My Couch And The End Of My Working And Domestic Day

I'm absolutely exhausted! Today I started back at work after having just over six weeks off, half a week due to my father's passing and the rest because of my hysterectomy operation. My legs, hips and left foot and ankle ache, my lower tummy aches and is swollen, which is not a good thing but also probably normal, well I hope it is anyway! I am now sitting on my couch with my legs up after cooking dinner and washing up and putting some washing away. I am soooooo grateful for this couch and the end of the working and domestic day where I can sit and relax with my family before putting myself to bed, to recuperate my aching body and start it all over again. Steph

Fresh Air And Sunshine

Do you ever feel like you should be elsewhere? Or have a De ja Vue? Maybe it was in my past life? Why is that, if anyone knows please let me know! Today is a fantastic, mild, beautiful day, the sun is shining, Zoe is playing outside and I'm sitting watching her while I blog. Today I'm grateful for fresh air and sunshine, which allows me to sit and enjoy. We couldn't and wouldn't be without them. Steph

Hubby Giving Me A Massage

I've been a little tense this week as my neck has been stiff and sore, Dave's has been sore as well and we worked out why yesterday, it's because our TV is too high and the couch too close. We have now moved the couch further back but we can't change the height of the TV at the moment as we are still renting and we just haven't got anything else to put it on. Earlier tonight Dave gave me a fantastic, extremely relaxing and soothing full body massage. It had been a while since the last one and I'd forgotten how good he is at them, so tonight I'm grateful for my wonderful, thoughtful husband for giving me a full body massage which has soothed my neck and relaxed me all over.
Steph

Fire

Wasn't today cold and miserable, it rained nearly the whole day here in Metung and it was pretty windy and chilly outside. Today I'm grateful for fire as it kept our house nice and cosy and warm all day long. Steph

Diversity the world provides.

I would love to visit other parts of the world such as France, Greek Islands, Venice, Naples, Rome, England, Malta,New Zealand, Africa and maybe Thailand if I can fit it in. The reason I want to visit these countries is to experience new cultures and eat the food, yum! I want to go to: -France to eat real French pastries, delectable cheeses and drink french wine, but also to experience the beauty of Provincial France and take Zoe to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. -Greek Islands to bathe in the gorgeous sunshine whilst sitting amongst the rocky, Mediterranean seaside and of course to eat traditional Greek cuisine. -Venice to travel on a Gondola down the canals and hopefully be romanced by my own husband (one can only dream). -Naples to eat the best pizza ever. -Rome to do as the Romans do and of course to see the sights. -England to visit Zoe's grandparents, long lost cousins of mine and some old (not age old) friends, and to visit Old English Pubs and drink lots of English beer, preferably cold. -Malta to visit my rellies and experience my birth place. -New Zealand to visit more rellies and of course see the sights and eat great food and drink great New Zealand Chardonnay. -Africa to visit my sponsor child Tendai. -Thailand purely for the sensational spicy, aromatic Flavours. So as you can see I really want to visit these places, not only to experience the sights but to devour in their cultural food and drink. I may not be going for a while As finances don't allow it, so I have decided that I will have to experience them in a different and much, much cheaper way, that is, by buying cookbooks that not only show you how to cook the foods but show you the places as well. A few suggestions of books would be.....Jamie's Great Britian, Two Greedy Italians, Food Safari and anything else that will enlighten me. I have also decided that perhaps when I have the time, I will endevour to cook the various country's food, for instance one week I will cook french food and the next Thai food and so on. So, today I am grateful for the diversity that this world provides, not only with food but cultures as well. Steph

We Are Equal

My mum arrived in Bairnsdale by train today to stay with me until Thursday. First I took her to see St Mary's church in Bairnsdale to see the great paintings inside, she was impressed. Then I took her to Lakes Entrance and we had lunch at the Ferryman's Cafe, it was nice to sit outside with a view of the lake and the fishing boats. She came with me to pick Zoe up from school and Zoe showed her the classroom and where she sits. After dinner we watched Titanic as Zoe hadn't seen it before. It was quite good but sad. I felt for the poor people and I wanted to hate the pompous rich. I understand that to make the world go round there are many types, but I believe we are all equal, we enter the world with nothing and leave with nothing. What happens in between is mostly up to us and our attitude towards life and people is our choice. I am truly grateful that I am not a pompous stuck up rich person (although it would be nice to have a little extra every now and then, especially when the bills arrive in the post),and grateful that I was brought up to believe that I am a well loved beautiful human being with morals, respect and dignity, I was also brought up to believe that we are all equals, no matter how little or how much money or assets we own. Steph

Compatibility

Compatibility is what I'm grateful for as yesterday we had some new friends come around for lunch, and it turns out both Dave and I got on really well with them, Alex got on really well with their son who is the same age, and Zoe got on well with the rest of the kids, all four of them (2 didn't come). I am assuming that we will definitely be having more good times sharing good food and some if not too much consumption of liquids with our new friends.
Steph

2 minute noodles

2 minute noodles......cheap and easy to cook, anyone can cook....some with a bit more flair than others.
Steph

Health Conscious and Hygienic

I am truly grateful for the fact that I am health conscious and hygienic. Yesterday I had some stomach cramps which I thought might turn out to be gastro or something like, but by the end of the day I was fine, I didn't even lose my appetite (although it wouldn't have hurt for a while), and today I am fine but my hubby isn't, he has had the runs and feeling a bit squeamish. I truly believe that the reason I don't get sick very often is because for one I am a clean freak, I'm forever washing my hands and of course shower each day and I loooooove my veggies, which of course is great for your system. I don't eat meat yet my iron count is high (higher than some carnivores) and I have never suffered from high blood pressure, which unfortunately my late sister and dad suffered from and now my younger sister has. I'm hoping I'm right in saying that by eating a variety of food that obviously contains less bad fats is good for you. However I am far from perfect, I do love the glass or two of wine each night and sometimes more and I'm a savoury person, so I like to occasionally snack on savoury snacks such as salty chips and Twisties, but lately when we've had them have regretted it so much that we have chosen not to purchase them anymore unless we are truly desperate. We are so proud of ourselves, we haven't bought or eaten takeaway food for three weeks. We haven't craved it and it helps that I am home and have more time to cook, which is a good thing and that is why while I'm home I am making food I can freeze so I don't have to do too much when I get home from work, especially in the first week back as I know for sure I am going to be exausted, mentally and physically. So far I have made Bolognaise, Matriciana sauce and some Prawn Dumplings for me, and I will attempt to make other non pasta sauce frozen meals, any suggestions from my followers or readers would be greatly appreciated. And another thing, if any of you know why it is that I am all of a sudden (post my hysterectomy) craving sweet things after my dinner please let me know!
Steph

Walking

I think lazy Sunday rolled into Monday as I didn't blog. Yesterday I took one of our dogs for a long walk, I wanted to see how long it would take to walk from our house to the primary school, my husband thought it was a fair distance and that it would take quite some time, though I didn't think so. Any way, I went there by foot with dog on lead and it took me forty minutes, not as long as they thought. I did feel good doing it, and Zoe was pleased to see me, and Dave was surprised to see me there when he picked her up. Today, I plan on going for another walk, maybe not quite as long as yeaterday's one, as I don't want to over do it so soon. I am grateful that even though there are things I can't do, at least I can go walking. Steph

Lazy Sundays

Lazy Sundays are always good, especially when you are invited out for lunch and get your meal cooked for you. Unfortunately the food was so good that we came home a little larger and then I ate more of it later on for dinner. For me, today was a good, relaxing, happy, easy going, stress free day and I'm grateful.
Steph

Inspiration

Today I am going to be grateful for inspiration to cook new things. I love cooking and therefore I love trying out new recipes. Today I made Greek Stuffed Capsicums for the first time as we are going to our good friends Gudrun and Stelios's place for lunch tomorrow as it is their Greek Easter and I said I would make something, I'm a little excited about it. I also made marinated calamari for dinner tonight which I saw on Rick Stein's cooking show, and they were delicious, I will definitely be making these again.
Steph

Adult Conversation

As I've been at home, most of my time has been spent talking to Zoe who is seven. So today when Zoe's friend's mum came to pick her son up, she stayed for a little while and we had a chat. She was quite nice and we found it easy to conversate. We will be inviting them over again for sure. It's great to have an adult conversation. Steph

Bored But OK

I'm bored, bored, bored and more bored. I've had enough of resting. All I've done in the last 3 weeks is sit, cook and eat, not exactly good for the figure and what's more is that I'm still swollen in my lower tummy which makes most of my clothes snug, which in turn makes me feel yuk. Today I managed to get Zoe to come with me to take the dogs for a walk, which lasted a whole 20 minutes, not much really but it was better than nothing. I never thought I'd say this but I think I'm looking forward to returning to work as I'm so bored. Normally I'm able to do stuff around the house and do gardening etc, but I'm not allowed to lift anything over 5kg for up to four weeks, and I'm not allowed to drive either. It doesnt help that our house isn't ready so there's not much we can do yet. Can't wait till the 4 weeks is up, maybe then I'll be able to do something with myself other than eat and drink and sit. Soooooo, hopefully you can all see my predicament.......and why I am finding it truly hard to find anything to be grateful for today. In saying that I suppose I will have to be grateful that I'm ok, yes I'm feeling a bit down, fat and extremely bored, but it could be a lot worse, much, much worse! Steph

Internet

Internet cannot replace personal contact and conversation but it is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends through email, Facebook etc. I especially like facebook because it allows me to keep in touch with my family such as my cousins who are spread out in the world, they are in Malta, New Zealand and England. Tonight I have used Facebook to track my oldest son Nick who has taken his girlfriend on an adventure. The latest is that they just had their dinner in Toowomba QLD. I had a feeling he was going to head that way, probably going to Noosa. We took him there a couple of times when he was younger and he loved it, so I'm assuming he's taking Becca there to share the experience, how romantic. Steph

Letting Go

I didn't blog yesterday because my son Nick and his girlfriend Becca were here and I don't get to see them that often so time was precious. They left today at about 5pm to go back home and then apparently to go on a surprise adventure that Nick had planned but Becca doesn't know about, he said he will send me photos. Anyway today I am grateful for being able to realize that my kids are getting older and much more independent, they want to do their own thing and that is great. I miss them dearly, I even miss Alex who lives with us as he spends a lot of time in his room. Let's face it, which teenager wants to spend time with their parents? Really? I miss my kids and I love them all dearly and I even cry sometimes as they are all growing up so fast and the faster they grow it seems the farther away they seem. I, for a brief moment thought, why do we have kids? maybe it would have been easier not to have them, then there wouldn't be the heartache and this feeling of emptiness that I seem to be taking a while to get used to! But, then, I thought, God no! I am so grateful for all those years that I have had with my kids, they are beautiful and good, really good kids, they have turned out to be great and respectful with morals and with good heads on their shoulders. I still worry about them most of the time but realize that I have to let go and let them go their own way, and know that they will come and visit their mother because I am a good mum and they love me.
Steph

Nick

Alex

Zoe. She's still mine for quite some time, but one day I  will have to let go of this one too!

Special Holidays

Any excuse is a good one to spend with your family and that's why I am grateful for special holidays like this Easter break. It gives us time to go on holidays to see and spend time with the people we really care about. This weekend and Easter break, my mum and sister came to stay. They are leaving for home tomorrow morning. We have had a really nice time together, we talked, walked, watched cooking shows and ate lots of food which I willingly and happily cooked. Tomorrow night or Tuesday morning, I am expecting my oldest son Nick and his girlfriend to visit. I am excited about that.
Steph

Asian Flavours

For dinner tonight I cooked beer battered flathead fillets with roasted sliced potatoes and salad, it was nice but what made it even nicer was my Asian inspired salad dressing. It consisted of fish sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, garlic, chilli and coriander, it was delicious. I love Asian flavours so I'm grateful for them. Steph

Love of Cooking

I love cooking, I don't know why exactly, I just do. I love making new food, I especially like trying new food. Yesterday I made fig jam as the fig tree on our block has given us a few too many. We can't eat them as fast as they ripen. Today I tried out the 'Italian Ricotta Dumplings' that Joolz posted from 'Two Greedy Italians' episode. Thanks Joolz, they turned out quite yummy, I changed it a little as I didn't have tin tomatoes so I used tomato puree, I also added fresh oregano and parsley as well as the basil (from my herb garden of course). The dumplings were a little heavy (and very filling) but they were tasty. I also made a chicken pasta dish for the carnivores, it had fried sliced onions, garlic, mushrooms and chopped chicken. I added tomato paste, vegetable stock, water and oregano, this turned out tasty as well. After dinner, Zoe and I made some Chocolate Chip Cookies, they have Peanut M&Ms in them, a bit sweet but very morish. Zoe loves cooking as well, especially sweets, she has quite a sweet tooth, an amazing appetite and mature taste buds, she tries everything with the exception of spicy food which we we will be working on in the future. The other day I made a muesli bar which is quite nice, the only problem is that my husband Dave can't stop eating them. He thinks that he can substitute his breakfast and lunch for muesli bars and then have more after dinner and in between his meals. I did warn him about having too much sugar, and as you can see by the photo below, the effects of too much sugar and going to bed too late after watching crap on TV. Anyway at least they all like my food, otherwise I don't think I would be as motivated to cook and try new food if they didn't. 

Steph

Fig Jam

Italian Ricotta Dumplings

Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

Cutting up the butter for our Cookies

My gorgeous little chef.

Cheeky Chef

She didn't really eat it raw, although she did want to.

They were way too big, so we had to make them smaller, lucky as they spread quite a lot in the oven.

The result of too much sugar and not enough sleep.

Choc Chip Cookies with Peanut M&Ms

Home Grown Herbs

I'm growing some herbs in a barrel and they are doing really well. I'm so pleased with it. I love going out into the garden and picking fresh herbs to use on my cooking or to add to my meal. The other day I picked coriander and chillies to have with my Dahl, they were delicious and fresh. Yummy.
Steph

Members and followers of my blog

Today I'm grateful for the members who follow my blog. It's nice to know someone is reading my blog. So far I have three members, Isabella from Melbourne (who happens to be my sister), Joolz from Adelaide (nice to get your comments) and our newest member Kimmie from Queensland (who just joined). I would have a definite fourth, my friend Megan, but she couldn't work out how to join on her iPhone. I know that occasionally if not each day, another friend of ours in England reads my blog but hasn't joined yet. Thanks members. Steph

A little selfishness

I was busy cooking yesterday, we had a couple of friends come around last night and then I was tired and went to bed earlier than expected, so I didn't blog. I did however have a great time cooking, I made Lemon Meringue Pie, Roast Lamb, Roast Potatoes, Mixed Vegetables which consisted of Brussels sprouts, corn and peas which I boiled then fried up with a little olive oil, red onion and pine nuts, yummy. I also made roast pumpkin and Fetta salad, which was quite nice as an alternative to just plain roast pumpkin. Oh I almost forgot I also made myself some mushroom pies which I had one of for dinner (as an alternative to the lamb) and froze the rest. The pie was delicious, I made them using button mushrooms, mixed antipasto mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, olives, Dijon mustard, cream and thyme. Yesterday when making the pies I was thinking of making them so that Dave and the kids would eat them as well and then I thought, No for a change I'm going to make them just how I would eat them and not worry about whether the others would like them or not, they had their roast lamb, it's not like they were missing out. I'm glad I did because they did come out very tasty. A little selfishness doesn't hurt every now and then!
Steph