Technology

It may seem silly but I really love my laptop.

I love how it looks, I love how lovely it is to use and I love it even more now that it is yellow. My big boy's is blue, and he loves it too.

What I really love about my laptop (and my iPad) is what it offers me, all the possibilities it opens up. A few hours spent on this or my iPad are the perfect idea of relaxation for me. Bring on the school holidays, I intend on spending a bit of quality time with my pretty yellow friend.

Hot Cuppa on a Cold Morning

It was 2 degrees in Perth this morning!

While this is not considered particularly cold in many parts of the world or even in parts of Australia, us Perthites go into a slight shock when faced with these harsh conditions. Give us 40 degrees and we will snub our nose at those who are showing any signs of wilting the dry, unforgiving heat but give us a chilly morning and we will shiver, shake and complain to anyone who will listen as we firmly place our carbon footprint on our slice of paradise with every heater within sneezing distance pumping 24 degree air.

In my snug little part of the world, overlooking the expanse of the Indian Ocean under a clear bright blue sky, I have just prepared a pot of tea for 2 of my gorgeous colleagues - Jen and Angela (and me of course). In about 5 minutes we will sit down and wrap our frosty little fingers around a nice hot brew while sharing plans of what our weekend holds....

...its a hard life.

Winter Fare

My favourite thing at the moment is my slow cooker. I am using it a couple of times a week and we are loving it!

The best thing is that when I use it I dont feel like I am running in the door after work and then spending all evening in the kitchen.

Sunday I cut up all the veges and got all the essentials ready. Monday morning I put all the ingredients in, turned it on low and Monday afternoon lamb casserole was ready to go. 3 kids and one grown man had a couple of serves each (yes, the daughter actually had 2 serves). It also made for excellent left overs...served up with mashed potato (which was particularly good because it was made by the grown man and not me).

A very cheap, healthy meal and what could be better than that? Only one dish to wash!

I love it when a plan comes together.

Girl Night Out!

I stayed here last night with a couple of girlfriends.
No kids
No husbands
JUST US!

We headed up here for a cocktail before going back to the apartment to get into our pjs, snacks of persian feta cheese, dip, quocamole, and, of course, chocolate.

Such great company! It is good for the soul to laugh at ourselves! It is lovely to be reminded that we are not the only ones struggling to juggle everything. For some we reason we think it is easy for everyone else and they have some magic formula that means they are:
balancing the demands of their career,
feeding their children high fibre, low sugar and immensely tasty meals,
happily helping with homework,
keeping the house looking like a display home
and providing unfaltering support and love to their husbands
while looking like they have just stepped out of the Harpers Bazaar magazine.

It was lovely to spend time with such intelligent, funny, thoughtful and inspiring women who are just doing the best with what they have and finding the humour in the rest.

Cant wait to do it again soon!

Such fun!

It is amazing how the simple act of jumping up and down can be so perfect. My daughter and my niece will jump like this for hours; giggling, falling, performing.                                                   

My daughter is now able to do summersaults in the air and land on her bottom. She is just building up the courage to jump higher so that she can land on her feet.                                                                      I remember this same fun when I was a kid. My girl has much more courage than I did. It took me a lot longer to summon that same courage. My son and I err on the side of caution and are no where near as bendy as the girl. The combination of flexibility, co-ordination and guts means that I know she will be summersaulting sooner rather than later!

Wine and Candles

What is it about candle light that makes everything feel nicer?

After a few hours of serious vacuuming (and when I say serious I mean pulling all the stuff out from under beds, pulling chester drawers away from walls wiggling the fridge out of its cosy little spot to get to all those dark and dingy places where those bits of lego (as mentioned in a previous post), hair lackies & bobbie pins, odd socks and the occassional piece of orange peel like to hide) I returned to the kitchen to find a glass of wine waiting for me. A fresh healthy dinner was almost ready and the table was set. The candle was just the icing on the cake (alas, there was no actual cake). Candlelight is such a warm, forgiving light that a regular old dinner turns into a romantic, thoughtful gesture. I love it!

Perhaps I should vacuum more often?

Purple Cauliflower

This may sound crazy but I actually love grocery shopping. 

I enjoy it by myself, I enjoy it with my kids,  I love the possibilities that grocery shopping opens up.......all those delicious meals yet to eat, all those conversations yet to have......choosing to ignore all those dishes yet to do. I enjoy taking my time and reading the labels and buying Australian (and preferably, West Australian) made. And will be loyal to a store that offers FRESH fruit and vegetables.

My local IGA has terrific fruit and veg and is always stocking new local products. Last night my daughter discovered these beautiful cauliflowers. I had to take a photo (yes, got a few strange looks - not everyone is motivated to take photos of vegetables - go figure). Further down the shelf were these stunning squash. The whole section was a glow with stunning colours, shapes and smells. 

I am a bit of a sucker for pretty packaging so had to get some for myself.

Now, what do I make with purple cauliflower!