Erk, Well Ok then…

Blog Everyday In November is going swimmingly, yes? I managed a couple of days and then promptly forgot about it. :/ So here’s a couple of days catch up

Photography

Here’s a pretty photo I took

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Fireworks Night

Beautiful_sky_with_fireworks

I used to LOVE fireworks when I was little. It was my Grandad’s birthday around Cracker Night so we’d have a family get together with cake and fireworks.

Friday Night In

Ha this is me pretty much every week! Hubby goes out and plays D&D with his mates and I get to stay home. Depending on the kids, it’s either something on TV, baking or scrapbooking. I remember when Friday night in meant a bunch of mates coming round, lots of alcohol and loud music šŸ˜‰

Unusual Hobby

I didn’t think I had unusual hobbies, then I went and googled ā€œunusual hobbiesā€. As you do. Who would of known my love of haunting cemeteries (haha) actually had a name?

Taphophilia is a passion for and enjoyment of cemeteries. The singular term is a taphophile. It involves epitaphs, gravestone rubbing, photography, art, and history of (famous) deaths.

There you go. I love checking out local cemeteries and absorbing the history of the place. Which reminds me, it must be time for a photo walk again soon šŸ˜‰

Something new about myself

Honestly I’m struggling to think of something new to share about myself.

You all know about my love of cooking, how I met hubby, my hobbies…..

…..

……

have I shared that I have a birthmark on my foot? No? Can’t remember. So there you go. My new fact to share with you all šŸ˜€

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I’m taking part in Blog Every Day in November. You can sign up, find all the prompts and a list of participants here.

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The Life:Captured Project – October 2015

Read more about Life:Captured here.
Catch up with my previous Life:Captured posts

01 Describe a moment from today that you want to remember always.
The start of Frocktober. Another chance to raise awareness & funds to help find an early detection test for ovarian cancer. (You can donate here)

02 What sort of school lunches did you have when you were little?
Hmm I think I remember sandwiches. I can’t remember anything else

03 Have you kept in touch with your childhood friends?
Some of them. Mostly thanks to Facebook.

04 When was the last time you and your partner talked? What did you talk about?
Last night. Talked about stuff for Christmas and stuff to do with the girls

05 What were some of your favourite books to read when you were young?
Anything! I read Jaws, Shakespeare, Flowers in the Attic, Trixie Beldon, The Famous 5. I’ve always loved reading and had access to a heap of books

06 What does it mean to be strong?
Being able to handle what ever life throws at you

07 What makes you feel confident?
compliments from hubby

08 What are some things that make you feel nervous?
Speaking in public. Hate it with a passion 

09 Recount a recent evening that you wish to remember.
Taking the girls & FIL to see a TCW show.

10 What is your favourite season, and why?
Summer. It’s warm.

11 What do you hope to achieve by the end of the year?
Finished the girls’ bedroom renovation

12 What’s on your heart right now?
How there is so much cruelness in the world  šŸ™

13 What are some things that you wish to purge from your life?
So much junk that we store. Excess kids stuff.

14 Do you remember what life was like a year ago today? Describe it.
Miss K was at daycare. Miss A was still a sleepy bubba

15 Describe a typical Saturday for you and your family.
Doing some housework or working out in the yard. Visiting friends/family. Hubby having his mates round to play Dungeons & Dragons once the girls are in bed.

16 What happened at 8pm today?
Girls asleep. Hubby out playing D&D. I’m busy planning blog posts.

17 Write about five things that made you smile this week.
Miss K back at school. Visit from my bestie. Mum getting good news from oncologist. Cooking. Soccer picnic.

18 What are you eating these days?
Lots of variety. Lots of stuff from scratch. Less packaged foods, unless it’s chocolate šŸ˜‰

19 If you were to dress up for a night out this evening, what would you wear?
My favourite little black dress, heels and a nice necklace & earrings.

20 What have you been thriving on lately?
That I can cook great meals & snacks for my family that are healthy & yum.

21 Describe something that is beautiful to you.
My kids.

22 What is your least favourite time of the day, and why?
Morning. I’m not a morning person at all

23 How do you feel about recent events happening around the world?
Sad

24 Why is journaling important to you?
In scrapbooking, it’s important so I can get down the who/what/where of a story that goes with my photos for future generations. In my personal journal, it lets me get down my thoughts down and out of my head.

25 What does happiness look like to you?
My kids playing together, laughing and not fighting

26 Describe something you’ve bought in this last month.
Christmas presents

27 What are three things from this past month that have been eye-opening?
How quick little people learn. How helpful some people can be. That I can not see someone for ages and when we catch up it was like only yesterday we last saw each other.

28 What are three things from this past month that have been antagonising?
The lack of help getting things done. Temper tantrums. My back šŸ™ 

29 How are you feeling today?
Good. Happy. Miss A slept in her cot all night for the first time in ages.

30 What is your favourite thing about Tuesday afternoons right now?
Spending time with my mum after the girls’ swimming lessons

31 What are you most looking forward to next month?
Pants! As much as I love doing Frocktober, I really want to wear jeans

It’s a Frocking good time

It’s official I suck at remembering to Instagram my frocks but here’s what I wore this month. and for the record I cropped my head out of most cause I have a head cold and look shocking :p Anyways, it’s all about the frocks this month! 30 Frocks (I wore one twice) in all and even a little dress up for Halloween! (& a guest appearance by my cats)

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Did you know one woman dies from Ovarian Cancer every 10 hours! You can still donate and help fund more research into Ovarian Cancer here.

Currently #3

 29

TIME: 1:15, Saturday 31st October, 2015

LOCATION : Lounge room 

FEELING: Pretty good 

LOVING : it’s a long weekend and we have no plans

READING : You’re Never Weird On the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day and starting The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer

DRINKING : Coke or hot chocolate

ANTICIPATING : wearing jeans again

LISTENING TO : MUSIC : my 101 tunes playlist, random tunes from my music folder    PODCAST : The Paperclipping Round Table

WATCHING : a heap of history docos, Supernatural, Ghost Adventures

PLANNING : a craft day with mum & some friends

LOOKING FORWARD TO : warmer weather 

CREATING :  my Christmas planner

NEED TO FINISH : so many things – cleaning the girls’ room is first on the list

WISHING : there was more hours in the day 

MAIN GOAL : to get caught up with Project Life (still)

What are you ā€œCURRENTLYā€ doing?

Food, Glorious Food

Here we are. Seven days into my 14 day challenge and I hope you are looking forward to checking out the recipes.

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Bonus recipe – Honey soy meatballs. Wasn’t sure how this one would go but everyone loved it. It made enough for 2 adults, a 5yo and a 1yo plus leftovers (& a few sneaky ones snuck while mum was serving tea but shhh)

Day 1 – Honey chicken with rice. If you like Honey chicken from the takeaway you’ll love this one. Takes a bit of time but definitely worth the effort

Day 2 – Creamy bacon & basil bowtie pasta*. This one is a family favourite. Makes heaps.

Day 3 – Honey beef stir fry & noodles. Yummo. Love this one. Really nice with either steamed rice or noodles (we went with noodles)

Day 4 – Beef pies. New recipe for us. Had tried this recipe previously and it was ok, wanted to try something different. Added a couple of teaspoons of YIAH Veggie dip mix. Next time I’d add a little less. I decided to makes some wedges to go with it. You can grab the recipe (& what I’d change next time) here.

Day 5 – Moroccan style chicken roast with this stuffing and roast veggies. Wasn’t sure how this would go the first time I cooked it for one of the ThermoFun cook a longs but I was so pleasantly surprised. This is another family favourite I cook when we want something different from the usual roast chook. Always gives a moist roast, and if you put it in the oven for a bit, you get crispy skin.

Day 6 – Chicken mornay. Leftovers night! This is just a tuna mornay recipe made with leftover roast chicken. Seriously yum if you add a bit of grated cheese (& a little YIAH Herb & Garlic dip mix) Really nice the next day on toast with a little grated cheese on top.

Day 7 – Devil Sausages and mashed potato. Love this recipe. Love we end up with leftovers for lunch or another night. Bonus is we have enough leftover mash for tomorrow night’s meal.

*ThermomFun member recipe. If you have a thermo cooker I can highly recommend joining the ThermoFun site. A new recipe every week delivered to your inbox and access to a whole heap of helpful documents!

Updating our reno to-do list

Back in July 2013 I created a list of all the things I wanted to do around our home. Fast forward a couple of years and I thought I’d update the list.

Kids room

  • new curtains
  • polish floorboards
  • maybe some wall art

Our room

  • paint (gotta pick a colour first)
  • polish floorboards
  • eventually get built ins – the plan is next year (2016)

Hallway

  • skylight – still not sure about this
  • polish floorboards

Bathroom & toilet

  • tiling the toilet floor
  • maybe a new loo

Lounge/Dining

  • polish floorboards

Outside

  • new front fence
  • garden beds for the vegie garden
  • get gazebo up and set up for table etc  – happening this summer!

I’ve also been pinning up a storm of inspiration. Feel free to check out my boards – Bedroom, Laundry, Kitchen, Lounge, Garden.

Things we’ve done

  • replaced our wood heater with a newer model
  • got a reverse cycle air conditioner (& kept the wood fire)
  • new kitchen
  • replaced the plumbing – kitchen, laundry, some under the house and some outside
  • new roof & guttering
  • Family photos up in the lounge & dining room 
  • new bathroom
  • new front door & window
  • linen cupboard
  • landscaped front yard – new grass, new gardens, new paths
  • new curtains in the lounge & dining thanks to my mum
  • roller blinds in the kitchen
  • new couch and chairs
  • painted the lounge/dining room
  • built in cupboard in girls’ room
  • painted the girls’ room