Wordless Wednesday 9 February

Here are two photos of DD.  Now I know they are quite dark by DS2 (just 7yrs) was the photographer.

I am linking to My Little Drummer Boys an Austrialian Wordless Wednesday post.



New 52 week 5

So here I am blogging for the third time today.  I am playing catch up incase you are wondering.

Week 5 n my New 52 project, a project about me is another self improvement thing.  I have always struggled with having finger nails that I would not be embarrassed about.  Yes you know what I mean, I bit them especially in times of stress or unhappiness.

This week I am pleased to say things are looking up in this department.  While I have a couple of broken nails this is the best sent of nails I have had since I decided acrylic was the answer for me.

So proudly (not looking at the short stumpy fingers and wrinkles) here are my fingers.

Now maybe I need to go and get them groomed properly.  I guess that could be a new thing for another week.



Beetroot Relish

This was my best find of last weeks menu.  We had it on our burger and while the children were not so keen on it I think that they will need to be given time to acquire the taste.

Beetroot Relish
(Souce Weight Watchers Magazine Feb 2011) no online link to this recipe

1/2 cup of cider vinegar
1 tbs of brown sugar
1 tsp sea salt
2 medium beetroot peeled and coarsley grated
1 medium green apple peeled and grated.

Put the cider vinegar, sugar and alt in a small saucepan and bring to the boil.  Add the beetroot and apple, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally for 6-8 minutes or unti lbeetroot is tender when checked.

That is all there is too it.

Monday Menu 7 February

I know that I am late posting this but I am still going to link you up anyway.

here is the plan for the week.

Monday  Chicken, new potatoes and mixed vege

Tuesday  Chicken curry pasta

Wednesday  pot roast with new potatoes and salad

Thursday  Beef Fajitas (with bbq sauce, cummin and chilli sauce)

Friday  Aussie Hamburgers

Saturday  Indian lamb cutlets with sauteed potatoes

Sunday  Leftovers

Rounding up January

I am taking a leaf from Katie The Scrapbook Lady and am going to round up at the end of each month. I have not yet refined what I am going to round up but thought that I would use the list in the link from this blog as a prompt to start me off.

Books

I have taken  up a reading challenge.  It is something I have been meaning to do for some time and now that the children are at school I will be able to dedicate some time to this activity.  I love drama style books so watch out for my review in the next couple of weeks as I will be finished the book I am reading.  So I am currently finishing Hot Blood by Stephen Leather.

What fun things did we do as a family?

It is the summer holidays here.  That means 6 weeks break from school for the children and a time to rest, recover and enjoy each others company.  I booked Hayden into Wilson Home for Respite care and we packed to go camping at Hahei on the Coromandel Penisular.

Our site has no electricity and we make use of the flushing toilets and short hot showers (the bare minimum I require) provided by the camping ground.  barbeque  and gas cooker for heating food, a chilli bin for providing coolness and one fantastic solar powered lantern for night time light.  Our best camping finds for this year of course were the memory sponge for on top of our air bed and the tent we bought the children which they still need to learn how to assemble.

Of course our days were filled with

Visiting Hot Water Beach ...hear is a photo of the very hot water bubbling out of the sand at the waters edge.

Kayaking on the esturay at Cooks Beach

Of course the time in the water.

Playing volleyball with friends



Rock Pooling

and generally having a fabulous time.

Giving Gifts

This month was Andres 7th birthday.  We were camping for this and he had a fantastic day.  He was very spoilt and got gifts from all family members who had remember to send them away with us as well a few special things from us.  He shared his day with our friends.  We had party food from the shop and an icecream cake... You know the sort when you buy one block of icecream in cardboard place candles on the top.  Then sing happy birthday and serve to all children in a cone with sprinkles and chocolate.  Finally the children got to light sparklers on the beach.

Here is McKenzie and her friend.

Accomplishments for the Month.

This month I achieved a goal of being healthier and fitter.  I have been working at my diet and exercise habits.  I am so pleased with what I have achieved in the last 8 weeks I now am focusing on doing this while working and rushing everyone around everywhere.

Monthly Tasks

I wish to be able to say they are done but no so plant to work on this tomorrow where I will report back.  So the backing up etc etc will be done.  It is diariesed (if there is such a word)

Wordless Wednesday 2 February

Can you believe it is February already.

Here is my photo which I am linking to My Little Drummer Boys

These three are Kayaking at Cooks Beach Estury.  On the front is a friends son Kai, DD McKenzie is paddling and DS2 Andre is pretending to fish off the back.

Monday Menu 31 January

It is monday again and I am back with my menu

Monday  Steak and Kidney pie, new potatoes with peas.

Tuesday  Homemade hamburger

Wednesday  steak and kidney crockpot with rice

Thursday  quiche and salad (I will come back and post this recipe with a photo)

Friday  roast vege fritata with salad

Saturday  whole chicken roasted in a bag with potato and salad.  

Sunday  Ratatouille with grilled chicken

So you can see that I have plenty of freshly dug new potatoes to eat in my house.  If anyone has any great ideas on what to do with them then please let me know.

Fit and Healthy

Being a fit and healthy weight is really important for me.  It shows me I value myself...my mind, my body and my soul (well I hope that is helped too).  Without these things then the rest of my life struggles.

This year I managed to start the year at an idea weight for me.  I was working really hard on my fitness through the couch to 5 km programme and even managed 3 christmas days, yes I know 2 too many, and 12 days camping to this day working on a maintenance plan.

I hope that I am setting a great example for my children about eating well not binging or the other extreme of not eating.  Eating a balance of food including treats ocassionally.  Showing my children that exercise is important.  It makes me happier, it makes me more positive about life and ...oh....yes I feel less stressed.

So fingers crossed for the year that I can maintain where I am at.  I can climb back up if I fall off the path I am on.  That I acquire no injuries to prevent me exercising and I continue to love everything I have achieved.

New 52 Weeks 2, 3 and 4

I have been on holiday and so am playing a little catch up with this challenge. 

Week 2

This I did just before we went camping.  Here I am for the first time in my life finishing a 1000 piece jig saw puzzle.  It is not something I had ever planned to do but well I got inspired and it too me way too much time over 3 days.



Week 3

This too was a surprise.  This year I have really taken on the challenge to show my children that it is not  only my Husband who does a whole range of things but I cant do them too.  So here I am just jumping as I swing off a Pohutukawa tree over hanging the beach.  I guess the rope was hanging about 20 m from the sand.  Sun a fun thing to do.  (Not a great photo though)

Just goes to show I can do these things too.

Week 4

Finally just before we came home I paddled a sea kayak about 200 m across an estuary to take this really bad photo of my daughter jumping into the water from a high branch in that tree. Now there is a photo of me paddling but I need to get it off my friends camera so I guess that photo will just have to be for another time.

Enough of the adventure stuff and now onto life back home.

Camping menu

As promised here I am posting my proposed menu for camping.  The only cooking facilities I have are my bbq and gas cooker which are rustic but great to use.  Oh yes lets not forget the chilly bin with ice to keep things cold.

I am trying to use caned food because we have limited access to veges after my fresh supply runs out.

So here we go.

Nachos

fahija with whatever I have handy

Stirfry

pizza along the lines of  this

a noodle dinner that I can whip together with tinned tomatoes and a bit of this and that

sausages and salad.

Thats it and then we will have to see what we have left over.