Hi [firstname],

This Sunday, of course, is Mother's Day, and while I always have more than enough reasons to thank my mum, this year there is one particularly recent example of her generosity, patience, selflessness and downright loveliness for which I am enormously grateful. Last weekend she helped me move house.

My mother, my saviour!

With less than a week's notice (thanks to the dreadfully tight rental market here in Sydney), she drove all the way from Brisbane - a 14-hour trip - to help my partner Phil and I move all of our possessions from one side of Sydney to the other. I insisted that she didn't need to come and help us - after all, we had been living in a matchbox-sized, one-bedroom apartment... how hard could it be? But in true mum fashion, she knew better and insisted otherwise... and boy, am I grateful she did!
Not only was it far more work than I ever imagined (we could have won an award for how much stuff we'd managed to fit into such a small space), it was also a really lovely opportunity to learn from my mum. From little tips, such as placing a bar of soap in our wardrobe to deter silverfish, or putting a box of de-moulding beads in my linen cupboard (I didn't even know such a thing existed), to bigger things, like helping us choose our first washing machine, mums really do know best!
Yet despite my enormous gratitude, the weekend didn't come without its little disagreements, too - how best to organise the pantry, where to store the wine glasses... But then, while putting away the cutlery or driving another load of boxes across the city, we also talked about some of the most important and personal issues affecting my life at the moment. I find that her advice never fails to comfort me and always seems to provide the answer I need. I guess that's why I related to the article, 'My mother, my friend' on page 182 of our May issue so much. It showed just how deep yet amazingly complex the mother-daughter relationship really is.

Kitchen nightmares

I have to say, the one thing I detested most about our old apartment was the size of the kitchen. It was so small we couldn't open the microwave door more than halfway (or it would hit the stovetop) and the storage space was so scarce we had to store the pots and pans above the cupboards and use a step ladder to reach them - only the step ladder was usually covered with groceries that didn't fit into the cupboards. Needless to say, not much cooking was done (at least, not without a lot of swearing). Which was a shame, because I love to cook, and would spend my working days drooling over our food editor Sarah Hobbs' amazing recipes (while inwardly cursing my ridiculous kitchen!). Thankfully, our new kitchen begs to be cooked in and I already have a long list of recipes I've been dying to try. From the May issue, I plan to cook all five weeknight meals starting on page 132 and plan to satisfy my sweet tooth with the warm cashew and caramel self-saucing pudding (page 128). Yum!

Getting physical

One unfortunate discovery I did make during the moving process, however, was just how embarrassingly unfit I have become. Lifting a few boxes, going up and down a few flights of stairs and reaching into cupboards was perhaps the most strenuous physical activity I have performed all year; and I had the muscle cramps for the next two days to prove it! My biggest problem seems to be finding the motivation to exercise - oh, and, getting out of bed any earlier than I absolutely, positively have to. So I'm planning to take the advice from the experts in the 'Workout secrets from the pros' article on page 66 and enlist a workout buddy to help keep me motivated. My boyfriend doesn't yet know that he's my nominated buddy, but I'm sure he'll get used to the idea! I'll keep you posted on how we go.

True love waits

Aside from making the most of my kitchen and developing a muscle or two, I'm also really looking forward to seeing the upcoming movie, Love in the Time of Cholera, starring Javier Bardem, Giovanna Mezzogiorno and John Leguziamo. This epic tale set in Colombia about a man who waited 50 years for his true love sounds incredibly romantic - and right up my alley! Lucky for you, Notebook: in conjunction with Rialto Distribution is giving away 50 double-pass tickets to see the movie, which opens on May 22. Plus, the top 25 entries will receive the novel of the same name by acclaimed author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. For your chance to win, click here and answer the question: 'How long would you wait for love?' in 25 words or less.

Are you doing something special for Mother's Day? Write to us at feedback@notebookmagazine.com to share how you'll be celebrating it!

Notebook: Newsletter