Blogging in May 2015

My goals for May
(posting to make myself accountable)

Blog Everyday in May #BEDM
30 Lists (Flashback Friday) – post once a week
In the Den Kitchen
review post
LID post (not here on the LID blog)
Project Life posts

The Life:Captured Project – April 2015

Check out all my Life:Captured project posts.

1. What are some things that you’ve bought recently?
Scrapbooking supplies, books, clothes, food

2.What are some things that you’ve made recently?
Birthday cakes (MIL, hubby, SIL), cards, some scrapbook pages

3. Write about three friendships which you’ve made online.
I’ve made some great friendships online through my blog and through Facebook. One of the first friends I made that I still keep in touch with (well reading her blog and commenting on that and Facebook) is Kelly. We ‘met’ through the Australian FlyLady group on Yahoo many moons ago and I finally met her IRL at a blog con in 2012.
Another is the girls in my birthgroup from Miss A. I sadly haven’t kept in touch with any of the mums from Miss K’s birthgroup.

4. What did your family used to do on weekends when you were little?
I remember going to the beach, visiting my grandparents, gardening, visiting the cousins.

5. What makes your heart ache?
Animal cruelty, child abuse, homelessness.

6. How did you get to school when you were little?
Mum took us by car or we walked. I remember walking to & from school lots when I was younger and walking home from high school.

7. What makes you laugh out loud?
A good comedy. My girls

8. Who were your favourite musicians when you were a teenager?
This list really hasn’t changed much as I’ve gotten older. Metallica. Pink Floyd. Fleetwood Mac. Nirvana. Pearl Jam. The Beatles. Weird Al. Beastie Boys. The Clash. Rollins/Black Flag. Sex Pistols.

9. Have you recently argued or disagreed with anyone?
Hubby over the stupidest things. Usually housework

10. How would you describe your family?
Whole. Me, hubby, 2 kids and 2 cats.

11. What are you thankful for right now?
Mum’s continuing good health. Having a warm bed to sleep in at night. Having good food on the table. Having the opportunity to do something I enjoy.

12. Write down everybody in your entire extended family.
On my side of the family. Still alive – 1 grandmother, 2 parents, a brother, 3 aunties, 3 uncles, 6 cousins

13. If you could only keep ten items of clothing, what would they be?
My blue jeans, my grey knit jacket, my black maxi dress,

14. Describe something that you’ve kept from your childhood.
I’ve kept my dolls house that dad mad me when I was little. We did it up and passed it on to Miss K.

15. Who was your first sweetheart?
In high school it was Ben. We had such a love hate relationship when we broke up.

16. What is something that you’ve been struggling with this month?
Sleep. My temper (see previous about lack of sleep)

17. Write down all your hobbies.
Scrapbooking, cooking, cross stitch, drawing, RPG, reading

18. What makes you jump out and shout for joy?
When my daughters do something new/hard/exciting

19. Who was your favourite teacher from school?
High School – Mr Chapple, our music teacher. He was such a great guy. Knew how to get the work out of you but you always felt like you could go talk to him

20. What did you like to buy from the school canteen?
Hot cheese roll. Plain roll with a cheese slice in the microwave for 30 seconds. Burning deliciousness.

21. What are three lessons that you’ve recently learnt?
My kids are pretty clued in. I can function on very little sleep (but get a shocking short fuse). I really enjoy swimming.

22. What is your idea of the perfect evening?
Kids in bed (asleep), something good on telly and some uninterrupted scrapbooking time.

23. Describe your relationship with your father.
Good now. Were both pretty stubborn, both Aquarians. Often come to loggerheads over things and neither will back down. Now that we’re both older we get along much better and are finding we’re very much alike with some thoughts

24. What are two things you would like to change about the world we live in.
Get rid of religion – it causes so many problems. End homelessness and poverty – we have so much but why are there still so many, living with so little.

25. What is something that you’re scared or anxious about right now?
Not really scared or anxious but a little worried about how Miss A will go transitioning from our bed/bassinet to the cot. Time she moved to her own bedroom, well one shared with her sister.

26. Do you feel loved?
Very much so.

27. What are three things from this past month that have required attention?
Easter. Miss A cause she’s teething and clingy. Our BAS (but I keep putting that one off :/)

28. What are three things from this past month that has been heart warming?
Watching the bond grow between our 2 girls. The bond between Miss A & hubby. Having some great family time.

29. How are you feeling today?
Pretty good. Organised. Tired. Motivated.

30. What is your favourite thing about Sunday afternoons right now?
Baking. I’m loving baking treats for Miss K’s school lunches (& snacks for us).

Blog Every Day in May #BEDM 2015

Excited to be doing this again. You can find all the dets here, follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #BEDM, take part yourself. Check out my writing from last year.

Here’s to Blogging everyday in May, interspersed with my regular ramblings 😉 I’ll be back tomorrow with the first prompt. See you then.

P.S. Let me know if you are taking part, I’d love to pop on over and say hi 🙂

In the Den Kitchen: Anzac Biscuits

You can now find previous In the Den Kitchen posts here or on Pinterest. Clicking Recipes in the menu above will also take you to my In the Den Kitchen Pinterest board. I’m slowly reworking some older posts so they will show up there too.
Links to any Your Inspiration at Home (YIAH) products will take you to my YIAH page. You can shop in Australia, New Zealand, USA & Canada from my page. If you are interested in learning about YIAH jump over to my Facebook page.

Tomorrow is Anzac Day. A national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and “the contribution and suffering of all those who have served.”

It’s also a time when we make Anzac biscuits (these are NEVER to be called cookies). You can make these any time of year but they always seem more special on the 25th April.

ANZAC Biscuits

A little history of the Anzac biscuit (thanks to Sky News, you can read the whole thing here)

The first known Anzac biscuit recipe appeared in The War Chest Cookery Book, which was published in Sydney in 1917, but this recipe was for a cake, not a biscuit.

It is said that biscuits with a similar recipe to the one we knew today appeared in magazines under different names, sometimes called “Rolled Oat Biscuits” or “Soldier’s Biscuits”. The current name only came about after the legendary ANZAC Gallipoli Campaign.

Anzac biscuit recipes, in the form we know them today, began appearing in cookbooks in the 1920s. They were sometimes called “Anzac crisps” or “Anzac crispies” (but not “Anzac cookies”) in reference to their hardness. The earliest recipe for these “crispies” found to date is from a New Zealand cookbook published in 1921.

There’s hundreds of recipes out there but I’m sharing the recipe I’ve made for years. We also now make the Anzac biscuit recipe in the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook but this one is my favourite.

[yumprint-recipe id=’18’]

In the Den Kitchen – Happy Easter

Slightly belated Easter greeting. Two things I love about Easter -it means it’s time for Hot Cross Buns (yay) and Cadbury Creme Eggs. But as much as I love these buns I’m not a fan of them appearing in the stores in late December/early January – I mean, really? And, I might get heaps of hate for this, but I’m not a fan of those which are full of fruit. Me, I prefer simple – sultanas and currents (or craisins) or choc chip.

The last couple of years I’ve been making my own. I’ve been using the recipe in the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook. I modify it every time I make it. This year I’ve added a little YIAH Pumpkin Pie baking spice. I thought I’d also share with you my choc chip modification of the original recipe. This is hubby’s favourite – he doesn’t like dried fruit (strange man LOL)

[yumprint-recipe id=’17’]

And the best bit – leave off the cross and they are yummy choc chip buns to eat any time of year!

The Life:Captured Project – March 2015

Check out all my Life:Captured project posts. Read more about Life:Captured here.

01. What was the last thing you talked about with your mother?
We’re busy planning our Afternoon Teal event that we postponed due to my youngest being sick.

02. What is your favourite colour, and why?
Purple or black. No real reason apart from the fact I like them.

03. When was the last time you did something reckless?
I honestly can’t remember. Most likely back in my 20s cause I’m old and boring now. What? 37 is old lol

04. What do you love about summer?
The warm weather. Get to wear cute dresses.

05. What sort of dessert do you like in the evenings?
Hmm favourite desserts – crème caramel or caramel oranges would have to be my two really favourites or chocolate mousse

06. How would you describe yourself in less than 500 words?
Mum. Wife. Daughter. Aunt. Sister. Lister. Scrapbooker. Photographer. Geek. Girl gamer. Lover of chocolate. Foodie. Blogger. Soccer Mum. Me. All the above and so much more.

07. Describe a moment from today that you want to remember always.
That you really should watch how you move your laptop. Otherwise you break the screen.

08. What are your favourite drinks?
Hot – hot chocolate. Cold – Iced chocolate, Coke

09. What do you like to wear to bed?
In summer as little as possible. In winter something nice and warm.

10. What do you remember about your primary school days?
The horrid school uniform – brown and green. Playing marbles. Having a great teacher in Grade 6.

11. Write about three friendships of yours which you know are for life.
My hubby.
My bestie, Lisa. We don’t see each other often or talk often enough but will always consider her a friends.

12. Name five people you admire, and discuss why.
My parents. Just because.
Eden Riley. I have such a girl crush on Eden. Amazing, strong woman. Been through so much and lives to tell the tale. Awesome blogger & slam poet.
Angelina Jolie. Dunno why, just always admired her.
Rosie Batty. Strong woman. Advocate against domestic violence.
I can’t think of anyone else right now.

13. Is there anything weighing on your heart right now?
Worrying about my mum

14. Write about a grandparent with whom you connected.
I can’t say I connected more with any of y grandparents. I used to watch daytime soapies with one of my grandmothers and then I found out after her death she used to enjoy watching pro-wrestling too.

15. What do you and your best mates like to do together?
Hang out, watch footy, talk about stuff.

16. How do you feel when it rains?
Love it of a night time. Nothing like the sound of rain on a tin roof.

17. Who were some of your childhood heroes?
I can’t really remember. Wonder Woman probably. MacGyver. The A-Team.

18. Write down one family recipe that you will cherish forever.
I don’t have the actual recipe but my grandmother’s cherry cake. I’ve tried to make different recipes but never have the success. I’m hoping someone in the family has the actual recipe.

19. What do you usually do around three o’clock in the afternoon?
Monday, Wednesday & Thursday pick up Miss K from school. Other days it’s getting stuff ready for tea.

20. Describe a typical Monday.
Get up, drag bum out of bed. Make a cuppa. Get Miss K out of bed. Breakfast. Showers. Take Miss K to school. Come home. Have another cuppa. Check emails. Do some work. Do some housework. Look after Miss A. Pick up Miss K from school. Home and get tea on. Bath girls. Get them to bed. Quiet time for me & hubby (tv, blogging, washing, reading). Cuppa. Bed.

21. What sort of adventures do you dream of going on?
Scotland. Machu Pichu. Canada. I really want to travel.

22. Is there anything about yourself that you want to change?
My hair colour – I want to go red.

23. Write about a recent dream that you’ve had.
*blush* um no

24. Write about your favourite place to eat as a family.
We have a few favourite places to go and eat as a family. Recently we’ve been going to the local hotel that does wicked pub meals AND they have an awesome kids room.

25. How does your family usually celebrate birthdays?
Depends on the person. Most of the time we go out for a meal. Unless it’s a big birthday then there’s usually a party. Of course if you are Miss K, you want a big party every year.

26. How do you feel about motherhood?
Love it. Hate it. Mostly love it.

27. Write down something funny that’s happened this last week.
Miss A doing a poop in the bath. Not all that funny but Miss K’s reaction had me giggling. She was in the bath when it happened.

28. What are three things from this past month that have been stressful?
Afternoon Teal (but I LOVE doing it). Money issues. Breaking my laptop

29. What are three things from this past month that has made you smile?
Afternoon Teal. Miss K’s athletics carnival. Signing up for YIAH

30. How are you feeling today?
A little annoyed. Long story short. People saying they will do something then not doing what we’d discussed

31. What is your favourite thing about mornings right now?
Cuddles with my girls.

Scrap Teal You Drop 2015

For the last couple of years I’ve taken part in the Ovarian Cancer Australia fundraising event – Afternoon Teal. Mum & I have named our event Scrap Teal You Drop and attendees take part in a full day of scrapbooking and card making.

This year we gave our small group two challenges. The first challenge which took up the morning portion of the day was to create two cards in an hour. We gave the ladies a bag which contained two cards (one rectangle and the other was either a teapot or teacup), 2 pieces of ribbon, some twine, 2 blank boxes to add a sentiment to if they wished, some embellishments, 3 pieces of pattern paper and a doily. They could only use what was in their bag plus our range of stamps, inks and paper punches.

I was amazed at the variety of cards that were created. The judging process was not a job I wanted on the day. I recruited my dad and uncles to be our judges for the day and the whole process was anonymous with only myself knowing which creation belonged to which attendant. So I wasn’t allowed to talk to the judges all day 😉

Our winners were the following cards and I’ve placed the rest of the cards up on my Facebook page

The afternoon challenge was a bit harder. The Teal Throw Down challenge the ladies to create a 6×12 page using only the colours we gave them – teal, pink, yellow, purple and a neutral (white or kraft) plus 3 embellishments, a piece of pattern paper ,a piece or ribbon OR twine (not both) and no more than 5 rhinestones or sequins. Honestly I would struggle with this one but the ladies created some amazing pages. A couple worked in pairs while others worked alone. The judges picked this page as our winner:

the other pages can be seen on my Facebook page as well.

Everyone had a great time and we managed to raise $800. Donations are still open so if you would like to donate to this cause, pop on over to my Afternoon Teal page.

A huge thank you to the wonderful businesses who donated prizes for our day. Please go check them out and give them some love!

Bev’s Cross Craft, Kellie Stamps, Simple Scrapper, Max & I, Sweets Caroline and ThermoFun.

A MASSIVE thank you must go to my mum (& dad), who let us use their house, organised a delicious lunch and helped with all the prep and running the day.

Lastly thanks to all who came along. Hope you had a great day. Look forward to seeing you all next year!

In the Den Kitchen – Afternoon Teal

I am turning into a food blogger LOL looking at my last few posts – they are nearly all foodie ones. And here’s another!

Last Sunday I held one of my annual fundraisers, raising money for Ovarian Cancer Australia. This year Scrap Teal You Drop was a smaller affair mainly due to a rescheduling of date (we were going to hold it in mid-February but a little person got sick) Anywho, we raised about $800. If you are interested in donating you can go to my Afternoon Teal page. I’ll be blogging about my Afternoon Teal next week.

Today on In The Den Kitchen – Afternoon Teal I thought I’d share some of the food that I cooked for everyone to munch on after a day of creating.

I’m still doing lots of experimenting with YIAH products. First of the sweet treats I cooked was my favourite 5 second coconut slice but I added some YIAH Black Forest Dukkah to the base and some YIAH Chocolate Raspberry Truffle powder to the icing. Next was Chocolate Orange Balls using YIAH Choc Orange powder (this stuff smells and tastes like Jaffas) and Apricot Fudge using YIAH White Chocolate powder.

Afternoon Teal food Afternoon Teal food - Coconut slice

I also made some Mars Bar Surprise slice, Teal cupcakes and a Teal Ribbon cake

Afternoon Teal food Afternoon Teal - Teal Ribbon Cake

In the Den Kitchen – Cob loaf

You can now find previous In the Den Kitchen posts here or on Pinterest. Clicking Recipes in the menu above will also take you to my In the Den Kitchen Pinterest board. I’m slowly reworking some older posts so they will show up there too.

So last week I promised you my recipe for Cob Loaf. This is a Thermomix recipe but you could easily make it without.

cobloaf

[yumprint-recipe id=’16’]Now you can just eat this as is with butter (warm from the oven yum!!) or fill it with one of the many filled cob loaf recipes out there (like the one I shared last week)
Enjoy!

In the Den Kitchen

Since we’ve waved goodbye to summer here in Australia I thought I’d share my favourite recipes for using up your summer berries. You can do these any time of the year with frozen berries (just check your berries haven’t been recalled first – well months after you use them :/)

Of course a big favourite for berries is jam. Over Christmas I made a few batches of jam in the attempt to gather a few favourites I will use over & over. So here they are – Nightwolf’s Den favourite jam recipes…

In The Den Kitchen Nightwolf's Den favourite jam recipes