My precious daughter, Presley, lights up my life. She is so much fun and brings me so much joy. Being a mother is such a wonderful privilege. May I never lose sight of that.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
A little ray of sunshine
My precious daughter, Presley, lights up my life. She is so much fun and brings me so much joy. Being a mother is such a wonderful privilege. May I never lose sight of that.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Catching up with friends
Today I had the privilege of catching up with one of my dear friends, Rachel. We had a lovely lunch down at Suttons Beach, with chip and chicken sandwiches the order of the day (mmmm ... love Aussie Rooster). After lunch, Presley and Henry (Rachel's son) played in the sand, and Henry attempted his first sand castle. Although not terribly successful (Rachel was very quick to point out that understanding the engineering of sand castles was not her strong point), he has a fantastic time at the beach. Once Presley and Henry were quite finished with the sand, we went for a lovely stroll along the waterfront all the way over to Margate. On the way back we stopped at Zorba's and had gelati. Yummo.
It was so nice because neither of us had to rush off for any reason and we could just enjoy our time together. What makes this get together so special is that Rachel lives in England (she is an Aussie married to an Englishman) and so she only comes over every 2-3yrs. I met Rachel when I was teaching in England in 2004/2005. God obviously knew I needed a friend that not only was familiar with England but also understood being Australian, Rachel was that friend. What makes this an extra special provision is that I was so pleased to discover that although she grew up in Melbourne, her parents actually live at Arana Hills (about a 40mins drive from where we live) which means that her visits to Australia bring her right to my doorstep!
It was just what I needed after the happenings of the last few weeks. Thank you Lord for friends and family.
It was so nice because neither of us had to rush off for any reason and we could just enjoy our time together. What makes this get together so special is that Rachel lives in England (she is an Aussie married to an Englishman) and so she only comes over every 2-3yrs. I met Rachel when I was teaching in England in 2004/2005. God obviously knew I needed a friend that not only was familiar with England but also understood being Australian, Rachel was that friend. What makes this an extra special provision is that I was so pleased to discover that although she grew up in Melbourne, her parents actually live at Arana Hills (about a 40mins drive from where we live) which means that her visits to Australia bring her right to my doorstep!
It was just what I needed after the happenings of the last few weeks. Thank you Lord for friends and family.
Friday, March 12, 2010
A delicious treat
A truly delicious and decadent treat, Red Velvet Cake. I first made this for my younger sister's birthday in January. I have made it a couple of times since and it has been a big hit. It is dead easy and I promise you will enjoy it.Red Velvet Cake
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2Tsp cocoa
1 1/2 cups sugar
50g red food colouring (you can add as little or as much as you like, or not at all!)
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1tsp baking soda sprinkled over 1Tsp vinegar
Cream Cheese frosting
8oz cream cheese - softened to room temperature
3cups icing sugar
1tsp pure vanilla extract
For the cake:
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Sift flour, slat and cocoa together. Add alternately with buttermilk. Beat after each addition until combined. Stir in baking soda nnd vinegar mixture, with red colouring. Pour into 2 x 20cm well greased and lined cake tins.
Bake 30mins in a moderate oven. Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting
For the cream cheese frosting:
Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy (about 2mins). Add vanilla and icing sugar. Beat, on low, to combine. If too soft chill until slightly stiff (about 10mins).
Do a crumb layer (this is an initial layer to seal in any crumbs), fridge for about 15mins until set, then continue to frost the entire cake
Getting my domestic goddess on!!
Two activities of note today:
1. I made my first ever batch of fruit buns. This is something I have been wanting to do for a very long time, but I needed to get up the courage. Which I did, and I am very pleased with the result. They are a little heavy but it is my first time so I think I can be forgiven.
2. I am relearning to crochet. Again, this is something that I have been thinking of doing but just haven't got around to. Thank you Debbie for issuing the call out for willing participants for your secret project. It gave me the motivation to get going. So tonight I watched a couple of tutorials on YouTube, and wallah! My first crocheting effort in ... oh I don't know ... 12yrs. Not too shabby.
PS I did get my new running shoes. They are so cushy. Can't wait to get back into the training sessions. My shins are feeling a lot better but are still a bit tender.
1. I made my first ever batch of fruit buns. This is something I have been wanting to do for a very long time, but I needed to get up the courage. Which I did, and I am very pleased with the result. They are a little heavy but it is my first time so I think I can be forgiven.
2. I am relearning to crochet. Again, this is something that I have been thinking of doing but just haven't got around to. Thank you Debbie for issuing the call out for willing participants for your secret project. It gave me the motivation to get going. So tonight I watched a couple of tutorials on YouTube, and wallah! My first crocheting effort in ... oh I don't know ... 12yrs. Not too shabby.
PS I did get my new running shoes. They are so cushy. Can't wait to get back into the training sessions. My shins are feeling a lot better but are still a bit tender.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Shin splints, and all that jazz
Ok, ok. I know I haven't been on for about 10days but quite honestly I didn't know what to say!
I haven't been doing any running sessions because after my last heroic effort I ended up with shin splints. Yay. Very fun. But they are on the mend. Still, that put quite a large fly in my ointment. Doesn't exactly help the whole get fit regime I had started. Hopefully I can pick up pretty much where I left off. Of course, now I've started to lose motivation and I have felt quite down about it all. But I know that I can start again once my shins have healed.
First thing on my To Do list this week is to buy new running shoes. I think that getting proper running shoes that are right for my running style (I think calling it a 'running' style might be an insult to true athletes). I'm quite excited about it. I haven't bought new shoes since Oct 2009, and even then they were $10 from Big W! So, off to the Athlete's Foot to get the new fandangled measuring thingy done and then I should be set. Sweet!
I haven't been doing any running sessions because after my last heroic effort I ended up with shin splints. Yay. Very fun. But they are on the mend. Still, that put quite a large fly in my ointment. Doesn't exactly help the whole get fit regime I had started. Hopefully I can pick up pretty much where I left off. Of course, now I've started to lose motivation and I have felt quite down about it all. But I know that I can start again once my shins have healed.
First thing on my To Do list this week is to buy new running shoes. I think that getting proper running shoes that are right for my running style (I think calling it a 'running' style might be an insult to true athletes). I'm quite excited about it. I haven't bought new shoes since Oct 2009, and even then they were $10 from Big W! So, off to the Athlete's Foot to get the new fandangled measuring thingy done and then I should be set. Sweet!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sucess!
Yesterday I did my second Couch to 5km session. It was pretty hardcore but also, surprisingly, a little easier. In fact, I ran 7 out of the 8 runs (didn't run the 7th). I was really struggling in the last one but I pushed on and ... I did it! I surpassed my goal of running 6 in this one. The only thing that was a real bother this time was my shins. I suffer from shin splints and it took a lot of grunting to finish the last 60sec run. Once I was home I followed some advice given to me by a friend and iced my shins for about 20mins (you rub vigorously up and down with an ice pack). That really does the trick. Thanks for that Julie!
There is definitely something satisfying about setting a goal and then reaching it. Sunday will be my 3rd training session. I have decided that I WILL run the 8 set bursts. That really will be something to be proud of. Then it will be on to week two of the challenge.
On a lighter note, this afternoon we are heading off to a friends' 30th birthday party. We're going bowling and then having a BBQ at the Sandgate waterfront. I am really looking forward to it. This will be the first time in months that some of our friends have seen Presley. What a nice surprise they'll have now that she's walking and 'talking'. I will, of course, give a full update in my next posting. Until then, have a terrific weekend and remember, you can do anything you set your mind to!
There is definitely something satisfying about setting a goal and then reaching it. Sunday will be my 3rd training session. I have decided that I WILL run the 8 set bursts. That really will be something to be proud of. Then it will be on to week two of the challenge.
On a lighter note, this afternoon we are heading off to a friends' 30th birthday party. We're going bowling and then having a BBQ at the Sandgate waterfront. I am really looking forward to it. This will be the first time in months that some of our friends have seen Presley. What a nice surprise they'll have now that she's walking and 'talking'. I will, of course, give a full update in my next posting. Until then, have a terrific weekend and remember, you can do anything you set your mind to!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
My mission
I am a woman on a mission ... well at least that's what the song says.
A few days ago I was issued a challenge. I accepted, whilst trying to fight the panic that was rising in my body. The challenge? To run the Gold Coast 10km marathon. I can hear you all gasping because as you know, I am a little challenged myself when it comes to hardcore physical exercise. However, as I said, I did accept the challenge. So how do I begin to scale the mountain now in front of me? Well, I was given the name of a podcast "Couch to 5km" that if I follow right, in 10 weeks I should be able to run 5kms WITHOUT STOPPING! The way it works is that you train 3 days a week (so for eg mon wed fri, tues & thurs as your 'free' days, with sat & sun as your big break) for 9 weeks. The system is set to pumping music and you do a 5 min warm up walk, then do bursts of run, walk, run, walk etc until you have done 8 run bursts, then you finish with a 5min warm down walk. The whole thing is done is done for you (voiced over the music is someone who tells you when to start running and when to slow down to walk) all you have to do is follow the instructions.
I decided that wed (24th Feb) would be my first session. I set my alarm for 6:17am (if you're wondering about the odd time it's because I have this thing about setting it for a common time eg 6:15. I feel as though I get that extra couple of minutes sleep whilst still awake before 6:20am. Don't ask). Anyway, the alarm went off and I opened my eyes. My first thought was, 'no one would know that I didn't get up and do my run' but I forced myself to get out of bed. In this situation I usually find myself thinking like Trinity from the Matrix, when in the opening scene she flies Superman style through the window and lands on her back at the bottom of the stairs, whipping out her guns she says "Get up Trinity, get up" (conquering the fear and stuff like that). Anyway, I digress. So, I get my gear on and set out. I start with the warm up walk and then start my first 60sec run. I felt quite good. I slowed down for my 90sec break, and that's when the heavy breathing kicked in. Then I started my second 60sec run ... more heavy breathing. By the end of it I was wishing I had stayed in bed. The 3rd run burst I just walked, but I ran for the 4th & 5th, resting in the 6th, ran the 7th but was really unable to do the 8th. I was sweating like crazy, gulping down air and praying for it to end. But ... I did it. I ran for a total of 5mins! I have no idea what distance it was, but I felt good.
Tomorrow will be my second session. And I'm hoping that I can do 6 out of the 8 runs this time. When I do cross that finish line in July (the GC marathon) I know I will have accomplished something great. But first I have to get through tomorrow's session. Lord give me strength!!
A few days ago I was issued a challenge. I accepted, whilst trying to fight the panic that was rising in my body. The challenge? To run the Gold Coast 10km marathon. I can hear you all gasping because as you know, I am a little challenged myself when it comes to hardcore physical exercise. However, as I said, I did accept the challenge. So how do I begin to scale the mountain now in front of me? Well, I was given the name of a podcast "Couch to 5km" that if I follow right, in 10 weeks I should be able to run 5kms WITHOUT STOPPING! The way it works is that you train 3 days a week (so for eg mon wed fri, tues & thurs as your 'free' days, with sat & sun as your big break) for 9 weeks. The system is set to pumping music and you do a 5 min warm up walk, then do bursts of run, walk, run, walk etc until you have done 8 run bursts, then you finish with a 5min warm down walk. The whole thing is done is done for you (voiced over the music is someone who tells you when to start running and when to slow down to walk) all you have to do is follow the instructions.
I decided that wed (24th Feb) would be my first session. I set my alarm for 6:17am (if you're wondering about the odd time it's because I have this thing about setting it for a common time eg 6:15. I feel as though I get that extra couple of minutes sleep whilst still awake before 6:20am. Don't ask). Anyway, the alarm went off and I opened my eyes. My first thought was, 'no one would know that I didn't get up and do my run' but I forced myself to get out of bed. In this situation I usually find myself thinking like Trinity from the Matrix, when in the opening scene she flies Superman style through the window and lands on her back at the bottom of the stairs, whipping out her guns she says "Get up Trinity, get up" (conquering the fear and stuff like that). Anyway, I digress. So, I get my gear on and set out. I start with the warm up walk and then start my first 60sec run. I felt quite good. I slowed down for my 90sec break, and that's when the heavy breathing kicked in. Then I started my second 60sec run ... more heavy breathing. By the end of it I was wishing I had stayed in bed. The 3rd run burst I just walked, but I ran for the 4th & 5th, resting in the 6th, ran the 7th but was really unable to do the 8th. I was sweating like crazy, gulping down air and praying for it to end. But ... I did it. I ran for a total of 5mins! I have no idea what distance it was, but I felt good.
Tomorrow will be my second session. And I'm hoping that I can do 6 out of the 8 runs this time. When I do cross that finish line in July (the GC marathon) I know I will have accomplished something great. But first I have to get through tomorrow's session. Lord give me strength!!
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