On The Sunny Side

Dining In

2012-03-03T16:54:00.000+08:00

We've got the former across-the-roads coming to dinner tonight and, while it was a spur of the moment invitation, I've got some yummy stuff happening in the kitchen.

We'll be eating Herb and Mustard BBQ'd Chicken and some bbq patties that I picked up at the butcher yesterday. I've got a new bread recipe for Seeded Loaf that's rising on the bench and is about to go into the oven. The I'm going to throw together a salad and get some garlic roasted potatoes into the oven. And for dessert I'm trying a PeartTartlet recipe that's part-Jamie Oliver, part-Mandi's imagination. I'll be sure to take some photos.

Well, as long as they all turn out okay that is!

Gotta Love That

2012-02-29T20:26:00.000+08:00

I pulled in from work at 6.15 tonight. I was tired. My feet hurt. And I was looking forward to hopping into my 'jamas and eating leftovers for dinner. Okay, I wasn't looking forward to the leftovers all that much but the not cooking dinner part of leftovers sounded great.

And I found two kids who were showered, dressed and begging me to go out for Chinese for dinner. And a husband who had organised the showering, supervised the dressing and totally put them up to being on their best behaviour in the hope that his taste for Chinese food might be met.

And so I pulled on a pair of jeans, changed my shoes and let them easily talk me into a trip to the local Chinese. Where we all picked a dish, totally pigged out and still got the kids home in time to almost meet their regular bedtime. Fantastic.

Gratituesday: Lovin' My Girl

2012-02-28T19:32:00.001+08:00

I'm so very thankful to have the girl-child in my life. Being a mum who freely admits that she wasn't actually planning on having girl-children and struggled a little bit when one popped out, I am just amazed by her every single day. She is the most hilarious little character and makes me laugh so hard my stomach hurts. Yes she pushes every single one of my buttons too but today? Today was all about the laughing

Today's moments of intense love (and unintentional hilarity):

The enormous running jump and hug that I got first thing this morning. It was the kind of hug that we call 'the koala'. She was totally wrapped around me and it just felt so good. Then she blew a raspberry on my cheek

When she asked me what tomorrow was. I must have looked puzzled (yeah, that happens a lot) because she followed it up with, "I know it's Wednesday but it's a special day too. Is it, um, maybe Long Jump Day or something like that?" Some fast thinking and working out what the date was led me to ask her if she meant Leap Year? Yep. She did. But I think Long Jump Day should totally be a holiday.

After clarifying the whole Leap Year thing, she asked if that meant we could have a party to celebrate. The answer was no.

And tonight at dinner when we were discussing contingency plans in case either of the kids was sick tomorrow (Daddy was home with one on Monday, the other was here with me today). Offspring #2 pipes up with "Well I'm all better but I can't stay home to look after #1 'cos I'm just a kid!" Coupled with an expressive shrug of the shoulders and a look of pure consternation on her little face it was priceless. And yes, we assured her that should either of them end up unwell again tomorrow one of the adults who live in the house would step up and take responsibility. Because that's how we roll.

And tomorrow there will be more love. And laughing. And quite possibly some yelling. But lots and lots of love. And I'm so thankful for that.

How Long Is A Piece Of String

2012-02-26T20:22:00.000+08:00

So I was getting dinner ready late this afternoon and looked up as something out the front caught my eye. There was a beautiful black and white border collie wandering down the street. And, despite the fact that our Max left us almost 2 years ago, the very first thought that went through my mind was... "How the heck did that dog get out?"

I even looked across to check both the gates were closed.

Then the dog's owner came into sight and I realised that (a) the dog wasn't Max, (b) Max had been gone for quite a long time and, (c) regardless of the fact that we've had a 'new' puppy for almost 12 months I still miss my Maxie-dog.

And my eyes got just a little bit watery and I wondered how much longer, exactly, I'd have a little hole in my heart that is just Max sized. And I guess the answer is the title of this post.

La La La

2012-02-23T20:16:00.001+08:00

The question is not why Kenny Rogers songs are playing in my head.

I can answer that easily. I was sick to death of all my regualr cd's and wanted something different for the drive to work so stole Hubby's Christmas present Best of Kenny Rogers cd. I figured singing along to The Gambler, Coward of the County and Lucille would change things up a bit.

No. The real question is what I can do to get Kenny Rogers OUT of my head after the songs have been rolling though it all day long.

Yes.

All. Day. Long.

I think I need to find something else to listen to for next week. Or I'll have to go back to my regular cd's next week. At least with them I don't burst into 70's style country and western at completely inappropriate times through the day.

What Happened To Gratituesday?

2012-02-21T21:54:00.000+08:00

Why nothing! I've just been a bit busy, and a bit distracted and not posting all that regularly and it kind of slipped by the wayside. But then I was reading one of my daily blog reads earlier today and I realised that I hadn't done a Gratituesday post for a while and thought that I should really get my act together.

So this week I'm grateful to another blogging friend. She told me about this:

And it has become a firm favourite in my house. So much so that, as you can see I very quickly went from the little box of ten to the good-sized box of 100 teabags.

And I'm grateful for bloggy friends. Who remind to look on the sunny side, tell me about new things to try, provide me with beautiful posts to read and generally make my already rich-beyond-belief life even better.

A Different Kind Of Pie

2012-02-20T20:43:00.000+08:00

I made a different kind of pie for dinner last night and it was a HUGE hit. It was definitely kid-friendly food, so if you're looking for something fancy and gourmet you'd better click away somewhere else. But if you want somehting that will have the kids cleaning their plates and asking for seconds give this a go.

Free-form Lamb Bolognese Pie
from Super Food Ideas, September 2011

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil

500g lamb mince

45g sachet Maggi bologese pasta bake recipe base

1 medium carrot, peeled, grated

2 tablesooons pine nuts, toasted (confession time: I thought I had pine nuts in the pantry. Turns out I didn't. While they would have added to the pie it was just fine without them.)

1/3 cup frozen peas

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, partially thawed

olive oil cooking spray

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add lamb and recipe base. Cook, stirring, with a wood spoon to break up mince, for 6 - 8 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Add carrot, pine nuts and peas. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 2 -3 minutes. Set aside for 20 minutes to cool.

2. Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan-forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place one sheet of pastry on tray. Spoon lamb mixture onto centre of pastry, leaving a 2cm border. Brush border with water. Place remaining sheet of pastry ontop. Pinch edges together to seal and form decorative pattern. Using a small knife, cut 3 slits in top of pastry to allow steam to escape during cooking.

3. Spray top of pie with oil. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden and puffed. Stand for 5 minutes. Serve. (We had it with a salad).

Pinterest Love

2012-02-19T21:24:00.000+08:00

I know I've already told you how much I'm loving Pinterest. I love all the fantastic ideas that I'm getting, the recipes I'm trying, and the gorgeous pics of everything from gardens and home decorating ideas to clothes and hairstyles to funny and even inspiring sayings. And I love, love, love that they're all pinned somewhere in cyberspace rather than taking up room all over my house.

So here are a few ideas from Pinterest that I've tried so far:

We had this Wrapped Up Pizza for dinner last night. Delicious.

I saw this cute idea and knew I had to make it. The "I love you because..." is printed and placed in the frame and then you can write a new message on the glass with a whiteboard marker. I bought a cheap but pretty frame and hot-glued some flowers I had in my scrapbooking stash and wa-lah! We all take it in turns to write messages for each other. It was my turn today.

This clever idea has cleared me a whole heap of space in my closet. Cheapo shower curtain rings ($2.98 for 10 at Big W) hooked onto a coat hanger to hold all your scarves. Brilliant.

And the kids made these cute Valentine's cards for their Dad. Yeah, I helped a little bit. But, how gorgeous are they? Their hands, with "I love you..."and a strip of paper between them that has "this much" written on it. And totally homemade, again with using up some of the scrapbooking stash.

Bad Mummy Moment #3964

2012-02-17T10:32:00.000+08:00

It's my day off today. Yay. I had plans for the day - nothing special but a few chores to do, some errands to run and a last minute arrangement to catch up with a friend for a coffee.

So we got ready for the day and I took the kids to school. Offspring #1 waved goodbye and headed for his classroom and I walked #2 to her classroom. And then #1 appeared to tell me he'd forgotten a special project he'd been working on. I agreed to go back home, collect it, and return to school with it when I'd finished getting #2 into class. All good.

#2 and I sorted out her reading book, she collected her chair and put it at her desk and then she started crying. She didn't want me to leave. She wanted to come home with me. Of course I said no. I wasn't having her pull this kind of stuff three weeks into grade one. What would I be setting myself up for if I let her come home with me because she was crying? I could see the rest of the year stretching ahead of me with a kid who wouldn't stay at school.

Then she upped the stakes.

She didn't feel well. Her tummy hurt. Hmmm... well that's the first I'd heard of it and since school was about to start I still wasn't falling for her routine. I took her to the teacher, explained the situation and said that I'd like #2 to give it a go and if she still didn't feel well a bit later they could call me and I'd come collect her. She had a relief teacher today, one that #2 knows, likes and is comfortable with who I also happen to have worked with so we did a bit of Mummy/Teacher talking in code stuff and were both on the same page. All good.

I raced home and collected #1's special project, zipped back to school and dropped it off and then took off to pay some bills in the local area before the planned trip down the hill. I made it to the first stop, all of six minutes away from school, before the phone call came.

So, guess who is now tucked up in her bed with a terribly sore belly and a bucket next to her? I followed my instincts and made her stay at school and now I feel awful. But if I'd let her come home when I thought she was bunging it on I wouldn't normally have been doing her any favours either.

This motherhood gig really needs to come with a handbook.

Woot Woot

2012-02-15T20:53:00.000+08:00

I get to go walking again tomorrow morning and I'm over-the-top, crazy excited about it. After some time of enforced inactivity, and the inevitable couple of kilo's to go with that, I'm actually looking forward to getting up at 5.30 tomorrow morning, pulling on my trackies and joggers and heading out. I'm a little bit afraid of how much the hills are going to hurt after these weeks off!

And I'm hoping that once I get back into the swing of doing some exercise I'll find it a bit easier to turn away from the chocolate, the chips and the generally crappy food choices I've been making.

Random Ravings

2012-02-13T20:37:00.000+08:00

Hello, hello! Sorry for the unexplained absence - the health stuff that we thought was sorted turned out to be not quite. I was trying hard to get back into the swing of the things with work, kids, school and the house while feeling like crap and worrying myself silly. Fast forward a week and all seems good and it's amazing what not worrying can do for your mood and general wellbeing. Yay. Still waiting on results of a couple of blood tests but they won't change things too much either way.

The downside of almost a week of bedrest and then more time of seriously restricted physical activity means that I haven't been doing my usual early morning walk and have been eating huge amounts of not-particularly-good-choices food. My clothes are tight and I'm feeling fat and frumpy. Now that everything seems okay I'm itching to pull my joggers back on and get out for my walks again. I'm really looking forward to that, and catching up with my neighbour who I walk with. I've missed our chats and hearing the news of the street.

The stage show of Mary Poppins is playing in Perth shortly. I really want to see it. The musical-hating-Hubby does not. AT ALL. So I'll be seeking others partners in crime for that one.

But I must, must, must remember to get tickets for Duran Duran. Have been meaning to do it for ages and keep forgetting. Mental note to self - do it this week!

I am LOVING My Kitchen Rules. Love the food, love the nice people, love the villains. Didn't love last season but do love this one.

I can't wait to see the first episode of Revenge tonight. And I really hope it's going to be as good as all the hype has made it out to be.

I am still loving Pinterest and all the things that I'm finding there. I made this totally delicious and super easy Sausage Casserole over the weekend and it was a huge hit with the whole family. Yes, even Miss Fussy! I made a couple of changes, like not using fennel because it's not in season and using zucchini because a friend had extras and gave me one, and will definitely be making this again.

And here's a new fave photo of the kids. We went for a walk along the river last weekend - the kids took their scooters and I took my camera. I got some great shots and am going to get some printed for framing later int he week.

Cupcakes and Comfort Food

2012-02-02T20:24:00.002+08:00

You know how the second day of anything is generally harder and slightly worse than the first? Like the first day of a new job is hard because of the unknown but the second day is harder because you actually know what you're in for.

Remember how yesterday, the first day of our school year, was all positive and good? Yeah.

The second day? Not so much.

Poor Offspring #2 came out of the classroom and was in tears before she even got to me. All of five steps away. She blubbered and babbled her way to the car before she eventually started speaking in a language I could understand. Oh my poor baby. Most of it was simple worrying about the world and not wanting to do the wrong thing, one part was about the class being told off because of two children who were misbehaving and another part had to do with the teacher asking them to write something and her having a panic because she's "only just started year 1 and I don't know how to write all the words yet!"

Offspring #1's day was deemed "okay" but he'd cut his finger and it hurt every time he tried to write. And when he saw his sister's tears he decided to join in the pity party

I hugged and kissed, commiserated and eased fears and racked my brain for how to make the afternoon just a little bit brighter. And then hit on the perfect solution.

So we made choc-chip cupcakes, iced them with chocolate icing and covered them with sprinkles. And then I made their second favourite dinner. Tuna and Pasta, or 70's style Tuna Mornay if you're feeling fancy. Cupcakes and comfort food. Guaranteed to make a rotten day just a little bit brighter.

Here's hoping tomorrow's a whole lot better.

Back to School

2012-02-01T20:09:00.002+08:00

And the long summer holidays finally draw to a close! That seven or so weeks of holidays just seemed to go on and on and on. Perhaps not to the school teaching Hubby but they did to me. And please don't think I mean that as a negative thing - I have loved having a break from routine, hanging out as a family and having the opportunity to be a bit spontaneous. Yeah, I said a bit spontaneous -I think we all know I can only cope with a little bit of spontaneity.

My kids were up, dressed and raring to go before six this morning. Yes seriously. And yes, that two and half hours until we actually left for school seemed a great deal longer. Offspring #1 is now in Year 5 and well and truly qualifies as one of the big kids. Even if he's still my tiny boy. And Offspring #2 was completely over-excited to be joining the BIG school in Year 1. She told me yesterday that she was looking forward to not having to be with "all those little kids". You know, the ones she spend last year with, quite happily.

I got a couple of gorgeous First Day photos...

And a couple of crazy face photos. And this one that showed exactly how fed up Offspring #2 was with the whole photo taking caper.

The actual drop off at their classrooms was something of an anti-climax. #1 gave me a wave and told me I could take #2 to her classroom now. And #2 settled into a seat next to one of her friends and told me I could go to work as she needed to be ready "to learn stuff" Good to feel wanted on such a big day.

And I'm very happy to report that while I spent the day at work worrying about them, they both had terrific first days, are happy with their teachers, brought home library books and are looking forward to tomorrow. Phew!

Woot Woot!

2012-01-30T21:49:00.000+08:00

I trotted down to see the doctor this afternoon. Again.

He checked on his handiwork from Friday evening's surgery and declared the problem to be fixed. HOORAY!!

I have to take things a little bit easy for the next few days, but that's just to make sure I ease back into top gear rather than trying to jump straight back to levels of crazy activity. I'm allowed back to work tomorrow and my boss has very kindly told me to only do as much as I can and to go home when I need to if I can't cope with a full day. I'd already arranged to work short days most of this week because school goes back on Wednesday so I'm thinking that'll let me get back to speed rather nicely.

And after a week and a bit of drama, drama, drama... I'm pretty darn happy to be easing back into things.

Home Again, Home Again...

2012-01-28T16:49:00.000+08:00

Jiggety Jig!

Well the bleed started again yesterday afternoon and a quick call through to the doctor resulted in me being told to meet him at the hospital and then scheduled for a spot of surgery at 6pm. This time it was all done in theatre and under a general anaesthetic, rather than with the use of local anaesthetic in his rooms, which meant he could dig around a bit more without me having a sooky-la-la cry.

I have to see him again Monday to be sure the bleeding has really, truly, properly stopped and then he's sending me off to have some blood tests to check my haemoglobin levels as well as something to do with clotting agents in my blood. In my usual sick and twisted way it struck me as funny that, after a week of minor arterial bleeding that has the doctor all worried, he's going to order more blood be taken in order to check how it's doing LOL.

The best news is that I'm no longer on bed rest. I'm not allowed to lift heavy things or do anything even mildly strenuous but I am allowed to get up, walk around and do some normal stuff. Yay! Unfortunately I'm feeling kinda wiped out so have actually spent most of the afternoon in/on my bed. But tomorrow I'll be tackling a few chores I'd had earmarked for the past week, like labelling all the school stuff for the kids.

And Here's One I Prepared Earlier...

2012-01-27T13:40:00.000+08:00

I made this last week before all the drama that has kept me in (or at least on) my bed but hadn't got to posting it yet. Well that and I didn't want to shock you all with two recipes in one week. I thought I'd better ease back into the cooking posts so as not make you all die of shock or set myself up for something I couldn't keep up with...

This is my first ever attempt at making a proper carbonara - normally I make more of an alfredo sauce with butter, garlic and cream. Lots of cream. Yum. But in the interests of being a bit healthier, and using up some of the egg supply, I decided to have a go at this. I love carbonara when I'm eating out but the idea of 'raw' eggs in a sauce that I'm making was always enough to stop me trying it myself. Well fear no more! The eggs do cook very nicely with the heat of the rest of the dish and there was nothing oozy or raw about it. (Though I suspect/know I overcooked it a little but heck it made me feel happier, I'll be that bit braver next time!) The kids wolfed this down AND went back for seconds. Yes, even the fussy one. Hubby wasn't as big a fan - he loves the creamy sauce and was a little disappointed to discover that dinner wasn't what he thought it was going to be but did admit that it was good. And I thought it was great as it ticked all the boxes for me - quick, easy and clean plates at the end of the meal. We'll be adding this to the Fast Food Filthy Friday rotation for sure.

Penne Carbonara

adapted slightly from The Thrifty Kitchen by Suzanne Gibbs and Kate Gibbs

Serves 4

400g penne

1/3 cup olive oil

150g bacon, finely chopped

5 eggs, beaten (the original recipe uses 3 but I found that wasn't enough, and I had a couple of quite small eggs, so I added two more and it was perfect)

3/4 cup grated fresh parmesan

freshly ground pepper

1. Cook the penne in a large pan of boiling water until al dente.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the bacon for 5 or so minutes over medium until browned and crisp.

3. Drain the pasta and add it to the fry pan with the bacon, tossing it through to thoroughly coat it. Remove from the heat and add the beaten egg, stirring constantly so that it quickly cooks into a smooth creamy sauce. Stir through half the cheese and the ground pepper.

4. Pile into serving bowls and top with the remaining cheese and extra pepper if desired.

Bugger!

2012-01-26T06:22:00.001+08:00

The bed rest and finger crossing doesn't seem to have done the trick. So after a not brilliant night I've spoken to the hospital and have to meet the doctor in an hour and a half.

If you could keep up with the finger crossing? Thanks.

Update at 10.30am:

Back from seeing the doctor. It seems that a minor arterial bleed caused all the trouble - it would stop for a bit and then go again and decided to go a bit crazy at 1am and again at 2am but then settled until 5am. The doctor has 'sealed' it with silver nitrate and I'm back on bedrest for an extra few days. All being well this should be the end of the drama. But he has given me his mobile number "just in case". That finger crossing I asked you for? Please keep at it. Pretty please?

And any more suggestions for websites, blogs or Pinterest requests would be most welcome.

Still Here

2012-01-25T20:11:00.000+08:00

I've spent most of the day following the doctors orders.

I did overdo it slightly this morning, gave myself a wee fright and spent the rest of the day trying to make up for it. So, all from the comfort of my bed I've played board games, been adorned with jewellery and joined in with some crazy made up game that involved tiny little toy puppies and the girl-child being their mum who had to go to work, shopping and out with friends. A lot. I totally took that as the guilt trip it was intended to be. I also watched tv, read and played on my laptop. Oh and I fitted in a nap too. Hubby has been wonderful, sorting the kids, organising meals and hanging up load after load of washing.

I 've got tomorrow to get through in the same way so while I have you here... got any suggestions for blogs or websites that I should check out? Are you on Pinterest? What's your name over there - I'll check out your boards and follow you. Or if you're not on and want an invite leave me a message in the comments and I'll take care of it.

I did launch into a big whinge here then came back and deleted it because I sounded like a total brat with first world problems. I am ridiculously lucky to live in a country with great health care, to earn enough to be able to pay for private health insurance and see the doctors of my choice in the hospital of my choice and to be able to afford to have a few days off work while I get better. So whinge over. If being bored is the worst of my problems then I'm doing just fine.

Ups and Downs

2012-01-24T18:54:00.001+08:00

Ummm, a warning to my male readers. Yeah, all two of you. Lady parts are discussed in this post so you might just wanna go read the paper and come back tomorrow. Okay? You've been warned, carry on at your own risk...

It's all about the ups and downs here, people. I had a routine 'well woman's check' with my regular GP a while ago and she decided to send me off to see a gynaecologist for some, shall we say... lady issues. I saw him last week and he did a little procedure, told me I was very brave, outlined what to expect for a couple of days and sent me on my merry way. Yay me. Fast forward to today when things went a little awry while I was at work and I put in a quick call to his office to be told that no, that was not okay and I should be in his office in two hours time. Please.

A mad dash up the hill was followed by an equally mad dash back down the hill in a different direction where I was seen very promptly and, amid much head shaking, he spent an hour or so fixing me back up. Nothing quite as reassuring as being told that I'd saved myself a trip to theatre and he was very pleased that I'd had a small panic and called because if it had been left till tonight we would have been making a mad dash to hospital. He very nicely informed me I would not be working for the rest of the week, I would not be partying for Australia Day and that I was very lucky he wasn't sticking me on bed rest until he saw me again. He was just severely curtailing all activity that involved moving around.

So, I'm seeing him again on Friday morning so he can check up on me and (finger's crossed BIG TIME!) all will be well, good and fixed up. Otherwise, he tells me, it'll be hospital bed all the way.

So I'm resting, with my feet up, playing on the computer, and keeping my fingers crossed. If you could do the finger crossing too I'd me mighty grateful.

Sand + Sunburn = Summer

2012-01-23T21:35:00.000+08:00

We took a day trip up to Moore River with a neighbour family, setting out early and arriving home a little over 12 hours later, and spent the day in the boat. And despite several applications of sunscreen, the wearing of hats and rashies and the shade tent being up we still managed to end the day with sand through everything and varying degrees sunburn.

Here are the kids, totally over-excited and ready to party at six thirty this morning.

Well, to say in the boat would be exaggerating - we spent some time cruising up and down the river and a whole heap more time playing in the river, climbing huge sandhills, enjoying a picnic lunch and having lots of fun.

Me and my boy

The girl and her Dad.

Moore River, or Guilderton as the town is really called, is about an hour and a half away - perfect for a weekend getaway but also doable for a day trip. It's a quiet little town on the coast and the river is separated from the ocean by a sizeable sand bar.

The river is lovely - clean, calm and with a nice low speed restriction for river traffic so it's perfect for a quiet day in the boat. I took heaps of photos but Blogger isn't letting me load them all so I've just put a few up. I'm a bit sad about that as I managed to get a whole bunch of really lovely pics of Offspring #1. Normally it's #2 hogging the camera and being pretty so I was really pleased to get some of my boy. I'll try to post them later in the week.

Back To Baking

2012-01-22T13:44:00.001+08:00

I know I haven't been posting many recipes lately and I'm determined to get back to not only cooking new things, but also sharing them with you all. I've had a throw-out of some magazines that were lying around and also had a good dig through all the torn out recipe pages that have been shoved into the ugly binders. Both ugly binders are full to bursting with lovely recipes and ideas, some I need to plan for when we have dinner guests, others are terrific for weeknight family meals, and I can't wait to try some of them out.

I made this yummy savoury tart for dinner last night and served it with a garden salad. I didn't have the proper tart tin but used a regular slice tin and, while it didn't look quite as pretty as the picture in the magazine, it was just fine. It also had the added bonus of using 4 eggs - and with the chooks now laying five or six every day I'm very happy with recipes that use up lots of them.

A quick question. Well two really. Does the idea of making pastry from scratch intimidate or scare you? I learnt how to make pastry a couple of years ago (after always buying the frozen stuff) and now can't believe I was ever worried about how hard it was. The pastry for this tart is the easiest yet so don't let the idea that you're making it from scratch scare you off. Question number two- do you know what 'blind baking is'? I was chatting with a friend a while ago and she had no idea what I meant when I said that something needed to be blind baked.

Broccollini Tart

from Australian Good Taste, February 2011

265 (1 3/4 cups) plain flour

125g butter, chilled, chopped

2-3 tbsp chilled water

4 short-cut bacon rashers, thinly sliced

65g (3/4 cup) coarsely grated cheddar

1 bunch broccollini, trimmed

4 eggs

125ml (1/2 cup) pouring cream

1. Process flour and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add water until mixture just comes together . Roll out onto a lightly floured surface until 5mm thick. Line an 11.5 x 34cm fluted tart tin, with removable base, with pastry. Trim the excess. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes or until light golden. Transfer to a place lined with pater towel.

3. Preheat oven to 200C. Line the pastry case with non-stick baking paper and fill with pastry weights or rice. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and pastry weights or rice. Bake for a further 5 minutes or until light golden. Reduce the oven temperature to 160C.

4. Place the tin on a baking tray. Sprinkle half the bacon and half the cheddar over the pastry case. Arrange the broccollini on top, trimming to fit as necessary. Whisk the eggs and cream in a bowl until well combined. Pour over the broccollini. Sprinkle with remaining bacon and cheddar. Bake for 35 minutes or until just set.

Holiday Slide Night!

2012-01-21T09:11:00.000+08:00

I took sooooo many photos. But I know Felicity took about three hundred more than me! Here are some of the hundreds from my camera...

Here's the gorgeous Pacific Ocean (not the Indian that I'm used to seeing!), a street name that I couldn't go past without snapping a pic, a cane toad and the sign at the boat ramp that would make me think twice about putting the boat in the water!

My new favourite houses. Ever. I want one.

And the block of land that Felicity wanted me to tell Hubby I'd bought so we could move closer to her...

The restaurant we visited for dinner one night (it was fantastic), and a few of the local sights

And a shot of Felicity and I, taken on our last day by her seven year old daughter. It's off-centre and blurry as all get out and I absolutely love it because it reminds me of a wonderful few days.

I'm Home!

2012-01-17T20:55:00.000+08:00

I got home after midnight and made it to bed at around one this morning. Sadly the alarm went off at 6am and I was up and off to work.

I had the most wonderful time visiting Felicity and her gorgeous family. We talked and talked and talked, did some site-seeing, ate out, drank about a thousand cups of tea and talked some more. Her husband very kindly reminded us to stop talking and take a breath on more than one occasion!

Right now I'm going to have a cuppa with my very fabulous husband who made the whole trip possible. But I'll be back tomorrow with some more photos.

One More Sleep!

2012-01-11T20:30:00.000+08:00

I've worked, shopped and washed today and bright and early tomorrow morning I'm outta here. I am so excited about seeing Felicity - I can't believe it's been three years! Can't wait to sit down with a cup of tea and just chat away without having to worry how long I've been on the phone and what it's doing to the phone bill.

Pretty much every conversation I've had today has started with, "By the way, did you know I'm going to Queensland tomorrow?" Half the people at work are totally excited for me and the other half wish I'd just shut up! Work was busy, busy, busy but I managed to skip my lunch break and get away a little bit early. A quick run into the shops to grab a couple of last minute things then home to get some washing on - some stuff I wanted to take away with me and getting my work clothes washed because I'll get home after midnight on Monday night (Tuesday morning really!) and need to be at work to collect last minute info at 8.30 Tuesday morning to take it into a 9am meeting. Might need some matchsticks to hold my eye-lids up that day. But I'll deal with all that then.

I'm packed, I have a book and a magazine for the plane and Hubby has the kid stuff under control for the next few days (and I'll be speaking to them pretty much every day anyway). Right now I'm enjoying a cuppa and the last fruit mince pie, then onto very important holiday prep - leg shaving and toe nail painting - and then bed. I'm thinking a couple of panadol might be in order to make sure I actually go to sleep. I think 4.30am is gonna arrive really soon!

Not sure I'll have a chance to post while I'm away (too many cups of tea to drink and too much talking to do) but I promise I'll share photos when I get back.

So, Did I Tell You...

2012-01-10T20:20:00.000+08:00

That I'm going to Queensland? Oh yes I am!

After Hubby totally outdid himself with my awesome birthday party he took it to a whole new level with my birthday present - a plane ticket to visit one my BFF's who just happens to live in Queensland. You might remember me talking about the very gorgeous, very lovely and just all round super nice Felicity when we lived up in Red Dirt Central? Her twins are the same age as Offspring #2 and we hit it off straight away. We left Red Dirt Central to come back to Perth and some time later Felicity and her family left to return to Queensland. We've stayed in touch (thank heavens for Facebook which make it so easy to keep up with my friends who are scattered through the country and even the world!) and although I invited her to my party I knew she wasn't going to be able to come.

Hubby to the rescue! As he said, "If Mohamed won't come to the mountain, I'll have to send the mountain to visit Mohamed. Or Felicity." It was one of those completely unexpected, totally out of the blue presents that just blow you away.

So I'm going to Queensland. All by myself. For five days.

And I leave on Thursday.

Oh yeah!

Chookie Paradise

2012-01-08T10:45:00.000+08:00

Hubby finished of the chook (chicken or hen, for you out of towners!) pen and then he and the kids headed off to get us some chooks.

Here's the chook pen in all its over-engineered, Taj Mahal like glory.

And the girls' accommodation. Complete with gas lanterns and railings to tie the horses when the roosters ride into to town and call in to visit. No, not really. It's not that sort of a hen house!

And here are a couple of the girls.

They look a bit scrawny and tattered because they're ex-battery hens. Hubby heard from one the neighbours that one of the egg farms sells their hens off for $5 when they're not 'producing as well as they should' ie, they drop down to an egg ever day or two rather than pumping out two eggs a day. We've been told that within a couple of months of space, food and care they'll be back to an egg a day and a couple of months after that they should have regrown their feathers and look a little more, um... attractive. In the meantime they're having a ball scratching in the dirt, pigging out on vegie scraps and exploring their pen.

And the kids are having a ball checking on the chooks every five minutes, reporting back to us on how the girls are doing and collecting the eggs. Because, despite them being considered 'past it' and 'poor layers' the six chooks have still pumped out five eggs each day. I'm hoping that means they aren't too traumatised and are loving their new home.

How Are My Children Different?

2012-01-05T18:40:00.000+08:00

Let me count the ways!

They have always been polar opposites in looks but as their own characters form their other differences become more and more apparent too.

Most of the way through dinner tonight they asked "is there any dessert?" When told 'no' boy-child polished off his dinner because 'otherwise I'll still be hungry' while girl-child shrugged her shoulders and declared she was finished - she obviously saw no point in finishing the rest of her dinner if there was no sweet treat at the end.

Gotta Love Holiday Time

2012-01-03T21:48:00.000+08:00

We took a break from the house cleaning and chook pen building to pack a picnic morning tea, throw the canoe on top of the car and take the kids to the lake for the morning.

The kids played in the water, we all had a paddle on the lake, we pigged out on fruit, dip and vegie sticks and finished the last of the only-at-Christmas-coz-it's-special coloured popcorn. Then we paddled some more, played more, threw a tennis ball for the boy-child to catch in the water about three thousand times and finally all had an ice-cream from the cafe to top off a fun, relaxing and totally enjoyable family morning.

Here are some of the pics I did manage to get before my memory card was full. I really must remember to empty that thing - Offspring #2's ice-cream smile really should have been immortalised here too!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T20:52:00.000+08:00

Yeah, I know. Such an original title. Here's a post of random flotsam and jetsam to get me back into the swing of all things bloggy.

We had a very quiet New Year's Eve - partly because I was still feeling a little under the weather and partly because we were just worn out after all the birthday/Christmas/Boxing Day celebrations. Did a bit of shopping with the kids in the afternoon - them spending their Christmas money and us getting as much of their school stuff as we could - then saw Happy Feet 2 (umm... don't bother) before picking up take-away noodles for dinner. Sparklers at 8.30 and kidlets tucked up into bed at 9pm. Lovely. Offspring #1 did kick up a bit of a fuss that he didn't get to stay up till midnight but we told him that 9pm here was midnight on the East coast (ie where his much loved, admired and adored Aunty Carmen lives) so he was in fact celebrating at midnight. And he bought it. Don't think I'll get away with that one next year.

I received lots of vouchers for my birthday and have had a lovely time spending them all about the place. I'll share some pics of my purchases later in the week - it's dark now and if I try to take any photos they'll only look yellow and crappy.

I've done a bit of research on kidney stones and diets that reduce their likelihood. OMG! Don't google stuff unless you want to be scared stupid people. But the main idea seems to be no salt, no dark cola (ie my lifeblood, the coca-da-cola), no chocolate and no potatoes. I know I need to look at it in more detail and will do so in the next little bit, and of course it's all worth it to not ever go through that pain again, but c'mon. Salt and chocolate are food groups as far as I'm concerned.

The ever clever hubby is being his usual ever clever self. He's in the midst of building the Taj Mahal of chook pens. This thing is enormous, a work of art and worthy of holding something way more exciting than four chookies. But, chookies it will hold. And hopefully by the end of the week too. Pics to come.

He was also very clever and fixed the bed when I broke it. Twice. No, I wasn't doing anything exciting but I did learn a valuable lesson. Sometimes you need to ask for help to move furniture. Otherwise it breaks. Twice. Luckily he's ever clever and fixed the broken weld (ummm, okay, both of them) and then put the bed back together before I could break it again.

The reason I needed to move the bed in the first place is because I've been on a cleaning frenzy. And no, not and OCD induced frenzy. This one is a good healthy "Gosh I'm sick of the mess and I need to make the house look like I want it to instead of an episode of Hoarders". I'm working through a room at a time, moving furniture, giving everything a good clean from skirting board to cornices and everything in between. The trailer is filling up with stuff that was either a) general clutter, b) things that serve no purpose whatsoever, c) broken stuff or d) all of the above. I have books for the second hand book store, things for the op shop, various bits and pieces to be returned and stuff to be donated. Tomorrow afternoon is the living room and, if there's enough time, both bathrooms.

And we're taking the kids on a picnic tomorrow morning. There will be water, sun, sand and me and my camera hoping to catch some gorgeous summer shots of the kids having fun.

Not Such A Pleasant Discovery

2011-12-29T20:45:00.000+08:00

So...

Kidney Stones.

Well, that seems to be the general verdict from everyone I talk to.

Not a whole heap of fun. And everyone who says they've heard they can be worse than childbirth or a broken bone? Yeah, they're right.

Maybe this turning 40 thing isn't quite that much fun, after all.

Christmas Photo Dump

2011-12-27T16:04:00.000+08:00

Like so many others, we alternate whose family we spend Christmas Day with - this year was with Hubby's family and Boxing Day was spent with mine. So two huge days of celebrating, eating, drinking, presents, more eating and then a bit more celebrating.

Here are some of the shots I love most from the past couple of days. They aren't all great shots but they make me smile.

Merry Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T20:08:00.000+08:00

Santa himself came to visit this evening - handing out lollies and kindly escorted by the local volunteer fire-brigade. I love living somewhere that does that.

And the kids have opened their Christmas Eve present (pj's and a Santa hat), the aim of which is to bring the excitement levels down just a notch but this year it seems to have had the opposite effect.

We've left the carrots and bucket of water out for the reindeer. There's a plate of home-made Rocky Road and a nice cold beer waiting on the table for Santa. And the stockings have been carefully hung in their traditional place on the back of the couch.

And now I'm going to wait for my own little elves to fall asleep and then I'll finish wrapping all the presents with the Carols In The Domain (or whatever one it is that's on tonight) on the tv in the background.

Whatever you're doing tomorrow, I hope you're sharing Christmas with loved ones and that you all have a wonderfully Merry Christmas. Much love to you all from the house on the hill xx

On The Other Side!

2011-12-23T22:53:00.000+08:00

Wow! After what seemed like a week of celebrating (and, let's be honest, actually was a week of celebrating!) I finally hit the big Four Oh yesterday and what a day I had.

Hubby, after seriously outdoing himself with all the party stuff, totally surprised me with his gift. He's sending me off to see one of my bff's from Red Dirt Central who now lives in Queensland! He made secret phone calls across the country, booked the tickets and threatened the kids with certain death if they spilled the secret. And then he handed me my birthday card, waited for the tears and calmly handed me a tissue. I am SOOOOO excited! The big trip is in a couple of weeks but I reckon Felicity and I will burn up the phone lines between now and then.

We had a family lunch with more pressies and another birthday cake - this one was a pile of delicious custard filled profiteroles...

And I got a couple of nice pics with the kids.

After a short rest we headed off to to dinner at another bff's house. And enjoyed another birthday cake, this time made by the very gorgeous daughter of the house who is turning into quite the chef. The photo really doesn't do the cake justice but it was beautifully decorated and ever so delicious.

And so the curtain finally draws to a close on my fabulous 40th birthday. It was the most fun-filled, love filled, wonderful birthday and I've had the most amazing time celebrating it.

Downhilll Slide

2011-12-21T17:28:00.000+08:00

Today I've done washing, tidied the house, helped supervise a pool party, finished the Christmas shopping (and if I haven't got it all now, it's not gonna happen cos I'm not going back again). I do still have the food shopping to do and might duck out after the kids have gone to bed to get that out of the way.

But right now? I'm about to crack open a bottle of wine and enjoy a last drink on the last day of my thirties. And when I wake up tomorrow I'll be in a whole new part of my life. If, as 'they' say, life does begin at 40... I say bring it on!

Almost 40!

2011-12-19T20:39:00.000+08:00

It's my birthday later in the week and, as most of you know, it's a big one. The big Four-Oh! And in order to celebrate in a way that we'd be sure to remember for years it was decided that I'd have an 80's themed Formal do. Hubby went a little bit crazy on a Chinese website buying all manner of party extras - strobe lights, laser lights, mirror tile stickers and then set to work making the back deck into party central.

People. It was AWESOME!! I haven't laughed so much, danced so much or had so much fun in years. And since just about every single photo of me has me holding a glass of bubbly I think it's fair to say there may have been champagne involved!

I had my hair done in the afternoon so that it was suitably 80's in style - big curls and all swept upon one side - and slathered on the blue eyeshadow and blue eyeliner.

Hubby made the most spectacular decorations.

My girlfriends frocked up appropriately.

And the boys did their part too. (I made Hubby shave off his beard so he could rock the Magnum mo. I have a thing for Magnum. Hubby's darn lucky I didn't make him wear high waisted tight shorts to go with his Hawaiian shirt and Magnum mo!)

And we took to the dance floor with the seven hour playlist of 80's music, admired ourselves in the mirrored wall, exclaimed over the lights and laughed ourselves silly when we couldn't see each other when someone got a bit over-enthusiastic with the smoke machine.

A friend of a friend make the special request birthday cake that was a work of art in itself. I was thrilled with it. And it tasted great too.

I had such a fantastic time that I suggested to Hubby we should do it all over again soon. Like maybe for New Year's Eve. He rolled his eyes, shook his head and walked away laughing. I'm gonna take that as a 'yes'!

Almost There

2011-12-12T21:41:00.001+08:00

The end of the school year is just two days away and we're all looking forward to the holidays. Sleep ins, family time, lots of playing and some nice treats in the middle. I've still got lots of Christmas stuff to get organised but I finally got the teacher's presents done...

I went with the Cookie Mix In A Jar again this year and, with half of them distributed today and the rest being delivered tomorrow, they have been very well received.

Diary Of A Week That Was

2011-12-11T09:17:00.001+08:00

Wow! I know we're all saying it but the weeks are flying by at the moment.

Monday: House chores, food shopping, baking for Tuesday night, Carols by Candlelight at school. Late night for the kids.

Tuesday: Grumpy kids from late night. Work, race home to throw together pavlova and collect other baked goods, kids and Hubby then across to Mum's for dinner with a truckload of rellies (relatives for those unfamiliar with the Aussie version) who are in town for a wedding. Late night for the kids

Wednesday: Even grumpier kids from the night before. Work. Catch up on washing, ironing

Thursday: You guessed it, kids are still grumpy. Start out for work before realising that the 'unpleasant' start to my morning was actually a tummy bug of sorts. Ring boss, go home. Alternate between couch and toilet. Ick.

Friday: Kids are slightly less grumpy (thanks heavens!). Final school assembly of the year that goes on and on and on. House chores. Fast food filthy Friday. Made a start on wrapping the Christmas presents.

Saturday: Early start for swimming lessons, a bit of shopping, Santa photos, Offspring #1 to a birthday party, house cleaning, more washing, collect #1 and out to dinner for a friends 50th.

Sunday: Sleeeeeeep in! And now on the with rest of the chores, food shopping because I'm working most of the week, baking, finishing off the teacher gifts for school and I rather suspect Hubby's going to have me out raking leaves at some point.

My Gappy Girl, Part II

2011-12-04T17:25:00.000+08:00

Rather sooner than I was expecting, but after much (MUCH!) wobbling Offspring #2 presented this smile to me this afternoon. Okay, smile might be stretching it a bit.

This year's Santa photo is gonna be fab. And thanks heavens the family photos we had booked in the lead up to Christmas happened last weekend. You know, when she still had teeth in her head!

And The Winner Is....

2011-12-03T06:20:00.000+08:00

With only six comments (and only five valid ones - sorry Dr Alice, I'll get to your request in the next few days!) Hubby was given the honour of rolling the dice to come up with the winner.

Congratulations Anne!

Your prize is in the mail. Happy Shopping!

Prize-a-palooza Take III

2011-12-01T19:54:00.000+08:00

The third and final competition, courtesy of Mums United and Soup, is up and running. It's open from now until 6pm Perth time, tomorrow (Friday, 2nd Dec).

What's up for grabs? A gift card for Kmart, valued at $100. The idea is that you'll use it to purchase things that will help you be more active - whether that's sports equipment for the kids, new work-out gear for yourself or some fun pool toys. And considering that Christmas is just a few weeks away I'm thinking this is pretty good timing.

What do you have to do? I'm going to make you work for this one. You need to answer a couple of simple question to be in the running and I'll be drawing the winner at random.

Who can enter? As long as you're in Australia, you can enter. Just leave your answers as a comment.

Questions 1: Tell me one recipe that you've tried from my blog.

Questions 2: How did it turn out?

Questions 3: Would you make it again?

See, easy! Good luck!!

Time For A Visit

2011-11-30T21:32:00.000+08:00

From the Tooth Fairy!!

The other front tooth is kinda wobbly too and we're wondering if we might be singing a certain song about Christmas and the wanting of teeth in the next few weeks... (and yes, that's chocolate on her face. She spent the afternoon at a birthday party and came home all sugar-ed up and covered in chocolate).

Just Stuff

2011-11-24T20:13:00.000+08:00

I had big plans to run the final competition today but instead have developed the head cold from hell. From Hell people! My poor head is so stuffed up - I can't hear, breathe through my nose, swallow without wincing and my normally nasal Aussie twang is decidedly more nasal.

So, I'll get back to you on when the comp will run. Probably the beginning of next week instead (I know lots of you check in at work and I want as many of you to have a chance as possible) - I'll give you some advance warning because this comp is going to be short, sweet, fast and furious. Well, that might be a bit optimistic but it'll only run for a couple of hours so you'll have to get in quick once it opens. Stay tuned!

Oh and the head cold? We can firmly blame that on the girl child who battled asthma attacks most of last week which left me with a severe sleep deficit which in turn left me quite run down and susceptible to the bugs and germs floating around at the moment. Bloody kids.

Gratituesday

2011-11-22T20:30:00.000+08:00

Yay! Hubby's been (re)appointed as to a permanent position in his job. He had permanency years ago, then I talked him into getting a different job and we moved up to Red Dirt Central, then back to Perth again, then he worked in industry for a couple of years and eventually went back to his old job. But without permanency. And finally, all these years later (and after me promising that I will never make him move house or apply for jobs on his behalf ever again) he has his permanency back. And is attached to one workplace. Like, forever. Woot Woot!

Enormous relief all round.

Except for the never moving house again bit.

But really, all super-duper goodliness!

Menus and Easy Meals

2011-11-21T19:40:00.000+08:00

I know it's been a while since I shared a menu plan with you all. I'm still planning away with the best of them but the plans haven't been particularly exciting of late. I can't, in all honesty, say that this week is any more exciting but we're having a few dishes that we all like so I thought I'd add in some links to meals I've posted before for you to re-visit. Tonight's dinner is below and this week I'm also planning on Herb and Mustard Barbecued Chicken, Chicken Master Blaster and a BBQ with this delish looking Proscuitto and Pear Salad courtesy of Melody at biglittlesister.

Jodi asked me for some easy Christmas dish ideas so I threw together something for dinner that I think would be a nice addition to the Christmas table. It would also be a good 'using up the leftovers' kind of meal too. It was delicious, a little bit different from a regular salad and it was also dead simple. In the interests of full disclosure I will point out that, as I was wanting the offspring to eat dinner I used some yummy beef sausages rather than chorizo.

Warm Roasted Vegetable Salad with Chorizo

1 bag mixed lettuce leaves

3 medium potatoes, chopped in half then each half into 8 pieces

1 red onion, quartered

3 carrots, topped and tailed, peeled and sliced length ways

1/2 butternut pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 5cm (2 inch) squares

2 handfuls of green beans, topped and tailed

1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes

1 tablespoon pine nuts

1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

feta cheese

4 chorizo sausages

Preheat oven to 200C. Place potatoes in large roasting dish, toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with alfoil and bake in oven for 30 minutes.

Remove potatoes from oven, add other vegetables (except tomatoes) to the roasting dish. Return to oven and cook, uncovered for a further 30 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook a further 20 minutes until vegetables are browned and tender. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.

While vegetables are cooling, place pine nuts and sunflower seeds in a dry frying pan and gently brown over medium heat for 5 or so minutes. Set browned seed mixture aside to cool.

Cook chorizo sausages. Drain the sausages on paper towel and then slice them up.

Empty the bag of lettuce leaves onto a large serving platter. Arrange roasted vegetables over the lettuce. Add sliced chorizo. Crumble feta over the top of the salad and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and sunflower seeds.

And The Winner Is...

2011-11-18T18:25:00.000+08:00

My wee girl has helped me select a winner - very scientific methods again, this time involving numbers, eyes closed, selecting a slip of paper and announcing that number 4 was the winning number. And the person who left the fourth comment was....

Drum roll please...

SUE!!!!

Congrats to you Sue. I'm sure your boy will think his new baseball cleats are just wonderful and I'm equally sure the household budget will be pleased with them too.

And for the rest of you... stay tuned. All is not lost. I've got one more comp coming up - it's going to be fast and furious and it'll be happening next week. Stay tuned.

Counting Down

2011-11-18T07:14:00.000+08:00

Happy Friday peeps! It's a gorgeous sunny morning her in the hills, I've been out for my walk and am raring to go. What are you up to today? Is it the final day of your working week? Day off to do something nice? Or just catching up on all the chores before the weekend hits? Either way, I hope you have a great day.

Just a quick reminder - we're in the final hours of the competition for the $100 Rebel Sports giftcard. Scroll down a bit to the Prize-a-palooza II post and leave a comment to enter. Simple.

I'll be drawing the winner tonight and so far there are only 10 entries so the odds are pretty darn good. Good Luck!

Not Quite

2011-11-17T17:44:00.000+08:00

Offspring #2 has been bringing reading books home for a while now and her reading is coming along in leaps and bounds. She's got site words happening and is reading simple beginner books and, as the book-loving, English teaching mummy, I couldn't be more proud to see her growing and learning and loving it.

So today a new little book came home. The title is "Rhymes with Goat" and it's has a picture and a word for each page. Goat, coat, boat, etc. We sound it out - B - oat, boat. And then go onto the next one. We hit moat. M-oat. Moat. There was a picture of a castle with a moat and it was all looking good. So I asked her if she knew what a moat was.

"Yep. A 'mote control. You know, what you use to change the channel on the tv?"

Cue Hubby and I giggling and a quick explanation of castles, moats and their uses. She thinks the 'mote control is a much better idea.

PS Don't forget to enter my competition to win a $100 Rebel Sports gift voucher. Just scroll down a little till you reach the Prize-a-palooza II post, leave a comment and you'll be in the running. It closes tomorrow at 6pm so get a wriggle on.

NaNo is a no-no

2011-11-16T20:28:00.000+08:00

Remember not so long ago when I got all crazy (okay, crazier!) and announced that I was giving NaNoWriMo 2011 a go? Well working on the plan that you write 50,000 words over the 30 days of November you're encouraged to aim for 1600 words each day. And at the end of the first week I had a grand total of zero words. Yep, zilch, zip, nada. Not a single word had made it onto paper and I totally beat myself up trying to work out how I could write 12,000 or so words in a way that helped the story I started last year (made it to 28,000 then) and made some sort of sense all inside a day or two. Then, finally, I had a brief moment of clarity and common sense and realised that, actually, I had a whole heap going on and I really, really didn't have the time, energy or will to take on one more thing. And the sense of relief was overwhelming. OVERWHELMING! And that helped me regain just the teensiest bit of sanity.

So I'm not doing NaNoWriMo 2011 after all. But I do love what I have written so far so I;m not pushing the writing idea entirely aside.

And I'm about to submit an enrolment application for a degree course for next year. And that's kinda crazy too.

Prize-a-palooza Part II

2011-11-15T06:57:00.001+08:00

Yay, it's time for the second competition. Thanks once again to Mum's United and Soup for providing the prize and it's a doozy.

Up for grabs is a Rebel Sports gift card valued at $100. That's right, $100 to spend on whatever makes you happy at Rebel Sports. Need new shoes for netball? There you go. Need something to wear when you take up that class at your local gym? Here it is. Want some sports equipment for the kids? Well then you need this. And with the timing of this one I think it'd come in mighty handy for Christmas.

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment. And it can be about anything at all - what you're doing today, what's for dinner tonight, what you did on the weekend, something strange or weird or wonderful that you've learned recently. Anything. Competition closes at 6pm (Perth time) on Friday 18th November.

Again, the winner will be chosen completely at random and you must be in Australia to be eligible. So get to commenting. And good luck!!

Moments Like These

2011-11-13T18:32:00.000+08:00

You know those little moments where the love of your life does something so extraordinarily sweet and chick-flick romantic movie-ish that your insides melt a little bit and you wonder what you did to deserve someone who loves you so much?

This is what Hubby served me for Sunday night easy-peasy, what can I find in the fridge/freezer, dinner.

Yes, I'm totally over-tired. But this make me smiley and teary and ridiculously happy all at the same time.

Friday On My Mind

2011-11-11T21:43:00.000+08:00

Wow, that was a busy day!

Offspring #2's class presented the school assembly today - soooooo cute. They were all dressed as dentists, teeth or tubes of toothpaste and sang a couple of songs about teeth and brushing. And to top it off #2 received an honour certificate. Very proud mummy moment there.

Then off to watch #1 competing at the interschool sports carnival. Not an altogether difficult task - sit in the shade of some lovely big gumtrees, surrounded by other mum friends from school, and spend a few hours chatting, catching up on the news and cheering for the kids.

Add in some cleaning, several loads of washing, a quick drink with a former boss visiting from interstate, home again in time for dinner and packing for a night away with the kids and I'm looking at the clock and wondering what happened to my day. The walk that started the day at 5.30am seems like a very, very long time ago.

Anyway, I'm off with the kids for a quick getaway so I'll be back early in the week with a new competition. Have a great weekend!

And The Winners Are...

2011-11-10T20:43:00.000+08:00

In a very unscientific way I gathered together all of the entries

Crumpled them up and put them in a small bowl...

And picked out my three winners!

Huge congrats to RebeccaR, Andy Pandy and Jen. Please email me your details and I'll post your $50 ColesMyer vouchers off to you. Huge thanks to Mums United and Soup for providing the prizes.

And for those of you who missed out... watch this space, I've got a couple more competitions to run courtesy of Mums United and Soup and the next one will be going up next week!

Two Hours Left!

2011-11-10T15:59:00.000+08:00

Quick, scroll down and leave a comment on the Prize-a-palooza post to be in the running to win a $50 gift card. There's only two hours left and, at the moment, I've only got about 7 valid entries. Go to it!

My Hero

2011-11-08T20:33:00.000+08:00

Or Gratituesday, on a Monday!

Thank goodness Hubby borrowed my car when I got it from work today. And thank goodness it ended up with the tyre parked exactly how it was. And thank goodness he looked at the tyre and realised that it was split in four places (or almost all the way round) and, in his words, was 'set to blow'. So he drove home very, very carefully and promptly changed the tyre and loaded the old one into his car so he can get it replaced tomorrow. He said that he really didn't think I would have made the trip to and from work tomorrow without it blowing out, and because it was a front tyre it could have been pretty darn dangerous. But I don't have to worry about that anymore, because he fixed it. Like I said, my hero.

Don't forget to enter the first of my competitions sponsored by Mums United and Soup here. It's super easy, there are three prizes and it'll be drawn on Thursday so go do it, quick!

Prize-a-palooza!

2011-11-07T21:21:00.000+08:00

Remember me talking about October being the month for Mums United? And asking you all how you were planning to be a bit healthier and a bit more active in October? Well, thanks to the extremely kind people at Mums United the very lovely Dana at Soup has sent me some quite fabbo prizes to give to you my lovelies!

So what have I done to be more healthy and active in October?

I've gone back to taking my lunch to work - we have a lovely canteen/mess on site but I found I couldn't help but have just a tiny bit of the pasta salad/chocolate eclair/potato bake. So back to my ham and salad sandwiches and I feel a hundred times better for it.

I'm still walking in the mornings but haven't added anything extra. I have found an aqua-zumba class that sounds like awesome fun but I know I need someone to go with me to actually get me there.

I tried to get Hubby and the kids onto low fat milk and failed dismally. But I tried.

We also tried one of the low fat cheeses that Mums United recommended. Sadly no-one in my family liked it. Not even me. To be honest it tasted like cardboard. We do however like several other low fat cheeses so we'll be making the switch to them permanently.

I cooked a cake using margarine instead of butter. Ummm.... sorry, not gonna do that again.

We switched to margarine as our every day spread for three weeks. And then we switched back. There were several reasons but not least on the list was taste and the number of additives that, as a mum, really concerned me.

But for now.... on with the prizes!

Trying new products that are healthy can be pretty expensive and I'm sure that, just like me, you're all struggling to keep the bills to a manageable level. To help out out in this area I've got three Coles Myer gift cards valued at $50 each to help you out with your grocery shopping. All you need to do to enter is leave me a comment telling me why you'd like to win one of the gift cards. How easy is that?

So get to commenting and I'll get to choosing the winners. Please note that winners will be selected completely randomly, you need to be in Australia to win and that entry will close at 6pm Perth time on Thursday 10th November.

Grumping Along and Venting

2011-11-03T20:37:00.000+08:00

I've had a shocker of a day so please forgive the whining and grumping that make up this post. It started with badly behaved children (my own) progressed to a spectacularly bad bout of ugly parenting (again, my own)and, with work in the middle, ended with me trying to help the boy-child with his homework. Which is actually the point of tonight's grumpy post.

Offspring #1 has a new teacher this term. Can't be helped, his regular teacher is unwell and they have someone filling in for her for the rest of the year. He's been given a book report to do that, to my mind, is more in line with what I'd expect of a year 8 class (he's in year 4). The part that really gets up my nose is that it was given as a 'completely at home, no time in class' task. Fine and all, but surely it would be a good idea for the teacher to know what book the kids are doing their report on. The fact that #1 has chosen a fairly lengthy, detailed novel that took five days to get through and now needs to talk about characterisation and themes with no assistance or checking on by the teacher has me seeing red. Back in my teaching days,when I assigned tasks like this I also set mini-due dates. For example: It's due in two weeks but by Tuesday you need to have notes on two characters and by Thursday I need to see your notes on the three themes in the story and by the following Monday... We also would have done extensive work on character, themes, etc before they had to do it on their own. You know, provide them with the scaffolding to let them actually succeed at the task they're doing.

To top it off, #1 was told he would be presenting his talk at the beginning of next week. We were working along to have him all done and dusted for that date. He arrived home today having a panic because now he's supposed to do it tomorrow and he hasn't finished all the work or practiced it. Ummm, not gonna happen. I've written letter to the teacher explaining that he will not be doing the talk tomorrow but will be ready to do it on the date he was assigned and that she should ring me if that's an issue. I think I've worded it fairly nicely but, to be honest, I don't actually care.

Long Weekend Wrap Up

2011-10-30T20:20:00.000+08:00

Well the Queen visited Perth but she didn't call 'round for tea. Offspring #2 was somewhat disappointed that we didn't get to see her but between stormy weather, swimming lessons and a cat needing to go to the vet (but he's all better now!) we didn't end up with an awful lot of free time to go looking for a certain elderly monarch. We did however end up with a long weekend and, boy, did we ever manage to fill it up.

I got through a bundle of jobs that had been niggling away at me, caught up on some much needed sleep, had dinner out with friends, emptied the washing basket and have reached the end of the weekend feeling well satisfied with what I've achieved. I feel a whole heap better than this time last week, and with my head in a good space I'm ready to face the week(s) ahead. Yay for a long weekend.

Idiot Moment Of The Week

2011-10-27T18:46:00.000+08:00

And Lordy, there were a few. Like when I had to ring the IT guy at work to ask how to unzip a file he'd sent me. And he laughed so hard I thought he'd choke. And then he laughed even harder when I said I'd never had to unzip one before because my husband always did it for me. (I realise that sounds a bit rude now, but honestly he was just laughing because of all the things that I CAN do, this really, really simple thing was something I didn't have a clue about.)

Anyway tonight's moment of sheer stupidity...

I cooked some crumbed chicken thingies for dinner tonight specifically because I had a NEED for sweet chilli sauce. I had some fresh crusty bread, threw together a yummy crunchy salad using lots of things from our vegie garden and served it all up. Went to grab the sweet chilli sauce from the pantry and discovered... we're out.

And yes, I did go food shopping this morning. Thankyou.

NaNoWriMo 2012

2011-10-26T20:47:00.000+08:00

Do you remember right around this time last year when I decided to add to the general chaos and stress by taking part in NaNoWriMo? It's when you try to spend November writing a book. Or at least 50,000 words worth of it.

Yeah. I'm doing that again. 'Cos I like to live on the edge. Of sanity.

Gratituesday: Sharing The Love

2011-10-25T20:16:00.000+08:00

I am so lucky to have a dear friend who we will call Fiona. Because that's her name.

She takes my kid to school the days I work and generally plays subsitute mum to them while they're in her care. I don't have a minute's worry when they're with her - I know they're in good hands, that they're loved and that they know they're loved. She loves to cook and read, just like me. And she's very clever when it comes to crafty stuff like sewing, unlike me. And she's been reading my blog since the very beginning. And I'd love her for that alone.

But she's also one of the nicest, kindest, most lovely people I know. And as I typed that sentence I realised that, actually, most of my dearest, closest friends are some of the nicest, kindest, most lovely people you could ever meet. And that makes me pretty darn lucky.

But anyway. This morning I arrived at Fiona's house to drop off the kidlets and she handed me a bunch of the sweetest smelling, prettiest roses fresh from her garden. Heck, they still had raindrops on them. And she said, "These are so you can stop and smell the flowers." I took them to work with me and popped them in a pretty vase on my desk. Their perfume made my office smell divine all day long, everyone who came in commented on them and each time I looked at them I smiled and remembered that I have a beautiful friend who cares about me.

Thanks Fi. You're an awesome friend and I'm so grateful to have you in my life.

And when I got home I looked at the comments to yesterday's pity post and got a wee bit teary at the love from some of my other wonderful friends. You guys rock and I'm so lucky to have all of you in my life too. xx

Drowning, Not Waving.

2011-10-24T20:21:00.000+08:00

I'm struggling with the world at the moment. Nothing serious, and nothing to worry about. Just feeling like I'm always three steps behind where I need to be and that no matter how hard I try I can't quite get to where I need to be. I can usually deal with it- but then again I usually only feel like I'm one step behind. Maybe it's the new job. Maybe it's all the work going on around the house. Maybe I just need to work out how to fit in more sleep. Whatever it is, my head won't stop going over all the things I need to be doing and it's a little bit poisonous. It's hard to feel good about what you have achieved each day when your head is reminding you about all the stuff you havent' done. Yay I spoke to that person I've been chasing for two weeks, and organised that thing I've been working on, and finished that huge pile of paperwork that needed fixing but... I didn't pay this bill, or check that homework, or cook a very good dinner or get that load of washing hung out.

I am looking forward to five whole days off . I've had to swap days a bit this week to fit in staff meetings and school events which has made the juggling act I've been doing even more difficult but as a result of the swapping I end up with a five days 'weekend'. And I'm planning to put some of that time into some serious sleeping. And some more into a bout of serious de-cluttering and chucking out around the house. I figure those things should go some way to helping me find even ground. Even if it's just for a little while.

Gratituesday Again

2011-10-18T21:37:00.000+08:00

And you know what that means. Sharing the things you're grateful for this week.

I've got some bits of Gratituesday randomness for you...

- I grabbed a bunch of lilliums from the supermarket the other day. They were all tight buds and I had no idea what colour they'd turn out to be. Well every single flower has opened and they're the prettiest pure white you can imagine and the perfume from them just fills my house. Lovely.

- First day back at school today appears to have gone off with a minimum of fuss and drama. Lovely.

- I had to work late and didn't get in till after 6 but the school teaching Hubby had collected the kids and had it all under control. Lovely.

- And further to the last one - there were leftovers from last night in the fridge so when I did finally get home all I had to do for the kids dinner was dish some onto a plate and pop it in the microwave. Double lovely.

So, what's rocking your world this week? What are you grateful, thankful or otherwise just plain happy about?

Mum's United Morning Tea

2011-10-17T15:58:00.000+08:00

Part of the Mum's United project that I'm taking part in was hosting a catch up with friends and, while I would have loved to have them here ~~to show off hubby's hard work~~ the puppy is currently sporting a very unattractive cone over her head and is supposed to be being kept quiet. Fat chance of that but I knew that having a bundle of kids tearing 'round the yard would incite her to levels of excitement neither I nor her stitches could cope with so instead suggested a picnic morning tea and a play at one of our local parks.

I took the opportunity to try a couple of the recipes from the booklet provided by Mum's United. I did doctor both of the recipes a little, partly based on taste and partly based on what was in the fridge/cupboard. The Mountain Muffins became mini mountain muffins and we nixed the corned cream, upped the skim milk and added some parsley fresh from the garden. The adults quite liked them and about half the kids thought they were okay. I think they could do with a bit more flavour - maybe a shake of paprika or something over the top? Either way, the fussy child who shall not be named (oh okay, Offspring #2) liked them and polished off a few before we even left home, so she'll be getting a few in her lunchbox tomorrow!

The Banana and Blueberry Loaf was less of a hit. I'm not a huge fan of blueberries in baked goods (but with muesli and yoghurt for breakfast? Yum!) so I swapped them for raspberries. I found the loaf to be quite dense, almost stodgy, and have to say I wouldn't make it again. I've got lots of other banana bread type recipes and a delish banana and raspberry one and I'm pretty sure I could healthy them up somewhat. Disappointing but I'm glad we gave it a go.

As always the biggest hit with the kids was the healthiest, easiest option. Fruit kebabs. It never fails to amaze me how much kids love to eat these and come back for more every time.

The kids played on the playground and swings, played hide-and seek through the trees, collected all manner of interesting leaves and rocks to take home, kicked and threw balls, and generally ran around like lunatics for a couple of hours.

Believe it or not, 30 seconds after this photo there were about 15 kids all over this equipment!

Meanwhile the mum's looked over the information/recipe booklet published by Mum's United, shared some recipe and activity ideas, caught up on the school holiday news and reminded each other of library days and other such things that need to be remembered this week.

In all, a nice way to spend the last day of school holidays. Friends, food and a playground. Lovely.

The Ever Clever Hubby Does It Again!

2011-10-13T21:32:00.000+08:00

Hubby has been on school holidays but he hasn't exactly been resting. He's been building retaining walls and garden beds, overseeing the kids painting the vegie garden fence (hmmm... that one was messy!), enclosing the gable part of the patio roof and building our new outdoor kitchen on the aforementioned patio.

He very patiently put up with me changing my mind about 392 times. And then changing it back. He tolerated my flights of fancy while politely, if mildly condescendingly, pointing out that they wouldn't work. And he even came around to the idea of red kitchen. Before I decided that it wouldn't work. But a red splashback would. I'm still searching for that bit.

He started off by building the wall for the kitchen. And cladding it, gyprocking it, painting it, patching it and painting it again.

And he helped select and buy all the cupboards and benchtops for the kitchen. Then went back to the shop the following day to collect the rest of the stuff we needed.

And coped admirably when I told him I'd changed my mind about the benchtop we'd chosen and selected a new one (that I love) from my somewhat garbled directions down the phone.

And he put all the cupboards together in record time.

And put in the sink and tap.

And now it all looks bee-you-ti-full!! And it's just waiting for that darn splashback to finish it off. Then... roll on summer, entertaining, eating outside and enjoying our outdoor living area.

Mums United

2011-10-11T20:20:00.000+08:00

I'm so excited to have been invited to take part in a special project called Mums United. It's from the Heart Foundation and Soup and it's all about making small changes for healthier eating as well as ideas to help Mums get their families up, moving and more active. There's even a Mums United Facebook group you can join.

The Mums United project has sent me a bundle of goodies to share with you - there's a booklet with recipes and ideas to help get your family up and moving, family walking charts and shopping list pads. They've also offered some seriously good prizes so I'm planning a couple of competitions over the next couple of weeks - stay tuned for them

Lots of you in my real life know that I started the year feeling fat and frumpy. I took a long hard look at what I was eating (and how much of it I was eating!) and decided I needed to make a whole bunch of changes. None of them were difficult and some of them have become downright addictive. I cut the junk, upped the activity, took control of a few eating habits that had gone a bit crazy and week by week lost a little bit of weight. I lost nine kilograms, discovered that I actually like eating breakfast and that I love my daily walk. My family discovered that a slimmer Mum is much more fun and that is she doesn't get her daily walk she gets a little bit grumpy! I've still got a couple of kilo's to go before I hit my goal and this initiative seems like the extra little kick I need to get back on the eat better, move more wagon.

Lots of the suggestions that Mums United makes are things that already happen in our house:

I use butter for baking but for everyday use like sandwiches, toast, etc we use margarine (50% fat compared to as little as 14% fat). I am going to cook a cake with margarine instead of butter and I'll let you know what I think of the result.
We eat mostly reduced fat dairy products. Ok, Hubby and the kids have full fat milk and have resisted every single attempt I've made to swap them over. I'm going to get them to try it. I can't promise it'll be successful but I'll give it a go.
I've been walking 4km most days of the week since February. I walk with my neighbour - we meet at her front gate at 5.30 every morning- and we've just added an extra kilometre so now we're up to 5. And yeah, I'm feeling that extra kilometre.
The kids are pretty active. We have an acre that they run around on and they have a trampoline, bikes, scooters, footballs, hula hoops and a puppy. But I'm going to make more of an effort to get outside and play with them. You know, kick the ball with them, play jump rope. That kind of thing.
And one thing I've never really paid much attention to is the Health Foundation's tick. But in October I'm going to look at what food I'm buying and, where I can, swap it for a product with the tick.

I'll let you know how I'm going once a week or so.

So, who wants a little pack of goodies from Mums United ? Leave me a comment and tell me what you're going to do in October to eat more healthy and be more active and I'll send you one. (Sorry, only if you're in Australia).

The Age-Old Question

2011-10-10T21:56:00.000+08:00

How do you get your kids to eat their vegies?

One way is to get them to help prepare the vegie garden for planting, and let them choose some of the things you'll plant (beetroot for her, snow peas for him) and then get them all excited about checking the progress of the plants and you pretend you don't notice when they keep stealing all the snow peas straight from the garden. And then, after what seems like forever, you let them help decide what you'll have for dinner.

Tonight's effort was spinach in the pasta dish I made. Offspring #1 gobbled every little bit. Offspring #2 not so much. But there's always tomorrow. And in the meantime #2 has discovered that she likes lettuce. And she's very excited that the baby carrots are ready to eat. And she has no idea at all why we don't ever seem to have any snow peas to pick for dinner...

I think I might be winning this fight. Well this week anyway.

Purple Haze

2011-10-08T08:05:00.000+08:00

Remember the garden beds that Hubby has been building out the front of the house? At the end of last year one side looked like this...

We planted the top tier with roses, the second tier with agapanthus and the bottom tier with lavender. The plan was a white and purple flower-fest through spring and summer. The roses are budding nicely and I think we'll have some gorgeous white roses in a week or two. The agapanthus are still a little way of flowering but they were gorgeous last summer and I'm sure they will be again. And the lavender has gone from tiny little potted plants to a lush low hedge of purple-ness.

We still have lots to do, and realistically quite a long way to go, but I love that all the work we've been doing is starting to come together. And I'm loving driving in each evening to this beautiful wall of purple.

Showtime, 2011

2011-10-07T20:25:00.001+08:00

I have made the most of having a school teaching husband and worked a bit extra this week - partly because my boss was on leave so I needed to cover her and partly to show that I very much appreciate the flexibility my boss allows me during term time and that I'm ready and willing to return that when I can during the holidays. So instead of two and half days I worked four full days. Can we just say, EX.HAUST.ED! Seriously how do other mums manage it? I literally only had to get myself sorted and go to work each day - Hubby was at home with the kids and I came home to dinner cooked and the house tidied every night and I was still in bed by 8.30 or 9 every single night.

But.... today was my one and only day off so we hit the Perth Royal Show and had us some fun. The kids had some birthday money saved for spending and had earned some extra money doing chores with their Dad this week. He's kind of a slave driver and they well and truly earned the cash!

We got there nice and early and avoided the crowds for the morning, though by about midday there were LOTS of people around. We hit all the free exhibits, samples and goodies to be collected. We patted baby animals, walked and walked and walked and spend much time considering showbag purchases. We planned to stick with the tried and true tradition of one ride, one game and one showbag which has worked well in the past but because the kids had their own cash we did allow them a bit of leeway. I also followed my annual tradition of buying a new hat at whichever show we attend and now have a huge shady hat for summer.

Offspring #1 had grand plans for the ride he wanted to go on, and would actually be tall enough for this year. But in the end he and his Dad hit the Dodgem Cars and had a blast.

Offspring #2 decided horses were the order of the day and ended up with a pony ride as well as a ride on the horse in the carousel.

We also: rode the Ferris Wheel and loved every minute of it, watched the sheep dog working the sheep, had a go at some circus tricks, collected lots of stickers and colouring pages, watched the prize-winning cattle being paraded around the show grounds, patted a two week old piglet (soooo cute!!), put our sunscreen on every couple of hours and still got a little bit of colour, ate hot donuts and hotdogs and hot chips (hmmm, is anyone else seeing a theme emerging here?) and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I think 'doing' the show every second year is just about the perfect fit - it makes it super special for the kids and gives the adults in the house plenty of time to forget how exhausting a day at the show is!

Gratituesday

2011-10-04T21:07:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I've done a Gratituesday post and I had something totally different lined up for tonight until...

I got home from work and hubby told me that, out of the enormous number of dvd's that he and the kids had hired today, he'd chosen one just for me. The Fast and The Furious 5. I laughed at him, thinking he was joking and then he reminded me that it had Vin Diesel AND The Rock. He gets to watch car chases. I get to watch two hotties. Awesome!

And then he went off to collect pizza for our dinner and came home with a super supreme minus pineapple. No cooking or cleaning up for me tonight and my favourite take-away pizza. Double Awesome.

I know I'm pretty lucky to have such a wonderful hubby. He's funny and sweet and thoughtful and he makes me laugh. A lot. He's also pretty darn clever - and I'll give you an update of what he's been working on later in the week. And I'm so grateful that my not-so-carefully-constructed plan to move to the country and be a career woman with cats all those years ago went flying out the window the minute I met him.

Hello Lovelies!

2011-10-02T18:07:00.000+08:00

Hello there, it's nice to see you all again. Thank you for your extreme patience while I've been absent, yet again, with a sick girl-child. Her asthma flared up again and this time it was very bad. Ten solid nights of asthma attacks, and usually 4 or 5 attacks each night. And she started having them during the day which has never happened before. Our GP has put her back onto just about every treatment she's ever had, all at the same time, and finally she seems to on the mend. She's not quite back to her normal self yet - still tiring quite easily and needing to be handled a little more gently than usual - but I knew she was finally getting better when I told her to use her inside voice yesterday and realised I hadn't done that for two weeks.

Another thing that showed me just how unwell she'd been (as if I didn't know that!) happened on Friday when she jumped on my bathroom scales to see how much she 'cost'. It's a family saying and, when they were little, both kids loved to see that they 'cost' more each time they jumped on (unless they didn't leave enough time between visits!). She looked a the scales and announced, "Well, I don't know how that happened!" When I looked at the display window I realised what she was on about. What used to say 21kg's was reading 19kg's. The poor little poppet had lost two kilograms while she was sick simply through a lack of appetite. But she made up for it today when we were out to lunch - she ate all of her lunch, almost half of her Dad's and then had ice-cream afterwards. I doubt she'll eat anything for dinner but with all that in her I don't think she'll miss it.

We went to a family wedding on Friday morning - a nice drive to the country, a gorgeous sunny day, and a couple very much in love. Here's a pic of the kids, all dressed up and grinning their wee heads off. It was #2's first 'good' day and she lasted till just after midday. Luckily we left not long after and she slept for just over an hour on the way home. Not bad for a kid who flatly refuses to sleep during the day or in the car.

Red Is The Best, Forget The Rest!

2011-09-25T09:31:00.000+08:00

No, not my hair colour, though I am rocking a newly red-ed do at the moment! We're talking the annual school sports carnival. There's my boy, in the middle of all the girls. Of course!

The kids had school carnival on Friday and while Offspring #2 wasn't well enough to take part she did have fun cheering (and eating!) her way through the day. I got to sit with one of my BFF's and catch up on all the news. And we all got to enjoy a gorgeously warm, sunny day doing not a whole lot more than yelling at our kids to RUNNNNN!!!! After the super-busy week I'd had, with another to come, it was exactly the kind of enforced inactivity I needed.

Offspring #1 seemed to be in just about every single event. He did really well in the team events and put in a great effort in the individual events brigng home a whole swag of coloured ribbons. I was so caught up in the cheering and relaxing that I only grabbed the camera out a couple of times - and most of them turned into a blurry, eyes closed, really bad kind of shot anyway. But my favourite was from a fun team event. The tug-of-war.

And the best part? Red faction was the overal winner for the day. Oh yeah!

Cough, Splutter, Wheeze

2011-09-22T20:17:00.000+08:00

No not me. My poor girl is a sick little possum and the asthma that has been so much better this year has reared its big fat ugly head and hit her with a mighty whomp. She had four separate attacks last night but slept pretty well for a couple of hours between each one so I was kinda hoping that today would see her feeling a little bit better. But instead, after three solid nights of asthma attacks, she's got a full scale rotten cold. Her poor little face is puffed up with it and she's got the biggest black circles under her eyes. I knew it was really knocking her around when she ate two hot chips for dinner then asked if she could just go to bed instead. At six thirty.

So she's been tucked up for almost two hours and I'm thinking I should be crawling into my bed too and making the most of what sleep I can get before we start all over again. Thank heavens tomorrow is my day off.

Work Is Really Getting In The Way Of Blogging!

2011-09-21T18:57:00.000+08:00

I didn't mean to go MIA there. I've been away for a few days for a conference with work and had fully intended to drop in a post or two while I was away but... after Hubby very kindly charged up my laptop, updated the virus protection, did all the software updates and all but packed it in my bag I arrived at the hotel to discover they didn't have wifi. Wait. What? Yeah, no wifi in a hotel in the middle of the city. A slightly seedy, actually fairly cheap hotel but still, a hotel in the middle of our state's capital city. It wasn't even like I was expecting it to be free. I was fully anticipating having to pay for it - my facebook habit alone needed feeding, never mind the blogging I'd need to do. Instead I arrived home suffering from technology withdrawal. And a sick girl. She's asthma attacking all over the place and I'm anticipating a trip to the hospital at some point tonight.

But my brain is all full of work stuff and I'm quite excited about some of the changes that we're going to implementing at my site.

And regular posting will resume just as soon as I catch up on some sleep!

Pretty Faces

2011-09-14T18:07:00.000+08:00

Hubby was tied up this afternoon so, for a rare change, I collected the kids from their after school care. And this is what greeted me:

A beautiful butterfly girl.

And a Blues face for my footy-mad, Carlton supporting boy.

Not a bad way to spend the afternoon really.

Gratituesday

2011-09-13T19:59:00.000+08:00

I found a new tea to try so, over the weekend, I broke out the teapot (yeah, one of many!) and Hubby and I had a pot of tea with our Sunday morning breakfast. There's nothing quite like real tea, out of a teapot. It makes you slow down a bit and really enjoy whatever it is you're doing. In this case the tea was very nice and we've managed to have tea in a pot every morning since. Lovely.

So this week I'm thankful for my new discovery. And for it's follow on effect of making me stop and smell the roses. Or sip my tea, as the case is.

He Makes Me Laugh

2011-09-12T20:28:00.000+08:00

As a bit of backstory - George Clooney is the true movie star love of my life. Sure I had juvenile crushes on the likes of Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy and Judd Nelson but that was way back in the 80's. And I admit that I did think I was in love with Brad Pitt for a good long time. But then he took off with ~~the husband stealing slut~~ Angelina and I didn't love him anymore. George isn't a teenager and he doesn't appeal to the teenager side of my brain. He isn't married and screwing around. And I love him. Deeply and forever. And you know how you have a completely unrealistic, never gonna meet him, never gonna happen free pass? He's mine. Hubby has always agreed that if George Clooney lands his helicopter in our backyard, I'm free to go. He's good like that.

Anyway... this morning I was flicking through the newspaper and came across a brief article and picture of George Clooney. Unable to contain my ~~lust~~ glee, I exclaimed (loudly, it must be admitted) "George!!"

Hubby stopped and stared at me. Then put on his listening face. Then shook his head in a soul-destroying pitying way. "No Honey," he told me. "That's just a plane going over. It's not a helicopter."

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes!

2011-09-08T21:28:00.000+08:00

I'm a total shoe addict. Many years ago, before I had children who needed all my spare money (and more!) spent on them, it would be fair to say that most of my disposable income went on shoes. And champagne. In fact when my then almost-brand-new-boyfriend and I moved in together and he came to my place with his trailer, all ready to load me and my belongings up and into the other end of town, he was ever so slightly horrified to realised that it would probably take four trips to move all my household possessions and another full load to move my shoes. Luckily it didn't totally put him off.

Since then circumstances - both work-wise and financially - have dictated that I spend far less on shoes and as a result I have fewer shoes to play with. I still have more than completely necessary (but don't tell Hubby I said that) but it doesn't stop me drooling and lusting over shoes. At the moment I'm on the hunt for a comfortable nude platform or wedge that I can wear at work. I have no idea what clothes I'm going to pair them with, I just know I want them.

Tonight I clicked on one of the facebook ads that showed up in my sidebar. To quote Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman: Big mistake. Huge. I found me an online shoe store and have wasted the past ninety or so minutes drooling over pretty shoes. And deciding whether they are going to be my first ever online purchase. Look at these and tell me you're not falling in love, just a little bit.

And Finally The Day Dawns

2011-09-06T21:25:00.003+08:00

Dear Offspring #2,

It seems to have gone on forever but your birthday has finally arrived! After several days of celebrating you woke up this morning a great big six year old. You made us all stop and look at how big you were now that you'd turned six. And you were a little disappointed that I still had to roll your jeans up tonight - you thought that now you were six they'd fit. Maybe you'll need to be six for a little while before that happens?

You have had a huge day of presents, cake at school, more presents, phone calls, the grandparents to birthday dinner, more presents, ice-cream birthday cake and finally falling into bed completely worn out. You've been totally spoilt with wonderful gifts and lots of good wishes from family and friends and I'm not entirely sure how you'll cope with not being the centre of the world in the next few days. But I guess we'll see that for ourselves...

We had your favourite dinner tonight- spaghetti bolognaise and garlic bread - as we have for every single birthday you've celebrated so far (actually you might have had something different when you turned one, being as how you couldn't actually verbalise what you'd like so I got to decide).

I'm thinking that six is going to be a pretty awesome year for you. You're starting to learn to read and I love how you pick random words out of books I'm reading and demand to know what they are. I really love cudding with you and reading books together. Your favourite joke at the moment is the one you stole from your big brother - why did the toilet paper roll down the hill? Because it wanted to get to the bottom! You think it is hilarious and laugh like a loon every time you tell it. Then explain to your audience exactly why it's funny. Then you crack up all over again. You're still the fussiest eater I know but you are attempting to be a bit more adventurous and have recently discovered that you actually don't mind the odd different vegie. I was incredibly proud this week when you didn't go into complete meltdown mode when Aunty Lynette dared to put your curried sausages on top of your rice rather than next to it. Could this mean you're finally going to let your foods touch each other? Or were you just showing some rare restraint?

You give the best cuddles, have the brightest smile and tell the funniest (and loudest!) secrets. You are such a girly girl with all your hair bits and bobs, Barbies, babies and painted toe nails but you're also such a tomboy running around the yard, helping Dad and trying desperately to keep up with your brother. I love you more than all the leaves on all the trees in the whole world ever.

Happy Birthday my beautiful princess.

Lots of love

Mum xx

What A Day

2011-09-05T22:28:00.000+08:00

Phew. I feel like I just crammed about a week's worth of stuff into one single day!

I was parent helper in Offspring #2's class this morning and that's always exhausting. Lots of fun, but exhausting. Then off to do the food shopping, home to unpack it and get dinner into the slow cooker (curried sausages, for those who are interested) then back to collect the kids. The kids and I raced back to the shop to pick up the all important ice-cream Freddo birthday cake that I'd forgotten earlier. Then home again to get on with a few of my regular Monday chores - vacuum, tidy up, washing, etc - as well as bake #2's birthday cake for her to take to school and cook the spaghetti sauce for tomorrow's birthday dinner (as per the birthday girl's request). We had one of the neighbours in for dinner as her partner is away for work at the moment and I dished up the aforementioned curried sausages with rice and steamed vegies as well as a (bought) apple pie, custard and cream. The neighbour headed home to feed her dogs and do her own chores and I got on with the dishes, icing of the birthday cake, folding of washing and wrapping of birthday presents.

The craziness of the week will continue for a few days yet and I fear I'm not nearly as organised as I really need to be. I'm thinking there's going to be beans on toast for dinner at some point. But if I do manage to hold it all together this is what I hope we'll be eating:

Slow Cooker Curried Sausages

Spaghetti Bolognaise

Meat pie and steamed vegies

Crunchy Parmesan Crumbed Chicken

Homemade Pizza

BBQ

Roast Rolled Chicken and roasted vegies

As for baking? Well, I'm kinda feeling like I've baked myself silly the last few days and we have enough cakes, lollies, chocolates and general junk to last for several weeks. Though it might only last for one.

A Princess Party

2011-09-03T22:02:00.000+08:00

Offspring #2 officially celebrates her birthday next week but, like all true royalty, she has her subjects celebrate on another day. In this case, she had her birthday party this afternoon. She'd decided on a princess theme so we hosted a Princess Afternoon Tea Party and had a few of her little friends around to help celebrate and the girls all dressed up in their princess finery. Here's our little Princess ready for her party.

We dressed the table appropriately.

And baked up a storm with fairy cakes and lollies, party pies and sausage rolls, and of course our favourite honey joys. This year we had a honey joy tower. Yum.

The birthday princess had a throne at the head of the table.

And she held court for the visiting princesses.

We drank special fruit flavoured tea (ie, juice) poured from the Queen's beautiful teapots. And each princess had their own special teacup, along with a party bag, to take home as a little memento of the day.

The Crown Prince, aka Big Brother, aka Offspring #1, entertained the princesses. He delighted them with games such as pass-the-parcel and musical statues. He helped to organise the princesses and was an all round wonderful helper and was mightily praised by the Queen and King as well as the visiting princesses parents.

And the afternoon was rounded off with a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday and the ceremonial cutting and eating of the birthday cake.

It was an afternoon of much merriment and was enjoyed verily. And as all the tired little princesses waved goodbye, our own princess was heard to remark that it was the best birthday party of her whole life. And the Queen rejoiced for her hard work, baking and cleaning was all worth it to see the shining smile on the face of her favourite princess.

Posting, With Pics!

2011-08-31T19:58:00.001+08:00

I know my posts have been a bit sporadic lately and I haven't had many photos up here either so I'm making an effort to get back into more regular blogging as well as picking up my camera a bit more often than I have been. So, here's a post, with pics!

Here's my girl with her fat lips. Not that they've slowed her down much - she's till babbling away a mile a minute.

And here's my boy with his footy trophy.

And remember our puppy, Betsy? She's six months old now and the hard work of training her is paying off. She's still completely mental but she'll follow commands and is generally turning into a nice little dog. Remember how we were told she was a Border Collie? Yeah, not so much as it turns out. It would seem she's got a whole heap more Red Cloud Kelpie in her. In fact we rather suspect it's about 100% Red Cloud Kelpie and 0% Border Collie. Not exactly the breed we would have chosen but she's ours now and, despite the yelling when she digs up my roses, we all love her.

Gratituesday

2011-08-30T21:18:00.000+08:00

Just in case you're new to my little blog and don't know what the heck Gratituesday is... Yeah, I totally made that word up. But the idea behind it is something I do each week. Working on the 'glass half full' mindset that I'm striving for I'm actively looking for the little things in my life that I'm grateful for, thankful for or otherwise just plain happy about. Of course some of them are big things. Huge even. But the little things tend to get lost in the day-do-day bits of living. My Tuesday posts are short - a photo or two and a few words about whatever I'm feeling grateful for that week. If you want to join in on your blog leave a note in the comments and I'll come check it out. Or, if you're not a blogger, just leave a comment saying what you're grateful for.

I got home from work today to a worried Hubby and a crying girl-child with a face full of blood. It wasn't quite that bad but at first sight it sure looked pretty bad. She'd been swinging on the edge of the couch - something she has (they both have!!) been told not to do about nine hundred millionty times - when she slipped and face planted into the floor. The hard slate floor. Cue a seriously split lip spurting blood everywhere, very sore front teeth, bleeding gums, and a heck of a lot of noise. That's about when I walked in. Just to be on the safe side I ran her down to the local GP's clinic where the nurses checked her over and decided that apart from lips that could act as airbags, a wobbly tooth that was quite a bit wobblier and a serious case of bruised pride, she was just fine. You know that feeling of relief after you've been holding your breath for too long. Where the relief of letting air into your lungs kind of hurts? Yeah, that.

I fed her some nice soft, fluffy scrambled eggs for dinner and now she's tucked up fast asleep and all worn out. Tomorrow she'll have enormous lips, sore teeth and I'm expecting some decent bruising too and we'll deal with that then. But right now? She's fine. And I'm very relieved. And grateful.

My Amazingly Clever Boy

2011-08-29T20:45:00.001+08:00

Remember the footy mad son of mine? He's played his second year of under-9's for the local football club and his skills have really developed this season. He's worked hard on getting into the play, grabbing the ball and getting out again - or as it's known in our house ""doing a Juddy". We've reminded him of the need to stick to his man and stay in his position and he's taken that on board. He's come a long way this season and I have been so proud of his hard work but also impressed with how much he loves playing football and how hard he tries.

Yesterday the club held their end of season sausage sizzle and presentations. It's a big day with bouncy castles and inflatable slides, sausages and soft drinks and of course the presentations. All the kids get a medal for being part of the team and there are also some special awards too. My super talented, super clever, super gorgeous boy won the award for Best and Fairest Player and I couldn't be more proud of him. Watch out Carlton, he's looking to be on your player list in about ten years.

PS No, I'm not a pushy parent. Yes, I am being very tongue-in-cheek calling any kid in the Under-9's 'super talented'. Yes, I am fully aware that an award at nine years of age does not mean he'll hit the big league. And yes, I'm doing my best to break that last bit to him gently.

Having a Whinge

2011-08-28T20:38:00.001+08:00

So something happened this morning that hurt my feelings. I don't want to be all cryptic-like but I can't really go into detail so just bear with me while I have a bit of a whinge.

Rationally I know that it's just my ego that's been a bit bruised. And that those responsible mean less than zero to me and my life. But it still rankles a bit. Okay, a lot. And yes, ridiculously more than it should. It should be a brush-it-off-and-get-over-it kind of thing but instead it's stewing away and making me more frustrated as much over what happened as by my own inability to shrug it off.

So more as an affirmation for myself than anything else I'm going to make a few points:

1. I'm not actually invisible and I think it is incredibly rude when people treat me like I am.

2. Just because I might not be on your radar doesn't mean my opinions and ideas are any less valid or correct.

3. I am intelligent, funny and all kinds of awesome. The fact that you don't know that, or can't be bothered finding out, is your loss.

And speaking of all kinds of awesome - tomorrow marks five years since my first blog post as Red Dirt Mummy! Give my poor battered ego a little boost and tell me something you love about me and you'll earn my undying gratitude. And maybe a packet of TimTams.

And you could also go like my Facebook page (if you haven't already done it) - that'd make me feel a whole heap better...

It's A Tired Gratituesday Here

2011-08-23T20:36:00.000+08:00

So tired. Can't even stay up to watch the season final of Winners and Losers. Just grateful that I'm about to climb into my warmed-in-front-of-the-fire pj's and crawl into bed. Oh and on the warmed-in-front-of-the-fire pj's front, I'm grateful my lovely Hubby lit the fire (despite him thinking it wasn't actually all that cold...).

Fitting It All In

2011-08-22T13:56:00.002+08:00

Hoo-wee we've got a lot happening this week. P&C meeting, work events and a blogger's dinner for the grown ups of the house as well as footy presentations, birthday parties to attend and all the usual daily and school things for the kids. I was trying to be super organised and obviously just had too much stuff in my head - I raced off to do the food shopping only to discover I'd grabbed my to-do list instead of my shopping list. Hmmm, the grocery shopping wasn't quite as successful as I'd have liked but none of the things I managed to forget were vital so it worked out okay. After that I dashed in to pop the roast in the slow cooker for tonight's dinner. It would have worked slightly better if I'd remembered to switch the slowcooker on! Luckily I caught it in time so I just had to up the heat and bring down the cooking time. All's well that ends well and all that. But, playing by the rule that things happen in threes I'm wondering what else today has in store for me!

And here are the meals I'll be shoving at people this week as we run in and out of the house in all different directions.

Monday: Roast Lamb, roasted vegetables and cauliflower/broccoli cheese

Tuesday: Sausages with gravy and roasted vegetable frittata

Wednesday: Fish and Chips

Thursday: Oven baked chicken and asparagus risotto

Friday: Homemade pizzas

Saturday: Spaghetti Bolognaise (or maybe lasagna?)

Sunday: Beef and Vegetable Hotpot

Baking: Hmmm.... dunno really. I didn't get around to making the Apple and Strawberry Cake last week so I might make that.

What's on your menu plan this week? Got something yummy to share? I'd love to hear about is.

Dessert, In A Hurry

2011-08-18T21:29:00.000+08:00

Finally my energy has returned. I had a hectic day at work, raced out the door just after 2pm, pulled into my driveway at 3.02pm, raced inside and changed clothes then trotted off around the corner to collect the kids from the school bus for 3.15. I'd already done my 4km walk this morning but figured that another 2km's or so would definitely help shift the last few kilo's I'm trying to get rid. The bus is a new development for us - I'm the anxious one who worried needlessly while they loved the bus ride and grinned like lunatics as soon as they saw me waiting at the bus stop.

We wandered back home where I got on with the house cleaning and the kids got on with some play-dough. I managed a couple of loads of washing, cleaned the house and got dinner on and they, amazingly, kept their fighting to a minimum. Wins all round. We were most of the way through dinner when the question came up. Is there any dessert? Despite all the sweet stuff you see on this blog we don't actually have dessert all that often. And they knew the Daddy of the house had finished the last of the ice-cream in a late night freezer raid earlier in the week. Hmmm... what could I do for dessert. An idea slipped into my head and, with a wee bit of help from Google, dessert was created. This is a recipe that did the rounds a couple of years ago but I never quite got around to trying it. There are literally hundreds of different versions and the one I followed was good but I've made a few changes to the recipe that will make it fabulous. Offspring #1 scored my efforts a 9/10 so I think that means he liked it! The recipe is for one cake - I made two and we shared them between the four of us. In my opinion one serving of this recipe is waaaaay too big for one person. I had some cream in the fridge so had some with this but ice-cream would definitely be the way to go.

3 Minute Chocolate Cake In A Mug

You'll need:

1 large coffee mug

In the mug place 4 tablespoons plain flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon cocoa, 1 tablespoon chocolate chips and mix them together.

Crack 1 egg into the dry mix and stir well

Add 3 tablespoons milk, 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, dash of vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly, making sure all ingredients are combined.

Microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Gratituesday, menu plans

2011-08-16T11:25:00.001+08:00

It's wet, windy and wild here in not-so-sunny Perth. I'm off work today having finally succumbed to the cold and flu bugs and am snuggled up at home with the fire going and a couple of new CD's playing. I'm such an 80's tragic - the local supermarket had three CD's going for $25 and had quite a variety to choose from. Did I pick anything current? Even from the past decade? Um no, I chose Bryan Adams, Hunters and Collectors and Tears for Fears. And, despite the stirring from Hubby, I'm loving them!

I didn't make it back yesterday with my menu plan. I'm really trying hard to make the dinners on my work days really really quick and simple. I'm not getting in till about 5.30 (normal for many of you, I know, but really very late for me) and as we normally eat between 6 and 6.30 so the kids can be in bed for 7.30pm I'm finding it hard to race in, throw dinner on, catch up with the kids, oversee homework/sign notes/look at library books/adjudicate arguments and also say hi to Hubby. Where I can I'm going to be making things ahead of time that can be flung in the oven as I walk in and I'm thinking that the aforementioned Hubby might just have to take over one of the meals.

So this week we'll be eating:

Monday: Baked fish

Tuesday: Cheats Chicken Parmigiana,

Wednesday: Meat Pie, chips

Thursday: Baked Lamb Chops

Friday: Meatball Subs

Saturday: Rustic Simmered Chicken

Sunday: Roast Lamb

Baking: Apple Strawberry Cake, cheesymite scrolls.

And since it's Tuesday I suppose I'd better do a Gratituesday post too. This week I'm actually grateful for last week - I was so grateful that the recently retired old folks in my life (aka my parents, aka Nanny and Poppy) are indeed retired and weren't off gallivanting 'round the countryside (as they will be this week) and were not only able, but also very willing, to have the kids for me while they were sick last week and I was still trying to get to work and make a good impression. So, thanks Mum and Dad! I know I said thanks then, but I really, really appreciate you taking care of the kids for me.

So share the love with me people. What are you cooking up this week? Tried any new recipes you want to share? Or, what are you grateful for?

The Week That Was

2011-08-14T17:34:00.001+08:00

Uggh! More than a week after the ridiculously quick onset of a cold I still feel like crap. Crappier than crap in fact. My face hurts, my throat and chest hurt, my ribs hurt from coughing so much and if I do very much at all I feel even worse. Apparently cold and flu tablets and my system don't go together very well. They worked great for a couple of days then, I think, my drug-intolerant body just couldn't cope with them anymore and I got the shakes and sweats about 20 minutes after I'd taken them. I left them alone for a few days but was heading out yesterday and needed to feel better. Instead I got the shakes, sweats, pounding headache and thought I was going to throw up. Not nice at all. And yes, if I'm still feeling rotten tomorrow I'll head to the doctor and let him check me out.

I also had both the kids sick - #2 early in the week then #1 took over the sickness reins. They got to stay home and be loved and cared for by Nanny and Pop while I dragged my sick and sorry self off to work. Because for all the 'don't spread your germs around' arguments there are just as many "I'm still on a casual contract and don't get paid for sick days" and "I've only been there a week, I can't call in sick" reasons too.

But we still managed to get done what needed to be and finally Friday arrived and both kids went off to school while I enjoyed a day off. Okay, enjoyed might be stretching it but it sure was a relief. I dropped the kids at at school, caught up with a few of the other mums and stayed for assembly. Offspring #1 was presented with a certificate for the improvements he has made in maths and it was lovely to be there for that. He had no idea and beamed with pride - so cute!

Saturday saw Carlton playing their only game in Perth for this season so, come hell or high water (or a crappy cold) we were all going. For one heartbreaking minute Hubby thought he'd missed out on tickets but... praise be to the internet, we got them. It was an awesome game (yeah, we won!) and the kids loved seeing their footy heroes up close and in the flesh. Okay, not that up close but we were in the same stadium! I got a giggle out of sitting next to #1 and listening to his cheering and jeering and, when I missed something vital, having him explain what had happened.

So now I'm playing on twitter and facebook, menu planning for the week ahead and listening to my boys play an intense game of footy on the Wii while the girl-child watches kids cartoons in the other room. Dinner is sorted. A variety of meals from the freezer - I let everyone choose what they wanted: #1 had curried sausages, #2 has macaroni cheese, Hubby has beef and veg hotpot and I think I'm going to go with roasted sweet potato soup. Gotta love when you freeze the leftovers for just this kind of night. And then you've gotta love eating them and making more space in the freezer.

I'll be back tomorrow with the finished menu plan.

It's All About Perspective

2011-08-07T18:37:00.000+08:00

When I look at the floor in my house I see a tired looking slate that is long overdue for stripping and resealing and, despite it being vacuumed and mopped on Friday, looks like it could do with a good clean.

Offspring #2 saw something entirely different. She came to me this afternoon well pleased with her discovery that the layout of the slate was ready made for hopscotch. And that kept her entertained for a good half hour!

Cupcakes Galore

2011-08-04T20:22:00.001+08:00

I realised I haven't shared a recipe for a while so thought I pop in something sweet and fun just in time for the weekend. I've made these gorgeous chocolate-y cupcakes three times so far and just love them. They've gone down a treat with each group I've made them for and any hopes I've had for leftovers have been well and truly dashed. That's the kind of praise I like! They're also super simple to whip up, whether you're cooking on your own or have small helpers assisting you.

I most recently made them to take for morning tea as I finished up at work. I was planning something slightly fancier but a request was made for cupcakes so I made a batch of these and a batch of Bill Granger's vanilla cupcakes that I've posted before here. Both were well received with requests for both recipes and not a single cake left at the end of the day.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

from Australian Good Taste, June 2011

makes 18

100g butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups caster sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

2/3 cup dark choc bits

chocolate frosting

100g butter, at room temperature

3 cups icing sugar mixture

1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted

1/4 cup milk

110's and 1000's, to decorate

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line 18x 1/3 cup muffin pans with patty pans.

2. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a separate bowl (I don't bother sifting them and the cupcakes still turn out fluffy.) Fold the flour mixture and the milk into the butter mixture in alternate batches until just combines. Stir in the choc bits to combine.3. Divide the mixture among the prepared patty pans and smooth the surface. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Set aside to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. To make the chocolate frosting, use an electric beater to beat the butter until very pale. Gradually add the icing sugar, cocoa powder and milk and beat until well combined.

5. Spread the chocolate frosting evenly over the cupcakes. Sprinkle with 100's and 1000's.

Gratituesday

2011-08-02T20:06:00.000+08:00

The first day went well. I am stuffed but that's mostly from driving an hour there through constant stop start traffic in the pouring rain (as opposed to twenty minutes out towards the 'country' with minimal traffic and a 110km/h speed limit) and then another hour home in the same stuff.

Everyone was very nice, the buildings are quite new - like about 8 years old rather than 110 years old - and purpose built rather than struggling-to-meet-the-current-needs-and-heritage-listed-so-there's-not-much-you-can-do-anyway. I got to dazzle them with a little bit of knowledge I had that they didn't and it's always nice to make a good first impression.

So today, I'm grateful for a good first day. And I'm also saying thanks to all of you who wished me well here, on facebook and in real life. Mwah xx

C'mon. Share. What are you grateful for this week?

MIA, Me and a Menu Plan

2011-08-01T21:39:00.000+08:00

Last week kicked my butt. It was a crappy week all round. Work was flat out as I attempted to wind things up and was stymied at almost every turn by someone wanting something that wasn't on my already enormous list of stuff to be done. The kids were, quite frankly, fairly vile. They bought sibling rivalry to a whole new level. It resulted in them being banned from speaking to each other for two days. Extreme but it had the desired result. At least for a couple of days. My body was so sore which I can blame on nothing more than aging and the rotten weather we've been having here in Perth. And because of all of that I didn't keep up with my daily walking and ended up feeling even cruddier. And because I felt cruddy I just kind of hid from the world and waiting for the crud to lift.

So this morning I dragged my butt out of bed, met my neighbour at the gate, walked my nearly four kilometres, got rained on (several times in the one walk) and came home soaked but ready to start the day. And I got so much done and feel so much better for it all.

Lesson learnt.Walking (ie exercise) makes me feel better and feeling better means I can deal with what the day brings a little better which results in everyone being happier.

I start at my new job/workplace tomorrow. It's not exactly a new job because it's pretty much what I've been doing for the last 14 or so months, though there are some new parts to it (but I've done most of them in various other roles too) and it's for the same organisation but it is at a new worksite so there will be a whole bunch of new stuff to get used there. And I've got quite a bit further to drive through the metro area in peak hour traffic. I haven't done that in years so that'll be something new. Which reminds me, I still need to double check that I know exactly how to get there!

And I'm going back to working three days in a row. Now I know that for lots of you that sounds like an absolute doddle but this year I've managed to swing a day off in the middle which has made life very cruisy indeed. Adding that in with the getting-home-later means I'm going to have to be even more organised than normal. Tonight I've prepped all the stuff for tomorrow's dinner so hopefully hubby will remember to switch on the oven when he gets in and it'll be good and hot for me to get home and chuck the roast into. Well, that's the plan anyway.

And here's one part of my organisational plan for the week:

Monday: Slow Cooker Osso Bucco with potato mash, green beans and cauliflower/broccoli cheese

Tuesday: Rolled Roast Chicken with roasted vegies and cauliflower/broccoli cheese (I made double on Monday)

Wednesday: Tuna Casserole

Thursday: Quiche and steamed vegies

Friday: Pies and chips

Saturday: Lasagna and salad

Sunday: Soup with focaccia

Baking: Cheesymite scrolls, easy chocolate slice, Not Quite Nigella's Easy Pear Tea Cake (all already made and eaten and/or in the freezer). I'd like to have another go at macarons if I get a chance.

What's happening in your world this week?

The Weekend. Mostly In Pictures.

2011-07-24T22:58:00.000+08:00

Spike, aka Psycho Spyko, aka Spike-a-licious, chilling out on the couch.

We went shopping for vegie seedlings.

Then Hubby and the kids planted them.

I sat around drinking tea, reading the paper and not doing an awful lot else. It was nice. Really nice.

A neighbour was wanting to get rid of some plants. Funnily enough they were exactly what we wanted for out the front. Hubby and the boy-child wandered off and dug them up, loaded them into the trailer and brought them home. Then Hubby and the kids planted them. I took photos. That was helping. Sort of.

Look. Girl-child was obviously helping a lot. You know, if dirty knees are a measure of how helpful one is.

Here's the ever helpful (NOT!!) puppy. She's now 5 months old, completely naughty, far too clever for own good and apparently she quite likes to dig. She really likes digging my roses. I really don't like that.

I did manage to spend most of today playing in the kitchen. And covering every inch of the kitchen bench. Look, you can see my computer at the top of the photo - I promised Kaz ages ago that I'd put a picture of it on here so she could see it. It's on a swinging arm attached to the end wall and I can have it facing me when I'm working in the kitchen or turn it around when I want to sit on the other side of the bench. The very clever Hubby sorted that for me.

And I had my first ever attempt at making Macarons. They weren't a complete success but they worked well enough that I want to have another go. I also made custard from scratch for the first time ever. If I'd known it was that easy I would have done it years ago.

Time For A New Challenge

2011-07-20T20:28:00.000+08:00

Remember last week when I told you about that job I was offered? Initially it was a relief/acting type position filling in for someone over the next month or so and I said no. My current position is a casual contract position and, while I've been in it for over 12 months, I wasn't prepared to ditch it for something else that might mean I'd end up with no job at all.

Then it turned into a contract till the end of the year with a good possibility that it will be extended and some chance that it will lead to a permanent position. And my current boss all but promised (as much as she could, considering it's government and all) that I'd have something to come back to at the end. And head office all but promised that they'd make sure my current boss would have something for me to come back to.

So after a few phone conversations, a bit of negotiating and a whole lot of thinking... I said yes.

I finish up next week and start the new position the week after. I'm so excited. So excited that the nerves haven't set in yet. But they will.

Gratituesday: The Hubby Lovin' Edition

2011-07-19T18:43:00.000+08:00

Just in case you're new to my little blog and don't know what the heck Gratituesday is... it's a weekly event where I tell you about something I'm grateful for. As you can probably tell it all happens on a Tuesday and I'd love you to join in, either by leaving a comment here or making your own Gratituesday post on your blog.

Fifteen years ago today, right around this time, I met my lovely hubby. Of course he wasn't my hubby then. Just a terribly polite, very nice young thing who'd agreed to collect me for a social event for my brand new workplace as a favour to my brand new flat mate. Fast forward just a few short weeks and we were in lurve, moving in and planning a life together. Fast forward fifteen years and here we are - married, mortgaged and as deliriously in love as ever. Actually more in love than ever.

And just to further prove how wonderful he is...

Offspring #1 desperately wanted to visit Sizzler during the school holidays. I hate Sizzler. I hate buffet style meals so, to be fair it's not a hatred that's confined to Sizzler. The thought of eating at a restaurant that deals in buffet style dining makes my stomach turn. Scratch that. It makes my stomach heave.

I worked today and hubby and the kids were planning their day out. Wonderful, clever, brave Hubby organised to take the kids to Sizzler for lunch while I was at work.

Two birds, one stone, everyone's happy.

Monday Musings, a Menu Plan and More!

2011-07-18T20:41:00.000+08:00

Okay, there's not really More but I couldn't think of a catchy title for the post!

Hubby and I went to see the latest, and last, Harry Potter movie yesterday. Loved it! But was also a little disappointed by it - won't go into too much detail as I don't want to give stuff away (though if you haven't read the books you have no place seeing the movies, so there!!) but I felt that there were lots of characters who just kind of stood around and didn't really have any lines, Ginny especially didn't get to do much where in the book she had a fairly huge part. Also there were lots of deaths but they all happened so fast that for some of them I didn't even realise they'd happened until later in the movie. But... still totally loved it and can't wait to see it again.

As a result of seeing Harry Potter yesterday... (and you might have already seen this on twitter) Hubby was annoying me this morning and I totally waved my hand at him and shouted "Expelliarmus." He stopped annoying me. Mostly to fall about laughing but still, he stopped annoying me. Proof that Harry spells really do work!

We went out to collect firewood today. My whole body hurts.

Made this slice this afternoon. I used dried apple and dried apricots in place of the choc chips in an effort to make it a 'healthy treat'. I fear that the butter and sugar in it may have cancelled out those efforts.

And the menu plan. I'm sad to report that the week of junk food wasn't the success I thought it would be. Despite her input , and my efforts to please, Miss Fussy still turned her nose up at dinner more nights than not. If she won't even eat the meals that she chooses, what hope have I got? You can see I'm suffering from a lack of inspiration as we move into the second week of school hols:

Monday: Spaghetti Bolognaise (we didn't get to it last night)

Tuesday: Beef and Vegetable Pie

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Curried Sausages

Thursday: ?

Friday: ?

Saturday: Lancashire HotPot

Sunday: ?

Baking: Choc chip slice (with dried fruit instead, see above!), date loaf.

What are you planning for meals this week? Quick, inspire me. Please.

School Holiday Fun

2011-07-15T21:07:00.000+08:00

I did a bit of juggling with my work hours today and managed to end up with the afternoon free. Yay! Except it was bucketing with rain. Not to be put off I raced home from work, organised Hubby and the kids and off we went. First stop was the lighting shop to collect our new kitchen lights (more on them later in the week), then onto Ikea to look at bunk beds and loft beds (more on that in another post too) and then onto the proper bit of the holiday fun. The beach.

We hit Scarborough where it was freezing cold, windy as all get out, threatening to rain and the sun was about to set. And still the kids wanted to take their shoes off and run along the beach. Ummm... no. We vetoed their idea but stood out looking at the ocean at sunset and oohed and aahed as the kite surfers fooled around in the wind and the surfers did not very much in the tiny little waves, pointed out the hotel where Mum and Dad spent their wedding night and exclaimed over the enormous houses along the beach front. When we were all thoroughly frozen, which took less time that you might imagine, we jumped back in the car and headed on to part two of the fun afternoon.

We drove south along the beach a little way and ended up down at Cottesloe where we found a fish and chip shop that had tables inside. We ate some seriously yummy food across the road from the beach, watching the waves and licking our salty fingers. Yummo!

And onto part three of the fun. A 50 cent ice cream cone from one of the fast food stores on the way home. And then home to a nice warm house where we tucked the offspring into bed only a few minutes after their regular bedtime. Now that's a good way to do it!

Busy Day

2011-07-14T20:48:00.000+08:00

I think I'll be glad to go back to work tomorrow for a rest! It was my day off and , although I didn't venture past my front gate, I haven't stopped all day. Actually I did go past the gate. I did my walk first thing this morning (well first thing after I had a nice little sleep in. Still loving the school hol's!). I've cooked and cleaned, gardened and washed and an nicely worn out after all my efforts.

I saw this Easy Pear Tea Cake over at Not Quite Nigella yesterday and knew I'd have to make it. It tastes as fabulous as it looks and I can't recommend it highly enough. It was super easy to make, looks very impressive and tastes delicious. You totally need to make this.

I'm most pleased that I finally got around to doing a bit of weeding and tidying up in the yard. With the cooler temps and the little bits of rain we've had the weeds have sprung up and had pretty much taken over the tiered flower bed at the front of the house. I got in there today and ripped out weeds leaving the plants looking much nicer and me feeling much happier with how it looked.

I also got in with my secateurs and attacked the roses. They've had a good pruning and I'm looking forward to lots of lovely blooms.

And now, despite it being barely 9pm, I'm heading for the shower and then bed. I'm plum tuckered out!

Gratituesday

2011-07-12T19:14:00.000+08:00

So this morning, totally out of the blue, I got offered a job. But I turned it down. Then the person doing the offering called me and we had a chat and she's off to see if some of the things I need can be done. I'm not holding my breath but I'm pretty chuffed she's going to try make it happen. Also, I felt like I'd let her down somewhat some years ago so it was doubly nice to find out that not only did she not think that at all but that she's actually quite eager to poach me to her site. There's my little something - totally unexpected, a little bit of a professional ego boost and it made my day.

What's making you feel special, grateful, appreciated or just plain happy today?