Blogging isn't for the fainthearted

It’s all about ME


Hello!

My name is Debbie but you can call me Deb – all my friends do!

I’m an Australian midlife, travel, adventure and lifestyle blogger.

Welcome to my ‘About Me’ page

Debbie - 60 years old and feeling Bold
This is me: 60 years old and feeling Bold (WOTY 2021)

Who and what am I all about?

Good question! I’m a bit quirky, full of energy,  enthusiastic, into social media, sharing things and looking for the positives. 

I am Debbie –  a wife; mother; grandmother; daughter; sister; friend; blogger; reader; runner; walker; cyclist; Rail Trail enthusiast; traveller; Rotarian; Whovian; former teacher.

My aim is to make you smile, educate you in some way, maybe inspire you and to share my world, while learning about your world.

Deb from Deb’s World

Globetrotting Granny Debs

I’m also a grandmother to 2 beautiful granddaughters and 2 grandsons. I am known as Granny Debs to Emilia who was our first grandchild born in September 2018, and on 19 August 2019 we welcomed baby Dottie, who was in a huge hurry to arrive, being born at only 25 weeks over in England where my eldest daughter lives! Being born weighing only a bit over 800 grams isn’t ideal but she was well looked after at Southmead NICU in Bristol and then in Taunton’s Musgrove Park. I wrote this story for her – Dottie and the Wombat.

Our first grandson, Patrick, arrived in late February 2020 and at one stage we were expecting a granddaughter, and our latest grandson Zachary was born in January 2021!! Life is never dull 🙂 Did you notice I’ve had a grandchild born in 2018, 19, 20 and 21?

Granny Debs and Patrick
Granny Debs and new grandson
Granny Debs and Emilia
Granny Deb with Dottie
Granny Debs and Patrick
Granny Debs

A (very) young retiree

And I’m a retiree!!  A very young retiree at 56, when I finished work in 2016 – it wasn’t my choice believe me!

I’ve been called a humming bird on speed (see below) and WonderWomanDebz.

img_0261
WonderWoman Debs! Get it?

Family:

The Mathematician and I have been married for well over 40 years now, we have three beautiful daughters who are all grown up and making their own way in the big wide world. I like to write about my family sometimes.  I am very proud of my posts where I have compared our lives at age 28, 30 & 25.  I also compared my life with that of my mother, at the age of 53.

Debbie and Grant
Debbie and Grant

My youngest daughter wrote a post about me and she is my first ever guest blogger. I’m thrilled with it! My eldest daughter was a travel blogger and once wrote a great post about her Travel Loving Parents – us!  It’s a fantastic read 🙂 She is now the creator of a great little business called Dottie Wombat.

I have enjoyed being the MOB (Mother of the Bride) twice now and our youngest daughter had her destination wedding in Fiji!  It was amazing fun!

Work and Retirement:

Up until December 2016  I managed the delivery of Educational programs in a minimum security correctional centre for males. I have blogged about a lot of things over the years – but I never really mentioned my work in the gaol. That all changed when the state government decided to outsource Education services in gaols (jails) to an external (cheaper) provider.  This meant my job was made redundant, along with hundreds of others across the state.  These professional educators were replaced by clerks, on a lower salary rate with no education qualifications required, to do basically the same job that I had been doing for over 20 years.

I did not take well to these changes and experienced an array of emotions, as you can imagine.  I have written a few posts about the situation and if you want to see what I’m talking about click any of these links – Education beats crime every day, On being made redundant, Jailhouse Blues and  Mantra for the future.

On the plus side my husband, the Mathematician, retired from a successful teaching career, spanning 39 years, in January 2017, so we have lots of time to do things together, while we are still young enough!

I’m pleased to say our subsequent years of retired life are going exceptionally well!

Walking, running, cycling:

I am into keeping healthy and regularly walk, run or cycle and feel fantastic as a result of my efforts. We’ve been very involved with the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail and we are thrilled to have it officially opened, despite the pandemic playing havoc with our celebrations in 2020. The Rail Trail opening you have when you can’t have an opening – due to a pandemic

Cycling tour in Amsterdam
Cycling tour in Amsterdam

Adventure and Travel:

Travelling is in my family’s blood and I love to blog about our travels.  Now that we’re retired we have lots more time to indulge in this passion. I have a page dedicated to our adventures and travels.

In May 2018 we embarked on the trip of a lifetime, our Odyssey, travelling for 3 months to UK, Iceland and around Europe. I recorded our travels in weekly posts – you can find them here if you’re interested – Our Odyssey posts all in one place.  Iceland was a real favourite – so much so I wrote a post (tongue in cheek) 10 reasons why you definitely shouldn’t visit Iceland. 

More recently I managed to take only carry-on luggage (7Kgs) for a month in England visiting Dottie for her 3rd birthday in 2022! I was very proud of myself!

We’ve since been back to England for two months in 2023. I wish I had a time machine to enable me to teleport myself. backwards and forwards between UK and Australia.

Blue Lagoon in Iceland
Blue Lagoon in Iceland with our eldest daughter

Reading:

I’m also an avid reader and try to document all the books I read during the year (it serves to remind me of what I’ve read!) on my reading page. I’m in two book clubs and enjoy reading books I may not have normally looked at.

Photography:

I love taking photos while I’m out and about and will often include these in my posts.  I used to participate in the Weekly Photo Challenges most weeks but since WordPress ceased that challenge a few years back, I now link up to Terri’s Sunday Stills instead 🙂

I enjoy Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest and you can see my links to all these on my Contact page .

10 things you may not know about me:

  • I love all things orange and yellow.
  • I love a good cup of tea – black and very weak.
  • I have a compulsion to step on crunchy leaves and bark just to hear the satisfying crackle/crunch. I’ll go out of my way to step on a suitable looking candidate. I’ve recently added jumping in puddles to this compulsion. I wrote a post about it called Big Debbie’s Purple Boots based on a children’s book.
  • I completely lose myself when reading a good book.
  • I like helping others and doing good in the world – being a Rotarian helps satisfy this urge.
  • I have a Bravery Award from the Queen.  Here’s the post that tells that story.
  • I hate spelling mistakes but sometimes do make them (horror!).
  • I was told that inmates (and some staff) within the the correctional centre found me to be  very intimidating – you have no idea how much this amused my daughters! I’m not really scary, I promise!

BONUS:

I was nominated in the Best Lifestyle Blog for the 2019 Annual Bloggers Bash Awards!  I was over the moon and appreciated the nomination.

Nominated in Best Lifestyle Blog category
Nominated in Best Lifestyle Blog category
Annual Bloggers Bash Awards
Annual Bloggers Bash Awards

In May 2018 I was placed as Runner Up in the Hidden Gem category at the Annual Bloggers Bash Awards in London!  I was thrilled to be there to meet other like minded bloggers and make new friends.  You can read all about it here – Annual Bloggers Bash Awards.

Follow me????

So,  after reading all that, if you’d still like to follow my blog – then please feel free to come along for the ride! Subscribe to receive updates when I post using the button on the sidebar.

Are you on Instagram? Check out Deb’s World here: Instagram for photo updates

You can follow me on Twitter @Wonderwomandebz

I’d love to hear from you. Leave me a comment to say hello 🙂

Deb xx

Page last updated: August 2023

You can also find Deb’s World on other social media platforms below – let’s stay in touch!

Everyone has a story to tell!

Debbie - mother of a 40 year old

Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. You can read more of Deb’s story here

Please note:  All text and photos are © Debbie Harris, unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/paste any material found here. Linking is acceptable. Please respect this site and do not abuse it or the contents within. You can contact me by email: debbie@debs-world.com

264 Replies to “It’s all about ME”

  1. Hello Deb, thanks for sharing your story and energy. I’m from a small town in NSW too ( I wonder if we’re from the same place), but my wife and I have been living in Asia for the past 19 years — Singapore from 2001 then Hong Kong since 2010. We have four children aged 22, 18, 15, and 11 — daughter, daughter, son, daughter. I’m active on social media too, and this year self-published a book that might resonate with you, it’s called Productive Accidents: a playbook for personal and professional adventure. Check out the context and reviews here: http://www.peterbwilliams.com

    One thing that helped me finish the book while working full time in a regional finance role is The Creative’s Workshop by Seth Godin — I think you would enjoy this program and the people you would meet: https://thecreativesworkshop.com/

    Take a look and let me know if you have any questions. I’d also be happy to have a chat anytime.

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  4. Hi Deb..I ended up here through your Tumbarumba to Rosewood RT story.. Also love cycling and travel.I’ll enjoy reading your blogs. We are also grandparents …two granddaughters and two grandsons and another due right now!
    We had a fantastic time in beautiful Tumba in March for Blazeaid but unfortunately it was cut short due to Covid. Even helped in a clean up day on the trail. Can’t wait to return to ride the rail trail in September🤞
    Cheers Jacky

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    Reply

    1. Thanks Jacky, I really appreciate your comment and a warm welcome to my world! Thanks also for your work on the trail and with BlazeAid, you are all wonderful volunteers and we appreciate all your hard work. Looking forward to seeing you back here in September.

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  6. Hi Debbie so great to read about you and connect! I remember your Blog already I have visited in the past I thought I was following but you know WP unfollow people without you know so I followed again! 😉 ❤

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  7. Kindred souls of sorts. I too like my tea hot black and weak with a touch of honey. I too have two granddaughters (though three g’sons as well; all a bit older. None in the oven (do you say that too?) . Were the recent fires at all near you? Australia is a beautiful country (I was there for s a few weeks in 1997) and I was quite alarmed when the fires were burning. Best wishes on the new baby.

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    1. Thanks Janet, we do indeed seem like kindred souls 🙂 Yes we say bun in the oven here too. The fires have impacted our town and we are all slowly rebuilding with our great community. Thanks the baby has arrived safely now and they’re all settling in well.

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  9. Back for a visit. Enjoying jumping into About pages as good to see what friends are up to. Jealous of you being retired. I’m not there yet. Sigh but that is okay as life is to be lived at every stage. Iceland is on my list. If your adventures take you to eastern Canada let me know!!

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  11. Hi Deb, I came across your name here and there, and I’m happy to make my official visit. My hubby was born in Walla Walla, NSW. His family went to England for two years then came to the United States when he was 12 years old.
    I’ve been retired for 10 years, love reading, writing, traveling and visit my granddaughter. My daughter’s family lives 1,000 miles from us but I visit them every six weeks.
    Great to have come across you from Bella’s party. Miriam
    https://theshowersofblessings.com/

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  20. Enjoyed getting to know a bit more about you. Yes to jumping in puddles (I have ORANGE rubber boots) just saying girl. Congrats on becoming a grandmother along with all your other accomplishments and family. Looking forward to hearing where your next adventure will be!!

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