Happy Australia Day

Happy Australia Day!!!  Today is a great day to celebrate those Australian traditions of a barbie and a few drinks with family and friends.  It's also a great excuse for me to cook a pavlova.  The recipe i use is a family favourite that our late great mum used to make.  I have perfected it just so for our finicky oven and hand held mixer.  And it turned out just great.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it.  I'm pleased to say there is even a bit left for later on.  Wahoo!! 

Hope everyone else has had a good Australia day.

Bocconcini thingies.............

My work is producing a cookbook.  One of those ones where people contribute their favourite recipes and the book is sold for charity.

I thought I would make some contributions.  Here is one of them.

Tomato & Bocconcini Bites

Ingredients:

Roma tomatoes, sliced

Bocconcini cheese, sliced

French bread stick, cut into 2cm slices.

Pesto sauce (fresh is preferable)

Fresh basil leaves.

Method:

Butter each slice of bread with pesto sauce.

Top with slice of tomato.

Then add a piece of bocconcini.

Lastly add a basil leaf.

Continue until all bread has been topped.

Season to taste.

I should really call these "Maree's Bocconcini things" as many years ago my friend Maree  showed me this recipe and suggested I bring a plate of these to a party.  Since then they became a bit of a signature dish as everyone would say to me "did you bring those yummy bocconcini things".  My friend Maree got quite annoyed as she said "that was my recipe and now everyone thinks it's yours".  Sorry Maree!!  Maree went to Christchurch NZ about 10 years ago and i haven't heard from her since.  Hope she was ok in the earthquake.

Well, better go.  Australia is still beating NZ in the rugby in the background and that's got to be good news.

When do you start feeling old!!

I turned 46 a few months ago.  Shortly after i read somewhere that at the age of 46 a woman becomes invisible and becomes disillusioned with life.  It gets better in your 60's.  Apparently.  Just reading that made me feel quite disillusioned and depressed.



Anyway then I decided that you are as old as you feel or the person you feel.  My husband is a few years younger than me so that shaved a few years off.  And my kids are young, 5 & 2.  So that has shaved a few more years off.

No this isn't me but a fellow 46 year old - courtesy of http://www.theplace2.ru/

Until last week when the culmination of migraines, tummy pains and an excruciating pinched nerve all came together.  It made me feel about 100. 

This is not all a doom and gloom story!  My migraine went away, my stomach ache is almost gone and yesterday i went to the physio to sort out my leg.  Things are getting better.  And then tomorrow we are going to the Ekka!!!

Magazine Day!!

Yesterday was magazine day!!  Wahoo!
Usually the mailbox is not a very exciting place to visit these days.  Now that snail mail has more or less disappeared the only things that seem to be there are bills from utilities (that seem to get higher each time), real estate flyers (which can be interesting depending on which property they are trying to sell) or junk mail of some description.  So depressing!

I can't wait for magazine day.  I love the feeling of the glossy mag with the new articles - in my hot little hands just as it hits the newstands.  I love to skim through the magazine first and then go back through it in a bit more detail to read the stories that have taken my fancy.  Or just gaze at the photos and dream. 

Well, better go now - back to my mag.

Biting Kids

What do i do when Master 2 comes home from daycare with a big bite mark on his little hand?  The little vampire even drew blood too!.  I didn't ask the day care ladies who the vampire was but they said he (at least i think it was a he) was a chronic biter.  Great. 

I tried to ask Master 2 who it was and kept suggesting names to him but didn't really get very far.  Poor little lad kept pointing at his hand and moaning "oh oh".  That means "yes it hurt mummy and i'm only 2!". 

I wasn't sure what to do about it.  So i consulted the fount of all knowledge - Google!!!  It suggested that the vampire could transmit an infection or some forms of Hep and that i should consult my doctor.  So far i have washed it and put some antiseptic cream on it.

I'll see how i feel in the morning........................

Stinky Shoes!

For the past 3 days i have noticed a strange and unpleasant smell coming from our walk in robe.  I had a quick look around the room but couldn't see anything that might be causing the smell. 

Today was my day off.  I vowed that i would get to the bottom of it and clean out that room. 
Hmmm.  What did i find.  Hubby's stinky football shoes in a bag.  He just spent last weekend playing in a football carnival. 

He plonked his bag in the room, hopped on a plane and has been out of town ever since.  Bless him.

I have sprayed lots of air fresheners in the room but the smell still lingers.

As for the shoes - well i've put them in the garage which is at the other end of the yard.  I told my husband that they can't come back into the house.

Men!!

The Big Day is almost here............

It's hard not to get caught up in the excitement of the royal wedding.  I hadn't taken much interest in it until recently but now i'm soaking it up.

A wedding is always a good excuse to bring some joy into people's lives.  After all the bad news stories that we have had in the first few months of this year - floods, cyclones, earthquakes etc - it's great to see a couple who are obviously in love and literally have the world at their feet.

All this wedding talk is also bringing back memories of my big day 6 1/2 years ago.  What a special day!