Jenny Wynter - Comedian, Writer, Keynote Speaker

Obligatory Blog

My very occasionally updated thoughts that need to be expressed, and don't belong elsewhere.

Dec 4, 2012

On Leaving The Kids To Do Comedy (or, “One of my son’s first sentences was ‘Mummy

So next week I’m heading off on my second set of cruise ship gigs. I actually really hate being away from my kids. I love them of course, but I also really like them. I enjoy their company. I love being together. Don’t get me wrong, I also have periods where a little break away is the stuff my dreams are made of, but for the most part, I actually really dislike being apart. Yet sometimes the reality of my career means that we are. I’d love to bring them with me on each and ev

Nov 23, 2012

On Grief (or “When Does This Ever Stop Hurting?”)

Left: my mum and I making cookies 1983. Right: keeping the tradition going with my girlie, 2012. So Caleb (my 8-year-old) came and saw my show for the very first time (at the Judith Wright Centre a coupla weeks back). I gave him a pretty good pep-talk in the week leading up to it, explaining that he had to show me he was mature enough to handle the fact there’d be some adult words and ideas, and that just because he heard them didn’t mean he was allowed to go ahead and use th

Sep 10, 2012

A Highly Succinct Yet Accurate Update

Feeling: Overwhelmed, anxious, out of control, like my house is never gonna look clean again, like I’m gonna crack one of these days and just rip the page that says “tidy” out of the dictionary. Looking: Like a sweaty thyroidy wet patch. In fairness, this is cos I just got back from the gym. Yes. I am going. Again. Hold me. Not that close. I smell. Doing: A ton of stuff. Gigs. Trying to work out how to crack this whole $10,000 target thing. Celebrating small victories. Fluffi

Aug 17, 2012

Needed: A Family Friendly Version of Couch Surfing

Just stumbled across this at my local library: 5 Ways to Carry A Goat, a tale of how an Aussie travel blogger embarked on a trek of the globe relying purely on the kindness of cyber-strangers to meet, accommodate and entertain him en route. Amazeballs. As somebody with an insatiable travel itch – and one which I certainly hope to keep scratching throughout my life both with my children and without – I find even the thought of somebody doing this pretty damn exciting. Could/wo

Aug 7, 2012

Some Changes Are Coming To Comic Mummy

Blogging, yo. Ever since I took to the streets – of cyberspace that is, paved as they are with glittery mountain dew – and asked for feedback on this blog, I’ve been taking some time to reflect on your responses and with those as a starting point, clarify exactly where I want to take things. The thing is, as much as I dig blogging just whatever-the-heck-I-feel-like when I rock up here, it’s not a particularly well thought out or effective way of getting better. Of moving forw

May 30, 2012

Finding Clarity Through Crisis (or “The Lump in my Breast and My Throat.”)

Found on Facebook. Original source unknown. Yesterday starts out like any other. I drop the kids at school, drop Cass to daycare, I kiss them all goodbye. I manage to sneak in a quiet coffee and to-do list session before taking a seat in the doctor’s office to get my latest test results. Nothing too serious, nothing too surprising, just the usual pesky thyroid issues and a bit of low iron. All good. Then, just as we are wrapping things up, I say “Oh, it’s probably nothing, b

May 22, 2012

A Postcard from Reality: Wish You Were Here!

Sunset over Bribie Island last weekend. The most FAQ in any interview I do – I love saying that as if it’s a regular occurrence (which it is, of course…ehem) – is “how do you balance performing and family life?” My answer to that is: a) I don’t. Not with any real success, anyway. It’s a bit of a mess, really; however… b) The way we cope is by embracing the seasonality of it. That is, there are seasons of insane busy-ness, followed by seasons of down-time. Right now were in t

Apr 29, 2012

Postcard from Destination Burn Out

My monkey. So apparently I’m the only one who’s surprised by my collapse, physical and emotional, this week. I feel stupid to have not seen it coming, all I can say in my defence is that when it comes to anticipating the inevitable burn out resulting from this mad past few months, I simply did not have time to think about it. A closing night celebration with some of the Unexpected crew and friends! With 2012 thus far comprising not one, but three trips to Adelaide, including

Mar 10, 2012

Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Diary: Approaching The Final Strait

Taking Mister 3 to the playground just pre-show, while my daughter and Keli, our fab au-pair, did Zumba! I just pretended that all mummies wear cowboy boots and quiffs. I got up yesterday and looked at my ticket sales and it hit me: only FIVE SHOWS LEFT?! What?! How on earth did that happen? I suppose the gazillion or so guest spots have distracted me from the reality that this roller coaster I’m on is actually coming to an end soon. I will not go quietly. This week has felt

Mar 5, 2012

Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Diary: On Touring With Kids

My little mouse spotting a poster! I love how excited she is about the show, soooo cute (though she would hate me calling her "cute" in public. So please. No further.) Many people ask me about how I manage to do this performing/touring stuff with kids. Or rather, they just say nice things about how cool it is that I can. Well, most people. (BTW when my darling box office commander-in-chief relayed this guy’s comments, I was honestly, mostly amused. But I can’t help but point

Feb 28, 2012

Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Diary: Bad News and Caring Too Much

Trying my hand at "Skee Pong" on set with Jason Chong at Festival Fishbowl As I was heading into the Light Hotel this avo to get ready for my show, I heard some news that rocked me. A family member – a distant family member, but one whom I have extremely positive memories of from childhood – died. I was so shocked, not just by the news itself, but also by how very upset I felt about it. And selfishly, I was also more than a little worried about being cool by the time the curt

Feb 27, 2012

Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Diary: Improv, Sheer Loveliness, the Mayor of Salisbury and the Guilt/

Rockin out at the Fringe Caravan on the Mall Today was a little nuts, in theme with the rest of the festival itinerary thus far. I’m so happy that things are calming down HUGELY as of tomorrow, as despite the fact the kids are travelling with me, these past few days have been so busy that we’ve hardly had any time together. I MISS THEM! Tomorrow is all about them, baby and I truly cannot wait. Hence, I am blogging right now before bed-time. No work tomoz! (Well, okay, one gig

Feb 24, 2012

Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Diary: “And So It Begins.”

Kids on a plane! AAAAGGGHHHH! If you’re one of these folks with an appetite for sympathetic glances from strangers, then might I introduce you to the wonders of travelling as a solo parent with a small child? Well, I chose to interpret them as ‘sympathetic glances’ rather than ‘snarls of disapproval’; indeed, as Mister Three was throwing a mighty fit, kicking his shoes off while I struggled to wrangle a mildly ridiculous array of luggage and his pram in the sizeable taxi queu

Jan 25, 2012

Things To Do With Kids in Brisbane: Get Thee To The Abbey Museum!

My little girl in a low budget ad for stranger danger? WRONG, silly! We're at the Abbey Museum! Oh YOU! Though my grandma always tells me not to tell people, lest I be suddenly the subject of some sort of medieval ages type prejudice from the sins of the forefathers, apparently our family is in possession of Viking blood. Perhaps that – or just a fondness for headwear with horns – was behind my immediate compulsion to take the kids to the Abbey Museum when I saw their adverti

Dec 1, 2011

2011: MY YEAR IN REVIEW

After a beyond crapola 2010, complete with car accidents, toddlers breaking legs and husbands being hospitalised, I was ready for a pretty damn spectacular 2011. I’m chuffed to see now, that a) it didn’t disappoint; and b) my blog is so incredibly useful in terms of remembering what the heck happened! So here tis. January: – kicked the year off in typical uber-optimist fashion by making a nice juicy and just mildly ambitious set of goals. – made our preps for the flood situat

Oct 27, 2011

Tittilating adventures in toilet training!

Image courtesy of younglovin.blogspot.com I’m posting this pic as: a) it represents what has been taking up a majority of this week’s activity, as opposed to much work, blogging or otherwise. Call me crazy but I don’t like to mix bodily fluids with keyboards if I can help it. b) it makes me feel a lot better about how our toilet training is actually going. Hope all’s well in your world! x #adventures #toilettraining #kids #howto #family

Aug 11, 2011

“Putting the Family Last.” (WARNING: Major Rant Ahead).

FOR THE RECORD… I was a Vegetarian for 7 years. During this time, I noticed an interesting, if slightly irritating, phenomena. When certain people would discover my lifestyle of choice, they would leap to a, shall we say “offence as defence” strategy of listing all the reasons why eating meat was better for you and the many foibles of vegetarianism. I was at first, rather perplexed by this. Namely cos I could not have given a flying f whether they ate meat or not. Seriously.

Jul 11, 2011

If you watch this, you will understand our family.

#introverts #wakingtoddlers #dominators #kids #peckingorders #family #extroverts

Jul 7, 2011

Frankie and Jenny

My bestest friend. A long overdue visit. The beach. Seven – count em, SEVEN – kids between us. Connecting amidst and despite chaos. But it doesn’t matter. We are TOGETHER. *here endeth the sop* #BFF #family #friends #life

Jul 5, 2011

Strawberry Fields Forever (well, at least for a morning)

#family #holidays #kids #photos

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