November 2024

Hi friends, and happy Friday! It’s so nice to be back, especially on a sunny day like this, to share some of my favourites with you. Spring has been all over the place this year, so getting a beautiful, sunny day like today felt extra special. The other night, I needed a quick dinner and just couldn’t face BBQ chicken. We’d had chicken a couple of days in a row, and I was starting to feel like I might grow feathers! So I decided to try these beef medallions, and they were delicious. My family gave them a big thumbs-up. I was even more pleased because they were discounted from $13 to $10. They cost around the same as uncooked beef and are already prepared for easy heating, what a fantastic find. I will be buying these again in the future, that’s for sure. I made a pumpkin, spinach, and feta salad, then roasted some potatoes in the air fryer—they came out so crispy. Dinner was ready in a flash. On Tuesday, my aunty from LA called just as I was about to leave work—perfect timing! We chatted while I walked home, and we’re both so excited to see each other soon. She’s organising a family reunion, and I can’t wait to see everyone. We’ll have a “Cousin Connect” with our American cousins—how cool is that? One of our work colleagues celebrated a milestone birthday, and our director brought in a cake for everyone to share. What a treat! I had a close call with a black pen.  Somehow it ended up in the wash, and if it didn’t have a lid, the ink would have gone all over my white quilt cover. Yikes, that would have been such a mess! I would’ve had to take some of my own advice from my post about laundry stain removal hacks. I submitted Cluster Three for my course, and the facilitator emailed me Cluster Four. Oh my goodness, it’s the mother of all clusters! There are four big checklists to get through—compared to just one checklist for the previous clusters. So this isn’t exactly a favourite, but I guess it means I’m making progress toward the end goal of getting my diploma I’ve been working like crazy to get through at least one of the checklists before this weekend, and I have just one question left to go. The downside of setting myself the goal of finishing by the end of the year is that I don’t have much time for anything else. I haven’t had a chance to read or comment on blogs, and I missed last Wednesday’s Currently link-up. This weekend, I’ll be doing my best to chip away at those intimidating Cluster Four tasks. It’s funny because I’m both loving and intensely disliking this course. On one hand, the cobwebs are being dusted off my brain, and I’m recalling a lot of the content I enjoyed when I did developmental psychology at uni. Then on the other hand, I feel like I’m missing out on things that bring me joy, like blogging and reading blogs! Aaaargh, I’m so conflicted! But I keep reminding myself that it’s not forever. It just feels like forever at the moment. So with that in mind, I’m going to give myself some grace. If I miss a link-up or don’t post as much as I’d like, it’s ok. I know I’ll be back to blogging and giving it my full attention once this course is over. So if I’m missing this week, you’ll know I’m up to my ears in theories on childhood development. All the fun stuff (haha—not really!!) I do have Cousin Connect tomorrow night, so that will be fun! What are you up to this weekend? I hope it’s a fun one! Thanks so much for stopping by. I always appreciate you reading and leaving your lovely comments 😊 Linking up with Andrea and Erika      

Hi friends, happy November! Can you believe it’s November already? When I was a kid, a year felt like forever—birthdays and Christmas couldn’t come soon enough. Now it’s the opposite–my birthday sneaks up too fast. And Christmas feels like it’s here before I even have a chance to get ready! So before I blink and it’s Monday again, let’s jump into some of this week’s favourites. I started the week with a cold that hit fast but, thankfully, only lasted a couple of days. I still have a bit of a lingering cough, but I was surprised at how quickly I felt well enough to get back to work. Usually, colds take me down much harder! Five-Minute Win! In what has to be a record, I was in and out of Service NSW in five minutes! I received my license renewal letter a couple of weeks ago (maybe more!), but it went straight into the ‘procrastinate’ pile. Waiting in a queue to get my license renewed isn’t my favourite. But this week, I lucked out—I walked straight in, got my ticket, sat down, and my number was called almost immediately. The guy took my photo, and fingers crossed, it’s less scary than my passport, but I won’t know until it arrives. I paid, and I was out in five minutes. Five minutes—what a win! The Perks of Health Insurance My husband’s doing amazing with his weight loss! Since he has osteoarthritis in his right knee (he had a knee replacement on the left one in May), he qualifies for Medibank’s Better Knee, Better Me program. This program focuses on exercise, weight management, and pain relief strategies to help avoid another knee surgery. He also receives food supplements like shakes, soups, and bars, all covered by Medibank Private. Plus, he has virtual sessions with a dietitian and a physiotherapist. It makes all those hefty yearly premiums worth it! At the moment, he’s only eating one main meal at home. To help him along, his caring wife (me) made him some cauliflower rice the other day, and he was thrilled! 😉 hehe. I bought a great big cauliflower and thought I’d try copying what I saw on reels—just cut it up and toss it in the blender, easy! Well, it wasn’t as simple as I thought. The cauliflower chunks kept getting caught in the blades, making the process messier than I hoped. But on the upside, I ended up with plenty of portions to freeze for later! When I first mentioned cauliflower rice to Steve, he moaned—a lot! I don’t blame him; who doesn’t love carbs? But he ended up enjoying it when I served it with pot roast for dinner. It probably helped that he was starving—everything tastes fantastic when you’re hungry! New Appliances Air fryers have been around for a while, and it seems like everyone I know has one. We finally took the plunge and bought our first one this week! Sam has been wanting one for ages because he lifts weights and is really conscious of his diet—protein, protein, protein! With Steve also focused on losing weight, it just seemed like a good time to buy one. My verdict? They’re fast and convenient, making healthier cooking a breeze. The homemade wedges turned out super crispy and got a tick, but the meatballs came out bouncy instead of juicy. They tasted good, but I could have bounced them off the wall! Maybe I just need to get the hang of the cooking times—we’ll see. I also bought a new hairdryer—the Shark Speed Style. After my haircut, the hairdresser confirmed my suspicion that my old (ahem, cheap) dryer was burning my hair. She cut off the crispy ends, and I didn’t want to keep damaging my hair. She recommended the Dyson, but at around $700, I’ll keep it on my wishlist for later. Instead, I opted for the Shark, which is light, quiet, and comes with various attachments. After a few washes, I’ve finally got the hang of it, and I truly love it! Sam also bought an Apple TV, which he connected to our lounge room TV. I think he wanted it to stream shows from his computer, but I’m not entirely sure since I thought our smart TV was enough. Anyway, he loves it, and that makes me happy. We don’t usually splurge on so many tech items in one week, but since Sam works at a cool electronics store, he gets a generous staff discount. I hope he still gets a shift or two at this store, even when he graduates and becomes a nurse. He agrees! That wraps up this week’s favourites! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a fantastic weekend ahead. Take care, and I look forward to being back here on Monday. Linking up with Andrea and Erika