small world

The bottom line

2009-06-22T02:48:00.000-07:00

It hasn't been a great two weeks food wise. It all started with craft camp and the abundance of chocolate, lollies, brownies and the like and it really only ended a couple of days ago when I hauled my ass back on to the wagon. Strangely I weigh 83.9kg still which is where I was two weeks ago. I can't quite figure that one out and I am expecting it to go up or do something weird next week.
I haven't been running for two weeks and I ventured out tonight. I was crap. Couldn't do the distance and just shuffled along a la Cliff Young, my hero. And then couldn't even do that, just walked the rest of the way. I have kept up boot camp (too scared not to, she lives at the end of my street) and have cycled as usual so that probably helped me scrape through.
I hate getting back on the wagon, all I think about is food and I miss that chocolate and bread. I probably shouldn't be writing this while hungry so I will stop now.

I will do a show and tell of fete goodies instead

Dress-ups made with donated t shirts with a bit of gauzy stuff stuck on the bottom. Easy peasy

Wee Beasties, pattern courtesy of Soozs

And this treat I found when I downloaded my photos.

2009-06-16T01:13:00.000-07:00

Our mothers group (Astrid and Lana, Stomper declined) made ravioli from scratch yesterday! Impressive eh?
George's parents have gone away prospecting in WA. Sooo selfish, we usually have dinner at their place on Monday nights and the Mooch stays for a sleepover AND is delivered back the next afternoon. And they have gone away! For weeks!
Back to the ravioli. Nonna cooks ravioli and she does it so well my children refuse to eat bought ravioli, "it doesn't taste like Nonna's". Well boo hoo.
When I heard there would be no ravioli for a few weeks I was worried, if they didn't get ravioli once a week it halves their meat intake. I wouldn't worry about it if they would only try other foods ....don't get me started. So I asked Nonna to leave me with her ravioli making equpment and recipe. She was only too happy, I think she worries about my "gotta look after the family" abilities.

In the past we've have ravioli making days at Nonna's and my job is shaping the filling into little balls and placing them on the ravioli sheets. Now suddenly I am promoted to Nonna and my mothers' group mates are the lowly daughters-in-law. It was a heavy responsibility.

We spent all morning making the dough, rolling the dough and transforming it into little perfect raviolis. We are very pleased with ourselves and are planning lots more communal cooking sessions..

The kids ate them without a word. Phew. I was too scared to ask if they liked them. Too scared to hear a no, my freezer is full of the little suckers.
Anyway, Squeaky said tonight as I was putting it all in ziplock bags " your raviolis were good Mum".
Made my day.

Now for more cooking stuff, a recipe for Lemon Tea Cake or LTC as it is known round here.

Lemon Tea Cake

1 ½ cups plain flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

125g butter or margarine

2 beaten eggs

½ cup milk or buttermilk

Grated rind of 1 lemon

Juice of one lemon

¼ cup of sugar

Grease and line cake tin

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into bowl. Rub in butter until mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs. This can be done in the food processor.

Combine beaten eggs and milk and stir in, then fold in the lemon rind.

Spoon mixture into tin and bake at 180C until firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clean, about 50 minutes.

Mix lemon juice and sugar in a cup and immediately you remove the cake from the oven, stand it on a rack and spoon the sugar mixture over the top. Allow to cool in the tin.

The recipe has ½ cup chopped walnuts added with the lemon rind, I’ve never done this but it could be good.

I'm on the top of the world....

2009-06-09T04:19:00.000-07:00

I am still all aglow from my crafting weekend away. A new experience for me, I was a bit apprehensive as I was joining some very accomplished women. Not only is their sewing amazing, they write, draw, spin, dance and knit. Miss Bingley herself would be impressed. I felt a bit of a petender but once I was ensconsed in the studio at Sewjourn I realised the pleasure of being with people who share your enthusiasm. It was an inspiring weekend, I am just starting to realise how big the crafting/sewing /knitting world is and it's very exciting.
I made myself some clothes for the first time in years, a woollen tunic and some stretchy trousers, they fit and they look great. How good is that? So now of course I want to make more.

I will put my highlights here in point form, in no particular order....

1. We were all assigned a meal to cook, I had sunday night. So apart from that one meal we had no kitchen duties. We were called at meal times and had a plate of delicious food put down in front of us. I still can't get over how good that is. Why do our kids complain??

2. Separate sewing studio. When we downed tools (usually for meals), everything stayed where it was. No one fiddled with your dials or used your good scissors to cut the dogs hair.

3. Uninterrupted sewing time. I hadn't realised how quickly you could make something when there's no child sitting on your lap helping with the reverse knob and lifting the foot for you.

4. Suzie's music. a never ending stream of hits, from eighties pop to disco to Cambodian psychadelic.

5. Lots of chocolate

6. A realisation that there are patterns other than the ones you buy at Spotlight out there.

7. A well tended fire keeping us toasty day and night.

8. Matching cutlery.

9. A group of people so generously sharing their knowledge and expertise.

10. A break from the fantastic but relentless work of bringing up a family.

Photos and recipes to follow....

A bit of this and that

2009-05-30T02:13:00.000-07:00

83.4 kg
Bollocks and buggery. Gone up again!!! But all my clothes are starting to feel loose. I can't keep blaming the hormones . Oh well, I'm not really too fussed as I did most of the right things and what's a block of chocolate here and there? it was fair trade after all, that's not so fattening, right? Oh and there was the birthday party and the loaf of Nonna's bread and the in-laws to dinner on Thursday (lasagne). Maybe it wasn't such a virtuous week after all.

We had a burglary and lost a lap top computer a while ago. All our photos from the last eight years were on it but I was fairly confident we had most backed up on an external hard drive. We just couldn't get the hard drive to work. Well the computer guy fixed it this week so I will include some oldies and goodies now and then because you do forget how little they were don't you?

Overachieving greenie of the week award goes to the woman spied in my street picking up dog poo with a PAPER BAG. Of course it was a reused one. Right on, only in North Fitzroy.

Another family birthday dinner

2009-05-23T03:22:00.000-07:00

We have a tradition in my family, well my sister started it a few years ago and we have copied her. When we have a family dinner to celebrate someone's birthday everyone gets to chose a dish, the birthday boy or girl gets to chose two dishes.
Once upon a time all the food was put on the table at the same time, now as our numbers have swelled we divide it into two , sweet and savoury.
We've had some very eclective menus over the years. My older two are pretty predictable, they swing from chips to jelly to pizza, Moochie is a bit more adventurous, she goes for chicken soup, or boiled eggs and tonight it was baked beans.
Today's menu was beef rendang, egg and potato curry, saveloys, home made sausage rolls, pizza, chips, Danny's hamburger, baked beans, jelly and chocolate with the highest cocoa percentage you can find. This turned out to be 99%. I wouldn't recommend it, it was powdery, bitter and its only redeeming features were that is was posh, French and beautifully packaged. Mum always chooses Tim Tams, this time it had to be original, no caramel and no dark which I thought showed a lack of adventure.
The upshot of this is that I have eaten waaayyyy too much chocolate and other treats and feel thoroughly sick. Back on the wagon tomorrow.

The birthday boy, now 12

Weight at 0630....82.9 kg. Not more than last week, not less . I did slack off a bit this week. Kept getting the afternoon munchies and ate about a kg of almonds. They were the most exciting thing I could find in the pantry as I have cleansed it of junk food which sounds better than I have eaten it all and not replaced it.

A tale from a proud mum

2009-05-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

This is my second girl, BP. She hasn't always been the easiest child to live with as those who know her will agree. She is very passionate (I blame her Sicilian Nonna), and that has led to some big ups and huge tantrum filled days. Oh god, those tantrums.

She did an extra year of kinder, the kinder teachers thought she wasn't quite ready for school. Or maybe they were thinking school wasn't quite ready for her.
This year she finally became a preppie. I was worried about her fierce attatchment to me, thought she might struggle but I was so wrong.

Every morning she's up well before us and gets dressed in the dark,

shuts the bathroom door so the light doesn't disturb us and does her hair.

She gets her own brekky, cleans up her dishes and brushes her teeth.
She puts her take home reader in her bag and then comes and tells me to get up make her lunch so she can be ready.
This is all before 7. Luckily I'm morning person.
I have to confess here that there is a bribe system in place or as I prefer to call it, an incentive scheme.
By about 8, she starts asking when she can go to school and finally skips off by herself, arranging to meet me up there.

Last week she discovered she could write and has been walking around with a pad and pencil writing stories for us.
Of course I will inflict some upon you.

I love lava

Lava can look beautiful
after the volcano
explodes the lava
makes good dirt
to make a farm

A apple is healthy.
I can
not eat an apple

because i have
a wobbly
tooth.

my teachers
name is Gaye
I love school. it
is fun. Kittens
are cute. i have
lots of friends at
school. i love
my school teacher
and my family.
i have a dog.

No sauce for me thanks

2009-05-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

Total weight lost this week: nil. Total weight gained this week: 0.9kg.

It must be the hormones as I was right in the zone and did lots of exercise and had hardly any fun. What I am happy about is that I haven't gone and said f$@# the diet, I'm eating chocolate all weekend.
I look forward to weigh in on Saturdays, it is my reward so I am miffed when it doesn't come out the way I planned.

I have been invited to a craft weekend at sewjourn with some crafty bloggers. I am excited and a little bit nervous. They are all so good at the craft and the blogging. Getting away from the family (shame on me) coupled with non stop craftiness in a lovely setting, who wouldn't be excited?

I thought I'd better do a show and tell to prove my worthiness but haven't done much sewing lately, still suffering from a post fete slump. I have been knitting, as it is the season to be knitting.

My girls all want this hooded scarf, I've started the first with lovely 12 ply and big needles. Nothing like fast results.

Here is Mooche's first love modelling work done so far

Bad mother confession of the week or 'what to do if your kids eat too much tomato sauce'...
The girls had sausages for dinner the other night and when I opened the tomato sauce squeezy bottle for a refill, it was full of grey mould and fermenting. I nearly gagged and I have a very strong stomach. It had registered vaguely that the kids weren't using sauce any more, now they refuse to touch it!

2009-05-12T02:23:00.000-07:00

As usual it is half way through the next week before I post my weight. This week it is due to busyness rather than avoidance. I am down to 82kg, a 1.6 kg loss (sound of cheering).
I did it by jogging, my dirty little secret obsession. I shuffled Cliff Young style every day last week. There, now you know.
I've had lots of time to think as I huff and puff up the Merri Creek about why I like it so much, and this is what I have concluded....

1. If I do it between feeding the kids and their bedtime I have the perfect excuse to come home and get into my pyjamas at 6pm. Heaven.

2. I have discovered a magical "zone" where if I can think about something else, I don't get too puffed and my legs don't hurt.

3. It is quick and requires no equipment.

4. Feeling of self satisfied smugness once it is done.

5. It gets easier every time I do it.

6. There is no 6.

Confession of the week......
It's my wedding anniversary tomorrow, we are going out to dinner and I bought a new dress. It's red and swishy.

This is me, take it or leave it.

2009-05-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

Well the longer I put it off, the harder it gets as with everything I procrastinate about.
Playing with the computer is usually what I do when I am trying to avoid doing something else, now I have run out of excuses. I have no housework, no washing, no cooking to do so here I am. It's this or sewing and I am having a bigger block with the sewing.

I am having a blogging dilemma. I think I am basically a pretty private person and I read other blogs and everybody talks about private stuff and I just don't want to . What if my Mum reads it?
But then my blog will be boring, more like show and tell, or not tell. I want people to read it, everyone wants to be popular.
Maybe the trouble is I don't want to admit any weaknesses or faults.
So this is why I haven't written anything for a while.

That and I got on the scales a couple of weeks ago after a fairly ordinary week. I thought I might have stayed the same or gone up slightly and I had put on 2.5kg!!!! I knew that it was hormones or fluid or goodness knows what but it is very disheartening when you don't get that reward from the scales at the end of the week. So of course I ate to drown my sorrows. It happened to coincide with a bread baking phase. Who can, or wants to resist fresh, hot bread?

I also sprained a rib at boot camp so wasn't allowed to exercise for nearly a week. I must say I didn't miss it. I got great pleasure watching the boot campers jog past my house as I lay in bed drinking a cuppa.

Anyway, I got back on track and was back down to 83.5kg last week. Just a blip after all.

I have discovered jogging. Well, maybe some other people have done it before me. I have discovered I can jog and have been out nearly every day this week. It is great, only takes 30 minutes and you're done and can feel virtuous for the rest of the day.

I have to stop worrying about what other people want or expect and do this how I want to do it.
Yeah. Glad I got that done.

Maybe I will start a weekly confession. Here's the first.....

I love the way my kids dress, I just pretend to be embarrassed.

BDO for the Princess and her Lady- in- Pink

2009-04-19T00:38:00.000-07:00

This week it was BP's birthday day out, only two months late but worth the wait.

First stop was the local library for a craft extravaganza. The staff laid all the material out and said go for your lives. It was funny to watch as they are usually told what to make. They were a bit taken aback at first and unsure of what to do.

It didn't last long, they were soon in a snipping, gluing, colouring crafting frenzy. The feathers and pom poms were flying.

Next stop was a visit to Suga, no trip to the city is complete till we do that. The staff make the candy in the window.
I've never watched the process from go to whoa so it is still a mystery how they get that writing in the middle. They have free samples but of course we always end up buying a bag.

By now it was lunch time so we headed to a creperie in Degraves St. We all felt so cool and sophisticated squeezed on to a table for two watching all the people walk by and eating massive crepes. they even had a cheese and vegemite one, on the menu I mean - we stuck to the more traditional lemon and sugar.

We didn't have time to scratch before we were due at the City Square (remember the city Square)? for some hilarious comedy. Lots of slapstick and prat falls, you can't go wrong. The girls were shrieking with laughter. Such a great sound.

Of course we had to do movie and popcorn.

Dinner,

Then the big treat of going out at night to my tap dance class. In pyjamas.

The next morning, it was time for more cake then happy goodbyes.

Post script... weight on Saturday 82.6kg. that's under 83!! woohooo!
Nothing seems to be getting looser yet and I tried on a skirt which was fine last year and I couldn't do it up so still a long way to go.
I think the blog is working, it does make me think twice when I'm tired and hovering around the kids' chocolate egg stash.

Not such a good day

2009-04-14T02:35:00.000-07:00

Geting into dangerous territory here. Nibbled away all day on the childrens' easter egg stash (will they notice)????, then finished off their left over pizza, then went for a run. then skipped dinner.

That is not what the lady at weight watchers recommended.

Will try harder tomorrow

Got the target word though so not all bad.

Let the fun begin

2009-04-11T23:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterdays weigh in....*#.!kg, that may have been a freudian slip there, it was 83.1kg. Exactly the same as last week. Hardly surprising considering the number of hot cross buns I ate on Friday. Also slipped in a few scones etc. Aunty Flo was visiting, I needed the carbs!

I warn you now, next week is not looking too good already. Bloody chocolate.

This year we gave the girls a choice between a birthday party and a day out with a friend. They both chose the BDO and Squeaky had hers last Thursday.

I thought this would mean less work for me, boy was I wrong. In a moment of weakness, it turned into two friends and extended to a sleepover.

It was actually lots of fun, it does get easier as they get older, until they hit the delightful teenage years. Not that my girls are ever going to do that.

Anyway, so with friends in tow, off we went.

We started at the Vic market, the girls had money burning holes in their pockets. they wanted to spend, spend, spend. Of course they ended up trawling the market for hours and didn't buy a thing except for some lollies, well rather big lollypops they promised not to tell their mothers about.

Next stop, the City Baths. I haven't been there for years.
I learned to swim there and it was much grottier. Now it's lovely, a bit posh, a bit Raj. Cheap too, it only cost $7.20 for three of them

After swimming till they were blue and their teeth were chattering we headed to Lygon Street for pizza at Papa Ginos.

Then home. Nonna dropped the others back after they had a sleepover and they all vegged out in front of a movie.

I started to get worried about bed time so we headed down to the park to work off steam.

Homemade sausage rolls and birthday cake for dinner.

Then bed at last. They giggled till about eight when I threatened separating them and after that not a sound.

Until 6.30 am. Groooooan.

Pancakes for brekky then I sent them all home. Phew.

Two hours later George's family arrived for lunch.

No wonder I'm tired.

I feel I have done my duty.

Till next week when we do it all again with minor variations for BP's birthday.

Saturday, weigh in day

2009-04-04T01:17:00.000-07:00

Today I weighed 83.1 kg, geez, it doesn't drop off like it used to. More like is pulled off slowly, screaming and kicking. A big pig out at the school fete probably didn't help much, the lucky lolly bags are my downfall. I buy one for myself then end up eating the ones the girls get. Except for the lolly bananas, hate them. Now I think of it, I had a few cakes too, the day was so busy, I needed frequent sugar hits. So maybe I should be thankful to go down instead of up.

I had reprieve at boot camp, she was threatening a fitness test, the last one I did about 5 weeks ago nearly killed me so I was dreading it. Luckily, half the group was away as they are doing some big fun run tomorrow. I hang with weird folk at boot camp.

Talking about fun runs, George's second session was scheduled for today. He went fishing instead. It's not looking good.

Here is what I've been doing at night, Pirate Rabbit,

And some of his future siblings,

What is happening?

2009-04-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

My other half, George's eye was caught by an ad for a fun run at the end of June and he thought about entering. It is 10km round the city on the 28th June, 12 weeks away.

Things have snowballed as they do and now he seems committed to do it. He and his brother have a bet, $50 to a charity of choice if he can do it in 50 minutes. I'm told this is nearly Olympic time.

My boot camp woman came over last night and wrote out a program of alternating power walking and jogging for 15 min for the first week, gradually working up to more running and less walking. George is not one to follow instructions but I think he got the message about not going all out. She was muttering dire warnings about nasty and painful injuries.

Last night he said he was going to get up at six and do his first run. When six o'clock came and went I didn't say anything(don't want be his mother on this one). You could have knocked me over with a feather when he did get up at seven and headed out.

Then he went off to work on his bike!

And now he's gone for a haircut!

In which I introduce some family and friends...

2009-03-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

I was too tired to post my weight yesterday as I was at our school fete from 7am till 6pm and was even too tired for a foot rub.

So weigh in for yesterday was 83.6kg, a loss of 0.6kg. Ok I guess but I was reeeeally careful with what I ate and exercised like a mad woman. I feel a bit like one of those contestants on TBL, crying because I only lost 5kg.

Back to the important things, ie the fete. I was running the Made in Merri stall, everything handmade (we are not too fussy about the in Merri bit).

Me and a bunny (sold out)

It was a perfect day and people had money to burn. Maybe it was the weather, maybe the stimulus package, maybe the fantastic bargains that were too good to pass by.
We managed to raise $2400, a massive jump on the $800 we made last year. The bar has definitely been raised.

Most of our stuff was made by a group of Mums, a very small group unfortunately. There is Astrid, she says she can't sew but she can cut, stuff, fill, price and glue like no other. Justine the bunting queen who is responsible for the outstandingly fabulous Made in Merri sign, miles of beautiful bunting and lots of frogs. Gina made some very special bunnies and inspired some ideas. Teresa was responsible for the felt christmas decorations

L to R Gina, Justine and Astrid

We sold most of our stock and took a few orders so now we have to start restocking the cupboards for next year.

I think maybe I will wait a few days.

The rest of the fete was a bit of a blur, but one thing I was not going to miss was a performance by the most talented Miss Caroline's Tap Pets.

My second daughter (to be known as BP or Princess) is the one in the pink shoes.

And one more of the smallest tappers,

My third girrrl (The Moocher or Moo) is the one with the sun shining on her gold teeth

2009-03-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

I hereby solemnly swear that if I ever do a night shift again I will speak quietly, not rattle the f'ing crockery around all night and refrain from waking people at 5 am to take their temperature (unless they really need it I suppose).

I have just spent the last day and a half in hospital with my oldest daughter (who shall be named Squeaky) following her tonsillectomy. Everything went well and she is now ensconsed on the couch with good old ABC 2 who have kids shows from 10am. What a discovery that was.

I got to sleep on a fold out bed which was missing about half the little spring things which attach the frame to the bit that stops you crashing to the floor. I rearranged them so the majority were in the centre rather than the feet end and held my breath as I climbed on. It was surprisingly comfortable so I didn't complain. Still, it was a private hospital, you would think they could splash out a hundred bucks or so for a new one.

If I ever have to spend another night in hospital, remind me to take earplugs, no wonder people get sick in these places. Sheez.

So now I have two weeks at home as Squeaky has to take it reeeally quietly according to the quack. No running round, no monkey bars, no bike riding to be precise. I have cabin fever already.

We do have a project though, she has been nagging me to make one of these dolls so now is the time.......

Wish me luck.

Pssst, wanna buy a wheat bag?

2009-03-20T19:54:00.001-07:00

The school fete is next weekend and I am coordinating the craft stall. This means that I do LOTS of sewing. My idea was to get other school related people to bring in their hand made goodies for us to sell and slowly that is starting to happen. Someone's granny knitted some georgeous baby sets.....

Someone else did some wood turning.....

And I slogged away at the wheat bags, hoping they will be bought up big as an alternative to hotties (don't you hate doing the whole boiling the water, scalding your fingers and losing the @#?!! lid thing)?

Weigh in this morning was a very satisfying 84.2kg, a loss of 1.3kg. It was hard work, not a crumb of cake passed my lips. I don't know how long I can keep that up.

Day 1 of week 1

2009-03-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

Today I start this blog to see if it helps me lose 10 persistent kg. The 10 kg that have stopped me fitting into the last of my pre 3rd child clothes. I think I have lost and regained about 30kg in the last three years, it is starting to annoy me.
Weigh in day is Saturday, last week I was 85.5kg.

Nice to meet you.