The Life:Captured Project – January 2015

Check out all my Life:Captured project posts.

01 Describe three moments from the holidays that you wish to remember.
1. Miss A’s first Christmas day
2. My first driving lesson in 20 years – yes I got my L plates again. I was 16 last time I drove!
3. Spending time with family & friends

02 What’s one thing that you hope to achieve or accomplish this year?
I really want to do a major declutter and make our house a bit more organised and easier to look after. Maybe even blog about it.

03 What is your family’s Christmas story? (Your traditions, your rituals, etc.)
No real traditions as such. Except breakfast. Every year it’s breakfast with my parents & my brother. Stockings from Santa. Exchanging presents. Croissants, ham, pineapple, cheese, fresh fruit.

04 Describe your bedtime ritual.
Check my email. Go to the loo. Make sure everything is switched off. Jump into bed. Journal. Check a few things on the net. Listen to ABC Nightlife (Monday to Friday)

05 What are three things that bring you joy in life?
1. My family
2. My friends
3. Scrapbooking

06 What was the last movie you watched, and did you like it?
Big Hero 6. Was pretty good for a kids movie

07 Is there any hurt or pain lingering in your heart right now?
No. All good at the moment.

08 What song(s) or tune(s) do you find yourself singing unconsciously?
Let it go from Frozen, namely cause we have the soundtrack on repeat 😐

09 What do you miss the most about being young(er)?
Having lots of freedom & not having to worry about grown up stuff

10 What’s a good book that you’ve read recently.
I haven’t read a book for ages. I have a small pile to read though.

11 Describe a moment from today that you want to remember always.
Spending time with my parents and going through some old stuff. Finding my Grandmother’s Glomesh bag from the 60’s.

12 Who was the last person to make you laugh? What did they do or say?
Miss A and I were playing then she got the giggles and then I got the giggles

13 Describe one recent dream that you’ve had.
I struggle to remember my dreams

14 Have you ever felt trapped or suffocated?
When I was with my ex. Not really something I want to go into

15 What is your favourite meal to cook, and why?
Anything! Seriously. I love cooking.

16 When does your family usually take down holiday decorations? Who does it?
We usually take down the tree at the end of the year. In 2014 it came down a few days after Christmas. I do it namely cause it’s much quicker than getting help.

17 What happened today at 10am?
We had a quiet morning.

18 Where were you born? Have you been back there since?
Devonport. Yes,

19 Write down five thing about your mother that you are most grateful for.
We get along really well, she’s always there when I need her

20 What’s your relationship like with with your siblings?
Much better now. We had a typical love/hate relationship growing up.

21 How do you feel about the dark?
Love it. It’s calming. I’m such a night owl 😉

22 When you were little, where was your favourite place to hide?
In my cupboard or under the bed or under the doona

23 What is your current go-to outfit, and why?
Jeans or 3/4 pants & shirts. Cause it’s summer & I’m still feeding my 6mo.

24 Describe what dinnertimes were like when you were little?
We’d sit at the table and chat.

25 Is there something that you’d like to change about your life right now?
More crafting time. A bit more money

26 How do you usually respond to conflict and confrontation?
Try & walk away. Ignore it.

27 Who are the people you spend the most time with these days?
Hubby, the girls, my mum

28 How are you feeling today?
Pretty good. Turned 37. Had an awesome meal with my parents.

29 What are three things from this past month that have been hard?

  1. the crappy weather & resulting colds
  2. sleep issues with little people
  3. waiting for things

30 What are three things from this past month that you’re happy about?

  1. getting my Kikki K planner
  2. swimming
  3. spending time with family

31 What is your favourite thing about weekends right now?
Getting some scrapping time with my mum or by myself while hubby is out

In the Den Kitchen–a Frozen birthday

Welcome back to another week of In the Den Kitchen. I took a break last week due to being super busy with a certain 5 yo who wanted a Frozen birthday party. Today I’m just sharing links to some of the food I cooked.

There was the usual sausage rolls, party pies, cocktail savs, sandwiches & fairy bread. Plus mini Italian lamb meatballs from Thermofun and frozen blue jelly “ice” cubes. I’ve linked to the original recipe but here is my changes

[yumprint-recipe id=’15’]and then the cake – a simple 3 layer butter cake. The bottom layer was plain, the second layer had 5 drops of blue colouring & the top layer had 10 drops of blue colouring. Covered in blue buttercream and snow made of marshmallow fondant. Topped with a mini Anna & Elsa ($5 each from Kmart) and some candy ice (scroll down. OMG this recipe makes sooooooooo much. I’d halve it, or even quarter it next time. FYI you can just use glucose syrup instead of light corn syrup.), candles & a 5 sparkler

IMG_6432 IMG_6433

If you’re looking for ideas for a Frozen themed party, feel free to check out my Pinterest board, so many ideas I wish I had done 😉

In the Den Kitchen – Banana Biscuits

With Miss K starting kindy next week I’m in full ‘baking to freeze for lunch box’ mode. I spotted the recipe for Banana Biscuits on Kidspot and thought they looked pretty yum, and healthy. And easy to convert to do in the Thermomix. So here is my thermo conversion Banana Biscuits

Banana Biscuits

[yumprint-recipe id=’14’]

14 Days of Cooking with the Thermo #4

Woohoo, it’s challenge time again and the first challenge for 2015 is…

lets go back to basics – with a 14 day challenge –
12th Jan- 25th Jan
Your challenge is to use your Thermomix every day for 14 days –
It doesn’t matter what you use it for – get out your EDC or B2B cookbooks –
Look though and set yourself a plan – even if it is just doing your rice – a simple salad – or boiling our eggs for lunches – for those not yet feeling confident
For our members who are Thermie “pros” – you can still participate in the challenge – your everyday cooking may well be the inspiration others need

DSC_0024 DSC_0764 DSC_0010 DSC_0023 DSC_0070 DSC_0069IMG_5760 ChocOrangeDrizzleCake IMG_5723 IMG_5738 IMG_5745 IMG_5759

12th January: it’s summer here, school holidays and warm. Perfect time to have a go at making icypoles. Orange Calippo-style icy poles.  Yummo. Must try the lemon version.
13th January: day before payday. Perfect time to clean out the fridge and make savoury mince. Added bonus – makes enough so I can freeze for another meal. Also really nice cold in sandwiches or as shepherd’s pie.
14th January: hubby decided to have lamb cutlets. Miss k & I had salmon cakes from the Baby & Toddler book. Miss A had sweet potato (also from Baby & Toddler book)
15th January: someone (not mentioning any names) left a bag of groceries in the car which we didn’t realise til I went to cook tea last night. Queue frozen puff pastry that had defrosted. Made sausage rolls and quick pizza scrolls (they aren’t thermo but oh well)
16th January: Friday night is when hubby goes out to a mates to play Shadowrun. Decided I needed a sweet treat all to myself (well actually it was to freeze for daycare/kindy lunches) so made banana, honey & cinnamon muffins.
17th January: Miss A’s choice for tea – chicken so I made Thermofun chicken vol au vents. Totally forgot to take a photo. They were delicious!
18th January: A quick & easy tea – curried sausages.
19th January: Steak & veg night. Made honey joys as a treat for lunchboxes. 
20th January: We had pizza for tea. Made cupcakes as a trial for Australia Day
21st January: my Dad’s birthday. Converted his favourite cake – Chocolate Orange Drizzle cake 
22nd January: Beef & bacon pasta bake. A great one to cook then freeze for later (or have for lunch the next day)
23rd January: ThermoFun Coconut chicken curry. Even made my own coconut cream (OMG this is so easy & quick). 
24th January: Mini Italian lamb meatballs. These are super yummy. Miss K loved them so a possibility for school lunches. Made heaps so froze some. Will make them for Miss K’s birthday
25th January: ThermoFun Lamington cupcakes for a pre-Australia Day event. From the Australia Day recipe box – you can download it here.

Biannual Blogathon Bash

It’s that time again – the Biannual Blogathon Bash. I love doing these as I (usually) get heaps done over the blogathon weekend. You can read all about the blogathon here and check out all my previous blogathon posts.

Biannual Blogathon Bash JanuarySo this is my kick off post for the January blogathon.

My list of what I want to get done over the weekend (yay it’s a long weekend here)

  1. Take part in the Instagram list (my photos – 1,2,3,4,5)
  2. Network over at the blogathon Facebook group
  3. Clean out my inboxes – delete, respond or file as needed
  4. Print blog planner & get in my planner
  5. Do a couple of blogathon mini challenges
  6. Check post SEO
  7. Make sure all images & links are there and working

Keeping the list smaller this year. 🙂

Oh and hello to anyone who is new to the blog via the blogothon 😀 Leave us a comment so I can say hi

In the Den Kitchen: Chocolate Orange Drizzle Cake

One of the series I’m bringing back in 2015 is In the Den Kitchen. Each Friday I’ll be sharing one of my favourite recipes. Some will be Thermomix, so will be normal recipes, sometimes it’ll be a Thermomix conversion with the normal recipe as well.

The first recipe of the year is a Thermo conversion. It was Dad’s birthday this week and I made him his favourite cake (& a family favourite) – Chocolate Orange Drizzle Cake

Chocolate Orange Drizzle Cake

[yumprint-recipe id=’5′] 

and the Thermo conversion

[yumprint-recipe id=’6′]

And starting 2015!

Well here we are, one week into 2015(!) and I’ve got soo many things planned already.

I’m really hoping to start a couple of new series here on the blog and maybe even bring back a few old ones.

I’m finishing off my 2014 December Daily/Journal Your Christmas album as we speak and will be sharing it all soon.

There’s quite a bit of my 2 Project Life albums to finish and share, along with my mini from when I was pregnant with Miss A.

Planning is well underway for Scrap Teal You Drop 2015

Currently I’m taking part in Heidi Swapp’s Capture 30 class and loving it. I’m such a planner junkie. I pre-ordered the Webster’s Pages one and have decided I want to get Heidi’s planner now too :/

Simple Scrapper are also running the Start Fresh 2015 event so I’m getting organised for all my 2015 scrapping.

What else? Busy planning Miss K’s 5th birthday, Frozen themed of course, and getting her ready to start kindy – when the hell did that happen??

I think that’s it. Bit of a what I’m planning/brain dump post tonight 😉 Hope your 2015 has started ok.

Finishing off 2014

Disclaimer – links are affiliate

Well here we are. The first day of 2015. I’m sitting here in my pjs watching Monkey Magic on SBS & surfing Pinterest.

Anywho, as I’ve done in years past I’m spending the next few days with my Life workbook but first to roundup my list from 2014.

As with previous years bold is started, strike thru is finished & red isn’t done

So here we go

  1. Increase my social media following
  2. Go to a blogger meet up in Tassie
  3. Get more Twitter followers (Jan 1 – 626   Dec 31 – 658)
  4. Get more Facebook followers (Jan 1 – 127   Dec 31 – 150)
  5. Organise my Pinterest boards
  6. Blog everyday for 1 month (March #30Lists)
  7. Learn a new recipe each month. Blog about it.
  8. Get a ProBlogger event digital pass – looks like this isn’t happening this year Image
  9. Attend more Brand meets Blog Twitter chats #bmbchats
  10. Use twitter more, especially for my blog
  11. Sort bookmarks (not really a bloggy one but it does need doing)
  12. Do the June blogathon
  13. Create a back up of my blog monthly
  14. Try something I’ve pinned and blog about it.
  15. Finish garden beds and start to use them
  16. Get a garden shed
  17. Set up a gazebo/outdoor dining area
  18. Do HabitHacker –Nest
  19. Get front yard finished
  20. Finish custom recipe book – this is a work in progress but all my recipes are now typed up & in a binder
  21. Finish laundry – need to paint
  22. Finish lounge – need to get curtains
  23. Finish kitchen – need curtains
  24. Start our bathroom reno
  25. Organise RPG room (aka the garage) so hubby & mates are out there by August
  26. Re-organise K/bub’s room
  27. Re-organise our bedroom
  28. Pull up carpet in lounge/dining room ended up being ALL the carpet
  29. Start a garden journal
  30. Work thru Creating your Goddess Haven e-course
  31. Redo the pantry (needs doing again)
  32. Sort linens and make less cluttered
  33. Have a candlelit dinner
  34. Birth a healthy bub in August
  35. Tattoo for J
  36. Family holiday to Qld or Melbourne
  37. Have parents and in-laws over for dinner more
  38. Go to the Dawn service but did do the Anzac Service
  39. Get a family photo of me, mum, dad & bro done
  40. Get a family photo of me, J, K & bub done
  41. Have a dirty weekend away with hubby
  42. Put min. $5 a pay into Christmas club account
  43. Write a letter to Miss K to open on her 18th
  44. Have a family movie night (complete with popcorn & choc tops)
  45. Write a letter to bub to open on his/her 18th
  46. Spend a day at the beach
  47. Go on a picnic
  48. Go for a drive somewhere for no reason other than getting out
  49. Spend a rainy day in PJs watching TV/movies
  50. See more of Tassie
  51. Work on family tree
  52. Go to the Botanical Gardens
  53. Visit QVMAG
  54. Get some guinea pigs for K (got chickens instead)
  55. Get BAS in on time
  56. Keep up to date with work accounts
  57. Get office sorted and start using it!
  58. Work thru Business Goddess e-course
  59. Finish work portfolio
  60. Upgrade laptops
  61. Make laptop & pc better organised – less double ups of files
  62. Setup server
  63. Find an inspirational quote & make it into a piece of artwork
  64. Finish JYC 2012 & 2013
  65. Scrapbook with mum more
  66. Art journal once a week
  67. Finish wedding scrapbook
  68. Do #30Lists (March, September, December)
  69. Organise all my paper scrapbook supplies
  70. Organise & cull my digital scrapbook supplies
  71. Scrapbook with others more
  72. Organise a scrapbook day
  73. Complete a cross stitch
  74. Work thru Creative Goddess ecourse
  75. Project life date one weekend a month
  76. Do some more classes & finish them
  77. Do Before your story class
  78. Create a scrapping binder
  79. Apply for more design teams
  80. Get dt work done before it’s due
  81. Actually DO some of the things I’ve pinned
  82. Create more pages about me
  83. Start bub’s PL book
  84. New tatt for me
  85. Get my L’s
  86. Rejoin the biz & life academy
  87. Raise at least $1000 at Afternoon Teal (we’re up to about $500 so far before the event!) raised $1738
  88. Do Frocktober
  89. Watch sunrise & sunset in the same day
  90. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
  91. Keep a gratitude journal every day for a month (0/30)
  92. Do Habit Hacker’s Create
  93. Get a massage
  94. Get a manicure
  95. Make a list of 30 books I want to read & then read those books (0/30)
  96. Exercise every day for a month (0/30)
  97. Create a mini Goddess altar
  98. Meditate more
  99. Enjoy life
  100. Live a more spiritual life

Back in a few days with my list for 2015 🙂