Zucchini slice

Nice recipe for zucchini slice found here. I wanted to use my zucchini because it got damaged on the way here and would go off pretty quick. I omitted the bacon and added some sweet potato as I wanted a vegetarian meal.
(Side note: Have you ever noticed how organic food goes mouldy before supermarket food - makes me wonder.....)

Just like Christmas only healthy!

We just got our fruit and veg box delivered and it looks sooooooo good! I get so excited unwrapping it to see what's in there.

Today we got:
strawberries mandarins broccolli
mushrooms oranges cauliflower
bananas kiwi fruit asparagus
tomatoes carrots celery
baby spinach potatoes lettuce
apples pumpkin zucchini

If you live in Melbourne and want one visit the greenline.

'Cause I needed a laugh

I'm just waiting for the day this happens to me. We've already had a 'crayon versus couch' situation and this morning we had 'dirty laundry versus toilet'.....

A skirt with bees on it

Supposed to be doing - housework

Actually doing - being a busy bee and sewing Moo a skirt.

My first "no pattern" garment. OK, it is a skirt for a toddler but I'm impressed ; ) Just sewed a tube selvedge to selvedge, elastic casing and turned over hem. Simple but sweet. And it's got beeeeees...

Opening the mail can be dangerous

I received a hand addressed letter today and opened the envelope. As I tore the edge of the envelope I saw what looked like invitation paper. I wondered who's birthday it was for. Then I took out the paper and saw a photo of Marg and realised it was a thank you note from my Uncle. I just burst into tears in the middle of my kitchen..... I actually recognised the hand writing as it is similar to my Dad's but didn't put two and two together. I guess sometimes two and two makes five.

Gnomes

I keep forgetting to take my camera with me so I am just going to share this without photos.

A few months ago I noticed a couple of gnomes that had been tied together with a shoelace and flung over the powerlines on Brunswick Rd, Mitcham. I had a bit of a laugh and forgot about it. It wasn't too much of a leap from tying shoes together and putting them over the powerlines to tying garden gnomes together and throwing them (right?).
A few weeks later I was with hubby in the car and I noticed a gnome taped to the train boom gate across Mitcham road. He's still there months later and goes up and down, up and down all day long.
Since then I have spotted a gnome sitting on top of the railway bridge over Cochrane st and one sitting in the Camera lense of the giant camera on top of Ted's Cameras on Maroohdah Hwy Ringwood.
I'm against vandalism but I have to admit that this gnome thing has really made me chuckle.
Has anyone else spotted any crazy gnomes?

* update * found this in Wiki. Apparently there is a Gnoming group in Mitcham and Blackburn. AHA~

This is what scares me about Moo having a sibling

This is just the kind of thing Moo would do....

It's catching...

... yesterday I was feeling really *blah*. This morning the WHOLE family got up on the wrong side of the bed. Hubby is really tired and hating Monday. But, he was happy to go to work because Moo was screaming and crying like it was the end of the world. I tried asking her what was wrong (she can point to something that hurts) but she just looked at me and kept screaming in a really high pitched horror movie cry. Then hubby came in and showed her his folded up socks and how he was then unfolding them and putting them on his feet. Moo suddenly stopped crying as she was very interested. (She loves shoes and socks.) She's playing now and singing but the slightest thing not going her way results in a HUGE tanty. It's going to be a looooong day....

This is..... show off time

This week's "This is..." left me stumped I have to say. I don't think I'm much of a bragger as I think most of the things I do are pretty mundane. But my friends tell me the following is pretty interesting...
* I've lived overseas for over 5 years of my life. I've lived in 3 countries and visited 19. I've had 8 white Christmases.
* I speak Korean and intermediate Swedish (with bad grammar!) and can read a Swedish newspaper. (I get to read more than I get the opportunity to speak!) I can read Norwegian and Danish and have an OK grasp of German. I once memorised 900 Chinese characters in one semester and passed an exam meant for native Korean students.
* I studied at a Korean university for 2 years and have a Grad. Dip.
* I had a job as a TV presenter once.
* I have a beautiful daughter who turned 17 months old today. I blog her life here.
Now, she's something worth showing off!

Sorry about the boring post, I'm feeling a bit *blah* today. Hoping I wake up on the right side of the bed tomorrow........

The best chocolate shop

Photo by shianux.

Trust me.
I know chocolate.
I once worked in a chocolate (and lolly) shop.
This chocolate is amazing! We visited Koko black in Camberwell today and picked up a few favorites. Mine is their Cinnamon praline but I'll eat anything if it comes from there.... They also have a cafe that has the best hot chocolate you'll ever have and a selection of yummy desserts and the like. If you're a chocolate lover, check it out - they have shops in Carlton (Lygon St), Camberwell (Burke Rd), Chadstone and the Block Arcade in Melbourne as well as Canberra.
As a side note, we also found ourselves in Borders - an evil conglomerate but when it comes to books I can't help myself...... I bought a book about animals for Moo. Would you believe it's actually quite hard to find books suitable for toddlers that have photos of animals instead of illustrations? Or they have only 5 pages with 5 different animals.... Moo is not satisfied with either of those options so I was glad to find DK's Lift-the-flap "Baby Animals." So, we're all happy campers today.

How did I get so lucky???

Found these in my local....


Pity the older pattern has sewing machine oil on it - but it's still good! All the pieces are there too which is a huge bonus. Now, I REALLY have to start making some of these patterns instead of just collecting patterns and fabric..... it's just that it's easier to do that part - and this week creche is on holidays (school holidays here in Vic) and Granny is out of town so it's just Moo and I all day every day this week.
However, I MUST finish my nephew's fish this week as it's his birthday on Wednesday and his part is on the weekend. ~phew~

Paper fun

A friend of mine sent me this link to paper craft. What I LOVE is that you can print out your very own Japanese printed paper. And then you can practice your origami....
If you look around the site there are other things to make out of paper like mobiles, models of animals and architecture, party stuff, greeting cards and scrap booking. Seems like a great way to waste the time that I don't have - he he he.

A little trip

Mum has been in town so I finally went to see the NGV's art deco exhibition. My favorites were - everything!!!!- but especially the evening gowns and tea sets. Nice jewelry - my favorite Swedish glass bowl was in there too. And the posters! Love those bold graphics. It was fun to see the photos of famous deco buildings around the world that I had visited - Mum gets annoyed when I say, 'Been there. Been there. Been there too.' One of the buildings was the Macca's in Clifton Hill so I had to laugh and say, 'Eaten there.' ; )
Moo was being a bit of a pain (she was tired) but not so badly behaved that we had to leave! There was an uneven representation of elderly at the exhibition so I got a few dirty looks for Moo's squealing. She just can't help it when she visits the NGV - it echoes so nicely and she knows it!

After the gallery we went to Kimono house and I took these photos waiting for the lift. Mum bought some really sweet (and bright!) firefly seersucker to make a pinafore for Moo. I saw way too many temptations and had to try hard not to spend any money.... Same goes for visiting Genki. I really want to buy Moo a tee they have which says, 'I love animals.' In red with aqua print. *sigh*

Then we went a walking. These two photos are from the foyer of the MU building - as we are being art deco today....

Had Korean for lunch and I freaked out the waitress by ordering in Korean - my party trick! Moo loves all kinds of food so she tucked into some 짜장면..... and got it all over her face, table and chair. Luckily I brought some wipes with me. Messy food for a kid to eat but I can't help but give it to her - I like that she likes it!

The yummiest and easiest to make carrot cake ever

It's great. Just get all the ingredients out. Throw them in a bowl and mix. Cook. Eat.
I got the recipe here and have made it a few times. It's just soooo yummy. Nice and moist too.

Curses!~

I was going to sew the sleeping bag up today but ended up doing housework instead. Booooooo. And, while I was doing the housework I thought I might see how hard it would be to remove the wallpaper from our small and soon to be refurbished bathroom. Turns out it is a pain the a$$. So, here's what I have to say to them, "Curse you people who put crazy white and dark blue blinding wallpaper in our tiny tiny bathroom.... WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

OK, I do realise that the wallpaper is not that bad. It could be 70's red felt and silver or nasty bright poo orange. But the bathroom is really tooooo small to have anything so busy. At least you can just paint over a bad colour choice if it's just painted on......

I'll try to view it as a zen experience. Steam on. Wallpaper off. Steam on. Wallpaper off.
*sigh* I feel better already.....

Hot off the press

I consider these to be THE best Anzac biscuits in the world. Another recipe stolen from Mum - it doesn't have coconut in it which I like. I made this batch to give to my neighbour who brought me round a large bowl of mushrooms from his stash a few weeks ago. (Yes, it's taken me this long.... but I didn't want to return an empty bowl.)

Heat oven to 170 degrees Celsius (or 180 if your oven is not fan-forced).
Melt together 6 ozs of butter and 1 tsp of golden syrup (or substitute maple if you are not in Australia).
Mix 1 tsp of bi-carb with 2 tbl boiling water. Add to butter mixture.
Combine in a large bowl: 2 cups of rolled oats, 6 ozs of sugar, a pinch of salt and 4 oz of plain/all purpose flour.
Make a well in the centre and add the butter/sugar/bi-carbmix. Blend thoroughly.
Using a teaspoon, roll the mixture into balls and place on baking paper on a tray. You can also just drop them but I find that rolling them gives nice uniform biscuits and I am a bit of a nerd...
Bake for about 20 mins or until golden brown and yummy. I find it really depends on your individual oven so you need to keep an eye out the first time you make them and then note the time.

My busy little apprentice....

... in her dressing gown!

Moo loves to sit next to me and play with cotton reels while I sew.

Baby hoodie

I whipped this one up when Moo was sleeping yesterday. The pattern is from a 1970's layette pattern. I modified it because I didn't want drawstrings anywhere... which actually made it easier to make which is a bonus. I think it only took me 2 hours from deciding to make it to the finished product. I also cut out a sleeping bag (from the same material) which i will attempt to get together today.

Skirt

I finally got around to sewing my Amy Butler Barcelona skirt. I decided on a solid colour with no embellishment for my first run because as I am new to sewing I didn't want to waste materials on something that ended up the wrong size/shape or totally messed up. Well, the experiment went well and I will be making the skirt again with different fabric. But - although this was a practice run I really LOVE bright red so the skirt has already been worn several times.....
About the fabric I used: found in IKEA last week as a bundle of 'scraps' in the bargain corner. I got about 6 metres of fabric in 4 different designs for $5.

This is..... what I want to be when I grow up

Thanks bugandpop for this weeks topic but why did you have to pick something so hard! : )
Well, I remember when I was 5 I wanted to be an archaeologist. Then a paleontologist, an Egyptologist or a spy. In high school I wanted to be a pilot. But from then on I never really knew. It's funny when you're young you can imagine yourself doing or being anything. It's not just imagination but a feeling that anything is possible. As we get older we 'restrict' ourselves with our own beliefs about what we can and can't do. We have a mortgage, a partner, kids. Responsibility means we can't just run off and become archaeologists. Grown ups 'have' to earn money, keep the house in order, raise the kids and consider the wishes of their partners. Hubby and I are moving to the UK and every time we talk about it it seems too much to deal with. We have so many questions: Should we sell our house and buy in the UK? Rent our house here out? What do we do with our furniture? What about school for Moo? Should we have our next baby here or there? Blah, blah, blah. Yep, put it in the too hard basket.
My current occupation is 'stay at home Mum.' It's by far the best and most fulfilling job I've ever had but I have to say the hours suck! Holidays are few and far between but every day is filled with fun (and sometimes frustration.....) I consider myself extremely lucky to have the luxury of having the choice to stay at home with Moo or go back to work. Sometimes I do wonder if life would be easier if I went back to my old job (as an insurance underwriter) but then I wake up and realise what I'd be missing!
Now, it appears that I am rattling on.... so I should say what I actually want to be when I grow up! Well, I want to be kind and confident, happy and compassionate and I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to follow my heart...... whatever occupation that may be.

A fitting farewell and a welcome begining

Friday was my Aunt's funeral. It was a beautiful and loving tribute which flowed out through the chapel into the foyer and onto the footpath/sidewalk.
Marg's favorite movie was Dirty Dancing (No one puts baby in the corner!) so they played "I've had the time of my life," and also "Hallelujah," by Jeff Buckley and "Throw your arms around me" by Hunters and Collectors. There wasn't a dry eye in the house but there were also many laughs and smiles to be had too.
Times like these make me reflect on my own life and help to clarify the things that are important. When I look back on my life when my time comes, I would like to think that I have been a kind and considerate person. That I have not only loved my family and friends but I have shown them what they mean to me and been there for them when they needed me. It's hard to remember when you're annoyed about the lid being left off the toothpaste that it really doesn't matter.... Life really is too short.
Saturday was my sister in law, Y's, baby shower. I'll have a new nephew or niece in a few weeks and I am sooooo excited. The cycle of life continues......

And I just realised that I forgot to take pictures of all the finished bibs before I gave them away..... oops~

News Flash

Moo was just watching, 'In the Night Garden,' (a children's program aimed at toddlers) when the program was interrupted with a news flash. The man looked very serious and said, "I've just been told...." I'm thinking, 'OH NO! What horrible news am I going to hear? Bombing? Building collapse? Earthquake?' Then he continues to say that the Liberal party have elected a new leader! Then I thought, 'Seriously, who is watching The Night Garden who is going to care about this news???? I'm sure Moo was interested to hear the the Liberal party has a new leader....... What the?

It must be love.....

Hubby and I were watching a TV program and a man was one the phone begging his wife to let him come back home. (It was set in the early 60s.) The guy said, "I'm so sad without you....."

Me: (not seriously...) "Would you be sad if I wouldn't let you come home?"
Hubby: ".......... Don't know, but I'd sure be hungry!"

Well, we thought it was funny.....

On being organised

Yesterday I rang my MIL to see what she was up to and she suggested that I meet her for a coffee and then go to IKEA. I'm ALWAYS up for a trip to my favourite money pit so Moo and I got on the train and got off at Mont Albert. I have never bothered stopping there before as I live a few stations on but we found a really small but lovely cafe that had lots of yummy French things and nice coffee, mmmmm. Anyhoo, we trotted off to IKEA and while I was there I thought, 'I want to buy Moo an easel for Christmas and Mum and Dad said they want to buy her table and chairs, so I may as well buy them now.' So, I have already started the Christmas shopping! I have also tested out a few recipes for gift giving and the chocolate peanut slice/peanut butter bars I found the other day in my blog travels seems to be a winner for a baggie for all the Aunts and Uncles.
Back to IKEA and Christmas.......Yesterday while Moo slept I started painting the chairs and table I had just bought with a white stain so that it will be nice and unsmelly by the time Moo gets it. (We did use vegetable based paint but it still smells to me.) I said to MIL while putting the furniture together, "I'm glad it's not Christmas Eve right now!" And I meant it.
I'm usually quite organised for Christmas and finish my shopping before December rolls out. I hate the pressure of HAVING to find something RIGHT NOW because I have 20 other gifts to find but most of all I hate the crowded shops - particularly people who either walk really slowly and weave from side to side or just suddenly stop walking and look around so you nearly ram up their backside - my sister in law once kneed someone in the butt who suddenly stopped to tie up their showlace and they fell on their face - but that's another story. A pretty funny one though....

Go in peace Marg

Our family gatherings will never be the same......
... but I'll have a champers (or ten) and tell Pa to cut his hair and take off that ridiculous Hawaiian shirt for you. We're sure going to miss you darling.

Photo by sillysnapper.

This is.....what I do with a spare 10 mins.

Well, a spare ten minutes is a bit of a luxury these days...... There is always something I should be doing. That's the thing about being a stay at home Mum. There is always some washing or cleaning/tidying that can be done. It's not like you can leave the office......
The month of October is a busy one with lots of birthdays and I set myself the challenge of making presents for all the little ones. This coming Saturday is my SIL's baby shower so I have to finish off the things I am making for her new baby too so I am not above spending 10 mins sewing at the moment. (Every minute counts!) I am also wrapping the presents and making and writing in the cards too so that on the day all I have to do is pick up my ready made package and run out the door. None of the usual last minute run to the shops and wrap the present before running out the door!

But, when I do get a spare 10 this is what I usually do:
* read my Google reader and catch up on all my favorite blogs
* write my own blog entry
* empty or load the dishwasher
* have a cup of tea

Thanks to Hoppo Bumpo for this weeks thought provoking 'This is...' To find out next week's theme visit bugandpop.

Testing tests

I went to the dentist this morning. I was expecting the worst as I'm 33 and 3/4 and don't have any fillings. I figure it has to happen one day so with every passing year I expect more and more that I will have to get a filling. When I was pregnant with Moo I hardly brushed my teeth (due to gagging every time I even thought about a toothbrush or toothpaste) and after she was born I considered myself lucky to get out of my pajamas little own brush my teeth for more months than I care to admit..... So, it was with great trepidation that I finally made an appointment. Surprising we're all good! I do have a few deep 'fissures' that need filling to prevent decay but I don't have any actual decay. Who knows how I managed to be this blessed, but all I can say is 'Woo hoo~~'
After going to the dentist I stopped by the pathologist to get my blood test. Nothing wrong, just the usual cholesterol, fasting sugars, HIV, rubella etc tests that one gets before getting pregnant. (Which is a change from the unplannedness that was our little Moo). Now I'm scared. It's not that I'm worried that I have some horrible disease, it's that I really like bacon. And chocolate. And fatty roast pork with crackling. Please, please, please don't let my cholesterol be too high. I'll never be able to enjoy the naughty yuminess that is bacon (full cooked breakfast!) without feeling guilty again.........
(Apart from the obvious guilt of eating a poor little piggy - free range is my answer to this conundrum. But that is a completely different story.)

Just had to share a picture of my 'Moo'

Just like her Mum she loves a chocolate biscuit (or ten....)

Finally finished.....

Felt food for O's birthday. With plate, knife and fork....

****** I'm getting VERY angry with Blogger flipping my photos!!!!!!!!!!!*********

Something has to go right.

While Moo slept this afternoon I took a walk down to the shops to pick up some groceries. (Hubby was working from home - as much as Moo is trying my patience this week I am above leaving her alone at home!) I popped into the op-shop for a quick looky-see and found a lovely piece of vintage material (2 1/2 yards printed Swiss cotton) which still had a tag from when it was bought from 'Buckley's Thrift Shop' which Mum tells me used to grace one of the large buildings in town and closed down in the early sixties which confirms my guess of a late 50s early 60s pattern. Photo will come tomorrow as Moo will be at Granny's - hooray for Grannies!~

*update* Photo as promised...

Cruel and unusual punishment

Three times this past week Moo has woken around 1am and hasn't gone back to sleep for several hours - last Friday night was the best effort as she stayed up between 1am and 6am. Last night was between 12.30 and just after 3. We've found that she tends to do this when she is about to make a huge developmental leap - we just wish she'd hurry up about it!!!
So there hasn't been much craft action around here... In happy news my Amy Butler baby patterns arrived yesterday so I have picked out the things I am going to make once life gets back to normal - ha! Moo should be leaving home in about 20 years and I might get some time then.... : )

Lack of sleep made me do it.....

I can't believe what I did this morning.....
I was spraying spot stain remover on the clothes before putting them in the washing machine...
*thinking* 'This stuff kind of smells like bleach...'
*picking up another item of clothing*
Hmmm *thinking* 'It's stinky.'
la la la la la *picking up another item of clothing*
*thinking* 'Why does it smell like bleach?'
*picking up another item of clothing*
tra la la la la (I always sing when doing laundry....ha ha)*thinking* 'I don't think this is the stain remover....'
*reading label on spray bottle* SHIT!~ THIS IS MOULD REMOVER!!!

I can't believe I was soooo vague and it took me so long to process the fact that the stuff STANK like bleach!!!! Luckily I didn't spray it on anything really special.....Grrrrrr But I ruined my favorite pair of flannelette pajama bottoms : (

This is my absolute favourite band of all time...

Thanks to CurlyPops for this weeks 'this is' theme......
I'm posting early as I won't be about on the weekend.

This is my absolute favourite band of all time...

Yep, the year was 1988, I was in year 8 and I had a crush on a boy. The boy had a crush on U2. I got my best friend to copy her brother's Rattle and Hum tape so I had something to talk to 'crush boy' about. The boy didn't last long but U2 was here to stay.
I had the Rattle and Hum T-shirt (bought at the Vic Market), every tape they ever produced and everything U2 that I could get my hands on, including cutting pictures out of Dolly magazine which I then scrapbooked onto my school books and folders.
U2 is definitely the sound track to my younger years. My coolest U2 memory is listening to 'The Joshua Tree' while travelling through Europe when I was 16 (exchange student fun). There's nothing like that album as a background to boat or train travel - I listened to it again in 2004 when training it from London to Vienna (not in one go!) and it was as inspiring as when I was 16.

The last concert U2 had in Melbourne I was heavily pregnant and Moo rocked on from the inside! (I hadn't planned on being in that state when I bought the ticket BTW. U2 fans will remember that their tour was postponed.)
That's 20 years of U2 love. I'm ashamed to say that maybe (just a small possibility) I might still have an embarrassing crush on Bono.....

Spring is here.

My garden is at its loveliest in spring time. The previous owners planted lots of bulbs and flowering shrubs so I can't take the credit but it's nice all the same. This afternoon after putting Moo down for her nap I dusted, vacuumed and mopped the floor in our lounge and went outside to pick my favourite flowers. Hubby put the kettle on and made me some tea so now I am enjoying the lovely weather, sitting on the couch with the doors open, enjoying a cuppa and the sweet smell of freesias. Made even better by the fact that as Moo is asleep I can actually have things on the coffee table!
Things to be grateful for when spring rolls around:

• flowers
• sitting on the deck in the morning sun and reading the paper
• hanging washing on the line and the smell of bed linen when I take it down and fold it
• bird song
• having all the doors and windows open
  

This beauty is not going to last so I am off to enjoy the moment while I can. Have a great weekend!

$81.36 worth of sick

I posted that I had 'jelly eyes.' Well I almost have jelly eyes now from crying now that I've seen the bill for the medicine that the doctor prescribed for my crazy allergy (that doesn't just include my eyes). I just paid by credit card at the pharmacy and didn't check how much it was because basically I'm not going to walk around with 'jelly eyes.' I'm $81.36 worth of sick. That sounds pretty sick to me.......

The dreaded jelly eyes

Yesterday morning I woke up with really itchy eyes. Then they started stinging and then I got 'jelly eyes' and it looked like my eyes were trying to escape my head - (sorry if TMI) I went to the doctor and thankfully it's only "seasonal allergic conjuncivitis" (thankfully....) so I got some eye drops and voila - I look like me again. ~phew~
Hubby had fun teasing me because I had to walk around with my eyes squinted or closed so I told him I was only doing it because he looked better that way - he he he.

Love is a beautiful thing.

We were watching a documentary today about child development. The parents on the documentary were filling in a survey about the stresses in their lives. The question was asked, 'Do you ever wish you had never married/lived together.'
Me: "Never!"
Hubby: "Yeah, me too. I wish I'd never married you."
Hubby: "*laughs at own joke* I'm such a jokester."
Me: "hmmmm, hilarious."

I hate you skirt pattern....

I guess my fellow sewers already know this but the clothes that you buy in 'the shops' and the dress sizes on sewing patterns are different. Is it just me who finds it depressing that their dress size is 3 sizes bigger when they make their own clothes?
I've sworn off all chocolate and cakes until further notice. Damn you dress pattern and your evil sizing (and thank you Target for giving me the illusion of thinness........)
OK, I know it's just a number, but why does it have to be such a big one?