Beyond My Picket Fence

Reprieve

2012-01-25T14:26:00.000+11:00

It feels a bit like we've been given a reprieve on many fronts this week. The kids have managed to escape coming to school with me a couple of times thanks to family and friends who have taken pity on them. Their generosity is such a gift. The weather is cooler today and heading into some days in the 20's instead of the 30's (celcius). Very nice. A public holiday tomorrow is small reprieve from starting back to work this week. We'll be celebrating Australia Day with some friends in a quiet kind of way.

There are lots of things for which I am grateful.

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 23 January

2012-01-23T16:42:00.001+11:00

I know why I was reluctant about going back to work. It's not that I don't love what I do. It's not that I don't love the people I do it with. I really missed having a little afternoon nap on the couch today! If only there was some way to combine the two.

We've hit that school-start weather as well. It always seems to be awfully hot when school is in the midst of returning to action. Whilst January has been generally cooler than normal, February seems determined to outshine its predecessor. Fortunately Our School has been busily installing cooling in more of the classrooms so life will be much more comfortable for some.

Of course, hot weather means cold food. Here's what's on:

Monday: Chicken wings; salad
Tuesday: Pork chops; salad
Wednesday: Chinese corn soup; chicken wontons
Thursday: Meatloaf; vegies
Friday: Beef noodle stir fry
Saturday: Prawn & mango curry; rice
Sunday: ...my brain hurts now - I'll think about it later. Perhaps a special treat before the kids head back to school properly.

What's in a Name?

2012-01-21T07:18:00.001+11:00

My youngest brother and his wife have had an ongoing disagreement for many, many years. It's really quite funny to watch this conversation in action. It's one of those silly things that is all about the terminology we use to describe things and how the cultural aspect of different countries impact on the terminology use. Especially in a country like Australia where there are so many cultures that stive to coexist harmoniously.

Yes - they disagree about pancakes. And crepes. And flapjacks. A pikelet is the only variation they do agree on! So here we go - the definitions according to my research of wikipedia and the web.

Pancake: According to Wikipedia, a pancake is a thin, flat, round cake. It is made from a batter and cooked on a griddle or frypan. It seems that in the US pancakes are thicker and fluffier than how I would expect a traditional Aussie pancake to be. Having lived overseas, I was introduced to the US version early in life and that's what I prefer. My Mum's acquired 'American Pancake' recipe is the only one I use.

photo: wikipedia

Crepes: These are a very thin pancake, commonly associated with France. Scandinavia have something very similar - of course they have their own word for them.

photo: taste.com.au

Flapjacks: Here's where things get sticky. A flapjack is basically just another word for pancake, used in America. They also use the term hot cakes and griddle cakes. It all means the same thing: what we know as pancake. I know someone is going to be disappointed here - I can't remember whether it's my brother or his wife! In my wanderings I also discovered that in the UK flapjacks are something else altogether! Over there flapjacks are more like what I would call a muesli bar.

photo: flapjackrecipes.co.uk

There you have it. Lots of different names for something that is very similar but just different enough to cause dissention in a home!

A pancake story: When I was young and living overseas we had a Sunday tradition of having homemade (there was no other option where I lived) pizza on the beach for lunch with many of the other missionary families in our town. We almost always had pancakes for dinner before heading off for church. The English service was in the evening, so we had plenty of time to get ourselves organised for lunch and an afternoon of swimming. And guess what? It was in a very short space of time that I took on much of the responsibility for these meals. I guess that's how Mum managed a day off cooking when eating out was non-existant!

Hmmmmm...after all that pancake talk I'm thinking perhaps we need some pancakes for breakfast. Miss Sunshine will be thrilled!

Pineapple Triffle...TiraMisu...Something

2012-01-19T17:09:00.001+11:00

Pineapple Triffle...Tira Misu

OK, so I got bored yesterday. Yes, I did. I can't imagine what came over me, but I found myself in the kitchen making a dessert. My family thought Heaven had arrived on earth. I only do dessert when visitors are at our table, and last night there was just us. And a blowfly. Blowies don't count as guests, so you can imagine how excited everyone was.

I made one of our favourite pineapple desserts and kind of twisted it to use up a pack of sponge finger biscuits I'd had in the pantry. Voila - a pineapple tira misu kind of triffle thingy. Whatever you want to call it, it was very, VERY yummy.

Pineapple Dessert

1 packet vanilla pudding

600ml cream + a little milk

1 can crushed pinapple, drained (reserve the juice)

1 pack sponge finger biscuits.

Begin by whipping the cream until it forms peaks - but make sure they're soft and floppy.
Sprinkle the pudding mix on top and whip lightly until thoroughly mixed. You might need a little milk to thin the mixture a bit. Do this a little bit at a time.
Add the drained crushed pineapple and mix until thoroughly combined.
In a rectangular dish, lay sponge finger biscuits that have been dipped in the reserved juice.
Over the biscuits, spread about half of the pineapple mixture.
Lay another layer of dipped biscuits over the pineapple and then top with another layer of the pineapple mixture.
Cover with cling film and leave overnight.

This is good enough for company and very quick. The pineapple cream is something we would normally do whilst camping - hence the packet of vanilla pudding. The only time I ever have them in the house is during summer whilst camping. I didn't use any during our last camping trip. I'm going to have to tizz up the chocolate ones now too. Aren't I?

Summer days and cold desserts. A perfect pair.

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 16 January

2012-01-16T17:37:00.000+11:00

My KitchenAid Mixer - beautiful and full of grunt

I got a magnificent surprise in the mail today. Not in an envelope which had been addressed by hand. Not in a package delivered early in the morning by the parcel post man. Although I find both of those exciting. Today it was a letter from the Deputy Head of School at Uni. It was a very encouraging letter acknowledging academic achievement whilst maintaining family, work and other pursuits. When you study online sometimes it feels like you are studying in a bit of a void - but apparently not. I suspect I will keep that letter close at hand to encourage me on those days when I sit here and think "I do NOT know how I am going to get this assignment written". Trust me, it happens!

We've a trip to Costco planned for later in the week, so this week's menu is all about making room in the freezer and using up some more of what is stashed in there. You'll remember that I posted about my diving into the depths of it for meals a couple of weeks ago. After a week away, I'm back to my diving. I think almost my entire menu plan this week is free of the need to buy meat.

Monday: Slow roasted beef; vegies
Tuesday: Marinated chicken wings; salad
Wednesday: BBQ steak; salad
Thursday: Pasta bolognaise (using leftover frozen meat sauce)
Friday: Osso Bucco; pasta
Saturday: Orange crumbed chicken; vegies
Sunday: Pumpkin & sweet potato soup; bread & butter

I'm having one final attempt at producing a moist succulent beef roast. It is the one thing that has continued to allude me. That and light, fluffy scones. I've slow-roasted it and managed to keep the temperature right. The vegies are in the oven now, so we'll see how it all turns out soon. The steak planned for Wednesday will be the topside roast cut into steaks. I somehow don't think topside is conducive to a nice roast, when you're as challenged by this as I am.

Joolz commented on yesterday's post to tell me about a great blog with lots of slice recipes. Guess what I'm going to be doing this week? Yep - simple baking. I haven't looked around the rest of the blog yet. Perhaps tomorrow.

What are you having for dinner this week?

Questions Answered

2012-01-14T17:55:00.000+11:00

What is a slice?

A slice is a sweet treat that could be described as sitting somewhere between a cake and a biscuit (cookie). The mixture is cooked in a shallow rectangular tin and then sliced into squares when cooked. Wikipedia was particularly unhelpful, however if you google 'slice recipe', you'll find some examples of what I'm trying to explain.

Let us know how the gnocchi roast potato went.

It was delicious! Definitely good camping food. Probably not something I would be in a hurry to repeat at home due to expense and my aversion to pre-made foods. I used about one and half packets of gnocchi from Aldi and refrigerated the rest. I cooked them up for a late afternoon snack for the kids a couple of days later.

Asking, Receiving and Selfishness

2012-01-12T06:37:00.001+11:00

My Bible reading the other morning was in James. James is always a dangerous place to go, in that you delve into a spot and you might stay there....or around there for quite some time. James is time consuming. Challenging. Lots ot chew on. I remember as a late teen joining a house church group who were studying James. It took us a whole year to read that little book of five chapters. Do not scoff - takes a long time to read and digest all that is contained in those five chapters! My reading was from a portion of James 4. I skipped back to the beginning and read the first few verses....how to be challenged in one easy lesson.

At the beginning of the chapter James is discussing the topic of of asking for things and receiving them....and why you don't. Essentially he says that we don't have because we don't ask God (v2). Really? I stopped there - I'm pretty sure I do my fair share of asking. And I wondered what James meant when he says 'have'. I wondered what it was that he meant. Are we talking trivial or are we talking global importance. Anyway....I moved on. Sort of. The rest of that verse goes on to say "When you ask you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on pleasures". I gather we're talking about tangible 'things', not necessarily about the cliched world peace.

But I got to thinking. I don't have because I don't ask....or because when I do I ask with the wrong motives. Wrong motives, here, being selfish pleasure. Hmmmmmm. In a very materialistic, Western society that focuses on the gathering of 'stuff', how do we do that? I'm not sure I have the answer just yet but it's a challenge to be mindful of when we get an attack of what my mother called the "I-want-a's". We need to consider the motives with which we desire whatever it is we're desiring.

The only story I have about getting it right is buying this house. It was on the market and I had to drive past it four times a day just in taking the kids to and from school each day. We inspected it and made an offer, which was rejected. That was tough. It was a lovely home with everything on our wish-list, include a flat driveway with space for the caravan! That's quite an ask for a 'hills' area where very little is flat. I remember driving past after the offer was rejected and praying "God, I understand if you don't want us to live in that house - I'd rather be wherever it is You have planned for us. But gee I wish that was the house You had planned". The next day our offer was accepted and we've lived here very happily ever since.

God delights in showering His children with good things. If we ask God with the right motives and a desire to be in His will with our requests then we should expected to be blessed abundantly. Don't be fooled into thinking that God's idea of blessing looks the same as ours.

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 8 January

2012-01-09T06:07:00.000+11:00

A friend asked me the other day if I had been doing in crafting or reading over the holidays. Sadly my response was "not much crafting". I've been doing too much Nigella viewing to do much crafting. Perhaps this week will be the week? But I have just finished "Lion of Bablyon" by Davis Bunn. Fantastic read....and now I need to pick something else from my burgeoning 'TBR' pile. You know...when I'm not reading about teaching Primary science constructively, of course.

I have a menu plan. For the first time since Christmas. Dh will be pleased as there is plenty of BBQ'd meat and salad ahead. Nothing pleases him more....other than cake. Or biscuits. Or slices. Or anything made with vast amounts of sugar.

Monday: Prawn & mango curry, rice
Tuesday: Pork chops (marinated), salad, potato
Wednesday: Hamburgers, potato
Thursday: Chicken wings (marinated), salad, potato
Friday: Tomato & bacon pasta
Saturday: Take away
Sunday: Roast chicken, vegies

I'm not one to buy prepackaged, pre-made food because it's a rare thing that the store-bought item will be better or tastier than homemade. Crackers for cheese are probably one of the few exceptions. But this week I bought gnocchi. I bought it because I don't intend to eat it the way I normally would - as a pasta meal. I'm going to try out Nigella's idea of using them as quick mini roast potatoes. I've always been fascinated by the idea - this week I'm living dangerously. And then I'll probably go back to never buying pre-made gnocci again. Because I know it'll probably never be as good as the homemade version.

Anyway, see for yourself. This is what we'll be trying out this week.

I'll let you know what I think.

The Serving Solution

2012-01-05T06:44:00.002+11:00

My new salad dressing jugs

I don't buy salad dressings. Are you surprised? Probably not! Actually, I need to qualify that statement - I don't buy oil/vinegar based dressings. I do buy Ranch dressing and mayonnaise.

It's a decision I made a few years ago, once armed with some delicious and simple salad dressing recipes from the likes of Maggie Beer and Nigella Lawson. My reasoning was not so much about any particular puritan belief about salad dressings, but rather a pragmatic response to the waste of them. Our salad-eating season is relatively short-lived and confined to warm summer days. This is probably because I have a tendency to prefer cooked vegies. And probably why my family exclaim excitedly when the first salads of the season appear. We don't avoid salads because we don't like them - we do.
What I began to notice is that because of our short salad season, the dressings don't get used up. What a waste! So I began to make a quick dressing as we needed it, and that has been much more satisfying in all kinds of ways.

This has all presented somewhat of a dilemma. I've also noticed that many families can't agree on what salad dressings they prefer and tend to put a variety of bottles on the table for each person to make an individual choice. In the last week as we've entertained a couple of other families for meals, and knowing this is the practice in both families, I chose not to dress my garden salads. But this meant putting the little jar, with the redcurrant jelly label still on it, on the table, as that is what I'd made my salad dressing in. It just didn't look right and I knew I had to remedy the situation now, at the beginning of our salad-eating season.

I found the answer yesterday. I was walking past House and these little jugs were in a big bucket, marked down for quick sale. Upon exlaiming how cute they were and how perfect for salad dressing all three kids chorused "then BUY it!". And so I did, for a grand total of $4. I now have two little salad dressing jugs. Never mind that they were labelled milk jugs - obviously the label was wrong!

Baking Plans

2012-01-04T08:52:00.000+11:00

Fruit mince tarts - photo from a couple of years back.

I'm finally preparing to shop again. For groceries. I still can't bear to think about shopping for other things. In thinking about menus and shopping lists I've also planned for some baking. A cool change came through last night so we're back to rainy weather with cooler days that seem to beckon one to the kitchen and where turning on the oven is not an abhorent idea.

We've a week of camping planned with some friends, which is coming up faster than I realise. We don't share the cooking of meals, having realised some 16 years ago that it doesn't work when families have different routines and tastes. But the sharing of baked goodies is always enthusiastically embraced. So....thanks to some inspiration from some precious young people who love to eat what I cook this is the list I'm picking from.

Brownies

Gingerbread

Shortbread

Chocolate Chip Slice

Coffee cake (iced)
Orange cake (iced)

I'd love to do it all, but I realise my stamina for baking is somewhat limited. Perhaps some more Nigella: Forever Summer viewing might inspire me to potter serenely? Certainly home-baking is the antidote to store-bought snacks that are filled with who-knows-what. Perhaps a couple of sessions will get much of it done.

What are you baking this week?

From the Depths

2012-01-02T17:02:00.001+11:00

The contents of one of my freezer drawers

In a post-Christmas I-just-can't-do-anymore-shopping stupor we've been eating mostly out of the depths of our freezer. Much to Miss Mischief's chagrin this means very little chicken is to be found and I'll not be shopping 'til about Thursday or Friday, so the poultry famine is set to be lengthy. Rather, we've still got some beef from back when we bought a freezer full from friends who had a lovely organic beast butchered. Our recent trip to Costco means hot dogs for lunches, should we remember them at the proper time! And then there is the requisite minced beef and pork, sausage mince, the remainder of a packet of prawns and a medley of all kinds of frozen vegetables. There is actually some chicken wing packages in there somewhere too.

This overflowing little storage facility has meant that there has been no menu planning whatsoever going on. But then there has neither been the frenzy of activity that requires it. Very hot days and Dh being home while the office is closed has meant lots and lots of resting and DVD watching is almost all that has happened around here, sprinkled with the odd visitor for lunch.

Tonight, given the current outdoor temperature of 39.1C (102F) we'll be having one of my favourite summer-friendly Nigella recipes - Anglo-Asian Lamb Salad. Lamb that is cooked and sliced, then steeped in a bath of delicious flavours and served over salad. Of course, we have mountains of beef, so I'll simple substitute the meat and it will all turn out fine! Rather than cooking potatoes we'll have bread and butter with it. I think there's still watermelon for dessert.

Photo Credit: Nigella.com

This is how we survive the heat on scorching summer days: food that barely needs cooking and the wonder of evaporative cooling. Thank you, God - what a blessing!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T08:33:00.001+11:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome to 2012! Our beginning to the year was spent with friends - the perfect beginning.

I was reading a blog somewhere the other day (you know you click you way to who-knows-where and can't find your way back?) that said "How to make God laugh: tell Him your plans". I'm not much of a resolution maker. Perhaps my 'resolutions' are more like hopes and dreams.

This year my hopes are simple: that this year will be less challenging than the last; that our family will continue to laugh together and enjoy life; that we'll successfully cope with another busy year ahead. Most of all I covet God's blessing, peace and joy in our lives in whatever it is He requires of us.

Of course there are other things I naively dream of and hope they will come to be with little or no effort or forethought...time to stitch unendingly, time to read with abandon, to be able to walk uphill with a spring in my step and abundant breath in my lungs. A girl needs to dream, doesn't she?

What are your hopes and dreams for the new, unblemished, promising year ahead?

Peace or Panic?

2011-12-23T12:16:00.000+11:00

Are you, like me, the kind of adult who falls into a bit of a 'bah humbug' attitude to Christmas? I must confess, as I've gotten older, my family larger and then older, and busier I find the lead up to Christmas quite overwhelming. Each year I think to myself that I will get gifts, and things like that, organised well before December. And then December rolls around and I find myself shopping amidst a crowd of others trying to figure out what on earth to buy for those I care about.

This year I think I've broken through all those feelings of being overwhelmed and it has all to do with knowing what I want to give people. My own family can be amongst the most difficult of all, and yet this year it has been no problem. All of the kids have had things on their Christmas list that give me a great deal of joy to be able to give. In fact Dh, who the hardest of all to buy for, gave me some insight in the middle of the year and I've had his gift stashed away for three months! The rest of the bits and pieces that end up happening around all those main family gifts has also come easily, again with the ideas already in place. I wonder, did the Wise Men who came to worship Jesus at his birth also feel overwhelmed and stressed about what to give the baby king?

Now that I've figured out what it is that had turned me into a scrooge, I'm hoping the Christmas's ahead will be calmer and more peaceful. Our summer holiday is also set to be a more peaceful affair as we spend more time at home and holiday with different friends this year.

I hope you're able to identify the things that have you in a 'tizz' as you prepare for Christmas. May this year truly be one where you feel more peace than panic.

And Then There Were Five

2011-12-20T17:13:00.001+11:00

As Christmas draws closer we have already begun family celebrations. Our begin with my husband's side of the family gathering on the Sunday a week before Christmas. It has taken some time, but we have now settled to enjoying the whole day together and then making a camp of it for a couple of extra days. It helps to have a campsite in the family.

I've spent three days watching as 15 of the cousins have played and tumbled about together. It is truly a precious gift to see young people from 22 years all the way down to 5 years enjoying one another, not to mention the adults. We've enjoyed beautiful meals together and all but demolished a whole box of cherries. What a blessing to live in an area where cherries are grown and to be able to buy them directly from the farmer!

And now we're back to just being the five of us again....after being a whole clan of shared lives and adventures together.

What a wonderful way to begin the school holidays and the Christmas season. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week and celebrating with my extended family. There is more food to be pondered, considered and prepared. There are more meals to be shared with those we care about. There are gifts to be showered on others.

What do you enjoy about the lead up to Christmas?

No More School, No More Books....

2011-12-16T16:54:00.000+11:00

Well...we don't have much experience in our school with the rest of that poem, but school IS finished for the year. Before us stretches out six weeks of summer holiday ... well, five weeks for me.

There is something very precious about the end to the school year. My pigeon hole has been constantly refilled with little gifts and cards with beautiful expressions of appreciation for the way I have blessed others through the year. There are class parties throughout the school. We enjoy a whole-school assembly, reminiscing about the joys and highlights of the year. We farewell people (OK, not so fun!). When I told the Year 6's that I would have the privilege of working with them a little again next year they were as excited as I was. They are so incredibly precious and they've grown so much. We all have.

Today, with no students remaining the staff spent time packing up and have enjoyed a final meal together. I am again reminded that I work with the most amazing and beautiful people. And I wondered today, why it is that we wait until the end of the year to express our feelings for one another, appreciating the time, talents, gifts and blessings that others pour out on us and our school community. I don't usually make resolutions for the new year, but I think it a worthy pursuit to encourage others throughout the year. Don't you agree?

As much as I need a break and I'm quite ready to rest I can't wait to return to Work Break and catch up with my colleague-friends.

Tribute to a Fine Teacher

2011-12-13T19:58:00.005+11:00

My farewell poem to the man who has taught two of our children over four of the last five years. A man who talks about sowing into the lives of children and "sucking the life" out of every moment. A teacher who is one-of-a-kind and whom we will miss incredibly.

So Long, Mr W

Sowing into tender souls – it’s what you say’s important

Sowing what I speculated, what is it you’ve supported?

Stuffing stuff up your nose and serenading the times tables

Simulated accents, backwards names – they are not fables

Silliness and nonsense, hilarity and mirth

Snickering, tomfoolery – is this all that you have birthed?

So much more, I’d dare to say, you’ve sown into young lives

So much more than we suspected, within the walls of your class hive

Soaking in the Spirit on each scion in your care

Sowing love, you have taught them to be all that they would dare

Sucking life from every day, that’s what’s been important

Stretching, training, loving them – that’s what you’ve supported.

Catching Up

2011-12-10T15:45:00.000+11:00

Time really flies fast around this time of year! Since I last posted many, many things have come and gone. Things like graduation nights, a wedding anniversary, the end of Girls' Brigade, a community Carols night with our lower Primary families, the beginning of my summer Uni subject. Tomorrow we celebrate Dh's birthday - I've already told him he needs to do a load of washing and watch TV. Both recently-acquired items that were really for him. I must confess to doing more washing than normal in the last two weeks, purely to watch the machine turn the clothes around and around. It's such a novelty to be able to see into the washing machine and we're loving having a front-loader.

Christmas shopping has begun semi-earnestly. A great dent was made with online shopping, which I very much preferred. Next year perhaps I'll get organised early enough and do almost all of it online. I really don't enjoy shopping, never mind the increased crowds and shopping mall ~~rage~~ impoliteness!

Overlaying all the craziness of the past weeks has been the delicate lesson of learning to listen and heed the Sovereign One whose will and timing are perfect. These things often come with their share of anxiety and uncertainty and we find ourselves cautiously taking just one step at a time.

The week ahead, for us, brings the end of the school year. We'll take a couple of days spending time with Dh's family and then finish our Christmas preparations. The children are earnestly requesting the opportunity to shop for one another. I think an early morning trip might work best for us all! It is a tradition we began a few years ago with a $5/person budget to teach the children to consider the person they are giving to. It is beautiful to watch them take on this challenge in more mature ways.

Sharing Public Holidays?

2011-11-29T20:22:00.000+11:00

I mentioned that I like the idea of Thanksgiving. Frances posed the question of what Aussie holiday I think Americans might enjoy taking on board.

You know, I've thought about this for a few days now and I'm struggling to come up with one that doesn't have some specifically Australia-only value! Obviously many cultures and countries celebrate Easter and Christmas, so those ones don't count. Here in Victoria we celebrate the commencement of the 8-hour Labour Day, ANZAC Day, the Queen's Birthday, Melbourne Cup Day and Boxing Day. I'm not sure that any of them are ones that others would be inclined to take upon themselves unless they had some reason to do so. I know some of our holidays are celebrated in other countries. Other Commonwealth nations no doubt celebrate the Queen's birthday and New Zealand also observe ANZAC Day (hence the A and the NZ at the beginning of the acronym!).

I don't know, maybe Frances will answer her own question! One thing I will say is that our public holidays are all but done with by June, leaving the latter six months of the year with only one. It's a long time between long weekends when they're scattered so unevenly through the year. After all, isn't that one of the things we enjoy about these days - the opportunity to have a paid day off work enjoying time with our friends and family on picnics and camping trips? I think that's part of it!

Thankful, Blessed & Grateful

2011-11-25T06:00:00.002+11:00

I have been aware that today (well, tomorrow my time) is Thanksgiving Day in the US. Generally speaking I am quite reluctant to take on the customs and traditions of other cultures because they belong to ... well... others. There are definitely things we can enjoy about the ways of others but we don't necessarily have to take them on as our own, if that makes sense.

Thanksgiving Day is one of the few celebrations from another culture that is appealing to me. I think we would all do well to set aside time in our busy lives to focus on the blessings in our lives and I love that Americans have set aside that time. They are indeed a blessed bunch to have that opportunity. If I ever had reason to be living in the US I know this is something I would look forward to! Given that I can do is take a moment on my day off I thought I'd post a list of things I am grateful for here:

A magnificent, patient, funny husband.
The most amazing children.
A home in a beautiful little corner of the world.
A job I adore working with people I admire.
Friends who bless me in unimaginably precious ways.
Extended family who bless us in their own ways.
Generational and personal faith. Perhaps that should go first!
The opportunity to study in a way that works with my family and work.
Needs that are always met.
Having experienced a Colorado Springs summer with no flies (as I chase blowies around the house with fly spray!)

I'm pretty sure that's a really, really short list compared to what I would come up with if I spent more time. But as I look at that list I find that the blessings to celebrate are more significant than the trials to work through, and let me tell you there are trials that are challenging.

What are you thankful, blessed and grateful for?

Truth and Tears

2011-11-24T06:00:00.060+11:00

Every now and then the issue of telling the truth raises itself in the lives of our children. Mr Busy was the one to learn the lesson yesterday.

As is often the case, it was over something quite insignificant in the grand scheme of life. A drink of hot chocolate for which permission was not requested nor granted. It should have been a simple matter of admitting to the error and moving on, but instead he chose to lie. Silly really - which is often the case with my children - there was a witness and evidence, yet the lie continued. After some time in his room we had a chat.

After explaining how disappointed I was we talked about where lies come from and what God expects of us. I reminded him that I try very hard not to lie to him and that I expect the same in return. The gravity of his actions hit home, however, when I explained that he was being disciplined more harshly for his lie than if he had told the truth and was punished for not following the rules of our home. Not only that but he would now need to rebuild the trust that he had broken. His tears told me that he understood that this is the greater tragedy.

That repentant heart earned my cherished young son a cuddle and reassurance of how much he is loved. A defiant heart does not allow for restoration of the broken relationship so immediately, if ever. It made me think about how God wants us to respond to His discipline. Not just about the issue of lying, but about all kinds of things. I am reminded that even as adults we need to be willing to heed the discipline we experience so that our relationship with God is restored. Completely.

It is a precious day when children are able to truly see the error of their ways through a lovingly firm talk

What My Mother Made For Dinner

2011-11-23T06:00:00.009+11:00

Over the last few days the lovely Frances has brought up the issue of food and what we ate as children. More specifically, what our mothers cook us for dinner.

Oh what memories I have of meal time as a child. I was the one who was still sitting at the dinner table half an hour after everyone else had finished dessert with my main course still unfinished and a bowl of ice-cream sitting before me, taunting me as it melted. I was not to have dessert until my first course was finished. I didn't enjoy eating what we were dished up. It was not until just a few years ago that I told my mother I had become rather proficient at getting my remaining meal into the bin and covering it up with other rubbish so that no one would know I had thrown it out. She was horrified. Firstly that I had been so deceitful. Secondly that she truly had never known. I pointed out that the was the whole idea - that she would never know and I would never be caught or punished! It was the most devious thing I ever did, I think.

I was raised in the '70's where many Anglo Aussie families dined on boiled-to-death vegetables and grilled-to-a-crisp lamb chops or sausages. Spaghetti sauce was browned mince and a tin of undiluted tomato soup served over pasta. Now I'm sure there was more variety than that, like chop suey (yuk) and casseroles (which were boring) but that's what I remember eating on a day to day basis. The highlight of my dinner life was Mum's tuna & rice casserole. Cooked rice mixed with a white sauce and a tin of tuna, baked with cheese on top. It's a meal I still make for my own family - with the addition of onion and garlic.

The interesting thing about what we ate back then is that my Dad prefers fairly plain meals even now. And although she tries very hard not to show it, my Mum is a really good cook. On the other hand, I enjoy cooking and as a family we enjoy to adventure of flavours and trying new things (for the most part). In contrast to my own childhood, my children rarely reject what is put before them. I wonder, is it my cooking, their love of food or a combination of both?

Mum likes to come to our house to visit - she says it's like visiting a restaurant without having to pay the bill at the end. I like to visit Mum's house - it's like being on a wonderful holiday from the kitchen. And every now and then she makes me sugar-coated peanuts. Oooohhhhh yeah!

Mystery Dinner

2011-11-22T06:05:00.042+11:00

I mentioned yesterday that Miss Mischief enjoyed her belated birthday party. Indeed all the girls who came seemed to enjoy themselves. Miss Mischief chose to have a Mystery Dinner this year and it went beautifully. Lucky for me I will not have this requested for her friends again because now they know. My feet are very happy!

The Mystery Dinner involves a menu of 20 or so items from which to choose. You end up having all 20 items served to you over the course of the evening, but the menu is in 'code' so the guests have no idea what they are ordering. Even the cutlery is on the menu list. We had five courses, and for each course the guests chose four items.

So the way it works is that the guests choose their four items, one course at a time, and their named menu sheets go back to the kitchen. The kitchen 'hands' put all the bits and pieces together and take the guests' orders back to them. We did this in rounds all at the same time so that everyone was always on the same course. The guests may end up ordering dessert, a knife, beans and an olive for their first course. They have to eat whatever they've ordered with whatever implements they have before the next course is ordered. A clever guest might order all their cutlery first which they get to keep all the way through the meal. I did wash some things and return them throughout the evening.

Over the years we've tweaked the original menu to suit ourselves. For example, Miss Mischief preferred beans to peas, and wanted golden syrup dumplings instead of individual pavlova nests for dessert. And we were able to accommodate her.

It was a long evening for Miss Sunshine and I. I was in the kitchen at 6am preparing as much of the meal as I could before work. After school I went straight back into the kitchen to get things on the go and ready for quick reheating. Miss Sunshine did a lot of the going backwards and forwards to collect the next course of orders and deliver the requisite items. Do not be misled - this is a time consuming meal. We managed to do it in three hours. Any less would be impossible, I suspect.Miss Mischief also sprinkled the evening with rebus puzzles, having separated the girls into two teams.

Following are hopefully links that will take you to PDF documents for the menu and the key to all the items, plus some extras to choose from:
Mystery Dinner Menu
Mystery Dinner Code!

This a great, novel way to have a dinner party.

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 21 November

2011-11-21T16:56:00.001+11:00

So we're up to graduation season at Our School. After a depressing shopping effort looking for wedding attire a month back I managed to find two suitable dresses on Saturday for two separate graduation evenings. The girls were wonderful for objective opinions. I keep telling my brother it's worth keeping your kids alive so they make it to be teens - my children give him hope. In any case I'm all set to go with shoes and jewellery organised as well.

Miss Mischief enjoyed her belated birthday party on Friday night. After having spent a weekend with her class at camp the weekend before, it was lovely to have all the girls (bar one) over for dinner. I'll have to post about that separately, such was the magnitude of the evening! I was struck again with how lovely Miss Mischief's school friends are.

This week's meals are as follows:

Monday: Roast lamb, vegies
Tuesday: Vegie burgers
Wednesday: Oven fried chicken, vegies
Thursday: Frittata, salad (and me at our Yr12 graduation)
Friday: Stuffed Cypriot Chicken (thanks to Jamie Oliver)
Saturday: Chicken & Dumplings
Sunday: Homemade pizza

Today my blogging friend Frances posted about roasted beets. I'm not a fan of beetroot myself, having been brought up on the tinned variety. Blech. However, I do love roasted vegies. While we were with my parents a few weeks back Mum did roasted parsnips with one of our meals. Oh my, they were so good. Only Mr Busy rejected them, and the rest of us were keen to have his. It was not quite a brawl....but there was healthy debate as to who would get them! Mum par-boils her parsnips before roasting. They were lovely and moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside. I think parsnips will have to find their way to my table more often. I don't often buy them because I thought noone but me like them.

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 14 November

2011-11-14T17:49:00.000+11:00

The title of this post is really a misnomer. In the flurry of preparing for the weekend and shopping to feed 40 people I did not plan nor shop for us. "I'll do it on Monday", I foolishly thought. My achy, tired muscles simply won't allow it. And I just don't want to go very fast at the moment. So I've planned to have roast chicken on Wednesday night and to do a mystery dinner for the Year 8 girls to celebrate Miss Mischief's long-past birthday. That's it. That's all there is. I'll have to take my achy self to venture through the cupboards and freezer to see what I can find. Truthfully this might be a quick trip because my knees are not happy. And that makes me sound far older than I truly am, but netball in my young adult years was not kind to me.

Dh, Miss Mischief and I spent the weekend with her class and quite a few other parents and a couple of teachers on the annual 'Man From Snowy River' camp. Our Year 8's study 'The Man From Snowy River' as one of their English texts and an elective camp is part of the package. They camp in tents with no power or shower block, although there are well-maintained drop loo's. Meals are all cooked over a camp fire and you have to take everything you need in with you, and everything including your rubbish out at the end. Throughout the camp the kids get to see and experience some sights from the movie, such as horseriding around the area where that magnificent downhill ride scene was filmed. They got to see that hill and hear the story of the filming of that scene. They also hike to the top of 'The Bluff' - an arduous and challenging trek for those of us who are uphill-walking challenged.

The kids were fabulous all weekend long and we all had a lovely time together. My most memorable moment? Getting to the top of that silly Bluff and looking over directly at Mt Buller. Incredible! Worst moment? Getting to the top of that silly Bluff. And walking along the ridge and down to Bluff Hut was pretty tough too - just because it wasn't straight up didn't mean it was easy walking.

Alright. I've put dinner off for long enough. Come along achy muscles and cranky knees, it's time to find something for dinner.

Daily Blogging

2011-11-08T06:31:00.000+11:00

I'm definitely not in a daily-blogging place right now. Time, energy and the lack of something interesting to write prevent it. Or maybe I'm just not imaginative enough? Whatever the reason, I can barely scrape together a couple of posts a week.

My dear blogging friend, Frances, has challenged herself to blog every day for a month. Now that's a brave challenge in my book. I'm glad she decided to challenge herself right at the moment. Frances makes me laugh and I need to laugh. Her posts are always witty, humorous and beautifully written. Of course, she is a writer so that's probably a given, but it makes the reading all that much more enjoyable. Her take on life always makes so much sense. To me.

I've discovered over the years that her son Will and my Mr Busy are practically twins. If you ever see posts about messy bedrooms these two boys are truly soul mates. I also discovered this week that we have twin bathrooms that seem to become messy all by themselves. And Frances makes beautiful quilts.

Daily blogging is beyond me right now, but I'm really enjoying the fact that Frances is in the zone.

Monday Menu Plan: Week beginning 7 November

2011-11-07T17:26:00.000+11:00

You know those mornings when you don't have the energy to get up, let alone for what is to come throughout the day? I told DH I didn't have the energy for two particular students today and God must have heard - neither were present today. We have a busy week ahead at our place so the meals have become really simple. But tasty. You can't sacrifice yumminess just because you're busy!

Monday: Redcurrant lamb chops, vegies
Tuesday: Satay chicken stir fry, rice
Wednesday: Honey mustard chicken, vegies
Thursday: Quick chilli, corn chips
Weekend: We'll be hither and thither with meals to match!

I'm off to do something about dinner and then relax with my stitching.

Good Things

2011-11-06T08:37:00.000+11:00

I've not been posting much. Put it down to having lots unblogable (is that a word?) things on my mind. In amongst the things that occupy vast amounts of thinking time I'm seeking out the blessings to be celebrated and enjoyed. I'm so grateful that God scatters difficult days with little rays of sunshine.

A distinction for Human Development and a high distinction for Music & Visual Arts assignments.
Warm sunshiny days.
BBQ with friends.
Opening up the cooling vents for the first time this season.
Finding time to stitch.
Preparing for a 'roughing it' school camping trip for Miss Mischief.
A car that runs well, having been loved back to full health.

When things are difficult do you focus on the dark clouds, or look for the sunshine peeking through?

Post Cup Day Menu Plan

2011-11-02T20:23:00.000+11:00

We've just returned to normal after a long weekend thanks to the Melbourne Cup. Both Our School and Dh's business take the extra day off leaving us free to enjoy a four-day weekend, unlike many others who are required to work on the Monday. For our family this usually means that we get out of town. A double blessing when halloween coincides with the long weekend. We were able to avoid trick or treaters who are inclined to continue knocking on our door well after our children are all tucked into bed.

This long weekend we spent our time with my parents at their home in regional Victoria. I'm sure my poor mother will never cook again, as cooking for a family of 7 must surely stretch one who does not enjoy the task so much. However, we felt spoiled and not just because of being fed, although that always goes a long way.

The week ahead for our meals looks a little bit yummy:

Tuesday: Honey mustard pork scallopine, vegies
Wednesday: Chicken teriyaki, rice, vegies
Thursday: Freezer meal
Friday: Spanish chorizo & potato chicken, vegies
Saturday: BBQ pork & chicken wings; corn, potato, tossed salads
Sunday: Gnocchi with roasted tomato sauce

Spring always brings a wide variety of seasons with its weather here in Melbourne - winter and summer with everything in between all in one week. I love that our weather allows for wide variety in our meals as well. BBQ's and warmer embracing meals all in one week. Perfect.

Monday Menu Planning: Week Beginning 24 October

2011-10-25T18:05:00.000+11:00

After dipping a brain-addled toe into the waters of non-menu planning I have decided it's not for me. Truly, I always knew this. Now I am convinced in a new way. Things fall apart around here when meals are not planned or shopped for. I'm back onto my wagon. Last night I finally got to the supermarket, came home and put a roast on for that meal and made sausage rolls for tonight. Ahhhhhhh....so much better.

Monday: Roast chicken, vegies
Tuesday: Sausage rolls, frozen vegies
Wednesday: Creamy pasta
Thursday: Hamburgers
Friday: Redcurrant lamb chops
Weekend: Meals will be out an about.

Life is wonderful.

Lessons from 'The Grumpalump'

2011-10-23T07:30:00.003+11:00

I've been pondering what to share for staff devotions on Friday next week. Being one who has a bit of a 'thing' for children's books I've decided to base mine on 'The Grumpalump'. It is a book that was written a way back in 1990 by Sarah Hayes and was very popular when I had Miss Sunshine. I adored it then and ended up buying a whole set of Reading Together books put together by Walker Books just so I could have this on my shelf. See, my 'thing' for children's books goes a long way back!! It's only in the last couple of weeks that I've realised there is more to this book than meets the eye.

I've been dealing with some pretty significant challenges over the course of this year. Some have been quite painful. Some have required us to make decisions that our children have struggled with and we've not been at liberty to discuss our reasons with them. The other day as I was reading 'The Grumpalump' I was reminded that we meet the challenges we face in all kinds of ways - many of which are futile. Many a time I have found myself staring at the trials that have face me. I've felt numb and paralysed as to what to do, much like the bear in this book. I've rolled and sat and shoved and pulled and wacked and been left exhausted. Not only that, but all that energy has been for naught and I find myself in much the same place as when it all began.

"The bear stared, the cat sat, the mole rolled,

the dove shoved, the bull pulled,

the yak whacked and

the armadillo used it for a pillow.

But the lump still grumped"

'Then the gnu blew'. I am reminded that I can't just respond to my challenges in any old way. I have to pray. I have to be proactive in seeking God's way through things that have no way through in my own strength or knowledge. I wish it was all as simple as that, that my grumpalump would become clear and I'd know how to deal with it. The truth is some of those challenges remain unclear and God chooses not to reveal His answers just yet. I still feel like the bear staring at the grumpalump most of the time.

What I do know is that at some point God will point the way to the spot where I need to act. Just like the gnu. And when He lets me start blowing the challenges will be transformed into something that I never expected and I'll be able to set off on the journey that God has planned. Just like the gnu.

"The gnu drew breath and clambered in.

the grumpalump began to grin.

"I'm off on a trip in my hot airship," said the gnu, and flew.

Absolutely true."

How do you respond to your challenges? Are you like the gnu, or are you staring, sitting, rolling, shoving, pulling whacking and exhausted?

No Menu-Plan Thursday

2011-10-20T17:37:00.000+11:00

Tonight's meal is out of my hands - a school association dinner is planned and all I had to do was rsvp. I have to feed the kids, so they're getting what was once known as Aunty N's pasta and has now come to be Thursday Night Pasta. Nothing like the yummy pasta meal above, with freshly caught prawns. No. Onion, bacon, tinned tomatoes. Boring according to the kids, yet it fills a whole, it's quick and it's pretty healthy.

So my day of leisure .... began at the ED getting the now-confirmed broken toe checked over. We were sent on our way with a "yep, just keep doing what you're doing". Then Dh & I spent some time at the new Ikea store. Fun.

No reading or resting, but lots of sunshine enjoying went on instead.

2011-10-19T17:19:00.000+11:00

Warm days make me think: skirts, shorts, bare feet, barbeques. For today anyway. My non-menu planning meal for tonight is marinated/baked chicken wings with salads. We would've bbq'd them, but Dh has cleaned the deck ready for finishing with decking oil so we don't want to undo all his wonderful work.

My Year 1 student was full of marvellous ideas of resting and reading books for me tomorrow - my first day off with no other obligations. He's such a sweet boy. Now. For me. Not always and not for everyone, but he's been lovely for me. I may just take him up on his ideas and report back. He'll be tickled and I'll need it after having written a L O N G story with him today!

What do you enjoy doing on those first summery warm days?

A 'No Menu Plan' Week

2011-10-18T20:06:00.001+11:00

I'm living dangerously. Seeing how the other half live. Actually, it's probably got more to do with brain overload and my inability to think about anything else last week.

I have no menu plan. I'm making it up as I go along.

It don't like it and I really don't know how people make up their mind at 5pm about what they'll make for dinner. We'd be eating frozen vegies and pre-prepared meat from the freezer every night because I wouldn't be able to think straight by that end of the day! I know there are those who don't know how I can be so organised. We'll just have to agree that everyone works differently, won't we?

Anyway, so far, we've had an Asian noodle stir-fry thanks to Miss Sunshine. Tonight we had chicken goujons (thanks Costco) & frozen vegies with a jacket potato. I've no idea what tomorrow will bring. Thursday it'll be dinner at school. And then I have no idea again. My kids looked at the menu plan on Monday and stared at me dumbfounded "Mum, there's nothing written down." They were puzzled. "Oh good, we don't have to cook tonight," was my response. In the home where it has been declared illegal (by the children) to not be fed this was unacceptable. Miss Sunshine took charge. She's a take charge kind of girl.

If only Miss Sunshine could take over the grocery shopping as well.

**********************

My semester has come to an end and I have officially completed a whole year of Uni. Results for all those final assessments will be returned in about a month. And then I have three years to go!

Our medical woes continue. There have been improvements. Mr Busy's chest is clear as are Miss Mischief's ears. Miss Sunshine has tried to break a toe - we'll find out for sure on Thursday with an x-ray. I'm nearly ready to sell the kids off - I don't remember ever spending so much time at the doctors, even when they were little and with other bouts of pneumonia that have occured! Must go and strap up the offending toe!

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 10 October

2011-10-10T07:47:00.000+11:00

I'm speechless. I'm back at work today - the kids come back on Wednesday. I'm not ready. I feel like I could stay home another two weeks and that might not be enough. Is it really bad when you start the term with thoughts that go "it's 9 weeks until holidays"? I daresay that's not the best way to start. Illness and assignments are not the way to spend a school holiday! Poor Miss Mischief has some holiday homework (there's a soapbox moment if ever I saw one) so she'll be working on that today and tomorrow.

The week will start slowly - staff only (plus staff kids). A nice way to ease into the frantic pace of Term 4. I'm glad I don't have to face 3 or 4 classes of children today! And I'll study my heart out, submit two assignments and dust the semester off with an online exam on Friday (after checking in with the doctor, again!).

This week's menu:

Monday: Ants Climbing Trees, Molten chocolate pots
Tuesday: Roast chicken, vegies
Wednesday: Spaghetti bolognaise
Thursday: Freezer meal - chicken thingys & frozen vegies
Friday: Nachos
Saturday: At a wedding
Sunday: Soup & bread

Playtime at Costco

2011-10-07T16:28:00.000+11:00

It's the last day of school holidays for me. And for the kids in a roundabout way, in that they will have to come to school with me on Monday and Tuesday. So we finally got to get out to Costco - something I'd wanted to do at the start of last week! We always have fun there, poking about in all kinds of interesting piles of things. So besides boring things like bread, monterey jack cheese and eggs that come in a pack of 3 dozen, we found some fun kitchen toys. Since the girls do so much of the cooking these days they swayed me easily. Well, actually, I've been wanting a new grater for quite some time. Mind is about 10 years old and it really makes a person work hard. And the girls just loved the different sized boards. I loved that they have stoppers on the corners so the board doesn't slip on the bench.

And they all match my KitchenAid mixer :)

**********************

Back at the doctors again today....Miss Mischief is now on antibiotics for an ear infection. Yes - we are ALL on antibiotics! We are so keeping the medical and pharmacuetical profession in business these days. Mr Busy has managed to get rid of some of the rattling in one lung and just has a bit left in the other. Miss Sunshine is still rattling a lot. We have a whole week now before we have to go back!

Escape from Prison

2011-10-06T18:32:00.000+11:00

Well...that's what an outing feels like when the only time you've left your house for a few weeks is to visit doctors. Don't get me wrong - we'll be back at the doctor's tomorrow. They're getting their money's worth out of us!

We spent the day with my brother and his family today. At their home - so nice and relaxing. Slow, lazy, enjoyable. My brother took his 5yo daughter and Mr Busy out to collect sticks, riding on the mower/trailer combo to do so. Mr Busy was in heaven. He got to do 'boy stuff'. And then he fell asleep in the car on the way home.

All but four of us are on antibiotics now. Miss Sunshine went to get her foot treated again (long process). The doctor heard her cough and ignored the foot. Diagnosis: raging chest infection. I couldn't believe it. She's not febrile, she's eating, she's not sleeping excessively. There is NO indication whatsoever that she might have something requiring treatment...other than the plantar wart we went for in the first place. Mr Busy has yet another double course of medication as he is STILL suffering pnuemonic symptoms. In a perfect world I'd be staying home with them all next week too. But in the real world I have to go back to work.

The good news is that all this convalescing has resulted in an assignment being submitted, a group task is ready for submission as I type. Another requires a little more polishing and I have ONE left to write...and a test to study for. Oh roll on next Friday when it'll all be over.

So....more study and one final outing before Work Break begins on Monday.

Monday Menu Plan: The week before the end of semester

2011-10-03T17:24:00.000+11:00

This is what my floor looks like around the chair where I study. Every textbook I use this semester is sitting on that pile, as I go between them regularly. I've spent much of the weekend on an essay which is now officially in 'polishing' phase. YAY! Today I've been working on two different group projects, both of which are almost finished. Tonight I'll listen to a couple of lectures. In between all of that we're celebrating Miss Mischief's 14th birthday. Fourteen....I really can't believe she's already that old. I still think of her as a 12yo. And then every time I look at her she surprises me. I'll share her birthday menu in a little bit, but first here's what's on for the rest of the next frantic assessment-overloaded week:

Tuesday: Pork spare ribs, stir fried vegies, rice
Wednesday: Chicken parmigana, vegies
Thursday: Beef casserole, rice
Friday: Hmmm...maybe we'll bring home something from our planned shopping adventures?
Saturday: Chicken and dumplings
Sunday: Any suggestions?!

As for tonight's menu, it's a rather grand affair which I must begin momentarily.

~ Miss Mischief's Birthday Menu ~

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

corn on the cob

hasselback potatoes

honey carrots

cauliflower & broccoli au gratin

Molten Chocolate Pots

Cheese Platter

She has no idea about the dessert. A vague reference to chocolate and something fudge-y reminded me of little molten pots from an ABC foodie magazine I have somewhere. I'll do my best to take photos tonight. Really I will. And I'll post that recipe for the chocolate pots because everyone needs a show-stopper dessert on hand. Especially a show-stopper in chocolate.

The Calm Before The Storm

2011-10-01T07:14:00.001+10:00

It's Grand Final Day. Something akin to the American Superbowl I suppose. This afternoon there will no doubt be armchair critics informing their teams of what they should be doing. We've a supporter from each team in our house....that could be interesting. I keep telling Miss Sunshine that it is socially unacceptable to barrack for Collingwood, to which she rolls her 15yo eyes and tells me I'm not nice. But I'm right.

We're keeping our little Mr Busy at home to continue his slow recovery and Dh will watch the game with the kids rather than joining others at church to watch it all on a big screen. Me...I'll be preparing for the second storm - Miss Mischief's birthday next week. The halls of shopping centres around the city will be void of people so I'm going to enjoy some birthday shopping in peace and in the process avoid an afternoon of football. Sounds like a good compromise to me!

A Diversion

2011-09-30T15:53:00.000+10:00

...from Uni, from illness, from boredom. Something we all needed today!

My brother, his wife and their two bubbly little girls came for lunch and a chat and, as it happened, a visit to Our School. There have to be perks to having a key, so we had a private tour, punctuated with lots of playground stops.

Yesterday our diversion was in the form of going to see 'The Smurfs' at the movies. It was a delightful movie. Truly a movie for old Smurf lovers like me. The only thing left on our holiday to-do list is a visit to Costco. Sometime late next week might be the way to go. Mr Busy might survive it by then.

Warning: Whine Alert. Read at Own Risk

2011-09-28T13:45:00.000+10:00

I'm tired of illness. I'm tired of coughing. I'm tired of feeling drained.

I'm tired of Mr Busy being so unwell. Not in a selfish he's-taking-so-much-of-my-attention kind of way. Tired of it because it's no fun watching your little boy struggle to overcome an infection that does not want to give up. I was hoping we'd just spend time relaxing and I'd watch him regain his health and vigour. Rather I've watched his health dip again and require another course of antibiotics and more tests.

I can't even think straight to get my essays written. I'm writing stuff down but it's pretty ordinary. Where has the sharp edge of my brain gone?

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 26 September

2011-09-26T16:44:00.000+10:00

Here we are - the beginning of Term 3 holidays. Oh what a blissful moment, this morning, when I realised I don't have to go to work. I can just blob around home. Well....you know...what I mean is, I can devote all my daytime hours to Uni assignments and the last few weeks of coursework in my tracky dacks. The kids can spend far too much time watching screens of various descriptions. Oh, and I can make time for a friend to pop in unexpectedly without stressing about the time I should be devoting to assignment writing. Yep. I do find myself hanging out for holidays. Even more so after a couple of weeks of illness around the house.

Mr Busy is still coughing a lot. It sounds appalling really, but I know he's doing so much better so a little bit of unattractive noise isn't so bad. It's all about perspective. He went to school and after a physical game of Dr Dodge with his and the next door class he was cactus for the rest of the day. He lay on the couch in the Yr 5/6 room where I was and moaned...and coughed...and didn't do anything much at all.

Given that I'm in the throws of those final 5 assessments the girls are still going to get their fair share of cooking to do. Lucky them!

Monday: Jerk Chicken (Jamie's 30 minute meals)
Tuesday: Chicken wonton soup
Wednesday: Cheesy salmon patties, vegies
Thursday: Slow roasted beef, vegies
Friday: Lasagna, salad
Saturday: Ricotta gnocchi with tomato pesto sauce
Sunday: I might go back to the pasta we didn't have last Saturday

Given that it's going to b 27C on Tuesday (what's with that anyway?!) we might do some swapping around. Soup on a warm day just doesn't feel right!

Recipe: Lazy Day Curry

2011-09-24T10:48:00.000+10:00

I know there are purists out there who will say a real curry requires a great deal of preparation from raw ingredients. And they're probably right. A curry made completely from scratch is divine. But I'm not from a curry-making heritage, nor do I have the time or inclination to put into creating such a meal. So I go for a really lazy option that tastes pretty darn good. Not only that, if you bulk the meal out with plenty of vegetables, there will be leftovers for lunch. Always a good outcome!

This is not so much a recipe as a loose set of instructions for you to interpret as you will.

Finely chop an onion and a clove or two of garlic and saute until softened. Add curry paste to your taste preference and cook until it smells great (a minute or so).
Add the chicken to the pan and stir fry until cooked, then add the vegies, a tin of light coconut milk and 1/2-1 cup of chicken stock (I use water and stock powder).
Cover the pan and simmer until the vegies are all cooked through.
Serve over cooked basmati (or some other!) rice.

For vegies, I include any combination of pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots, cauliflower and zucchini. You could also add a tin of chickpeas if you wanted to. I use curry paste from Aldi ~ use any brand/type you like. It's your curry!!!

There you go. Simple. Fuss free. Delicious. Fairly inexpensive. Just the thing for a busy, hungry family.

It's Tough, You Know.

2011-09-22T16:06:00.000+10:00

It's tough when your study requires you to take a leisurely walk through the bush with your children first thing in the morning. Our School has a substantial amount of pristine bushland on the property, including a creek and I needed a field site within walking distance so I'm focusing on pollution and local water ways.

I needed photos so my kids joined me in my warm, sunny early morning walk down the track. I love hearing the sound of the creek swishing along as we get closer to it. I love the dappled sunlight and shade along the track. If it weren't for the leeches I think I'd be inclined to spend more time down there but alas, the leeches rule the bush! We didn't see any this morning though.

***************

Mr Busy is going to school tomorrow. It will be some time before his lungs are fully recovered and gunk-free. But he's bored, he misses his friends and neither of us think he's sick enough to be home any longer. I think that's celebration worthy, after two long weeks of illness!

He Sparkles

2011-09-20T21:52:00.000+10:00

Antibiotics are a marvellous invention. Especially when used to tackle atypical pnuemonia. Mr Busy has finally turned a corner. He's gotten cheeky again. And annoying. He's sparkly and chipper even though he is still pale and his eyes are red-rimmed. I've missed his mischievous little self.

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 19 September

2011-09-19T19:19:00.000+10:00

A busy day back at work today, for the first time since last Monday. I felt like I'd missed so very much in the days that I missed, and the kids in Mr Busy's class are now asking when he's going to come back to school. They miss him. Hopefully in the next day or two, thanks to antibiotics!

People who are not well need good food....

Monday: BBQ rissoles & pork ribs, salads
Tuesday: Oven fried chicken, vegies
Wednesday: Sweet & sour pork, rice
Thursday: pasta of some description
Friday: Roast chicken, vegies
Saturday & Sunday: I'll decide later.

Here's to the last week of the term, the writing of assignments and getting little boys back to school.

Green and Pink

2011-09-18T18:31:00.000+10:00

My two favourite colours....especially when they're put together.

This is the border tile in our newly fitted out ensuite. We get to use it for the first time tomorrow morning. Yay!

These shoes were a bargain at $5 on yesterday's shopping tour. I have the perfect skirt for these and a perfect day to wear both tomorrow, at 27C! Where oh where did winter go?

***********

Meanwhile Mr Busy is still unwell with a cough, rash and a temperature that comes and goes. The ED doctor phoned this morning (apparently she was sufficiently puzzled by him) to advise another trip to the GP and a second chest x-ray due to the continuing temperature. After a full week of these symptoms the Dr was keen for us to revisit clinical investigation. I appreciated her dedication to his care. I would never have expected an ED to follow up on a patient that was 'treated and streeted' days ago.

From the Sickbed

2011-09-15T09:27:00.000+10:00

Mr Busy and I have been having some sickbed adventures. Sad, but true. I've been coughing for a week...now I have a blocked nose :( I've succumbed to buying real cold & flu + cough medicine rather than my prefered ease-a-cold's. I don't feel that bad...I'm just tired of coughing all the time.

Mr Busy has had a second trip to the ED in a week. On Saturday Dh gave up after 4 hours and came home at 1am. Yesterday our GP decided she didn't like the way his rash was behaving and sent us back to have it investigated. Four hours, a blood test, a wee test and a chest x-ray later we came home, safe in the knowledge that yes, he just has a nasty virus. Thanks to all the germy kids at school. Yay for sharing!

Last night's hospital adventure also included the girls being at home for a few hours on their own, doing homework and cooking dinner. Apparently all went well ~ they're both still alive and smiling.

Meanwhile, my ensuite is fully tiled and being grouted today. It's a courageous man, who braves the germs of our home to work on the bathroom. The challenge is to keep Mr Busy at a distance to protect Mr Bathroom Fixing Friend's health. I will share photos at some point when my head is clearer.

Menu Planning and other Household Stories

2011-09-13T11:28:00.000+10:00

Firstly menu planning. I sent Dh and the girls off to do the shopping the other day. I was just too tired and wasn't up to the task. They did a magnificient job so we're eating well.

Monday: Honey mustard chicken pieces, vegies
Tuesday: Freezer meal for Mr Busy and I ~ everyone else is out for dinner
Wednesday: Chicken curry, rice
Thursday: Tomato & bacon pasta
Friday: Beef stroganoff
Saturday: Take away
Sunday: Good question...one can dream of all sorts of things!

Mr Busy and I are having a day off together. I'm not incredibly well....not particularly sick. I'm in that place in between where we tend to carry on, albeit slowly. Mr Busy, however, has a bevy of symptoms, amongst which is a rash across his torso. Given the amount of sickness going around at school I didn't feel this was something to share, even though it doesn't seem all that bad. Dh is unable to have Mr Busy at work for a couple of days so I've organised some time off to keep him at home. I must say, the timing is quite providential from my own point of view. We all just need to have school holidays now. We're all tired and getting sick all over the place. A couple of weeks to settle all the bugs down and keep them to ourselves will do us all the world of good.

My ensuite is coming along as pieces of the puzzle arrive. The tiles should come today, so work on that can begin. At the moment there is an empty shell. It is waterproofed. The basin and wall cabinet are constructed from Ikea flat packs and sit in the lounge room awaiting the day they are to find themselves in their final resting place. A more energetic person would take photos. Maybe I will....at some point.

I'm off to try and make my foggy head construct a 300 word reflection of the value of teaching visual arts. Hmmmm.

Why Boys Can't Get Out of Bed

2011-09-10T08:34:00.000+10:00

I went to get Mr Busy out of bed the other morning, having woken him some 10 minutes earlier. He informed me he couldn't possibly get up.

Me: Get out of bed young man.
Mr Busy: But I can't Mum.
Me: Why not?
Mr Busy: Because my legs are just too comfortable to move.

I must at admit, when he got to 'legs' I began to panic and thought maybe he'd contracted the virus that is going around school, decimating classes left, right and centre. Among the many symptoms one that has been suffered by some has been heavy legs.

I'm now sure how he does it ~ his brain just thinks in 'funny' as he is waking up. My brain only thinks when the need for silence is satisfied. And then it's just serious stuff going on.

He makes me laugh.

Pursuit of a New Bathroom

2011-09-08T19:11:00.003+10:00

Photo Credit: Google Images - a shiny looking bathroom such as I will have soon!

We spent today not with me studiously working on an assignment, as I should have been. No, we spent it in pursuit of items for the creation of a new bathroom. Rotting floor has been removed, along with everything that existed in that space before Wednesday. Today we chose tiles and the vanity stand and basin. Lots of fun. Especially when it included a trip to IKEA. We attempted to visit the new store in Springvale....but we balked at the queue waiting to get into the store and drove to Richmond instead. It was lovely and quiet in there and we were able to browse and make our purchases in relative peace.

So...we're sharing a bathroom with the kids again. The only word that can be used to describe the experience is 'interesting'. I hope my bathroom can be completed by the end of next week :)

This Week's Menu.

2011-09-06T18:36:00.000+10:00

Again, better late than never I guess! Yesterday was busy. A full day at work, a visit from the guy who is fixing our ensuite, homework til 10.30pm. A text message from my brother in the throws of parenting little people who are doing some challenging things. Busy. So that's my excuse for not posting yesterday.

Our menu this week looks like:

Monday: Oven friend chicken, vegies
Tuesday: Redcurrant lamb chops, vegies
Wednesday: Homemade pizza or ricotta fritters...haven't decided
Thursday: Pasta of some description
Friday: Pork spare ribs, vegies, rice
Saturday: Slow roasted beef, vegies
Sunday: someone else can cook something......??!

And Miss Sunshine will not be home before 7pm any night this week now, in preparation for her year level's production. She's already tired, so the weekend promises to be a little stormy for her, I think.

---oo0oo---

On to more exciting things. I got my first high distinction! That silly music/visual arts test that got postponed and fiddle-faddled with ended up being quite a success for me....thanks to the practice test I did in the week beforehand. What a relief. Poor Mr Busy ~ he was the only one I could tell immediately. When I asked if he knew what that meant he said "does that mean you passed?". Poor boy. When I explained he came and jumped about with me for a few moments before returning to his book. Isn't he sweet?

Happy Father's Day

2011-09-04T08:24:00.000+10:00

Image Credit: awesomenorms.info

Here in Australia it is Father's Day. For us it kind of began last night with the first non-bbq meal of the season. I ended up baking chicken wings because Dh & Mr Busy were out til dark mowing the lawns. Bbq'ing is men's work, apparently. But the meal came with Dh's favourite three salads: potato, corn, tossed so he didn't mind that it wasn't really a bbq.

This morning the kids offered their gifts and made their Dad scrambled eggs for breakfast. He's happy. We're hoping to find somewhere to go for Yum Cha for lunch. I'm sure an afternoon nap will make his day complete.

Of course, there will be a phone call to my Dad and possibly a visit to his Dad. Perfect day.

Jamie's Meals: Jools Pasta

2011-09-02T18:32:00.001+10:00

Photo Credit: channel4.com

Another day, another Jamie meal. Tonight it was Pregnant Jools Pasta. I have to smile about the title. Pregnancy is no longer associated with eating (or not!) anything in particular in our house, and hasn't been for well over 11 years. However, you have to love a recipe that is simple, and this one was. The meal has instructions for a salad and a frangipane tart. I didn't do the salad, and with no-wheat and no-nut eaters in our family, the dessert was pretty much a no-go. I could've coped with the wheat but Miss Sunshine cannot have nuts.

The recipe said to use 'good' sausages. I think that's a misnomer. Good and sausages don't really belong in the same sentence in my book. However, I found something that looked a little more gourmet that a package of Safeway thin sausages. The meal ended up being pretty tasty. Definitely worth adding to the list of things we enjoy. Everyone headed back for seconds except Mr Busy. I suspect performance nerves are on the rise due to tonight's music performance night at school. He's not the up-front kinda guy, preferring all things related to working backstage. Tonight he'll be on the stage and he's instructed us not to watch. Poor boy. Sadly misguided. Of course we'll be watching!

If you want to have a go at this yummy meal (which we all highly recommend), all the recipes and instructions are here.

Imitating Christ's Humility

2011-08-31T06:04:00.014+10:00

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain concet.

Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

not looking to your own interests but each of you to

the interests of others. In your relationships with one

another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus..."

~ Philippians 2:3-5 ~

Challenging words. Words that beg the question: where is the line between justice, mercy and the mindset of Christ?

Humility.

Where Have all the Books Gone?

2011-08-30T19:54:00.000+10:00

My nephew has just celebrated his first birthday and christening. Being a lover of children's picture books, I decided I wanted to get him a really nice picture book. You know, something from the CBCA winners list from the last year or two. There have, after all been some great books. The Terrible Plop, Isabella's Garden, Can I Cuddle the Moon and The Flying Orchestra are the ones that come to mind immediately. I love the stories. I love the pictures. I especially love the ones written in rhyme, because that is my weakness in children's fiction. Dr Seuss, Lynley Dodd and Mem Fox are always going to give you some good rhyming reading as well as great pictures.

Miss Mischief and I headed off to see what we could find. What we discovered is that there are no bookshops at all now, at Fountain Gate. Only Kmart, Target and Big W sell books in any quantity, but children's literature is not high on their list of titles to be up-to-date with. I was devastated at this discovery. I ended up buying Baby Wombat's Week ~ the updated version of Diary of a Baby Wombat, which I have on my shelf and adore. A quirky story about a baby Aussie wombat and infuses some basic literacy and maths concepts in a tangible way for little people to understand.

I wonder though, where does one go to actually look at and feel and buy books like the ones I was after? If we can't go to a shop anymore, how to you run out the day before a birthday event to pick up the story you had in mind for the special little person in your life? Do good bookshops exist anymore.

All these questions reminded me of the Meg Ryan & Tom Hanks movie You've Got Mail, where Meg's character owns a children's bookshop. I want one of those 'just around the corner' from me! A quirky little shop brimming with beautiful children's books. Surely that's a peek into Heaven?

Monday menu Plan: Week Beginning 29 August

2011-08-29T17:38:00.001+10:00

Look at that ~ a menu planning post on Monday. It's amazing what a week off Uni can do for a busy girl! I'm so excited I almost don't know what to do with myself. I finished a book yesterday. I even had a delicious thought about getting some stitching time in. Can you imagine? I haven't stitched for months! Inclination seems to escape me whenever I have the time. You really need both at the same time. Perhaps this week?! And maybe some baking? Well...let's not get our hopes up too far. It's only a week!

We are eating meals though. There will be no doubt about that in a family of children who constantly remind me that "it's illegal not to feed your children". I don't know why they remind me. I never leave them unfed. I threaten on days when I feel floppy and unmotivated and tired. But I always overcome that for the sake of a happy family. I'm not happy that they've gone from newborns who fed every 4 hours to teens and tweens who eat every two hours. What happened there?

So...this week it'll be:
Monday: chicken curry, rice
Tuesday: a stop at Safeway's freezer, m/wave jacket potatoes, frozen vegies
Wednesday: chicken casserole, potato dauphenoise
Thursday: pasta bolognaise
Friday: Joolz Pasta (Jamie's 30 minute meals p. 30)
Weekend....whatever takes our fancy.

Dh requested meals that yield leftovers for his lunch. Perhaps we'll have to make sure there's enough for two lunches ;) Or maybe I just need to get the Prep kids over here to make vegie soup. We made that this afternoon after having harvested some potatoes last Friday. They did a magnificent job making a tasty soup. They all had a taste and most of them loved it. Amazing!

Sunshine and Rain Clouds

2011-08-25T14:54:00.000+10:00

As if to demonstrate Melbourne's reputation for changeable weather, today has turned from sunny with a hint of warmth to grey and rainy with a chill in the air. Just like that. I've been sitting at the meal table working away and the scene has change outside the window, unnoticed until my feet got too cold!

Miss Mischief is sharing the day with me today. I tell the kids Thursday is the day to be sick so they can stay home. This is the child who most resembles me. She's quite and content to keep to herself with a good book. I barely know she's home, really. We were chatting in the car the other day when she tells me she enjoys spending time together. I was a bit concerned because we don't actually talk a lot when it's just the two of us. "That's OK Mum, I'm happy just to sit and be together without talking". She doesn't find it strange or uncomfortable to be silent. Ahhhh, child of my heart.

Today I've submitted an assignment that I'm glad to see the back of. I've listened to a couple of lectures and caught up on some activities I'd not gotten to yet. Next week is mid-semester break so I'll spend a little bit of time looking at my next Arts assignment. Otherwise, this time I'm taking the break. Life has thrown a fair few stresses lately and I'm feeling a little weary. After my exam tomorrow night I'm just going to chill out. Read a book, spend time with extended family, sleep, watch TV without feeling like I should be doing something else. You know....stop. Kind of.

The Bush, Creeks and Other Natural Things

2011-08-24T19:46:00.001+10:00

Monbulk Creek (Dandenong Ranges). Image credit: bushwalkingjournal.blogspot.com

This afternoon my son's class went on a bit of a wander down our school's nature trail. It was a beautiful example of integrating the study of English, appreciating the environment and faith. Something I think I'm going to use as an example for my current essay on influences of educational stakeholders and their influence on my personal beliefs about education!

The kids were asked to walk silently through the bush and use their senses to notice things like sounds, smells, how the sun felt, how they felt and how it made them feel about God. They then went and sat down in a less damp area of the school grounds and wrote their own psalm. They were beautiful, heartfelt expressions of young faith in response to God's creation. They were so sacred I felt reluctant to correct spelling errors.

As I wandered along, last in the line, I was listening to the creek. It was bubbling along and sounded like it had plenty of water in it. It made me think of abundant blessings and the way God's love for us is pure, clean and fresh, just like that creek water. God's love flows freely. The only restriction to a normal, healthy creek are the things we build up and put in the way. It is those things that stop the creek from flowing. It's very much the same with us and God. The thing that stops us from experiencing His abundant, freely flowing love for us is....well....us. More specifically it's the things we put in the way.

Our staff are in for a very precious treat at devotions tomorrow morning and I'm feeling a little sad that I'll miss it. Many of the children generously offered their psalms to the teacher for her to read to the rest of the teachers in the morning. How blessed we are to work in a place where God is at the centre of all that is done.

The 'Jamie' Experiment

2011-08-20T10:21:00.001+10:00

picture: www.channel14.com

Miss Mischief and I shared our family's first 'Jamie' experience together. Don't worry, I'll not be neglecting my love for all things Nigella, but as I said the other day Jamie's 30 Minute Meals is organised in a manner that supports some necessary kitchen management learning required by Miss Mischief.

In under 45 minutes we had gather items, cooked and finished eating. Not bad, huh. We did it together, so a little of my speed and experience assisted with the timing. But I wanted to walk her through how to follow this different method of following a handful of recipes at the same time. I think when she comes to go solo with it she'll be just fine, although it will take her longer than 30 minutes. Anything less than two hours will be an improvement!

Our meal of mustard chicken, potato dauphinoise and lemony greens was absolutely delicious and was topped off with an affogato (basically, cherries, coffee, chocolate & icecream over crumbled shortbread biscuits). Everyone was more than happy to polish off their meals and go back for more potato.

A complete success I'd say. Now to choose another meal for next week!

If you want to try this meal, click here for the recipes and instructions.

A Good Day Looks Like:

2011-08-17T18:53:00.000+10:00

Image thanks to a google image search.

Sharing Grandparents & Special Friends Day with my son and my Dad (before heading back to the class I was meant to be in).
Reading stories to teary little girls whose special visitors didn't arrive or came later than they were expecting.
Teaching my son's class for an afternoon of 'rap' poetry.
An assignment and a test completed with a reasonable amount of confidence...kind of.
Steak with creamy mushroom & white wine sauce for dinner.

Monday, Menus and Mayhem

2011-08-15T22:55:00.000+10:00

The week ahead is one I'm almost inclined to just set aside as too much and too busy. Mr Busy has two excursions. Miss Mischief was on one today. We've Grandparents Day and the annual book fair, where Mr Busy begs me to buy books and I try not to acquiesce!

On top of all that Mr Busy's teacher told me a woeful story of my poor son accidentally spilling blue paint all over the carpeted floor in his classroom. And of the pitiful lack of energy the poor boy exhibited in helping to clean it up. Apparently it took a good hour and they worked well into lunch. That poor man....and my poor boy. It was no fault of either one. Just one of those things.

And we eat. Miss Sunshine got the ball rolling with honey soy chicken & vegies, tonight. Then we've all manner of things, like an out-of-the-freezer meal, the steak we didn't get to last week (it's still in the freezer), pasta....and something new and exciting. I bought "Jamie's 30 Minute Meals", hoping to teach Miss Mischief some cooking and kitchen management skills. I figure if she takes double the time that it takes me to cook, than an hour in the kitchen is an improvement on her current two-hour dinner sessions. She's picked her menu and we'll be experimenting on Friday, when I have time to work through it with her.

What I like about this particular book is that it is organised so that you cook an entire meal. Rather than each recipe and its method being set out individually, the instructions are for what needs to be done next of the three or so recipes so that everything ends up on the table within half an hour. Ingenious. And hopefully very helpful for Miss Mischief.

In the meantime, I've submitted an assignment and have an online quiz to do tomorrow night. And then it will be full steam ahead with another assignment and study for a second online quiz. I think I prefer writing assignments. This studying for a quiz thing is not my prefered method of assessment.

A Trip to Ikea

2011-08-14T06:41:00.028+10:00

It's been a long time since we have found ourselves in Ikea. But storage needs got the better of us and so off we went. Along the way we stopped at a few bathroom showrooms, since our ensuite is scheduled for repair and refurbishment, due to water damage, in the next month.

Mr Busy needed storage for 'stuff'....you know what boys consider precious...cars, lego, screws, bits of paper. I don't know, his room is just full of 'stuff'. We realised the thing we wanted was too long for the car with us inside it as well, so Dh will have to take his work van in one day to pick it up.

I also needed more bookshelf space. Not for my beloved fiction this time, but for my Uni books. After only purchasing two semester's worth of books we can see how much space I am going to need by the end of six more semesters! The unit we chose will fit cosily in the space, and I have some cute round, white baskets for containing my 'stuff'. I can't wait to get it put together and into use.

Despite all that fun, I must say I found shopping with three adult-sized children quite a challenge to my need for a large personal space. Especially with all the other people milling about! In any case we are now a part of the Ikea family.

Of Grand Things

2011-08-13T06:36:00.000+10:00

Our upper primary classes adventured off yesterday morning for a trip to the city. It was a culmination of an education program we'd participated in with the Victorian Opera. But really, it was so much more. Every time I head into the city I feel like I walk around with my awed jaw on the ground ~ Melbourne is such a beautiful, amazing place (though I'm always glad to head home to the bush at the end of the trip!). Before making our way to visit the Opera we stopped and had morning tea outside the museum, which incidentally is behind the Melbourne Exhibition Building (as oppossed to the Exhibition Centre, otherwise known as Jeff's Shed). This building and surrounding garden epitomises Melbourne ~ stunning, beautiful archetiture and beautiful, lush gardens....even in winter when the trees are all bare. So above (thanks to Google Images) is the view I took in as we ate ~ all 59 of us.

And then we went to see the strings, woodwind and operatic voices put all the work together in a short taste of Hansel & Gretel. It was beautiful, amazing. It made me wonder what programs the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has. Once upon a long time ago I believe they used to do performances for free here and there throughout summer.

I came home tired....all that bus noise with 51 exuberant children will do that. But it was a magnificent day. And best of all, I shared it with Mr Busy. Not that he was always close by, but it was still rather special. As was seeing the school I did placement at, during our morning tea stop!

My final 'grand thing' ~ I think I've finished my society & environment assignment, with just a little polishing remaining. YAY!

Messed Up Menu Plans

2011-08-09T06:31:00.000+10:00

I intended to post yesterday, really I did. It seems like quite some time since I've posted a proper menu plan and on a Monday. We're eating, I promise you. I have the kind of children who just don't let you get away without feeding them because in their words "it's illegal not to feed your kids, Mum". No one ever said how often you had to feed them!!

Tonight I have an online short-answer test worth 30% of my semester's mark for my Arts subject. I'm quietly panicking. I'm as prepared as I can be, but this test seems to be not so much about what I know, but about what reference I can use to support it. And that makes me cross. I'm not at Uni to learn how to reference, I'm there to learn the stuff. So I've spent days, it seems, writing down references for all manner of things in relation to the assessment criteria. That's a bit of a 'moment' for this pre-service teacher ~ the assessment needs to make sense to me and the student!

Thankfully in the flurry of books, lecture notes and readings saved onto my computer, I've had wonderful children who have pretty much left me to my insanity and cooked for me. I did warn them yesterday that "today and tomorrow I'm off-limits". I am so blessed to have such amazing kids.

Throughout this week we'll be eating things like baked chicken pieces, chicken stir fry, steak/sausages, the mandatory Thursday night pasta, Nigella's quick chilli with corn chip/cheese stacks....see, we're eating well. I've just not been posting about it. And don't get excited about us having steak....we have a freezer full of beef we got at under $10/kg, otherwise we'd not be eating it!

I can't wait until this test is over. In the midst of it though, I've managed to get my head around 'analysing' a history-based excursion. Something good has come out of it all.

Being a Real Student

2011-08-05T18:15:00.001+10:00

I do all my studying in a comfy lounge chair with my feet up on the coffee table, a cuppa on another table at my elbow and my computer on my lap. None of that dashing about some enormously overwhelming campus from lectures to tutes, nor fitting in to timetables set by those who must juggle and balance the needs of all those requiring spaces. And generally I like my version of University. There is the rare moment when I ponder how much easier some things would be if I were able to engage in a real-time, live discussion in a regular tute group. But this works better for me, much of the time, though I often don't feel like a 'real' student.

Tomorrow I'm going to take the opportunity to meet with some lecturers and other Victorian based students in a real-time, live, face-to-face way. These things don't happen often, so I take the opportunities when I can. I am hoping that some of the students' names will be familiar to me now, in a way they weren't when we attended a Melbourne-based Orientation day at the beginning of the year. And tomorrow we'll get to have some vital input into some assignment work.

And then I'm going straight to an evening at the movies with some other ladies from church. Busy? Yes. Worthwhile? Definitely!!

I'm looking forward to an afternoon nap on Sunday.

Seasonally Confused

2011-08-04T16:39:00.000+10:00

Photo from Google Images

I have jonquils flowering in my front garden. In winter. In the part of winter that is usually the very coldest, we've had spring-like days this week, and today I finally noticed this splash of colour in the front corner of the yard.

Astounding.

I need to remember all that sunshiny happiness happening in my front yard while I'm descending into my version of....well....unpleasantness. Shopping. I've spent much of today feeling quite tense and exhausted. Not a good way to start the weekly shopping!

Would You?

2011-07-30T07:40:00.000+10:00

I was in Aldi the other night, ignorantly minding my own business. That's what I do when I'm grocery shopping. I do it at the end of the day and I just kind of go into my own brain and, whilst I know other people are around, I tend to ignore the fact that they are there. Getting the shopping done does me in without crowd-watching or sticky-nosing into other people's trollies.

So I had all my shopping on that conveyer belt thing at the cash register and was waiting my turn behind the person being served when this man comes along behind me saying "excuse me can I get through". Now people do this in Aldi, if they've nothing to buy. There is no other way out and if you're not buying anything you don't want to wait. I get that. I let them through. This guy, however, had two items in his hand. So as I am authomatically moving my trolley thinking he was someone without anything to buy, I noticed he has two things in his hands. And as I notice he says "Oh, I've only got two things so can I just squeeze in here?".

I was stunned. What I wanted to say was "NO! You may not, you rude, arrogant man. What makes you think your time is more valuable than mine?". What really happened was that I let him through because by the time I'd noticed he needed to pay for something I'd already let him past me. And I was cross because I felt like he had put me in a position where I would have appeared to be the rude one if I'd said no.

So I have two questions:
1. Would you have pushed past two other people because you only had two items to put through, or would you have waited your turn like everyone else was doing?
2. Would you have let him through.....or not?

The Secret Life of Pillows

2011-07-28T16:19:00.000+10:00

Either I've been watching too much Cosby Show or I have a weird sense of humour all by myself.

This morning when I went to wake the children for school Miss Sunshine and Mr Busy both had me laughing. Miss Sunshine had two pillow sitting on her head, with her face smooshed into the mattress. In the midst of waking her I insisted she needed to get out from under the pillows which seemed to be holding her down. "It's a hold-up" she said. She has a funny sense of humour too. Meanwhile, Mr Busy's pillow had dropped off the bed when he was waking. There I am, between two bedrooms....one child with pillows holding her down, one with pillows running away.

Miss Sunshine came out after having dressed rather quickly. "Had to get away from those pillows," she commented.

Yep. Too my Cosby Show

Just Quickly

2011-07-26T18:35:00.000+10:00

Sorry I've been so absent. As I suspected, I needed that deep breath before diving in to the term. I'm still struggling to overcome feeling a tiny bit overwhelmed at the time required for Uni this semester. Everything just seems to require more than reading and thinking....which is the kind of learning I seem to prefer. The hands-on stuff has always been a little more challenging to me and I am being reminded of that at the moment. Perhaps it's just the different formats some units are taking. In any case, my brain is on the settling-in overload....as opposed to the overload associated with writing four assignments at once!

So....I'm off to papier mache a flower mask. In front of the TV. Surely there must be an upside to all that goey, disgusting mess. I suspect my learning through art is going to be to get comfortable with being icky. And I'm not. Comfortable, that is. I hated finger painting as a preschooler (yes, I do remember finger painting incidents as a 4yo!) so you can imagine that 36 years of being uncomfortable with goo is going to be quite a hurdle!

Taking a Deep Breath.....

2011-07-22T22:46:00.000+10:00

....before beginning another term.

Today has been a lovely deep breath. I took my day off today, so the kids have had their last morning of watching MacGyver and The Brady Bunch. We've had our last sleep in and slow start. We've had our last 'interesting' (meaning, not plain old sandwiches) lunch.

We had one of Mr Busy's friends over, with his Mum this afternoon. The boys have been wanting to have a play but this family is new to the school and rightly feel a little concerned about sending their precious young man off to someone's home whom they do not know. We experienced the same thing when we arrived at Our School. So us Mum's got to chat and get to know one another. The boys had their play. And I think we both feel more comfortable sharing our precious children with one another.

Incidentally this friend of Mr Busy's is a lovely, gentle-hearted young man with the kindest, most innocent face and the brightest blue eyes. It has taken Mr Busy all of his 11 years to find a second boy to be so insistent about organising a play with. He has chosen a wonderful friend.

And so the term is about to begin with all its activity, action and excitement. My how I have appreciated some time to slow down in between!

Celebrating the Non-Stereotypical

2011-07-20T16:51:00.000+10:00

As I have headed back to work this week, and as the children have tagged along with me....As I have ramped back up to the hours of full-time study and close to full-time work... I am incredibly grateful for the amazing children I have the privilege of calling mine.

They are doing a great job of breaking through the stereotypes so often pinned upon teens and tweens. That's not to say we don't have door-slamming and foot-stomping around the place. That's not to say we don't have eyes being rolled at us or being told we are being unreasonable because someone didn't manage to convince us to their way of thinking. But you know something special is going on when Mr Busy can come and ask for a hot chocolate at 'recess' time, receive the answer "no" and still give his Mum a kiss before he trots off to find something else to do. Secretly I think he knew the answer would be no, but figured it was worth a try anyway.

I am conscious of how gentle they are on us, considering the mischief teens can get themselves into and today I'm celebrating and appreciating them.

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 18 July

2011-07-18T19:36:00.000+10:00

We're back to almost normal. The kids have another week off school....but the poor things have to come along with me. So we are at school. Later than normal in the morning, allowing for some sleeping in. Less structure for the day is involved because noone rings a bell. And there is lots of time to just catch up with fellow staff, many of whom I haven't seen for four weeks because of placement. The kids are doing lots of playing and watching DVD's with other 'staff' kids. Ahhh, the blessing of other kids in the same school-on-the-holidays boat!

Before I go and watch a little bit of TV with a textbook on my lap, here is my menu for the week:

Monday: Chinese corn soup, yum cha morsels

Tuesday: Recurrant beef, vegies
Wednesday: Morroccan chicken, vegies
Thursday: Nigella's quick chilli with corn chip/cheese stacks
Friday: Beef curry, rice
Saturday: Chicken noodle soup
Sunday: hmmm..will ponder further!

2011-07-15T14:47:00.000+10:00

This is a photo I took when we were out and about visiting the snow last weekend. The little town of Woods Point is entirely as quaint as this now disused petrol station. The school and the police station shared the same yard. There was no one about. We know they must have all been in the Pub, due to the amount of noise and carry-on coming from in there!

The only living thing about to greet us at all was a dog that barked its way around town with us!

In Which I Fight Dust and Clogged Vacuums

2011-07-13T09:26:00.001+10:00

I thought it must be time to post, because surely you're all wondering where I'd gotten to.

I could answer with the fact that I've been up to my eyeballs in study. Well...not that bad. The first week is all about introducing yourself all over the place. But there was this one lecture of 55 minutes that wouldn't stream and required the downloading of another software program so I could download and listen to it. Grrrr. I'm sure I wasted an hour doing that before I listened to the lecture for another hour.

I could answer with the fact that I took the kids rollerskating the other day with some other kids in Miss Sunshine's class...plus a few requisite siblings. They had a ball. I got tired of yelling over the loud music in order to be heard. Miss Mischief had the best time of all. She's a tenacious child who taught herself to skate on $4 roller blades from an Op Shop and skated around the table on the deck outside. It's not that big...but she learnt to skate pretty well.

What I'm really going to answer with is this: I have been dusting. Not just the quick flick of a Flylady feather duster. Nooooo....when you don't do housework for a few months because you're too busy working and studying the dust gets stuck. Did you know that? Well, take it from me, it does. So I've had to mix some water and vinegar and grab one of those cloth nappies I keep for such occasions and I have waged war on every dusty surface in my house. Nearly. I have one area left to go. In the process of all that dusting, of course, comes vacuuming to get rid of the dust on the floor as well. My vacuum has a particularly bad design flaw, which means the dust clogs up in a particular spot just near where the pipe attaches to the machine itself. Did you know that kiddy chopsticks (the ones joined together at the top) and a metal skewer were actually invented for the purposes of unclogging vacuum cleaners? No? Well, I'm sure they were, because they work pretty well for such a task.

And now I'm paranoid about that amount of dust accumulating on those pristinely shining surfaces. My feather duster has been out more this week than it has all year. A task I believe the children will need to become familiar with once school returns as well.

Tomorrow, that last bit of dusting will be complete. For now.

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 11 July

2011-07-11T08:09:00.000+10:00

My last days before Uni starts this morning have been perfect. An afternoon with a friend. A Sunday relaxing at home. A Saturday afternoon excursion to see some snow. We headed out through Warburton for an afternoon drive and found enough snow for the kids to play in at a little place called Matlock. There's a public toilet and eating shelter there. And snow. That's it! We had afternoon tea. The kids played. And we had dinner at a little pub on the way home. Great meals for very reasonable prices. It didn't cost all that much more than a take-away meal!

After all that enjoyment and toe-pinching cold it's back to the realities of the week. For me, that means Uni will be available within the next 10 minutes and the kids will be pestering for things like computer and playstation time. For me...that might mean they should be tidying up the messes they call bedrooms. I also need to try and get all the dusting and vacuuming finished and the mopping done between studying and spending time with the kids. All of a sudden my week feels....full. And rushed. A normal week, or course, also includes lots of yummy meals.

Monday: Crockpot pot roast, vegies
Tuesday: Rissoles, vegies
Wednesday: Chicken wraps
Thursday: African Drumsticks, vegies
Friday: Chinese corn soup, yum cha morsels
Saturday: Roast chicken, vegies
Sunday: Gnocchi with roasted tomato sauce

As you can see, someone else has posted Nigella's African Drumstick recipe so now you can all have a go at it too. I have to say, it's one of my favourite ways to have chicken. Then again, I have lots of favourite ways!!

A Girl-ish Kind of Day

2011-07-07T16:17:00.000+10:00

The 'boys' in our house headed into the city today to enjoy a bit of blokey time around cars. Us girls are not so into such things. Instead, my Mum came down from the country to spend the better part of the day with us. So we chatted and had lunch, and chatted....and chatted. And then we took her back to the train station. And it was nice and quiet and relaxed all day. None of the boyish energy that is generated around our house most of the time. It's amazing how much quieter it is without Mr Busy! He's so fast. And loud. And always running...even when he says he's walking.

Miss Mischief has taken over my kitchen to make what is basically an ANZAC biscuit recipe as a slice. The recipe is posted here. After having a luscious pumpkin and sweet potato soup for lunch we'll be feeling a little spoiled for the day I suspect.

Meanwhile, I have been doing some really intensive dusting, fighting to unclog the vacuum. It does this regularly because of a poor design feature. And we've been watching the winter storms pass by our windows whilst we have remained inside enjoying the warmth of a good heater! As I dusted my thimble collection I was reminded how this time last year we had just returned from visiting the Denver Zoo and the Museum. 'Tomorrow' we visited the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Such a beautiful and perfect summer we enjoyed!!!

Yesterday's Excitement

2011-07-06T09:32:00.000+10:00

We had quite a bit of excitement around here yesterday, considering it was a 'boring' day at home. Again!

We were sitting peacefully watching the last few episodes of the last season of Little House on the Prairie when it sounded like a huge wind hit the house and then it shook. And shook. And shook some more. For about 40 seconds Not violently. Just enough for us to pause the DVD and go "wow....feel that!". Melbourne is not known for having earthquakes so it's quite exciting when they happen. This was only a baby at about 4 on the Richter scale. I'm sure the ones I felt as a kid in PNG were stronger....and often longer. We got another tiny one after dinner as well. It always sounds like a truck is barrelling through the house, which of course there never is. Thankfully.

In the afternoon the excitement was mine alone and the kids were left pondering again if their mother has a few screws loose. I peered out the laundry window with all the wind and rain that was flying about and saw the poor little lemon tree out there in it all. What do you know, that thing is full of little yellow orbs just waiting for us to find things to do with them. Miss Sunshine wanted to run right out and pick them all. Firstly it was pelting with rain so no one was going out there. And secondly I had to explain that you only pick as you need, otherwise the lemons go off sitting on the bench or in the fridge.

Recipe: Beef Casserole

2011-07-05T09:51:00.000+10:00

I wish I'd thought to take a photo before we ate last night. Whilst I linked my menu, yesterday, to a recipe from Jamie Oliver, I felt a little overwhelmed at the list of ingredients. Oh I know...you can add in and take out all manner of vegetables for things like this. But it just wasn't simple enough. The casserole I ended up making was a tried and true recipe that I've tweaked a little over time. The organic beef we bought off our friends a few weeks back is absolutely divine. I'm not sure yet, if it possible to make it turn out awfully. Time will tell with the roasts, I imagine!

Beef Casserole

500g beef, diced into 1.5cm cubes

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced

5 potatoes, peeled & chopped into large chunks

3 carrots, peeled and chopped into thick slices

1/4 cup plain flour

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons mixed herbs

a few splashes of red wine (optional)

a splash of worcestershire sauce

2 cups beef stock (or water and stock powder)

Combine the flour, paprika, mixed herbs and a little salt and pepper to taste, in a plastic bag. Add the beef cubes and shake until the beef is coated.
Heat a pan with some olive oil; add the beef and brown on all sides.
Add the onions and garlic to the beef and stir about until the onions are transparent and softened slightly.
Add in the potatoes and carrots and toss, before adding a little red wine. This will begin to thicken; add the beef stock and worcestershire sauce.
Put the lid on and place in a preheated oven (180C/350F) and cook for about an hour.
Serve with rice or pasta.

Of course, you could brown the meat and then add everything to the pot of a slow cooker and cook all day on low. I wasn't that organised. You could also add vegetables like sweet potato and pumpkin...any root vegetables you like. Last night I added a zucchini that I had cut down the middle and then sliced into semi-circle shapes about 15 minutes before serving.

None of our children are fans of casseroles, as such, but we all enjoyed this one immensely.

The New Toy

2011-07-04T15:41:00.000+10:00

This is a picture of my new toy. I say 'my'. Really, Dh's accountant told him he had to spend some money before the end of the financial year. So really, it probably belongs to 'the business'. I don't know how it all works and quite frankly I don't care. Because right now I'm tapping away on a new laptop replete with academic software. I have Publisher on a laptop...finally! Woohoo!

I have yet to move all my Uni and work files over from the old laptop, but you know, these things can't be done all in one day. My one disappointment? No numeric keypad to the right of the alphabetic keypad. But you can't have everything right? I have Publisher! Oh, wait. I said that already, didn't I? It's one of those things ~ you don't realise how much you use something until it's not right at your fingertips.

So...my Uni semester starts in two weeks and by then I will have this baby all ready with all my favourite files and bookmarks transferred over.

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 4 July

2011-07-04T10:17:00.000+10:00

Apart from this week's menu plan I have some very exciting blogging foodie news. Well....it was exciting for me. Once upon a very long time ago....say, 10-15 years....there was a site called 'Steph's Country Kitchen Goodness'. It was absolutely filled to the brim with really good, tasty recipes. They weren't fussy, but they were tried and tested by a family and our family ate often from Steph's vast repertoire. One day her site just disappeared. You can still access some of it here at the Way Back Machine archive site. Today, however, I randomly decided to google the original site name and discovered that Steph's Country Kitchen is back in blog form. Oh happy day!

All of that was in aid of the fact that I needed some inspiration for my own menu plan today....and wondered if I could dig up Steph's seasonal menu plans, because they always inspired me all those years ago. That...and my freezer is full of beautiful organic beef and I need some help with what to do with it all! I need some room in my freezer for other things. Like bread. And chicken, occasionally. I'm also planning another trip to Costco with my brother and his wife at the end of my school holidays, so some of that beef needs eating.

Monday: Beef Casserole, rice
Tuesday: Frittata, salad, baked potato
Wednesday: Beef stir fry, rice
Thursday: Honey & lemon chicken, vegies
Friday: Beef Shepherd's Pie, vegies
Saturday: Tomato soup, english muffin pizzas
Sunday: Crockpot pot roast, vegies

We'll be all beefed out by the end of this week!

This Time Last Year

2011-07-03T07:48:00.001+10:00

View from the top of Pikes Peak, looking out over Kansas

On this day last year, we were enjoying a beautifully perfect Colorado Springs (USA) summer. Half way through the torture of shopping, yesterday, I realised that on the 2nd of July last year we had spent 7 hours at Castle Rock....shopping. And it had been easy. I commented, yesterday, that I would rather shop at Costco, and what do you know, within an hour and a bit that's where we were.

Anyway, on the 3rd of July last year we were driving up Pikes Peak. It is one of the 14,000 footers in the US. Each morning, while we were in The Springs, I would open the back door blinds at my BIL's house and take in the view of the magnificent Rocky Mountains...and Pikes Peak. Apparently you can't get that close and not drive up, so we did. My BIL drove. A good thing, since Dh was a bit freaked out once we got past the tree line near the top. We were told to drink water as we drove, to help avoid altitude sickness. Alas, we were still not used to being at 6,500ft, let alone 14,000ft! We reached the top, where there is a visitor centre ~ as large as any I've seen. Truly American sizing! Miss Mischief and I struggled with the lack of oxygen the most. Dizziness and queasy stomachs, however, did not stop me from buying a thimble from the top of that amazing mountain.

The thing that has amazed me, as I have spent the last week wandering through beautiful memories of that amazing holiday, is that the weather here in Melbourne has been the winter match for those oh-so perfect summer days. It has been sunny and not too cold. As if to encourage us to remember. And remember we have. Days in Disneyland and Universal Studies. Castle Rock. Pikes Peak. Fourth of July in Denver to see the fireworks....and one of the worst storms to hit Denver on the 4th of July in a long time. Oh those black, black clouds! I've never seen anything like it! A few days camping at Estes Park, just north of Denver, as well as some must-see tourist stops around The Springs. And driving for ourselves....on the wrong side of the road on the I25 at 75mph...well over our customary 100kph!!!! *sigh* It was a magnificent once-in-a-lifetime holiday.

Saturday

2011-07-02T06:24:00.000+10:00

We celebrated last night, with one of my brothers and his little family. End of term, great reports for the four students of the house and just happy for a change of pace to be upon us. My SIL is also a teacher so she was more than happy to celebrate with us! I cooked dinner, they brought dessert and we were entertained by the going's-on of little people at the dinner table again.

I'm told my youngest niece has declared me 'favourite aunt'. How gorgeously special is that?!

Now that the hullaballoo has settled, however, perhaps some house-cleaning and baking might have to be the focus. And since we're meant to have some sunshine here and there again today, perhaps some rose-pruning might not go astray either. We were overseas this time last year, enjoying a Colorado Springs summer...so the pruning never got done. Poor roses.

The End

2011-07-01T06:39:00.000+10:00

Today marks the end. Of professional experience. Of Term 2. Of my Uni semester...once and for all.

I have one lesson to teach today ~ a consolidation of a maths lesson I taught on Wednesday. I'm really looking forward to it. I think it will be fun. And 45 minutes later school will be over and there are plans to relax before heading off for the holidays....and for me, to pick up my own children who finish an hour later. You've always wondered why private schools seem to get more holidays? We actually have slightly longer days and finish the term at normal time. It all ends up even at the end.

I'm looking forward to the school holidays this term. Not a scrap of study to be done. Just lots of time to spend with friends and family. Lots of time to ponder some cooking adventures and then to put those thoughts into practice. Time to read. Time to visit Costco again. Time to just be.

And time to make a list of all the things I want and need to do during Work Break in two weeks' time!

On a completely different note, I just googled something and discovered that today is Dorothea Makellar's 126th birthday (it came up as the header on google). Incidentally last night I was in Big W and couldn't resist buying a beautiful hardcover copy of 'My Country'. We all adore the poem. My Busy particularly, as he studied it in Year 3. I also couldn't resist "There Was an Old Man Who Swallowed a Chook". With truly Aussie humour, it really appealed to me. I'm hoping to get a chance to read it to the P-2's today. I know the Prep's at my school will love it. I believe this is called building up my 'professional library'!

Loving It

2011-06-29T17:58:00.001+10:00

I'm loving lots of things today.

Firstly, I'm loving that my daughters can cook for themselves and the family....I'm off to enjoy a dinner out with the staff from my placement school tonight and I don't have to cook for everyone else first.

Secondly, I'm loving the peace and quiet of working on lesson plans and paying bills while noone is home. Pure gold!

Thirdly, I'm loving teaching. Every lesson that I've taught has gone well, even when technology has mucked us up. Today's maths lesson went brilliantly and the supervising teacher was full of praise. I just want to get my degree out of the way and get on with it!

Lastly, the sunshine. How beautiful to sit outside on yard duty with the four children who weren't swimming and soak in the warmth of the winter sun. Ahhhh....there are some benefits to small schools!

What are you grateful for today?

In the Deep End

2011-06-28T07:59:00.000+10:00

This week I'm spending my time in the Prep-2 classroom. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end. Well, perhaps that was just all the flurry of "this is what we're doing this week and you can....." that came at me first thing! Last week was definitely a walk in the park, in comparison.

The colleague teacher I'm with now has had four student teachers in the last year so she knows what she's doing, even if I'm unsure. Today I'll do some follow up work with a reading group, talking about nouns, and teach an art lesson focusing on cutting skills....because little people don't always 'just know'. I also need to get my head around an integrated gardening/outer space lesson about astronauts and healthy food. ARGH! While most of the class is off at swimming I will get a little bit of time to do some more thinking about that, and hopefully come up with a solid plan.

As much as I'm loving what I'm doing, I can't wait til Friday which brings the end of the term.

Week's End Catch Up

2011-06-26T15:49:00.000+10:00

The last part of the week has wizzed past in somewhat of a blur. There have been lessons, enthusiastic children...all the busyness of a small school. I got to Thursday and commented to Dh that the lady who is replacing me in my 'real' job was having my day off. The Principal where I'm doing my placement was very complimentary of me and the lesson he finally got to supervise. It's such a shame professional opinion does not shorten the length of my degree! Whilst loving the opportunities and input I am experiencing I am missing my own school immensely. So much so that I popped in on Friday to catch up with a couple of staff I normally work with. And it was good to hear how 'my' boys are going and hear what's happened whilst I've been away.

We spent yesterday with some good friends, whilst the men cut and split wood. It was nice to just sit and enjoy the company of those friends. Today it's nice to spend the day quietly at home. It's the closest thing to quietness I expect to get between now and the first Thursday of the next school term!

We're having a roast chicken dinner tonight. Something a little bit 'special' but quite simple to end our weekend before heading into the frenetic pace of a Prep-Yr2 class next week.

Technology or Bust

2011-06-22T16:59:00.000+10:00

I taught my first official lesson today. Seven Yr 3's and a spare Yr 5 student who only joined the class on Monday. It was supposed to be a Mathletics lesson. It ended up being a lesson on creating graphs in Excel. It seemed nothing was meant to go to plan. The laptop connected to the whiteboard had frozen, so the supervising teacher fixed that while I introduced the lesson. The computer lab ended up being used by the other class....so we got out the laptops (oh my goodness...they HAD laptops!!!!). The Mathletics site wouldn't work...so we used Excel to create graphs instead.

Excel was the supervising teacher's idea, and I had some back up just-in-case-there's-a-naughty-child work so we used the data from the worksheet to create our graphs. Regardless of the flexibility required, the lesson ojectives were achieved so all was well. I am so glad the supervising teacher was there though!! When you're in an unfamiliar school and don't know what is available to you, it's a little more challenging to build that flexibility in.

Despite it all I didn't feel flustered or stressed and the kids were really good. Patient, helpful. Such a blessing to work with such lovely kids. And I've learned my lesson: When planning to use technology, have a plan B.

Tomorrow's poetry/rap lesson is not reliant on computer access or reliability. Should be a piece of cake, don't you think? I hope so. I'm going to miss my day off!

Good News

2011-06-21T19:02:00.000+10:00

I received lots of exciting bits and pieces tonight when I got home. My "Diary of a Womat" and "Diary of a Baby Wombat" books by Jackie French arrived. As did some of my textbooks. I also received my exam results and have passed well. So I know I've passed that subject. When Miss Sunshine came home yesterday upset about one her own exam results I began to wonder if I might've been off-track too. But no. All is well.

As well as all that good news I've had another great day. I spent some time with a Yr3 boy to try and get him up to speed on a project assignment that he'd missed some time on at school. He's a lovely kid...not quick to get started on his work, but quite willing to get into it with a little bit of encouragement. Perhaps he's one of those kinds of people that are overwhelmed by the "blank page". In any case, I enjoyed working with him. I also got to 'umpire' a half-court game of basketball for the Yr 3/4's. They were great at sharing around who would take a ball-up or a throw-in. The winners didn't gloat and the losers didn't sook. They're beautiful.

Tomorrow I teach my first lesson. The Yr 3's and Mathletics. I think it's very amusing that a small group constitutes a whole year level at this school. On Thursday I think the plan is for me to teach a lesson for the whole class. So I'm off to write a lesson plan.

Monday Menu Planning: Week beginning 20 June

2011-06-20T22:32:00.000+10:00

I've made it through my first day of professional placement. It was fairly easy, compared to my normal work! Today, in any case. I was allowed to just observe, assist a few kids here and there and familiarise myself the the students in the class. I am utterly amazed at the cohesian of a group of kids ranging from Yr 3 to Yr 6, but they appear to operate as a whole group, as well as in year level groups. Three of the kids are siblings, and seem to manage being in class together just fine. I would have been horrified to have shared a class with one of my two brothers! I sure didn't want him in my space!

I've got two lessons for small groups to plan and then teach so far this week...and possibly a third. I know it can be the bain of a teacher's life, but I really quite enjoy this aspect of planning. I'm sure over time it becomes a much more streamlined and succinct process. My plans are the comprehensive version right now. As it should be for this point in my education.

The kids are spending lots of time with Dh over the next two weeks, as they will take a school bus to his office. Tonight I was able to come home and start dinner with my own thoughts for company. I need those little moments of quiet every now and then.

So for meals this week....
Monday: Chicken teriyaki, rice (and leftovers for lunch)
Tuesday: Sweetcorn soup and yum cha bits
Wednesday: Beef stir fry, rice
Thursday: Creamy pasta (bacon & mushrooms)
Friday: Honey mustard chicken, vegies
Saturday: Roast chicken, vegies
Sunday: Tacos

The school I'm at is having a mid-winter German-inspired festival on Friday evening. I believe it begins at 5pm, and I'm hoping for two things. Firstly, that I'll not be required. Secondly, if I am, that it will end before I need to leave for Book Club. It does feel a little bit unusual to invest myself in a community that is not my own, and one I may not ever step foot in again after my rounds are over. I miss my own school terribly. I miss seeing my children throughout the day, as that has been an incredibly special part of my work life. And I miss seeing all the precious little people and colleagues (who are friends) I have come to hold quite an affection for over the years we have been at the school. I am, however, enjoying the opportunity to see how another school does 'education'. It is a rare opportunity not usually afforded eduation support workers, so I am enthusiastic about taking advantage of the fact that this is part of the requirements for my study.

Fashion Update

2011-06-17T22:39:00.000+10:00

Just so you know, I'm using the term 'fashion' very loosely here! I buy what appeals to me if it feels comfortable and looks OK. High fashion has never been my thing. I scheduled this morning's post yesterday, before I went shopping last night....so by this morning I had everything I needed in order to wear one of my new skirts to work today.

I wore the middle skirt from today's earlier post with my new leggings and those boots I mentioned. Man are those boots comfortable! My colleague & friend was spot on with her advice about leggings being nice and warm. Thanks to her wisdom I also have tights ready for flat shoes with more openness around the ankle.

Today I was warm and comfortable all day long. I work in all four the classrooms I'm allocated to, on a Friday. To be able to work in a Lower Primary room, up and down and on the floor in a comfortable skirt is fantastic. I'm all set for my first day of placement next week. My only dilemma will be to make a choice about what to wear!

Meanwhile, I think maybe that pink flowered, sparkley skirt might be the thing for an afternoon tea with some women from church. I have a couple of new pink tops. How did that happen, that I added more pink to my wardrobe??!

Teacherly Fashion?

2011-06-17T06:00:00.054+10:00

I went for a teensy bit of Op Shopping therapy at lunch time today. The Op Shops in Our Town are not well known for being the hiders of gems...but today I found a few. I start teaching rounds on Monday and after going through my wardrobe this morning to throw things out, I decided I needed to add a few things IN. Those who know me know how much I hate shopping. Indeed my shopping enjoyment at the moment is limited to trips to Costco. Sad, but true. So to drag myself out of the house with the intention of clothes shopping....well that's a torture best endured alone!
I was successful today, without too much pain. There were three skirts that fit, are comfortable and I think will be fine for any floor time that happens in a Prep classroom....so perfect for any school situation, really!

Here is the first one, with thanks to Penny for being my model. A black skirt with a netting kind of overlay that has a kerchief style hemline. I have a couple of skirts with this hemline and I love them.

This skirt is similar, with less flair in the skirt and with a heavier overlay. I think both will work well with heavy tights or leggings underneath for warmth, and boots.

This skirt was a very special find, for just $8! Flaired, layered, sequined and not the black that comes out through winter in Melbourne. I was after something with colour...I got sparkle too.

And for boots, Williams has a sale on right now. I'm going to be checking out these boots, as I think they'll suit a slightly wide calf. They're also flat and fairly classic in style. They're not leather, but at this point I'll take whatever works.

I'm so glad that I was able to find these skirts so quickly and so painlessly. My wardrobe is looking old and tired so a little new life is a little bit exciting. Whilst I'm looking at boots, I might just have a look at one or two tops as well. I enjoy a bit of colour in winter. The Melbourne winter uniform of black is a little gloomy after a few months of dull grey skies.

And the Baking Continues

2011-06-16T08:12:00.000+10:00

My baking activity continues. Strange really, because it's not so much that I enjoy baking. It's always been something that is done out of necessity to feed my little crowd rather than love of the activity itself. I suppose we all have our own motivations, don't we.

So on Tuesday night I made a double batch of those chocolate chip biscuits you see, this time on the bottom of the pile. Surprisingly I've not posted recipes for either of these biscuits, which make the most frequent appearances in our home. They are my easy go-to recipes. The chocolate ones are already a big recipe so that makes it easy to make a mountain of them. We like mountains of biscuits....they last longer than a day. Or a bought packet. And there's nothing like homemade biscuits that remind children that Mum does love them....even if they're beside a boring jam sandwich in the lunch box.

At the risk of sharing a prized secret, I'm posting the recipe for the chocolate chip bikkies. The recipe came to me thanks to the youngest child in our Pastor's family. I don't think he realised this was meant to be a family secret and so he happily handed the recipe over when I asked him for it, some 20+ years ago. I suppose it won't be any kind of secret anymore! His mother got it when she was on a student exchanged in the US as a teen. I've made this recipe so many times over so many years I don't even get the recipe book out anymore. It is also easily doubled and turns out well without any adjustments to quantities. Oh, and you can freeze them too. You just sit them on the bench and let them come to room temperature and they'll be just like the day you cooked them. Yum.

Chocolate Chip Biscuits

125g butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cups self raising flour

1/2 packet of chocolate chips (about 125g)

Preheat oven to 180C/350F (160C fan forced).
Place the butter and sugars in a mixing bowl and beat until creamy.
Add the egg and mix until combined with sugar and butter.
Add the flour and chocolate chips. Start your mixer on slow or the flour will puff all over the place! Once the mixture has begun to combine, you can set the mixer a little faster until combined.
Line baking trays with baking paper and place rolled balls of dough in rows. Leave plenty of space for spreading as they cook. I have square trays that fit four rows of four quite nicely.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until just going golden.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for five minutes before attempting to transfer to a cake rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container....if they last that long!

Enjoy!

Armour

2011-06-14T21:22:00.000+10:00

I've been doing some reading...brushing up on the tools available to Christians in order to withstand the inevitable attacks from Satan. Ephesians 6 has a bit to say on issues of warfare and provides a great deal of perspective.

Firstly, verse12 reminds us that our struggles are not with 'flesh and blood'. In other words, it is not people with whom we battle. It may look like that on the surface, but as I mentioned last week, Satan uses people to do his work. His purpose is to make us so weary, wounded, distracted and introspective that we cannot be effective in any way...not in the work God gives us to do, and not in prayer. How often does he succeed in your life? I'm afraid he succeeds far too often for my liking. And just as I thought I'd managed to pray my way through all those things, over the past few weeks, he has attempted to sideline my focus again by dredging up old wounds. Wounds that have healed, but still come with memories. This is what sent me looking for Godly wisdom on the matter.

Putting on the full armour of God, as instructed in Ephesians 6:13 always sounded somewhat archaic. Armour conjours up all kinds of medievil images. However, the description in this passage comes with reasons for digging deeper. It is in putting on this armour, protecting ourselves, that we are able to stand firm against the attacks of the evil one. And don't we all want to be able to survive these challenges victoriously? I know I do.

So we start with the belt of truth. It struck me that this belt is something that surrounds us...all the way around. Every situation we face should be viewed through the lens of God's Truth. In doing so, I think it is possible to see things not just from our own navel-gazing point of view. Next comes the breastplace of righteousness. We need to be motivated by the desire to act in a morally upright manner. No matter what is going on around us. Then we need to have feet that are ready. The Gospel must be our motivator, but we need to be prepared to 'go' and 'do'. The shield of faith which extinguishes the firery arrows from Satan. We're not talking about them just being batted away, but being put out! Finally, there is the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. The sword being the Word of God.

Within this little passage we have instructions that tell us something about the behaviour we need to display, and the things we need to value. Putting on this armour is not about being able to protect ourselves in a passive way. It is about being actively able to do something about the battles we face. God gives us all the tools we need as well as the victory that is already ours.

Let's live victorious lives!

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

Ephesians 6:10-17

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 13 June

2011-06-13T11:01:00.000+10:00

Here we are. A beautiful sunny Monday where we get to hang out at home and potter about doing....whatever! It's nice to see the sun, although it contains very little in the way of warmth. It's still cheerier than dull gray clouds and drizzly rain. I have managed to spend some time baking in spits and spurts over the weekend. Much of it has travelled out the door with us to my brother's house, and to another friend's home. Still. It's nice to have the time and inclination to do it.

Miss Sunshine is all set to head off to Costco as a means of entertainment. I'm thinking that might be a school holiday activity. Our stocks of our favourite Costco items are gone, so it won't be a cheap trip. I think some time for a couple of salary cycles to work their way through might be a good plan.

Speaking of Costco, the one thing they don't sell that I would love to buy is American baking powder. The Aussie equivalent just doesn't work as well, but you'd only know that if you'd seen the other in action. A problem to solve at some point. Before my last container of Rumfords is empty!

So the menu plan this week ~ a short week ~ looks like this:

Monday: Roast beef, vegies
Tuesday: Ricotta fritters, vegies
Wednesday: Chicken & mushroom risotto
Thursday: Tomato & bacon pasta
Friday: Hamburgers
Saturday: Chicken parmigana
Sunday: not sure yet...but we'll be eating something!

Hmmmm...I wonder what book is next on the pile of things to read?

Recipe: Golden Sausage Casserole

2011-06-12T07:59:00.001+10:00

One of the teachers I work with wondered aloud, the other day, about what else she could possibly do with sausages. I was given a casserole recipe a long time ago. I enjoy it, but no one else in my family seems to care too much for it. Every now and then we come across this stalemate and I give in. However, someone else might very well enjoy the meal, so I'm sharing it.

Golden Sausage Casserole

500g sausages

1 onion, chopped or sliced

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons worcestershir sauce

1 tablespoon tomato sauce

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 cups boiling water

salt and pepper to taste

Boil th sausages, cool, and skin. Chop into 2cm chuncks and place in casserole dish with onion.
Mix dry ingredients, then add wet, except for water and mix into a paste.
Slowly add boiling water, stirring to ensure no lumps form.
Pour over sasuages and bake for an hour (180C/350F)

Varitions:

Add apple or mushroom. Omit worcestershire sauce and add 1 teaspoon curry powder.
Add vegetables to original recipe: beans, carrots, celery or parsnip.

The person from whom I received this recipe puts sliced green beans and matchstick carrots into the original recipe and cooks it for one and half hours.

Prohpetic Thursday?

2011-06-11T08:13:00.001+10:00

This image was taken last December as we prepared for summer holidays. It serves my purpose today, because the chocolate biscuits on the top of that pile are the ones I made on Thursday. I was forced to take a quiet day at home. Miss Sunshine woke up with an upset tummy, so I had her company for the day. I spent the morning working on some details for my professional experience placement and then decided to bake.

I had time!

I had no milk, so biscuits it was. And because Thursday night is grocery shopping time, I had only a small amount of butter left. Sadly there was only one batch possible. The kids were not complaining!!

So what do you think? Since we have a long weekend here now, do you think perhaps Thursday's single batch of bikkies might be prediction of what is possible? I'd like to think so. Sometime, over the next three days!

---ooooo---

In the meantime, my brother moved house yesterday and is now a mere 15 minutes from me (I timed the drive home last night!). I'm very excited. It will be nice to have them closer than they were. I'm looking forward to being able to spend more time with them - between my busy schedule and theirs! Travelling time is always a factor when you live out of the way...but now they're out of the way too! I'm also looking forward to being more involved in their girls' lives. They're gorgeous little things, although not so much at the end of moving day! I had to peel the oldest one of her younger sister when she just wasn't coping with the idea that her sister dared to be alive, let alone in her space. Moving day is tough on little people! Big people too, but we aren't usually found atop a sibling and attempting to beat them to a pulp.

Mr Busy was funny on Thursday evening. He had things all planned out and outlined his idea for his Dad. "Well Dad, I think I need to take a day off school to help Uncle P move house, because he needs my help. It's OK, you can just write a note for my teacher and it will be fine". The funny thing is that Mr Busy would work just as hard as any man, and for just as long. I know. I've seen him do this as a 4yo when we were moving house. So whilst his help would have been a good thing, we decided his education was more important. He was able to indulge his uncle with all that boyish energy after school. And work he did....injury and all. He's amazing.

With Spiritual Eyes

2011-06-07T18:29:00.000+10:00

Does it ever seem to you that Truth is a bit of a side street, in life, rather than the main thoroughfare? I saw this image and found that it resonnated with me in a rather deep way, considering its meager three-word message.

Over the last couple of months I've become acutely aware of the spiritual war we, as Christians, are engaged in throughout our ordinary everyday lives. For me, it began at our Women's Retreat at the beginning of May when I identified that perhaps the struggles our women's ministry team are facing are more spiritual in nature, than a pragmatic problem requiring a creative solution. The minute I identified this possibility I felt the pressure of what I now realise was spiritual attack. Took me three weeks to figure that out...obviously I'm quite slow on the uptake! As the weeks have passed however, and things have settled down, I am more aware of things I hadn't considered before. Of course, as the church related 'stuff' has abated I am becoming aware of some things at work.

All of the things I struggled with during those three weeks (and since) came in the form of people-related stress. What strikes me as extraordinary in that, is how Satan is able to use God's children to wreak this havoc in our lives. A barbed retort here. A cold shoulder there. Emotional hot-spots becoming inflamed. It's so easy for him to take these things and twist them in the places they hurt the most, thereby rendering God's children distracted and ineffective. It galls me to think that I and my fellow believers are being used in this way.

We who are immersed in Western cultures are at a great deficit in the matter of spirtual awareness. Our lives are rather divorced from even the possibility that events happen in realms we cannot see. In one sense, I think we become ignorant of these things because they are unseen and therefore often not obvious. A bad day or a difficult situation may indeed be more involved. Of course it may not be. I'm not inclined to see a demon behind every door. But I if the last few weeks have taught me anything, it is that 'critical thinking' is not just something educators would have us engaged in. I think it is a skill all Christians need to hone in relation to being aware of the spiritual forces at work in our lives.

For the moment, it is this Truth that I am seeking to engage with ~ knowing the difference between a bad day/situation and seeing the event through a spiritual lens. It's quite the challenge!

Exam Update

2011-06-06T19:17:00.000+10:00

My exam went quite fine. So did getting myself into the city. I got in with no hiccups. Off-street parking was fairly easy to find...exactly where Google Maps told me there would be something. There was a cafe about three doors away from the exam centre, so I had lunch there before heading in to wait. I found two other fellow Literacy students from my tutorial group, so it was absolutely lovely to while away some time with people I've spent the semester conversing with.

The exam itself was exactly as the lecturer suggested it would be. I'd looked at the discussion board earlier this morning. Oh my goodness me. So many people stressing out about stuff that we'd not been directed to think about. Theories, debates and text use in teaching literacy skills. That's what we were told...that's what I focused on. That's what the exam was on. I'm pretty sure I will have at least passed. Now....to relax. Perhaps tonight I'll sleep!

Monday Menu Planning: Week Beginning 6 June

2011-06-06T09:46:00.000+10:00

I am taking it a little bit easy this morning, before heading off for an exam. I'm more nervous, actually, about getting in to the city, finding the place and parking than I am about the exam itself. There's something quite overwhelming about doing it all on your own when it's a little bit unfamiliar.

After gaining a freezer drawer full of beef last week, I am leaving some space to find new things to do. We don't normally eat a lot of beef, simply because of the cost, so this will no doubt take us on a bit of an adventure. At this point the plan is:

Monday: Beef stir fry
Tuesday: Forbidden city chicken, vegies
Wednesday: Maybe some Nigella inspiration will befall me
Thursday: Vegie soup (using the crockpot)
Friday: leftover meatloaf, vegies
Saturday & Sunday: It's a long weekend; my brother is moving house. Best to leave this flexible I think!

Maths Geniuses in the Making

2011-06-01T05:32:00.030+10:00

I may, one day, become the maths genius required by the government, of graduate teachers. Miss Sunshine has been stressing out about some homework that she was stuck on. Another bright spot of not having my own study, was that we got to sit down last night and nut out her problem together. We logged in to Maths Online and off we went. I now know a whole bunch of stuff about composite shapes and finding the hypotenuse of triangles. Not only that, but Miss Sunshine had a brilliant moment where the light bulb switched on for her. We were able to work through the lesson and some exercises together and found that actually, it wasn't even all that difficult.

I love it when kids have that "OOoohhh" moment when the learning clicks for them. It is so very satisfying, knowing I had something to do with that.

What I also love, is Maths Online. It's a free resource for secondary students (and teachers, and student-teachers!) to add to their learning. Whilst it is an Aussie site, anyone can register to use it. It's set up to cover various mathematical topics. Each topic is divided into sub-topics, and each of those has a narrated lesson with examples, and then you work through some exercises based on what you've just been learning. Once you've entered the answers, the program provides you with instant feedback. This is what I have been and will continue to use in order to learn all I need to pass my numeracy proficiency test. I'm discovering that I actually quite enjoy maths, once I understand what's going on. It's the not understanding that impacts on the enjoyment.