Friendship, Fellowship and Food

I had a beautiful lunch and enjoyed an afternoon of friendship together with two other Mum's from my children's school, today. All too soon, it seemed, it was time to go and retrieve children from school!

We were at my home, so I got to do the 'main' part of the meal. I made these Tomato & Onion Tarts and Herbed Ricotta Balls. Between us we also had a salad to go with it and an apricot cake for dessert.

The friend who brought the apricot cake was more than happy to leave a bit for my husband for later ;-)

Decluttering & Prettying Up

Kate at Our Red House posted some beautiful pictures of the top of her piano after spending a little time making it look nice. It was beautifully inspiring and her post set me a challenge that had long been putting aside for 'some other time'. The top of my piano was dusty and cluttered and just generally didn't make one feel too good about being there.

This is what the top of my piano looked like this morning. It was a catch-all for music books and photocopies of music, photos and broken things...and a LOT of dust!

This is the top of my piano as of 1/2 hour ago. The only runner I had was a Christmas sort of thing so one day this year I'll endeavour to use my sewing group time to make a more suitable runner for year round.
I feel much better. I know I'm going to enjoy sitting at the piano now that I can see the precious photos on it! FYI, they are pictures of me and my brothers at pre-school age, one of dh's family on our wedding day and my two girls at 7-8 days old.

Chicken Casserole

I wanted to post the recipe for tonight's dinner. I really enjoy a meal that is full of vegetables and is fairly healthy. I've noticed a lot of casserole recipes that I see online often contain tinned cream of something soups and other similar ingredients. The casserole recipe I use is very simple, tasty and as natural as it can be. Of course, you could use chicken stock powder & water instead of real chicken stock (as I will be tonight). I've taken this for extended family gatherings and others have raved about how wonderful my casseroles are. Because I keep them simple.

Chicken Casserole

Chicken pieces ~ enough for your family. I use thighs & drumsticks with the bones in.
1 onion, finely diced
3-4 carrots, peeled & finely diced
peas, or chopped beans
4 rashers of bacon, diced
30g butter
200g mushrooms, cut in half
1 cup chicken stock

Melt butter in a frypan and brown the chicken pieces
Transfer chicken to a large deep casserole dish and add onions, carrots, bacon and stock.
Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 200C.
Add peas (or beans) and mushrooms and cook for a further 20 minutes at 180C.

I do this in my Scanpan frying pan and just pop the whole pan, covered in the oven. I also am inclined to thicken the stock just before serving, simply because the juices run all over the plate. And our favourite way to have this is served with scalloped potatoes.

M is for Menus

Wow, how did Monday roll around so fast already? Are you all set with your menu for the week? I am. I have done my shopping list and shopped on my way home from dropping the kids off from School.

Monday: Pork Roast (we didn't have it last week, so it's a 'free' meal for this week)
Tuesday: Chicken Casserole with scallop potatoes
Wednesday: Pork & Feta Meatballs with potato wedges & steamed vegies
Thursday: Zucchini Quiche & salad
Friday - Sunday: I'm having a weekend with my parents & brothers. All I have to do is bake a batch of bikkies and make a slice to take. And make a pavlova and a chocolate tart for dessert Saturday night.

Coconut Bread

This recipe was one we enjoyed when I was a child. It's incredibly simple, only has four ingredients and always works. Miss Sunshine is in charge of a simple chocolate cake in our house. I'm thinking I should hand this one over to Miss Mischief.

Coconut Bread

1 cup self raising flour
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup sugar (I use about 3/4 cup)
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
Mix ingredients until completely combined.
Pour into a greased loaf tin.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Cool on a cake rack.

We serve this sliced and buttered. Although while it's warm it really doesn't need the butter at all.

No, I didn't forget the egg or the butter/oil. It doesn't have any.

From my Kitchen to yours ~ enjoy.

Summer Storms

We're right at the end of summer here. At the end of next week we will be officially in Autumn. Remember a few days ago I mentioned we'd had nearly a week of really warm days? Well yesterday afternoon storms rolled in. The wind began to blow and the clouds went from white and fluffy to deep grey and heavy laden.

The picture above was taken looking down our backyard and over the back fence. We have a magnificent view out the back and I just had to go and snap a picture of those amazing clouds against the white trunk of that gum tree to the left of centre.

Around 9pm last night the rain began. Heavy and soaking ~ just what our drought stricken land needs.

And yes, us gals from church are still going to the beach today ~ to sit in a cafe and watch the weather, rather than walking along the edge of the water with sand between our toes. I might take the camera and take a picture across the bay. I'm not a real beach lover anymore, but I do love to watch stormy weather over the sea.

Mouse Meat

I don't know about anyone else, but my children are obsessed with food. It must be genetic on their father's side....I certainly wasn't like that until after I hit Year 7!

I'm also a rather adventurous cook. As a result we enjoy a wide variety of meals and cuisines so that I don't bore myself to death with plain food. One of our more recent adventures has been with eggplants....or aubergines, as some of you may know them. I'm not completely without heart when trying out new things. I have never served eggplant on it's own ~ it's always mixed in with something so that it's a) less recognisable and b) less offensive to eat ;-)

Last night I made Moussaka ~ a Greek (I believe) lamb mince dish like lasagna, using eggplant instead of lasagna pasta. I've made it before so the kids are familiar with it and are now happy to eat it. But last night while I was cooking Mr Busy was pestering to know what we were eating for dinner. I showed him the recipe with the picture and said "we're having this". I didn't want to argue the eggplant point. He is learning to read and doing quite well so he was looking at the recipe and trying to sound out Moussaka.

He said "MUM....are we having MOUSE meat???". Yup....that's me. I feed my kids Mouse meat!!!!!!!!!

Busy Days

Thursday can stack up on me a bit I think! I'm off to my sewing circle group this morning with a new project all set to go. I stopped in to see Karin at the Quilt Shop yesterday to buy the bits of fabric I needed. She said to me "Now Tracy, you know it's not Thursday yet, don't you!!". She tried to to scare my husband the other day telling she'd taken me under her wing. He came home and told me...we both got a laugh! I told her he won't worry til I start doing things completely out of character. Although my going between the sewing machine and ironing board at 9.30pm did bemuse him a little!

Anyway...after that I'll come home and make a salad to take to a friend's place for lunch. I often have lunch with my friend Helen, but we'll be joining another lady today. Helen will bring dessert, me a salad and our hostess will do....whatever it is she's going to do LOL. We know each other through school so I'm looking forward to a lovely afternoon.

Then I'll pick up the kids and rush home, get dinner going, get the girls showered, eat dinner and GO! It's only week three of the Girls Brigade year and I'm feeling a little lack-lustre at a full year ahead of the whole Thursday night routine.

Somewhere in there I need to read my notes from my BSF class as well...and start on next week's questions....and think about the music I'll need to pick for before class....

Yup, Thursday is a busy day around here.

Rhubarb, Rain and Reviewz

Today is going to be a bit mixed, sorry!

I'm going to start with my rhubarb mystery. The picture above is my rhubarb plant. I think that's what I have growing. That's what I thought I bought, and certainly the leaves look right. But the stalks are very big and wide and are quite green apart from a faint blush of pink at the bottoms. I would love it if someone could tell me that my plant is indeed edible...or not!

We're getting our promised rain! It's been around the low 30's (C) for the last 5 days or so and quite frankly I was getting tired of being too warm and of not wanting to use the oven. So I am extremely grateful for cooler weather. My garden is happily soaking up all the rain it can get and I won't need to water my vegies by hand for the rest of the week...or so they say ;-) Anyone who knows Melbourne, knows they often get it wrong. I'm hoping they ARE a little bit wrong. I'd like a fine Saturday for our beach and fish 'n chips outing!

Finally, my friend Rel, at Relz Reviewz has a freebie book give-away on offer at her website for Aussie gals only...sorry. The book is 'Where My Heart Belongs' by Tracie Peterson and is basically a modern retelling of "The Prodigal Son". You just need to go to her site and post a comment and fulfill her 'conditions' for the opportunity to acquire it. The post is about 3 or 4 posts down. Rel often has books to give away so it's worthwhile visiting her often.

Tomatoes

I had the first three cherry tomatoes from my garden before I thought to take a picture of them! However, when I went to sprinkle some water on the vegies this morning I found a few more on their way. There are about five altogether that could be picked, so I'll do that later today when it's not so hot.

We used sugar cane mulch on the vegie garden over the last two years and have found it to be fabulous. It really does stop the weeds coming through, and it doesn't send it's own little shoots up the way pea straw seems to.

I have my first few beans just beginning too. I really should plant vegies in September instead of November! I could've been enjoying the harvest well before now!

Zucchini LoveFest

Lightening has asked for zucchini recipes for her Zucchini LoveFest. I'm very interested in what she ends up with as my zucchinis are trying very hard to be everything they could (I think one of the plants isn't too healthy). However, I do have a favourite recipe, thanks to my friend Helen, who served this over lunch one day.

Roasted Vegetable Salad

1 medium sized eggplant
3 zucchinis (or a large homegrown one)
2 red capsicums
balsamic vinegar, danish feta cheese & toasted pine nuts to serve

Slice the zucchinis and eggplant lengthways, about 1cm thick. Heat a non stick pan (or your bbq plate). Brush the vegetables with olive oil and cook until nicely coloured, then brush the side facing up with oil and turn to cook the other side. Remove from pan to a plate and continue until it's all cooked.
Meahwhile, slice the 'cheeks' off the red capsicum and lay skin side up under a hot griller until the skin goes black. Remove to a plate and cover with plastic wrap until cooled and the skins are easy to remove.

Slice all the vegetables into strips of about 1cm. I do the zucchini and eggplant on an angle and the capsicum longways.

Layer onto a serving platter so that the vegies are all evenly mixed. Top with a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar, crumbled feta and sprinkle pine nuts over the top.

More Menu's Monday

I woke up this morning wondering which day of the weekend it was. Imagine my surprise when I finally worked through my foggy haze to discover that it is Monday! I worked on my menu plan last night so I'm all set for the week. Although some of the meals will be switched around to suit the heat of today and tomorrow, and then the cooler days for the rest of the week. You can't do a roast when it's 34C and you have no cooling in the house!

Monday: Pork Roast, with roast pumpkin & potatoes, honey carrots, broccoli & cauliflower
Tuesday: Baked Chive Ricotta, herbed potato cubes, salad
Wednesday: Moussaka, scallop potatoes, beans & carrots
Thursday: Gnocchi with tomato/vegetable sauce
Friday: Honey Soy Chicken Wings, salad
Saturday: L/O moussaka for the family & I'm out with ladies from church for fish & chips at the beach.
Sunday: Roast Lamb with roast potato, carrots, broccoli & cauliflower

Ahhh ... the Joys of Parenting

There are days when I wonder what possessed me to eagerly desire having girls. I certainly didn't ask seasoned parents which gender would be the easier to deal with in each stage of life! I'm glad, though, that God decided that we needed to have our boy last. He knew we would need that precious boy to make us all laugh.

This week's storm with Miss Mischief was over the state of her bedroom. I went in there one afternoon and found rubbish. A supermarket bag's worth...to be begin with at least. Five hours later Miss Mischief finally went to sleep. That's the only thing that put a stop to the argument that ensued upon her discovery that something was slightly amiss in her room. I'll never know how she could tell the difference. I couldn't see where I'd been! She was highly offended that I'd had the audacity to think of throwing away discarded packaging from October birthday presents and old empty envelopes. She refused to accept her responsibility that led me to do this. The fact that for 3 months we have been asking her to tidy her room. Had she done that I wouldn't have been in there.

Two days later I bit the bullet and went for broke. She still hadn't lifted a finger to tidy her room, so I went in there and went through everything. I hung clothes that had been flung into her wardrobe. I found any number of white socks that she couldn't seem to find on her own. I found more rubbish to throw away. I put all her crafty things in one wire basket drawer, and odds & ends in the other. I bought a pretty basket with pink gingham lining to go under her bed so that she has somewhere to put whatever it is that finds it's way under there.

By the end of an hour I had the room spotless, the bed made, the floor vacuumed and all sorts of long lost items found and put away. I was expecting Cyclone Tracy from her when she came home from school to find what I'd done, especially after the antics of two afternoons before!

You know what? She came out and hugged me and said "Thank you Mum". You could've pushed me other with a feather.

Satisfaction

I am a woman on a mission. A rather enjoyable mission, but a mission none the less. This little wall hanging quilt is a project I began 2 1/2 years ago. I am embarrassed to say, but this has been sitting around merely awaiting the binding to be stitched under on the back, for two long years.

It took me at most 1/2 hour yesterday afternoon to finish it off and it now hangs on the wall beside the TV cabinet. A vast improvement over the clutter of paintings from Mr Busy's long gone days at pre-school!

This week I also finally got to the task of getting the girls' Girls Brigade badges sewed onto their sashes...just in time for their first evening this year, in full uniform. They are very proud of themselves, for having the joy of adding new badges. I think they look at the Pioneers in their company and all the badges they have earned in their years at GB and see it as something to aim at.

It is very satisfying to have some of my sewing tasks and projects completed!

The Hills are Alive...

...with the sound of music.

I finally started teaching Mr Busy the piano. I wanted to do it last year, but I had too much going on and didn't get to it. So as I type, he's sitting there with the Primer A music book fiddling his way through some early pieces. I HOPE he's 'quarter, quarter, half-noting' his way through them, but knowing him, I doubt it! I have explained the importance of timing and getting a piece of music right. You can't play with other instruments if you don't!

I also need to think about moving the girls on. They had lessons in Prep and Year 1 and enjoy sitting down whenever they feel the urge. However, they are stuck at the pieces that they are very familiar with and not adventurous enough to try something new. Again, something I wanted to address last year and didn't manage to get to.

Recipe Review

I made the Herbed Ricotta fritters last night for dinner, that I had planned, from the April '07 edition of Super Food Ideas. If you're anything like me, that edition is still in the large pile of foodie mags that need to be culled. My current pile is about 2-3 years worth and I am working through them now. I've gone through three magazines this week and pulled out what I wanted to keep and ditched the magazine. It was really hard to do...but I did it!

Anyway...the fritters. They were very simple to make and wonderfully cheap. It cost me $2.93 for the ricotta and I had 2 or the 3 herbs growing outside. My children aren't fond of fresh herbs, but with a little tomato sauce they coped with it. I enjoyed every mouthful just as it was with a little freshly ground sea salt on it. They were light and fresh tasting.

If adding some vegetarian meals to your menu is a goal, then these should be included in it. I served it with herbed potato cubes (baked), carrots and green beans.

School Daze

One of the things I do with my week is to spend 2 hours per week in each of the kids classrooms ~ yes, that means 6 hours per week. Minimum. Sometimes it's more. Rarely it's less. One of the beauties of being a SAHM is the opportunity to be involved in my children's education...and our school welcomes parent help.

Yesterday I helped in Miss Sunshine's class. I hadn't done that with her last year cos I had too much else going on. She's in the same classroom this year. He is an amazing teacher and Miss Sunshine is loving being in his class again. I'm going to enjoy getting to know what happens in her classroom and reaquaint myself with her friends. Not to mention the opportunity to support her teacher in his job of educating my daughter.

Today I spent the morning with Mr Busy and then then until lunch time with Miss Mischief. I adore Mr Busy's class. The kids are just beautiful. I worked with them over the last two years, so I've gotten to know all of them. I feel like I am of the most benefit to the teacher AND the kids there. And the kids are really responsive to grown ups when they're only 6-8yo's! That...and I get to soothe tears, cuddle away fears, encourage them to do their best and celebrate their successes. Yep...I love those littlies. They're the best!!!!

I know I'm going to love getting to know Miss Mischief's teacher better too. I've chatted with her plenty of times in the staffroom between classrooms last year, but I'm looking forward to seeing how she works. I love the tone of her classroom and the way she cares for the kids and encourages them to care for each other.

This week's Menu Plan

I am a list writer. And menu planner. And diary keeper. I'm not sure whether it's a compulsive habit or self preservation because of a sieve-like brain. Either way, I menu-plan. I have kept all my menu plans (on a calendar page printed from MS Publisher) since 1999. Hmmm...perhaps compulsive is the answer to the above question! But it IS handy to look back when I lack imagination.

Anyway, this is my plan for this week. *Some a new recipes from Super Food Ideas (April 07).

Monday: Chicken, Date & Honey Tagine with couscous
Tuesday: Herbed Ricotta Fritters* with green beans, carrots & herbed potato cubes
Wednesday: Rosemary & Garlic lamb rissoles with greek salad
Thursday: Creamy Bacon & Mushroom Pasta
Friday: Salmon, Leek & Dill Frittata* with salad
Saturday: Wonton Soup
Sunday: Homemade Pizzas

Reflections

Picture from art.com by Judy Gibson

I play the piano at church once a month or so. Every few months I end up on the week that we have communion (Baptist churches in Australia have it twice a month ~ one morning and one evening). It usually fills me with a combined sense of dread, nerves, and a sense of the huge responsibility it is to be the one to choose music that is played whilst everyone else in the church is sitting quietly, meditating and praying. I feel completely inadequate and unworthy to be making such choices. We often talk in the music team at our church, about the privilege of leading God's people in their worship of Him. For me, playing during communion is the pinnacle of that responsibility and privilege. Perhaps in part, because I bear that small area of the responsibility on my own.

This week was no different for me. I'm usually so nervous that I am barely able to put my fingers in the right spot. I can be fine until then, but during communion I play on my own, without the 'cover' of other instruments! This week I was able to thank God that my prayer for accuracy and the ability to breathe were answered!

One of the songs I chose was a song written by Stuart Townend called "How Deep the Father's Love". It talks about the depth and vastness of God's love in sending Jesus to bear all my wretched sin on His shoulders and to have the Father turn His face away from His Son, in that moment. I read through the words again this morning and am again completely in awe that God would do that for ME.

It's just as well I didn't read through ALL the verses before I played that song yesterday, or I would've been unable to see the music through the tears. One thing I've learned is that us musicians are a sooky lot!

How deep the Father's Love for us,
How vast beyond all measure;
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon a Cross,
My sins upon his shoulders;
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin tat held Him there
Until it was accomplished,
His dying breath has brought me life.
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer,
But this I know with all my heart;
His wounds have paid my ransom.

My Hands Came Away Red

I'm involved in a book club, at my church. We met last week to discuss 'My Hands Came Away Red' by Lisa McKay.

My initial reaction was "wow". And then I couldn't say anymore. I wandered about the house aimlessly once I finished it for about a day and a half not knowing what to do with myself. I couldn't pick up another book (that, for me, is unheard of...I read 11 books in 3 weeks while we were away camping this year!) straight away.

The book is about a group of 6 teens who go on a missions trip to Indonesia to build a church in a village on a small island. Trouble breaks out after their adult team leaders make an emergency trip back to the mainland to the hospital. It is an incredibly realistic tale of these kids and their adventure through the jungle with a 17yo local guy as their guide.

I'm not sure about the others in our book club, but for me it was not only emotional because of all those kids went through. I grew up on Papua New Guinea in the years between mid primary school to mid high school. My connection to this book was more than just what my mind might imagine. It was more concrete because I could see clearly what those kids were doing and experiencing (although I never experienced religious unrest). Even without all of that though, the book was gripping and had me right from the very very beginning. I couldn't put it down until it was finished, but there were just enough lose ends that weren't left neatly tied off, for me to spend a day wondering about 'what if...'. And I loved that Lisa uses "mum" instead of "mom" for her main character.

If you want a gripping, realistic, well-written book by an Aussie author (a rarity in Christian fiction!) then I highly recommend 'My Hands Came Away Red'.

Friendship Friday

Picture from art.com by Heidi Satterberg

What an exciting morning for me! I came home from having 'morning cuppa' at school with some other Mum's and discovered lots of new comments. Wow! I'm just ecstatic. It really doesn't take a lot to keep me very very happy LOL. I am very humbled to have someone besides me actually reading my blog. WELCOME ladies!

Friday for me is actually all about friends. In the morning I take my kids to school and then head on up to the staffroom where a bunch of parents ~ usually just Mum's, but the occasional Dad will pop in ~ sit and have a cuppa and a chat. Today I'm going to a friend's place for lunch. She & I have children at the same school and have enjoyed a wonderful friendship from the moment we met. She taunted me this morning with "I've got a mango...and some chickpeas....and some basil...and some feta". When I asked her why she was taunting me she said "you could invite yourself over for lunch". So I did. And she will serve me the most wonderful salad!!!! I was dubious the first time I had it, but it was beautiful.

Tonight, I will join three other friends from my church to go and see "The Jane Austen Book Club" movie together. We're starting off with dessert....of course! The four of us are also avid Book Clubbers, so this movie appealed to us all. I have the tickets in my hot little hand already so there will be no way we won't get a seat!

Good friends are indeed a rich blessing in my life and I am grateful that God has placed some wonderful people on my path along the way. We have walked many roads together, and some have camped many holidays together with us and they all make up the wonderful tapestry that has been my life so far.

A Quilter's Paradise

Picture from art.com by Carolyn Watson

I spent this morning at my local Quilt Shop. The lovely Karen has three or four mornings a week where she runs a sewing circle group. You can book in and just pay $5/week and do our own projects with the bonus of using some of her 'toys'. Ya know, the light box, rulers, cutting mat...stuff like that. I cannot begin to tell say how pathetically excited I have been all week, in anticipation of this morning. And then when I woke up it took me about 5 minutes to sort through what day it was. But you can believe I bounded out of bed very happily when I realised LOL. I had a great time ~ I was certainly not disappointed. I am pathetically excited about next week!!!!! I also discovered from the ladies there that my husband is quite popular in our town....well....to be precise, his coffee is quite popular. Apparently it's the best coffee...I dunno...I don't like coffee! But my dh makes the best cup tea for me after dinner most evenings.

Anyway, I have a number of projects that have been waiting to be finished or waiting to get started that I've had hanging around for as long as up to 10 years. So I'm going to spend some time with the fabulous group gals for a couple of hours each week and get some of these things done.

So Karen, if you ever do find my blog ~ no I wasn't scared off. I had the best time this morning!

Washing Wednesday

Wet washing hanging on the line
Drying very quickly when the weather's fine
Along comes the wind and flaps it all about
Flip, flap, flip, flap blowing in and out.

On one of the frugal living websites I'm a member of, we've been talking about hanging washing, due to one of the US members not having a dryer. Being a good Aussie gal, I don't see how that's such a problem...but I have come to understand that hanging clothes out to dry is definitely a cultural thing!

The picture above is my washing. I have two clothes lines ~ one out the back and this one under the deck. I have enough space (but not enough pegs!) to hang six loads at once ~ but really, who wants to do that much washing in one day?! I tend to use this line because it's in my line of sight, so I don't forget to bring it in late in the afternoon. It also means that I don't have to worry if it rains and I'm not home, because it's under cover. The roof there is that clear corrugated stuff, so there's plenty of light & warmth to dry everything.

I love hanging out my washing. Not necessarily because I enjoy the task as such. But I do enjoy being outside listening the birds and my own thoughts. It's somewhat cathartic to do something that just requires 'being'. The task is simple enough that I can hear myself think. None of the kids are in a hurry to join me, lest they be given the task of helping! So whilst I'm saved from having my ears chewed off...they're saved from boring housework. I also love having the smell of sunshine on my clothes and linen when it's brought in. There is just nothing quite like it. I also actually like my towels on the stiff side. They're easier to fold and I like that they have some substance to them. In any case, after you've used them once they're softer. When my kids were in cloth nappies I hated having my nappies go through the dryer. They were too limp and to be honest, I didn't feel like they soaked up quite as much.

Now, if only I could enjoy the task of ironing I'd be all set!

Shrove Tuesday....Pancake Day!

In our house Shrove Tuesday means pancakes. To us, pancakes are dessert rather than breakfast. However, this year we had Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni, make with crepes. I absolutely detest trying to get filling into those stupid little pasta tubes, which never seem to cook properly anyway. So I always make crepes when I make Cannelloni. The picture shows my Cannelloni partially put together. Once the dish was full I poured the rest of the tomato sauce over the top and topped with grated cheese and baked it.

Beyond My Picket Fence

I really do have a picket fence. A white one, what's more, and a lot happens beyond it, inside our home. With three children, a mum and a dad there's always something happening or someone coming and going.

I'm a Professional Mum. Not that I always do a great job of it, but that's my career choice. We have three primary school aged children and my husband is having the time of his life being self employed, doing something he loves. I'm having the time of my life doing what I love too. So, this blog is going to be my way of sharing what I love, and maybe...hopefully...I'll inspire someone else to do what they love too ;-)