Oh Gnomeo Gnomeo...

Where for art thou Gnomeo?  Who's homeo will you be going to?  Its time to draw the winner of the Gnomeo and Juliet dvd.  So many great entries. Looks like there's been lots of naughty gnomes in peoples gardens. lol.  The luck winner, drawn at random, is...

The lucky winner is no. 7...San!!! Woohoo! Here's her answer...looks like San's gnomes have been working overtime. lol.

Congratulations. San, can you please email your address to heyhoewarren@gmail.com so I can arrange for your Gnomeo and Juliet dvd to be sent to you.

Scrap stuff | Cosmo Cricket sketch

Its been a little while since I've scrapped, and I've discovered there are sure fire ways to find your mojo; new product to play with; new photos to scrap and using sketches.  I saw this one on the Cosmo Cricket blog and was instantly inspired.  I went for a visit to Sandra and loaded up on some Circa 1934 and set to work. I love the bold black and red mixed with the soft teal, cream and mustardy yellow of this collection.  It goes beautifully with black and white photos.  This image of Seth and Eme was captured by my sister during our photo shoot in February.  This was taken moments before Eme fell into the water up to her armpits! lol.

I thought I'd try using some paint, it was fun getting my hands dirty (thx Crystal)!  Once I'd nearly finished my layout, it looked like it needed some dimension, so I added a patterned paper frill across the page.

Here's the sketch if you want to have a crack yourself!

Oh it felt so good playing with paper and glue again. I think I might have to dig out my stash again tomorrow.

Mum stuff | Checking out the pearly whites...

Like most parents, we struggle to get our children to clean their teeth. Obviously its just too much of a chore sometimes. I remember being lazy with my teeth too, but then I had to get braces at the age of 8 and had to lift my game immensely.  As a toddler, Seth would clamp his mouth shut and we'd have to practically force the little toothbrush in there...many many tears were shed at the time.  These days, he's much more cooperative.  Eme was the opposite, she would happily put the toothbrush in there, just so that she could eat the paste. lol.

Yesterday, the kids had their first visit to the dentist.  We've been on the waiting list for the dental clinic for a while and we hadn't told the kids they were going until recently.  They were really good about it...despite what the photos look like. lol. Seth volunteered to go first.  The light was irritating him, so he popped on his sunnies...an excellent strategy for lying back in the dentist's chair.  Eme copied, and she was happy lying there too.

The kids loved the dentist and she did a great job. Turns out, the kids have been brushing their teeth really well! That was shocker...I was imagining fillings for sure.  Eme's didn't need cleaning at all, and Seth's needed a little bit at the front. He proudly showed off his polished teeth to me and told me they were nice and shiny.  After they finished, the dentist rewarded them both with new toothbrushes and water bottles for school. Nice.

Seth is going to need to see an orthodontist...soon.  He's lost the top four teeth and two big whopper adult ones have filled the gap. I have no idea where the other two are going to pop out. Unfortunately he has a small mouth just like me...which is why I had braces at 8 and again at 15.  Hopefully the orthodontist will be able to do something less invasive for him. I'm sure in the last 20-30 years they've made some progress. lol.  I don't want him looking like Chad Morgan (google if you dare).

Discover | Feeling grateful...

I meant to post this yesterday, but got caught up watching Offspring. lol. I've been thinking about what I am grateful for, and there are plenty of little things. I guess you just have to open your eyes up to it.  Here's my list from yesterday...

1. Today I am grateful for all the messages of love and support from my online and irl friends for my blog post yesterday.
2. Today I am grateful for the snooze button on my alarm. I got an extra 50 minutes in bed this morning...bliss!
3. Today I am grateful it is pay day and that hubby got paid some overtime so that I could do some guilt free retail therapy.
4. Today I am grateful that the children did so well on their first trip to the dentist, that they cooperated and that they have no holes in their teeth.
5. Today I am grateful that I found a gorgeous dress that actually fits...and it was on sale! Reduced from $180 to $30!!! nb. that's not me in the dress. lol. I also picked up a super cute black satin jacket. I'm all set to go out for dinner and drinks at Blogopolis! Obviously my bum is bigger than the model here, but you get the idea...

6. Today I am grateful for my heater. It is freezing in here and its taking the chill out of the air nicely.
7. Today I am grateful that my sister is home safely from overseas. I have missed talking to her and had the best chat this afternoon.
8. Today I am grateful for the meal that hubby cooked; an amazing meatloaf, mashed potato and veges for dinner. It was delicious!
9. Today I am grateful that Eme was able to sleep in her own bed after coming into our's for a little while. She was frightened of the wind outside and needed some comforting.
10. Today I am grateful that we didn't put the garbage bin out for collection before we went to bed.  There was debris and bins flying everywhere!

Mum stuff | parent-teacher interviews

There may or may not be some mumma bragging going on here. Last night we went along to our children's school for parent-teacher interviews. I always look forward to this time of year so that we can have a chat with the teacher and check out all of the work they've been producing.  Seth received his school report last week and he did very well, as I would expect.  Eme, being in kindergarten, doesn't get a school report, so I was keen to catch up with her teacher.  I've been concerned that her reading isn't progressing as well as it should. I needn't have worried. Unfortunately for Eme, Seth is an exceptionally fast learner, and I had been comparing their performance. I had nothing else to base their progress on, so its hard to tell what's "normal".

Every year, Andrew and I have the same conversation with the kids before we get up to the school about what we'll have for dinner afterwards. They find it hilarious! There's this episode of the Simpsons we like to reference where Homer and Marge are going for parent-teacher interviews, and it goes a little something like this...

Marge: Now be good for Grampa while we're at the parent-teacher meeting. We'll bring back dinner.
Lisa: What are we gonna have?
Homer: Well, that depends on what your teachers say. If you've been good, pizza. If you've been bad... uh... let's see... poison.
Lisa: What if one of us has been good and one of us has been bad?
Bart: Poison pizza.
Homer: Oh, no! I'm not making two stops!
[image]



Eme's interview was first. She showed off all of her artworks and her books, and I must say, her colouring and drawing is excellent for a kindy kid. Seth was terrible at it. I guess that's the difference between boys and girls.  Eme's writing book had a lot of words circled, and I was concerned that she was making a lot of mistakes, but then I thought...how many 5 year olds know how to spell skateboard? lol. I raised it with her teacher and was surprised to find that Eme is self-editing. She's attempting to spell words they haven't learnt yet and circling them so that the teacher can help her later. I think that's brilliant.  We asked about her reading and was informed that Eme is one of the best readers in the class!  Oh. That was a shock! She's on level 9, and at this stage of the year, she'd be expected to be on 5. See, this is what happens when you have a brainiac first child. Seth was on level 21 by then, so we thought she was lagging behind. Oops.  Her mathematics skills are excellent too.  Just one issue, she's a fidget and finds it hard to sit still. She also needs to learn to put up her hand before blurting out something. We can work on that. So so incredibly proud of our girl!

Seth was next. We had to wait outside the classroom while waiting our turn and it was bitterly cold! Wollongong had severely windy weather last night. I was sure there was going to be snow on the escarpment when we woke up!  We had a read through his bookwork while we waited. I love reading his recount of the weekend's events. What is evident is that you can't get up to anything naughty because it will be written down and shared with the whole class! lol. I'm sure his teacher thinks all he does on the weekends is play footy, play with the ds and watch movies. hehe. Seth's teacher is really happy with his progress. He's a whiz at maths and science, and gets really enthusiastic about learning new facts.  He's picked up Italian really easily and can remember everything they've learned.  His reading and comprehension skills are excellent, but he needs a little help with forming arguments. He can do it, it just takes him a little time. I can't believe they're starting to write mini essays in year 3!  We'll work on it at home. Turns out, Seth is a researcher. He likes to read facts and can spout them out until the cows come home. Oddly though, when posed a question such as should children wear a uniform, or should children have mobile phones, he always takes the negative response.  The other kids almost always take the positive. I guess that's a sign that he's strong in his convictions and not afraid to stand out from the crowd.   Go Seth!

We were so proud of both Seth and Eme that we did treat them to pizza on the way home...and there was no poison in sight. lol.

How do you encourage your children to improve their performance at school?  Do you have a special study area set up for them? We still work at the kitchen table, so I'm interested to find out what you do.

Discover | depression and getting help

Warning: You may need a cup of tea and a good lie down after reading this post. I know I do. I had thought about not posting this at all. I have tried to keep this blog a positive space, but let's face it...life isn't always sunshine, lollipops and rainbows.  I worried that posting this would damage my credibility and reveal me as someone who is weak. I'm hoping that it will do the opposite and explain a little more about me and maybe encourage someone else out there to share their own story...

For the last few weeks, I have been feeling completely down...just no enthusiasm for life whatsoever.  I was trying to explain it to my hubby last night and just couldn't put it into words. I have been finding it very difficult to find the joy in anything, and the things that were previously making me "happy" just haven't been holding my interest at all.  Scrapbooking has been one of them.  I feel like the creative part of my brain has been put to sleep, and that has been depressing me even further.  I want to think that this period of my life is going to pass soon and I'll be my usual upbeat self again. I am hoping that my current state of mind has been exacerbated by a six week long bout of the flu from hell (way worse than man-flu...just to put it into perspective. lol). Please let it just be that. 

Yesterday as I was driving home, I was looking at the newly installed concrete telegraph poles along the side of the road. For a brief moment I thought it would be so easy just to drive straight into one of them. I had the cruise control on, so I knew speed would be constant and the impact would be hard. In that moment, I snapped out of it and finished my trip. My children would be making their way home from school and expecting me to greet them at the door.  Taking the "easy way out" just wasn't an option. Instead, I retreated to my bed and watched Judge Judy and an infomercial for the Magic Bullet, because I couldn't be bothered finding a remote control to turn it over. Eme joined me in bed and cuddled me. She always knows and it tears me up.

What am I trying to say here? I guess its that I realise I need help.  I have been taking antidepressants for over two years and obviously my dose needs looking at. Its time to go back to the counselor too. I am lucky that my employer offers a counselling service, and I will be taking full advantage of that.  In fact, I have an appointment later this week.  Suicide (such an ugly word) is NOT an option.  I want to grow old with my hubby. I want to see my children grow into whoever they choose to be. I want to bounce grandbabies on my knee.  Life is most definitely worth living. I just don't want to go through life living in a fog.  I want to smile and laugh again.

I have been through these waves of depression often enough that I think I can see the signs now. I become really distracted and can't concentrate on anything. I miss deadlines. I feel like an utter failure. I have trouble sleeping, but could sleep all day. I eat all of the wrong foods and don't take care of myself. I don't participate in anything...from playing with the kids, to taking care of the house or going out with friends. I isolate myself.  I find it really hard to smile.  Does any of this sound familiar to you?

Today I forced myself to go out for lunch with a couple of friends. I tried to think of excuses about why I couldn't go, but it was my friend's birthday and I didn't want to let her down. I ate my pad thai and made conversation, but I didn't feel present at all.  My friend asked me how I was feeling, and I just didn't know how to answer...giving the usual and polite "I'm good". She's not a fool and asked me more questions. We talked long and hard about depression. She gets it.  She has been going through her own issues and I felt guilty talking about my own because mine seem to pale in significance. I so appreciate their support.  It helps immensely that they understand. I'm glad I pushed myself out of my comfort zone.

I've often talked about being kind to myself, and I think to a degree that is still the case. The time has come though to give myself a swift boot in the arse and to start doing something about it. I think I've been sitting in the corner of this pity party way too long.  You know, life is to be enjoyed, and damn it, I want to enjoy it again.  I have set myself some short term goals to work towards...achievable goals.  One of my first goals is to list 10 things that I am currently grateful for. I'm also going to a couple of events next month which I am nervous about attending, but I'm looking forward to it.  It helps to have plans for the future...something to look forward to.

So many people suffer through depression in silence, and there is help out there.  If any of what I have written here has resonated with you, please seek some advice from a friend, a doctor, a counselor, somebody. You don't have to live this way.

...and as for that rainbow I mentioned at the top of this post...they always appear when then sun comes out after a storm.



PS. Mum, if you're reading this...don't worry...I'm working on it :-)

Some resources:
Beyond Blue; Professional Counselling; Black Dog Institute; Beat Baby Blues; The Shed; Just Speak Up

Storyboard Kits | Competition

Did you know, come 1 July 2011, Storyboard Kits will be one year old!! To celebrate, I am running a sketch challenge and giving away some goodies! You can find all the details on the Storyboard blog.  Here's the sketch that you'll need to use...

Entries close...

Midnight, 20 July 2011.  Winners will be announced 25 July 2011.

nb: Competition open to Australian residents only.

If you have any questions, please email me at storyboardkits@gmail.com.

Want to add the Storyboard Kits button to your blog? Copy the code below and paste into a html widget.

<center><a border="0" href="http://www.storyboardkits.blogspot.com" target="_blank" alt="Storyboard Kits"><img src="http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii251/heyhoewarren/storyboardlogo.jpg" width="150" /></a></center>

Winners are grinners...

Today I have the pleasure of making two blog readers very happy!

First up, the winner of Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure on dvd!!

Drawn at random, the winner is lucky comment no. 6...

...which is by Debbie Lawrence!

Congratulations Debbie. Please email me your address to heyhoewarren@gmail.com so that I can arrange for your dvd to be forwarded to you.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Next up...the winner of the $100 Kmart Voucher!!

The entries for this giveaway were fabulous, and this one caught my eye! The winner of the $100 Kmart voucher is Kate Young who wrote...

"Craft items for a big girl,

Board game for a big boy,

A rattle for my baby girl,

Cars give my toddler joy."

Congratulations Kate! I have forwarded your details onto Kmart and you should hear from them shortly.

Thank you to everyone who entered!  If you missed out on these giveaways, there will be more chances for other great products in the future...stay tuned...

Review and giveaway | Gnomeo and Juliet on dvd!

I must admit, when they first announced that there was a cartoon version of Romeo and Juliet in production, featuring garden gnomes and music by Elton John, I wanted to run to the nearest corner and hide!  I'm by no means a Shakespeare purist, but this just seemed like a really odd combination.

I'm incredibly pleased to say, I was completely wrong. Right from the first scene, I was laughing. Its so brilliantly done. The characters are recognisable and really likeable.  I love the idea that all the gnomes of the world are just sitting there waiting for their owners to go out for the day so they can come to life and play (or fight in this case) in the garden.

My children loved this movie. They originally saw it in the theatre when it was first released, and when they found out I was receiving a copy to review, I think they nearly jumped out of their skin!  The day it arrived in the post, I didn't even get to open the envelope. They took the dvd and put it on straight away. I didn't get to watch that viewing with them, but this weekend I did...the fifth time they've seen it. lol. That's usually the indicator that they like a movie...its on repeatedly.

The producers have worked in so many references to Shakespeare and other films, adult viewers will be highly entertained.  The opening scene for example shows the front of two terrace houses and their letterboxes (see pic at right). I seriously cracked up! 

We all know the story of Romeo and Juliet...two ill-fated lovers who can never be together because of their families.  In this remake, Gnomeo and Juliet meet and its love at first sight. Unfortunately, the war between the red and blue gnomes prevents them from being together. They have secret meetings in a neighbouring garden...a neutral place where it doesn't matter if you're red, blue or bright pink, like their ally "Featherstone", a plastic pink flamingo.  Once again, Gnomeo and Juliet believe that the other has died...and that's where Eme started crying (just like her mumma that one). I won't give away the ending...you'll have to watch it for yourself.

Elton John's music integrates perfectly with this flick. I especially loved "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" playing when the gnomes are having a lawnmower drag race.  Keep an eye out for the busty gnome who drops the flag on the race...its Dolly Parton!  Nelly Furtado's version of "Crocodile Rock" is fun too and had Eme up on her feet dancing.

There are so many great characters in this movie.  Seth had quite a few favourites...the fishing gnome, the gnome wearing a Borat style mankini (lol), the bunnies doing morse code, "Shrew" the mushroom...well, all of them really. Eme of course was taken with Juliet and Nanette the frog.  Love that this movie catered for both the boys and girls!

Here's the trailer...check it out for yourself!

"Gnomeo and Juliet" will be released on dvd and bluray at the end of June 2011. Thanks to the good people at Porter Novelli, I have a copy of Gnomeo and Juliet to giveaway to one lucky blog reader!!

To enter, leave a comment revealing what you think the garden gnomes get up to when you're not looking...

For extra entries, become a follower of this blog, and share the news of this giveaway on twitter, facebook and/or your own blog! Make sure you leave a separate comment if you do so. If tweeting, please use @heyLisaWarren so that I can keep track.

Entries close midnight, 26 June 2011, and the winner will be chosen at random. Good luck!



Disclosure: I received a complimentary DVD review copy courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and Porter Novelli via Digital Parents. No financial payment was offered nor accepted for this post. All opinions expressed are purely my own.

Mum stuff | morning routines

Most mornings I am out the door just as the children are waking up. I start work each day at 7.30am, if not earlier, and I'm finished by 2pm-ish so that I'm home in time for the kids arriving home from school. Not having them in before or after school care is such a blessing, and I'm so lucky that my boss accommodates our family so.  I don't thank Andrew nearly often enough for everything he does in the mornings when I'm not there. Today, it was my turn to do the morning run. Andrew often tells me how frustrated he gets in the mornings...now I know why!!


In an ideal world, here's what would happen...the children would:

• leap out bed feeling all refreshed after a great night's sleep
• change out of pyjamas into school uniform, including shoes and socks
• eat a nice wholesome breakfast at the dining table
• brush teeth and hair
• pack lunch box into school bag
• pile into the car ready to be dropped off in the school drop off zone.

While the children are cooperating and being kind to each other, Andrew has his own breakfast, makes lunches and gets himself ready.

Time for a reality check.

This morning, Eme was out of bed bright and early (it was still dark outside). She climbed into my bed while I was in the shower and promptly went back into a deep sleep. Waking her was like trying to wake the dead.  Seth was no better. He was sound asleep. I flicked the bedroom light on and yanked back the blankets. He still didn't move. I threatened to break up his Lego...that got him moving! lol.

Time to get dressed.  Thankfully Andrew had gotten the kids clothes ready the night before, so all they had to do was put them on. Easy enough...you would think.  Seth managed to get dressed, minus one shoe...and this is how he stayed for over half an hour.  Why? Because he couldn't find the other one. Talk about having a man's look. lol. It was underneath his jacket! One crisis over...onto the next.

Breakfast. Seth dutifully puts on some toast while he's looking for the other shoe.  Eme decides to make herself porridge. First you put in the porridge seeds (she tells me), then you put in the milk....way, way, way too much milk! Those porridge seeds are swimming! Oh well, I'm going to make her eat it anyway...probably better off with a straw rather than a spoon.

Making lunches. I got lucky today. Both kids wanted cheese sandwiches...easy.  Both kids wanted carrot sticks...again easy.  Both kids wanted their apples cut up into bit sized pieces because it takes too long to eat an apple the traditional way (what the?). Its cutting into their play time apparently. OK, done. Where's the lunch boxes? What, what do you mean you don't know? Did you bring them home? What do you mean you can't remember?  Bugger this, I'll just find some more containers. Yep, you guessed it...plenty of lids and plenty of containers, but not one of them fitting together. I may or may not have thrown a stainless steel bowl across the kitchen floor.

Meanwhile...I am still in my towel after my shower. I need to get myself ready too, and let me tell you, it takes a bit of work to look this average each day.  I couldn't find my black skirt or the grey scarf I wanted to wear, so settled for whatever was on top of the washing basket. Done. Back to the kids.

The kids fill up their water bottles and put them in their back packs, and we head out to the car. It is POURING!!  Ok, let's get on our raincoats so we don't get wet going from the car to the classroom...makes complete sense in my mind. Nope. Eme decides she doesn't want to wear her raincoat and has a mini meltdown over a Dora umbrella. She doesn't win that battle.

We make it to the drop off zone in one piece and both kids hop out telling me they love me and blowing me kisses.  Awhhh, now why did they choose to be so sweet when I'm clearly shitty. I grabbed those air kisses, slapped them onto my cheeks and drove to work. Such a stressful morning...I had beads of sweat across my forehead and its like 9 degrees outside. I don't know how Andrew does it!  Must remember to say thank you later...

Discover | Lessons in fondant...

For the longest time I have loved decorating cakes, but have been too scared to work with fondant (I'm a Betty Crocker frosting kind of girl). I had it in my mind that it was hard to work with, both in texture and skill.  Chef Duff and Cake Boss Buddy always make it look so damn easy, and I know plenty of people that decorate with fondant...so why the mental block? It is definitely a skill that I've wanted to add to my cake making repertoire. The class schedule for Couture Cake Classes caught my eye a few months ago, and when a deal too good to refuse came up on LivingSocial, I jumped at the chance!

Yesterday, Rach and I met up at Balgownie, donned our plastic aprons, and got to work. We had a ball!

Louise from Couture Cake Classes showed us the basics first...how to knead and roll fondant. She had a rainbow of colours for us to choose from, so Rach and I thought we'd share so we could play with as many colours as possible.  We went crazy punching out shapes...butterflies, different flowers and hearts...way more than we'd actually need for the tops of our cupcakes. At that stage though, we didn't know what we were doing with it all. We made little ladybugs too...so super sweet and petite.

Next, we learnt how to cover the tops of the cupcakes.  Whenever I watch Cake Boss, they always "dirty ice" their cakes with butter cream first, but in the class we used white chocolate ganache...yum!!  Next, roll out fondant the colour you desire and punch out. The key here is to select a circle punch larger than what you actually need to cater for the curvature of the cupcake top, then to smooth it down with acetate (I'm sure I have some in my scrap stash that I can repurpose...).  Back to the desks to transform the tops...

Covering the tops wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be...just need to work on being a bit tidier with the ganache underneath. I used a bit too much and it ended up all over the acetate...which I then smudged over the top of the fondant. Oh well, its all practice.

Louise then showed us how to make a sun and bear...both incredibly cute and easy to replicate.  Breaking them down into their basic shapes is so logical...a bit like a scrapbook sketch.  Back to the desks for the last time, and time to decorate.  I made the sun first, then the bear. I knew that Seth would LOVE the bear, so I made sure it had a non girlie coloured base.  Here's my finished cupcakes...

As a scrapbooker, my little embellishing monster was busting to play!  Working on such a small canvas was actually a little difficult. I had punched out all these shapes and then had no idea where to place them!  My first attempt with the punched flowers was the pink flower with yellow centre. After the flower was done, it looked really plain, so I made some freehand leaves and tucked them in underneath.  We made a family of ladybugs earlier in the class, so I popped one on the white cupcake, doodled a little trail across the top with an edible pen (genius!) and called it done.  The purple flower cupcake was a bit of a debacle. I just kept adding and adding the flowers until you couldn't see the base anymore then attached a flower to the top. lol. Looks much better in the photo.  My last cupcake was the puppy. I figured if I can make a bear, I can make a puppy...complete with tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Here's Rachael's mini masterpieces...

and mine...

Predictably, Eme loved the one that I hated most...the purple floral number with the butterfly...mostly because it was covered in shimmer! lol.  Seth loved the bear and the puppy...and as they say...the proof is in the eating (which occurred approximately 3.25 seconds after walking inside the door!).

I really enjoyed using fondant and I think I've overcome my fear!  I'm definitely going to decorate cupcakes with fondant again in the future. Next time though, I'll pick one or two designs and make them in bulk. I've already got plans to make Christmas cupcakes later in the year...oh no, what have I started?!! Louise informs us that she's opening a shop soon in Wollongong, and I can't wait! You can view more of Louise's work here.

I can't help thinking how awesome Seth's Scooby Doo cake would have been this year if I'd used fondant...oh well. I'll share those pics in another post.



ps. Andrew...hide the visa...I've found another hobby!

Trust 30 | Come alive...

Life wastes itself while we are preparing to live.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you had one week left to live, would you still be doing what you’re doing now? In what areas of your life are you preparing to live? Take them off your To Do list and add them to a To Stop list. Resolve to only do what makes you come alive.  Bonus: How can your goals improve the present and not keep you in a perpetual “always something better” spiral?

Prompt by Jonathan Mead

This prompt has been baffling me for days! Each time I've sat down to answer this question I have drawn a blank. I don't know if its because the prompt isn't very clear (in my mind) or if there are so many things I should stop doing in preparation for living, and actually just start living. You know what I mean?  Having said that, there are a lot of things that I currently do, that perhaps I shouldn't. I'm going to completely ignore the premise that "I only have a week to live", although the prospect of having more than 15 mins to get my act together is incredibly attractive. I'm going to look at it more that I have a week to work on living better.

STOP procrastinating and wasting time.
STOP treating my body so badly by filling it with foods that aren't good for me.
STOP make excuses for why I'm not exercising.
STOP ignoring the signs that things are just not right.
STOP listening to my inner critic.
STOP spending so much time on my iphone.

DO the planning so that I'm making the most of my time.
DO treat my body like a temple.
DO take the kids and dog for a walk...everyone will be happy...furry kid included.
DO what makes me happy.
DO put the phone on the charger and have an actual conversation with my hubby.
DO it. Just do it.

Monday | menu planning

Monday

Spaghetti Bolognaise

Eme will be a happy little chicken...she's loves anything with pasta

Tuesday

Curried sausages with vegetables and couscous
We do a sweet curry with green apples and sultanas...the kids love it!

Wednesday

Chicken parmigiana with green salad
In our version, the chicken breast is grilled, not crumbed or fried

Thursday

Grilled pork fillets with seasonal vegetables

Friday

Takeaway night

Saturday

Pastry wrapped meatloaf with seasonal vegetables and tomato chutney
Meatloaf prepared by our local butcher...must source recipe...

Sunday

Slow cooker corned beef with white sauce,

mashed potato, and seasonal vegetables

[image]

There are so many slow cooker recipes online for corned beef.  We found this one on Kidspot and it appealed to us because you don't have to add sugar. A lot of recipes call for brown sugar and I just don't think its necessary.  Honestly, this recipe was so tasty, we'll be cooking it again this weekend. The meat just fell apart...I'm drooling just thinking about it. lol.  I thought I might share the recipe here for you...

Slow Cooker Corned Beef

You will need:

• 1 piece corned silverside(1.5-2kg)
• 10-15 peppercorns
• 1/2 cup malt vinegar
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 onion
• 10 cloves
• 1 carrot, roughly chopped
• 2 sticks celery, roughly chopped

Here's how:

1. Place the meat in the slow cooker and add all of the ingredients except for the onion and cloves.
2. Peel the onion leaving the root intact. Slice in half and push 5 cloves into each onion half. Place in slow cooker.
3. Pour enough hot water in to cover the meat.
4. Cook for 4-5 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low setting.

Notes:

• Make sure there's a little fat on the corned beef you choose from the butcher, otherwise it will turn out dry.
• My slower cooker is only small...3.5L. The cooking time for us was only 6.5 hours on low.
• Traditionally, corned beef is served with mashed potato and white sauce.  If you don't fancy making your own white sauce, try Masterfoods Creamy White Finishing Sauce...yum!

Trust 30 | Travel...

If we live truly, we shall see truly.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not everyone wants to travel the world, but most people can identify at least one place in the world they’d like to visit before they die. Where is that place for you, and what will you do to make sure you get there?

Prompt by Chris Guillebeau

Ever since watching Roman Holiday, I have dreamt of going to Italy.

I so desperately want to see the Trevi Fountain and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Colosseum and the Pantheon and much, much more.

I want to put my hand inside the Mouth of Truth and see if it will bite me!

I want to taste Italy...real gelato and pasta and pizza...not the Dominos kind.

I want to walk the cobblestone streets and ride on a scooter.

I want to be serenaded in a gondola as we travel down the Grand Canal.

...and although I'm not Catholic, I want to visit Vatican City.

Andrew wants to go too, so that's a big bonus! Eme will go anywhere there is pasta.  Seth is indifferent. One day this will happen. We have quite a few commitments before we can even think about saving for an overseas holiday.  One thing I know for sure...it will happen.

Where do you want to go?

June | photo a day challenge

The June photo a day challenge is in full swing and today is day 5! As promised, here's my first few photos.  I've loved playing with my camera this week.  Here 'tis...

Day 1 - Self portrait

taken at 7am before leaving for work

Day 2 - What you wore today...

the usual black work attire with blush pink lacy scarf and flower

picture taken inside work bathroom...great lighting!

Day 3 - Clouds

taken in the afternoon from my front porch...
clouds look like they're making loads of rain babies

Day 4 - Something green

potted agave in my backyard...time to replant...its getting huge!

Day 5 - From a high angle

my boy...nestled in his beanbag, watching Meet The Robinsons

To play along...here's the full list...

Trust 30 | Post it question

That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him. Where is the master who could have taught Shakespeare? Where is the master who could have instructed Franklin, or Washington, or Bacon, or Newton? . . . Shakespeare will never be made by the study of Shakespeare. Do that which is assigned you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Identify one of your biggest challenges at the moment (ie I don’t feel passionate about my work) and turn it into a question (ie How can I do work I’m passionate about?) Write it on a post-it and put it up on your bathroom mirror or the back of your front door. After 48-hours, journal what answers came up for you and be sure to evaluate them. Bonus: tweet or blog a photo of your post-it.

hmmm...come back in a couple of days...