – a place to write, to explore thoughts, and to carve out something personal in a noisy digital world.

Over the years, both the blog and I have grown, shifted, and evolved. One of those evolutions was the creation of my separate craft blog, Nightwolf Crafts, a space dedicated solely to making, tutorials, and creative projects. But as 2026 approaches, it’s become clear that it doesn’t need to stand apart anymore.

So, as part of this new chapter, Nightwolf Crafts will be closing, and all its content will be returning home – absorbed back into Nightwolf’s Den, where it all originally began. A full announcement and details can be found here.

This post is about what’s changing, why it matters, and what you can expect next.

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Why Nightwolf’s Den Is Changing in 2026

This isn’t a reboot. It’s a refinement.

The internet moves fast, attention is scattered, and shallow content is everywhere. I don’t want this blog – or any of my creative spaces – to contribute to that noise.

Instead, 2026 marks the start of something more intentional: clearer purpose, more grounded writing, and a stronger, more cohesive experience for readers, especially now that all my creative work is returning under one roof.

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What to Expect From Nightwolf’s Den in 2026

In the year ahead, you’ll begin to see:

• Deeper, more intentional writing focused on clarity, meaning, and quiet reflection
• Craft and creative content from Nightwolf Crafts seamlessly integrated into the blog
• Updated and refreshed older posts so they stay useful and relevant
• New content formats, including creative experiments and behind-the-scenes reflections
• A cleaner, more comfortable reading experience across desktop and mobile

The heart of Nightwolf’s Den isn’t changing – it’s being clarified and reunited with the parts of me that once lived on a separate site.

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How This Blog Is Evolving (Without Losing Its Soul)

I’ve always believed good writing should feel grounded, honest, and worth your time.

This evolution isn’t about chasing trends or algorithms. It’s about slowing down, going deeper, and creating work that feels real – to me, and hopefully to you.

Nightwolf’s Den has always been a quiet place to think. In 2026, it becomes a stronger, more complete one.

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Thank You to Long-Time Readers and New Visitors

To those who’ve been here since the early days: thank you.
To those just discovering this place: I’m truly glad you’re here.

The den is changing – but the fire is still burning.

And I’m excited to see where this next chapter takes us.

— Nightwolf

Just updating a few things around the blog to freshen it up for the new year.
Some older posts are getting updates, others are moving to my craft blog – Nightwolf Crafts, while others are no longer relevant and will be archived.

There will also be a refresh of the categories. A little spring clean if you will.

to 2009 and revisiting this post.

Caroline-ology

***********FOODOLOGY***************
What is your salad dressing of choice? French dressing or something we’ve made.
What is your favourite sit-down restaurant? Me Wah
What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? still chicken
What are your pizza toppings of choice? BBQ chicken
What do you like to put on your toast? butter & jam

***********TECHNOLOGY***************
How many televisions are in your house? 5
What colour cell phone do you have? space grey

***************BIOLOGY******************
Are you right-handed or left-handed? right
What is the last heavy item you lifted? boxes.
Have you ever been knocked unconscious? Sadly yes.

************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Not really.
If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Not sure.
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Hell no.

************DUMBOLOGY******************
How many pairs of flip flops do you own? 1
Last time you had a run-in with the cops? never over a bad thing
Last person you talked to on the phone? a client
Last person you hugged? my oldest daughter

**************FAVORITOLOGY****************
Season? Summer
Holiday? any lol
Day of the week? Saturday
Month? January

***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************
Missing someone? My mum
Mood? tired but content
What are you listening to? hubby gaming with his mates – they are playing Fallout
Watching? Real Crime channel
Worrying about? not much

***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************
First place you went this morning? the kitchen
What’s the last movie you saw? The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Do you smile often? Yes.
Sleeping Alone? No. Hubby & at least 1 cat

***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************
Do you always answer your phone? No
If you could change your eye colour what would it be? still green.
What flavour do you add to your drink at Sonic? Still no clue what Sonic is
Do you own a digital camera? Yep a Nikon DSLR
Have you ever had a pet fish? Yes.
What’s on your wish list for your birthday? For my last birthday it was craft stuff & Planner stuff
Can you do push ups? no
Can you do a chin up? no
Does the future make you more nervous or excited? both
Do you have any saved texts on your cell? yes
Ever been in a car wreck? no
Do you have an accent? i don’t think so.
What is the last song to make you cry? Supermarket flowers
Plans tonight? Doing some art
Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? yup.

June through September have been a blur. Two kids playing hockey. The eldest playing 3 divisions by the end of the season. Me coaching school hockey then the northern inter school competition – with my team winning their division. A first since 2008.

Needless to say I haven’t been blogging or crafting. Winter is pretty much hockey and sickness. So now hockey season is over I’ll be getting back into it.

First up is working out where half of my images have disappeared to. Then sharing some updates with what’s been going on around here.

So I’ll hopefully be around a bit more often now. Thanks again if you’re still sticking around.

Is there anybody out there? *knock, knock*
Hello there if there is still anyone who reads my little spot on the net.

It’s been awhile & I’m hoping to get back into blogging again this year.

I’ll be blogging my planner spreads, sharing some of our favourite recipes, what I’m reading/listening to, our current foster kitty adventures and who knows what else.

All my craft stuff is over at Nightwolf Crafts and, I’ve got a new blog, as our eldest started home schooling at the end of last year – Schooling in the Den.

That’s all for now. Til next time

Welcome to 2023! Yeah I know it’s nearly the end of January but life has been a bit more relaxed since Christmas. We’re enjoying the warm days, sleeping in when we don’t have work, the kids are sleeping in the tent most nights. Cricket is on the TV. Life is just generally slower before the rush of back to school and more structure in the first week of February.
The eldest is off to High School this year so that will be interesting.

Anywho, what can you expect here on the blog for 2023?

• I’m starting with a good clean up. The majority of my craft posts will be leaving, they may turn up on my craft blog – Nightwolf Crafts.
• I have a couple of Catching Up posts scheduled that I wrote towards the end of 2022 and never posted.
• In the Den Kitchen is going to get a major revamp. I’m not sure what as yet but it’s going to change.
• I’ll be archiving a bunch of outdated posts.
• Still posting my planner setups and weekly layouts.
• A new 101 things list (the last one finished in October 2022)
• More of the Travelling Tasmania series.
• Party planning for a 13th and 9th birthday
• A new series of posts.
• General posts about blogging, family, food and planners.
• I’m hoping to branch out a little in 2023 with some planner things but we’ll see how that goes

  

Hope you all had a good Christmas & New Year and I hope 2023 is a good year for you.

It’s been awhile so please excuse the dust and moving furniture as we perform a bit of a blog spring clean over the next week.
Tidying up some categories, tags and links. Making sure there are photos and alt text where there is meant to be. That sort of thing.

Hello? Anyone still here?
I’ve been blogging over on my craft blog and thought about doing something planner related and remembered that’s on this blog. Opps. I’ve been a bit neglectful of my baby.

So……. time for an update post. Strap in, it could be a long one.

We’ve got a Christmas update to the look. I’m working behind the scenes for a new look for 2020. So stay tuned.

Family – the 4 of us are doing well.
Miss K is in grade 3. Growing like a weed and will be taller than me soon. She’s turning into quite a good swimmer and represented the school this year in a swimming carnival.
Miss A is in Kinder and has made some great friends. Still a fussy eater (so any advice? LOL)
J & I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. J got his first tattoo. I added another to my collection.

Mum passed away in her sleep on the 6th of December. Her funeral was yesterday. The last week has been hard and tiring.

Planner wise. I made 3 years in a bound bullet journal. Still love it. BUT I finally bit the bullet and subbed to a planner subscription. Went with Planners Anonymous cause they are Australian and not super expensive (start at $45AUD). I am seriously in love. Each month the basic kit is 6 sheets of double sided paper, 1 sheet of Vellum, 1 sheet of Acetate, a pen, 3 rolls of washi (25mm, 15mm & 9mm), a full sized stamp set, feature die cut, a set of die cuts, a feature 6×8 print, a bookmark, 6 journal cards AND a sticker sheet set PLUS each month there is a mystery item.

The kit for November is That’s So 90s and it makes my inner 90s teen super excited.

Oh and they do awesome subscriber bonuses. Each month you get a printable insert, phone backgrounds, a digital copy of the cards and cute printable planner girls (& guys). There’s is also the option to buy a luxe version of the insert.
That’s not all (but wait, there’s steak knives LOL) – they also make the most gorgeous B6 Travellers Notebook covers! Yeah I am a bit of a fan. You can check out what I’ve been doing with the subs over on my planner Instagram.
(Want to sub and get 10% off your first order? Follow this link)

Craft wise you can see what I’ve been up to over at Nightwolf Scraps. I’m slowly updating it with my crafty creations for 2019. Lots of Awesome Ladies Project and The Reset Girl stuff.

Hopefully I might start sharing over here a bit more now and not leave it so long between updates.