Challenge 14- New recipe

For challenge 14 in the 30 pictures in 30 days challenge, I have to take a picture of a new recipe.

Ahhh, lamingtons.  They are deceptively difficult to make.  I mean, how hard can it be to dip cake into chocolate and roll them in coconut.  A lot harder (and messier) than you'd think.  The cake doesn't hold together quite enough to be dipped for too long and the chocolate cools fast enough that it becomes harder and harder to dip.  I also used the wrong coconut.  I had no idea that there were all different kinds of coconut and the shredded kind was the wrong kind to use.  Oh well, they were yummy!

In other news:

• After quitting diet coke again for over a month.  I have managed to have three today.  No idea why, just did. 
• We are getting ready for my parents to visit.  We proclaim that we will not procasinate, but we always do.  Now, it is 6 days until they visit and we still haven't bought a heater. 
• The third State of Origin game is next week.  My poor parents will have to be subjected to Jay and Dave watching Rugby League. 
• I need to do laundry, but I missed my chance.  It is now raining again for the next two days and I can't very well dry laundry on the line in the rain.
• I don't want to cook dinner tonight.  Of course, it is a Weight Watchers meeting night so I shouldn't have to cook as I won't be here.  However, I have a feeling that Jay will forget that he needs to be home early and I will not go to my meeting...so I will be cooking anyway.
• I haven't scrapbooked since March. 
• I jog 4 days a week now.
• My knee is killing me, probably from the fact that I jog 4 days a week.
• At playgroup, I got to hold 2 1/2 month old baby April for 45 minutes while she slept.  Nothing beats a baby sleeping while being held. 
• Can you tell I've had three diet cokes today?

One rough day, three sick boys, and a kindy debut ball

Poor Joe had a rough day on last Friday.  First, he got elbowed in his eye.  It was an accident while playing soccer at lunch.  He ended up with a bit of a black eye from it.  Next, he was playing with a flag post during sports time.  He managed to trip and ram the end of the pole straight into this face.  The metal ring on the end cut his face.  (His teacher had warned Joe not to play with it, by the way.)  Finally, Joe ran into a post while out to dinner, scrapping the bridge of his nose.  Ouch, poor kid looks a little worse for wear.  Now, (almost a week later), all the scabs are gone and Joe is almost back to normal. 

On last Sunday, we had three kids decide to start vomiting.  All three boys were up more than once during the night to be sick.  I hate it when my kiddos are sick as there isn't much that can be done to help them.  They did, however, all have to stay home from school last Monday.

Thankfully, they all recovered fairly quickly. 

Tom is only wearing his sling to school.  It is pretty much just worn as a reminder not to do anything crazy.  We are supposed to go back to get x-rays this week.  He should be all done healing soon.

Today, Tomaree Primary School held a Kindgarten (Kindy) Debut Ball and party.  The current kindy class dressed up and invited the 2012 kindy class to attend as well.
The current kindy kids had their names read and were presented to the parents and the principal.  It was very cute.  Then they danced three dances.  After the first three dances, the 2012 kindy kids were invited out onto the floor to do some dances as well, the chicken dance and the hokey-pokey. 


Kindy kids dancing

 Sam was horrified!  He was absolutely scared stiff.  He refused to move, even though he knows both dances and loves to dance them at playgroup and preschool.


Sam, at the back, not dancing

 Sam wouldn't move!  He stood very still, with his arms at his side, while all the other kids danced around him.

Poor Sam.  I did manage to get a smile out of him after the decorated a bow tie. 

He also enjoyed all the party food that was offered.

Of course, I fed him this plate full of sugar, plus some chicken nuggets from McDonalds, and then took him to preschool.  I'm sure he'll be a bit wound up.

Challenge 13- Something ugly

Challenge 13 was to photograph the "not-so-nice" side of life.  The challenge was to photograph something ugly. 

I choose to photograph the bulk household waste.  Every year our local council offers a bulk household waste pick-up.  The pick-up starts in late May and runs for 6 weeks.  Now, the idea is that each suburb in the Port Stephens council has a set week in which to put out their waste.  A flyer in the mailbox notifies each suburb of their pick up week.  In concept, you'd put your waste out on Sunday and it will be picked up during the week.  In truth, no one follows the flyers that we have gotten.  Our neighborhood wasn't supposed to put the waste out until the 27th of June.  Some people have had theirs sitting out for weeks!  Now, the other problem is what people call waste.  There are so many table and chair sets outside.  Yes, one of the four chairs is broken.  Why not donate the other three and the table to the Salvation Army?  People also use this time to scavenge through the bulk waste. Ugh.  I am glad that this will all be done soon!

Challenge 12- family pet

Challenge 12 was to take a picture of a family pet.  Since we only have one pet in the country, I can only take a picture of Lacey.

Lacey enjoys a good curl-up on her bed for a nap.  After all, she's still a growing pup!

Challenge 11- Coffee Cup

I am really bad about this picture challenge!  I am sorry!  I will try to do better.

Challenge 11 is a picture of my coffee cup.

I didn't have coffee in my cup.  I was drinking hot tea with milk and sugar.  I like this picture because it shows the steam coming off my cup.

Life as we know it

It is Winter here.  The first of June ushered in a new season, which is cold and rainy.  Well, actually the month started pretty well with 6 or so really nice, (but cold) sunny days.  Of course, by cold, I mean about 50 degrees at the lowest. 
Jay and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on Thursday.  We went out of dinner at a very awesome place.  I wore a skirt.

 I bought this skirt in Noosa at the Eumundi Market.  I really love this skirt.  Considering that I am not a huge skirt wearer, that's saying a lot. 

This weekend is the June long weekend.  Don't understand what that means?  Neither did I for a while.  A long weekend is when there is a holiday on Monday, which makes a three day weekend.  The June long weekend is simply the weekend, followed by the Queen's Birthday. Of course, Monday is not actually the Queen's birthday.  It is simply the day that most of Australia celebrates her birthday.  Western Australia chooses to celebrate it on a different day. 
The tradition in Nelson Bay over the long weekend is the Country Music Festival.  It is also rain...and lots of it.  Everyone says that it rains every year on this weekend. 

We are feeling fairly pinned down by the rain and stayed indoors yesterday.  I have dog training this morning, rain or shine.  I am hoping for less rain and more just overcast and cloudy. 

Tom is coping pretty well with having his arm in a sling.  I feel like it is going to get harder and harder though as the weeks go by.  He has to keep it still, but I think that he not going to do well with it over the next 3 1/2 weeks. 

The rain has us trapped so we are reading.  Where's Wally are some favorite books for just passing the day away, searching for the impossibly hidden items and Wally. 

On our anniversary, I fed the kids something they don't usually get at home.  I heated some pre-made nuggets in the oven.  I found this package highly amusing though.  Recipes on the back of boxes typically have something to do with the product in the box.  Not this one though.  A box of chicken nuggets had a recipe for pumpkin.  Amusing.

Challenge 10- Secret Passion

So I am back in the saddle again after a bit of time off from the challenge.  Going to Noosa really broke my stride on a few things.  However, I'm back at it now. 
The next challenge is to photograph a secret passion.  I will admit that I don't have many things that I am passionate about.  Certainly my family, friends, and scrapbooking, but none of those would be considered secret.   Then I was talking with a friend about making bread by hand versus going to the bakery or even using a bread machine.  It dawned on me that I am a little bit passionate about making bread.  It's also something that I don't really talk about so perhaps making bread is a secret passion for me. 

This is partially kneeded bread dough.  I love everything about making bread.  The yeasty smell, the warm, hardy texture, the feel of kneeding the dough....everything.  Kneeding bread is very calming and soothing to me.  Doing dishes used to be calming and soothing, but then I had to do them everyday, multiple times a day.  Hopefully, making bread won't lose that same loveliness. 

In case you are wondering, I used a White Wheat recipe from the Joy of Cooking (their Whole Wheat Bread) and modify it by subsituting 1/4 cup of the water for juice of one large orange and the correct amount of Wallaby Bread Improver.  It comes out wonderful everytime.