My Comfy Bed

I love my bed and that is what I am grateful for today. I had a wee bit too much to drink last night, I think was so excited about having friends around for dinner that I drank way too fast and probably a little too much, so I'm a bit ashamed to say that Dave put me to bed and I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and a bit guilty. This morning I woke up feeling even more sorrier for myself.

Dave and our friends decided to go fishing in the afternoon and that was truly an excuse to have a nap in my wonderful bed which had been calling to me all through the day, but I hadn't been able to respond because of course I couldn't just go back to bed and leave them all could I. However when I did hit the pillow I rested for at least an hour and a half and my hangover had disappeared, thank goodness.

Beds are great aren't they? Most of us, are lucky enough to have a comfortable bed to sleep in, it's just there, always ready for you when you are feeling tired, sick, bored, naughty or just want to be on your own for a while, you can watch movies in it (if you have a tv and dvd player in your room that is), you can eat in it, drink in it, read in it, do other stuff in it (you know what I mean), and of course sleep in it, and you can even lie awake at night thinking about stuff you really shouldn't be thinking about in the middle of the night.
Steph

Friends

Today I am definitely and abosolutely grateful for friends. Today friends of ours have come to visit us, and along with some new friends that we have just recently made, we are sharing a great meal (Spanish theme cooked by me of course with some help from Zoe). It feels like we are back to where we were living, just like home. So it must be just right.It feels just right. Steph

Zoe helping to roll the meatballs

School Holidays

Today I'm definitely grateful for school holidays. Being a teacher I get school holidays off each time they occur which is fantastic, especially if you have school aged children. There are so many benefits, including; the obvious -getting the time off, going on a holiday if you can afford it, spending loads of time with your children, not having to make school lunches (I hate making boring school lunches), sleeping in, catching up on the cooking shows you taped ages ago, reading more books without falling asleep after the first paragraph, catching up with friends and family, experimenting more with food and much more. Steph

Cooking Shows

I had a more productive day today as I did some gardening on our block of land, it was hard work and I needed a break so when I got back home I decided to watch some of the cooking shows that I had recorded from quite some time ago. I just love watching cooking shows, I love to cook and experiment with food, and I love tasting different food especially ones from different countries and cultures, so today I am grateful for Cooking Shows. Not quite as deep a topic as my previous posts but a topic I am truly interested in.

Cooking shows allow you to experience food in an entertaining way, showing you how to prepare and cook food, tempting your taste buds and taking you to all sorts of interesting places around the world, which makes you want to be there, not only to experience the location but to taste the gourmet delights that they have just cooked. YUM!

My favourite cooking shows are:
Nigella Kitchen
Italian/French Food Safari
Food Safari
Food Lover's Guide to Australia
Alive and Cooking
Rick Stein
Ainsley Harriott
Bill's Tasty Weekends

I also like Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmare

Hungry now so I better go cook something.

Steph

Freedom

My post today is about Freedom, freedom to do as we please, when we please, within our financial situation, morals and societal limitations of course. Today, because we, Zoe, Alex and myself (Dave was working) are on holidays, we didn't do much really. I went to bed last night with plans to do some gardening, but on waking up today with a stiff and sore neck probably from sleeping the wrong way, and seeing that it was raining outside, I knew gardening was out of the question, so what did I do? not much really. After breakfast and a shower I watched a movie with Zoe, did some Internet surfing and then watched another movie with Zoe. It was just one of those nothing but relaxing days.I could have gone for a drive, shopping, to the movies, did some cooking, read a book, played some games, visited a friend or a new place of interest, instead I chose to stay home and do nothing much at all. So therefore I really am grateful for my freedom as there are people in countries who wouldn't have such luxuries.

Billions of people live without freedom. In the worst countries, they live in fear and insecurity. They are literally slaves, bought and sold, or the effective slaves of their governments. They are hungry, starving, or diseased. They live in primitive refugee camps; are suffering under torture or the immediate threat of death; are diseased and soon to die without treatment. They are prisoners, concentration camp inmates, or in death camps. They are soldiers subject to the most barbarous treatment or involved in lethal combat. They are children performing dangerous forced labor. They are civilians cowering under bombing and shelling. They are women who are second-class citizens and cannot leave their home without completely covering themselves, the permission of their husband, and the presence of a male relative. They are the aged and infirm that barely subsist under dangerous environmental conditions. Even those who escape all this and manage to feel happy and safe for the moment still live under the realistic threat that war, revolution, disease, famine, extreme poverty and deprivation, or a dictator may destroy their lives, or those of their loved ones. So they live in fear of arrest and prison, of disappearance forever, of forced labor, genocide, mass murder, and an unnatural death.

We take our freedom for granted and most of us wouldn't take the time to think of those who are less fortunate.

 Steph

Health

This afternoon I was thinking about the people we know that are sick, it was a bit depressing thinking about it really. I think the reason I started thinking about this was because Dave my husband had some sort of 'turn' today while he was working outside in the heat of the sun, he thinks it was heat stress, he felt dizzy and uncoordinated and his hands and arms began to shake. He came to me at work to let me know what happened and I told him to go home and rest and get plenty of fluid. Of course after that I started to worry about him and couldn't wait to finish work so I could check on him, I was thinking all sorts of horrible things, wandering what he might have. He was okay thankfully, it turned out to be because of the heat and dehydration and nothing more.

So today, you guessed it, I am grateful for HEALTH. We take it for granted that we are healthy until wham, all of a sudden we get sick. Young people think they are indestructible, the 19yr old apprentice at work said he woke up with pains in his chest, and that it has happened to him before, I suggested he visit the doctor and not to assume that just because you are young that it's just nothing, he stated that he was indestructible! My own sister died at 21 of an aneurysm of the aorta, and my brother in law died at 31 of cancer. One of Dave's elderly clients had to move to his daughter's place because he has cancer and not well enough to live independently any more, such a shame. My own father has been sick on and off with a heart condition for the last 17 1/2  years, I don't know how many times he had to go into hospital, and now he is on 24hr oxygen supply. My own mother has had cancer four times and survived, she's doing well. In 2010 out of nowhere I got sick with Pneumonia and was off work for almost 3 weeks. It can happen to anyone at any time.

Being healthy is a great feeling, we may wake up in the morning occasionally and think to ourselves 'I don't feel so good' but in reality once you get up and get in the shower you are fine and ready for the day ahead. So consider yourself lucky when you are healthy.
Steph

Family

Hello again, 

This morning when I woke I started to think about what it was I was going to be grateful for, and I started to think about what I have been hearing people say about their Christmas, how they didn't enjoy it because they were around people they didn't like. I thought that this was terrible, how can people dislike their families, especially at Christmas time, after all isn't Christmas about being with the ones you love the most, your family. So today I have decided to be grateful for my FAMILY.

I think that I have the best family on earth. My family are far from perfect, they do sometimes annoy me and upset me, but most of the time they are lovable, generous and nice to be around. I have had a pretty rough year and my family have been there for me through it all. My husband Dave especially, he has been great at keeping me going, his understanding, empathy, listening, comforting, helping around the house and with the kids and much more. My mum and dad and especially my sister Isabella were great too, they phoned often to see how I am, and have been generous in all aspects. My kids have been great too, Zoe my youngest seems to know when I need a hug and a kiss, Alex knew to keep out of my way but also to come and sit at the end of the bed just to be near me, my eldest Nick, would phone or send me nice texts. Over all my family have given me space when I needed it and they were there when I needed them the most. 

On Christmas day we had all my family here at our place, Mum, Dad, my sister Isabella came Christmas Eve and stayed for three days. They live four and a half hours away and we hadn't seen them in a while so it was great to see them, especially mum and dad as they hadn't been to our place before. My eldest son Nicholas came with his girlfriend on Christmas day and left Boxing Day. It was great to see them as well as when we go to Melbourne to visit, they are usually busy working or out having a good time with their mates and therefore we only see them for a short time.

After Christmas I felt a little flat after all the excitement of having everyone around, but came good once things got back to normal. I love having my family around me no matter what time of year. I am a lucky woman to have such a great family, I hope yours is just as nice. See my photos of my beautiful family.

Gorgeous daughter Zoe eating her favourite food, sausages

My beautiful girl

Husband Dave doing his favourite pastime, fishing, although I think he wished he had caught a slightly bigger fish.

 Son Alex with a bigger fish, his favourite pastime is fishing as well.

From left, Alex, eldest son Nick, his girlfriend Ali and Dave. We went walking Christmas day to let some of the food go down.

My sister Isabella and one of her dogs (they are like kids to her)

My beautiful mum and dad. They look really happy here, it's Christmas morning and they are watching others open their presents.

Nick, Ali and Dave again.