Family Life

Hi friends it’s great to be back for Hello Monday with Holly and Sarah. I’m excited to kick off a brand new week after a relaxing weekend. Last week, I must admit, wasn’t my favourite. So I was more than happy to say ‘Adios’ and see the end of it! That’s one of the things I love about Mondays – they bring us the opportunity for fresh beginnings! Anyway, thanks so much for being here today as I update you on a couple of things. As well as share a bit about what I got up to over the weekend. Appointment With The Orthopedic Surgeon Last Wednesday we went to see the orthopedic surgeon about Steve’s foot. We weren’t surprised when the surgeon recommended a bone fusion for Steve’s right foot. As I have shared with you guys before, poor Steve has been dealing with severe osteoarthritis for years, and the pain has been his constant companion. While the surgeon’s recommendation wasn’t unexpected, it’s still a bit of a shock to have this reality looming on the horizon. It’s going to be a long recovery process and this means Steve will be off from work for months. On the plus side, the surgeon is confident that the surgery will finally relieve Steve from the constant pain he’s been enduring for years…Amen!! Website Problems!! My website is still experiencing issues and the images on the home page appear stretched and distorted. The good news is that at least I’ve regained access to my site. Last Friday I was locked out for security reasons ??? That meant that I was very late posting my Friday favourites, at one stage I thought that I wasn’t even going to be able to do that. The mysteries of the technical side of blogging…ugh! On A Brighter Note That’s a couple of updates and now onto some fun things that happened over the weekend. My aunt came home from her overseas trip on Friday morning. So I invited her and three of my cousins for a very last-minute dinner. I was so excited to see her and my cousins that I brushed off my Friday night fatigue.  I also threw my frustrations at my website not working aside and I raced home after work to prepare dinner. I made turkey bolognese, garlic bread and pizza. My aunt brought a big salad and my cousins brought some doughnuts for dessert. I laughed when I saw the name on the box. Mochi! Just like our new kitten. It was a total coincidence as none of my cousins knew about our new family member. Saturday Saturday afternoon I went to pick up my new glasses from Specsavers. I’m so happy with both the reading glasses and the sunglasses for distance. They fitted perfectly and didn’t even need any adjusting. I also love the colour of the case for the reading glasses as I’m pretty sure I’ll have a hard time losing them with a bright yellow colour like that! I went for a wander around the shops and even though I loved looking at the Christmas decorations in TK Maxx. I felt a real pang of sadness come over me as I remembered all the special times when my mum and I would go shopping to look at Christmas decorations. I miss my mumma. In the evening I started watching Hallmark Christmas movies on Amazon Prime. They are all old ones but I don’t have the Hallmark channel and I don’t even know if I can access it over here at all. So far I’ve watched five Christmas movies, they are all so predictable but oh so good! I also hung out with this crazy girl. We both snuggled under a blanket because it was so cold! Don’t worry we have also been giving Sushi lots of extra attention and cuddles. We need to make sure she knows we love her and make up for the fact that Mochi is a total nutcase and won’t play nice yet. Sunday Sunday I went to church in the morning and then when I came home I made granola. Then all I did was plonk myself on the couch for the rest of the day to watch more Hallmark movies and a couple of other shows. My friend sent me this and I am so excited to go! In 2021 COVID ruined everything and the markets got cancelled. Last year we missed it because we had a fun wedding to go to. So this year we are excited to go and check out all the cute Danish Christmas ornaments and eat some traditional Danish food. That just about wraps up some of my weekend highlights. Tomorrow it’s Halloween and I’m excited to go trick-or-treating with my younger cousins. I’ve got my costume all ready and I can hardly wait. I love this time of the year so much! Have an amazing day and I look forward to being back here on Wednesday! See ya!  

Hey there friends it’s time for What’s Up Wednesday! It’s a little of this and that as we hang out and recap the month that just flew by. That’s right October has well and truly passed by in a blink! I can hardly believe that we are heading into the second last month of the year. HOW?? That’s right this time next week we will be welcoming November and I better get with the program because I am losing track of time!! Thanks so much for being here! Let’s get straight into having a look at……. WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK I came across something interesting on my Facebook news feed the other day – the incredible benefits of following a Mediterranean diet. Apparently, it can actually help you live longer or at least improve your overall health by enjoying fresh fruit, veggies, legumes, whole grains, healthy fats, fish and even red wine (in moderation of course) Inspired by this and the fact that I love all of these foods. I made my own version of shakshuka. In case you don’t know Shakshuka is a Middle Eastern dish packed with fresh vegetables, olive oil, and spices. All of which align perfectly with the Mediterranean diet. It’s essentially poached eggs in a flavourful tomato sauce and you can get creative by adding any ingredients that take your fancy. In my case, I raided my fridge and pantry and added – mushrooms, chickpeas and baby spinach. I was so excited to serve health on a plate to Steve who basically said that if he had to eat chickpeas to live longer he’d rather not live longer! What a party pooper!! He did concede that it tasted good and Sam and I both loved it. Ha! Monday – I made chicken satay stir fry, while it’s not Mediterranean it’s still packed with lots of vegetables. Tuesday – Meatballs in a rich tomato sauce with mashed potato and green beans. Wednesday – We were meant to be going out for dinner but we have decided to enjoy a stay-at-home date night. On the menu, we have mussels in a white wine sauce served with crusty bread as well as fresh prawns. Thursday – Mango spiced chicken from Aldi (my favourite), roast potatoes and bean salad Friday – Roast lamb with vegetables and hummus on the side. Saturday- leftovers! WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT Luke and Sam both celebrated their birthdays in October with Luke turning the big 3-0 and Sam turning 19. I just can’t believe how quickly the years went by. To me, it feels as if it were only yesterday when they were tiny tots. Waaahhhh!!!! Here’s Luke and Sam. WHAT I’M LOVING The warmer weather! Yes, we still have some days when the temps drop and it feels like it’s still winter. But generally speaking, we have had many warm and sunny spring days and I’m there for it! I also love that daylight saving kicked in this month so now our days are longer and it makes me so happy! WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO October has been a great month! My family came back from their fun overseas holiday with lots of fun stories to tell. We got together for our cousin connect gathering enjoyed amazing food and had lots of good laughs. As I mentioned earlier we celebrated Luke and Sam’s birthdays. They don’t really like to have their picture taken so I don’t have a good one of them celebrating but I got good shots of their cakes! We welcomed a new addition to our family in the form of a kitten who came to our door and would not leave. She was terrified every time any of us would go near her. But it’s almost as if she was begging to live with us. Eventually, Sam worked his calm magic and gained her trust. She let him pick her up and I don’t think she’s stopped purring ever since. We named her Mochi and she’s full of cuddles and a good dose of spunk. Our poor cat Sushi is scared of her and although we made progress the other day and they seemed relaxed enough to be in the same room. Mochi is still feisty so we can’t trust them to be together unsupervised. Fun times! I have also been out exploring The Sydney Opera House with my sweet friend. It’s been a great October! WHAT I’M DREADING Poor Steve has an appointment with a specialist tomorrow. He has been dealing with incredibly painful osteoarthritis in his foot and he may need a bone fusion….shudder. He has been an amazingly good sport and never lets the pain get him down even though he walks with a limp and constantly flinches. I don’t think that I would handle living with this kind of pain. As I always dread anything medically related I will have to put on my big girl pants tomorrow when I accompany him to his appointment. WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT I’m excited about Halloween and I’m hoping to go trick-or-treating with my two youngest cousins again this year. My aunt gets back from overseas this Friday and I’m excited to see her and hear all about her trip. WHAT I’M WATCHING I have been working my way through my cozy solo movie night list and I watched ‘Interstellar’ the other night. It was interesting but I can’t say I loved it. I have also started watching ‘The King of Queens’ from episode one and now I know why Carries dad ends up living with them. It’s a very funny show! We are up to Season 11 of Blue Bloods and Binge doesn’t have any more seasons. I will have to find the remaining seasons ASAP because we love this show so much! WHAT I’M LISTENING TO I’m currently on my lunch break at work, and all around me, I can hear the kids finishing off their lunches and preparing for relaxation time. In the background,

Hi everyone! welcome to the October edition of Currently hosted by Jennifer from ‘Overflowing With Thankfulness’. Today we are chatting about what we have been currently loving, excited about, watching, seeing and observing. Let’s go! LOVING At the moment I am absolutely loving our beautiful, bright, hot, sunny spring days! Every year, I find it incredibly hard to let go of the six months of the year when the weather is so good. I wish that I could embrace the Autumn weather as you guys do (if you live in the Northern Hemisphere). But during our Autumn months from March to May, nothing much happens over here. Sadly, we just don’t have fun events such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas to look forward to. All we get is cool, cold then colder weather and I’m not much of a fan of being cold! Having said that, my love affair with hot sunny days almost ended on Monday night at around 8:02 p.m. I was sitting at my desk and had just finished my Hello Monday blog post. When out of nowhere an ugly spider landed on my leg! I was wearing shorts and it touched me!! At that moment I remembered the one thing that I can’t stand about the heat….it brings out those darn scary bugs, spiders and flying cockroaches the size of cats…eewwww!!! EXCITED ABOUT My cousins are returning from Europe this Thursday and I’m beyond excited to see them. We have stayed somewhat connected through our Messenger family group chat. But I want to hear all the details about their trip in person! I can’t wait to see them, hug them and kiss them. I am also super excited to see a video of one of my cousins skydiving in Switzerland (or maybe it was another country). Jumping out of a plane is a courageous feat, no matter what country you’re in!! My other cousin and her family are visiting New Zealand at the moment and they come home on Friday. Our Cousin Connect get-together this weekend is going to be epic hearing about everyone’s trips and adventures! WATCHING I subscribe to a YouTube channel called Never Too Small and I have been currently enjoying watching their videos. Never Too Small features award-winning designers from around the world and their small apartments and studios. It’s a very interesting and informative channel focused on compact design and sustainable living and I just love watching their short videos that are usually around 7 to 10 minutes long. They also feature really inspiring and creative solutions for maximising storage spaces in small dwellings. I just love the whole soothing feel I get when I watch. You should check it out! SEEING I have been seeing a whole lot of photos on social media and group chats from my family and friends who are enjoying trips around the world. As I mentioned before my family is in Europe, and New Zealand and I also have friends who are holidaying in Greece. Lucky ducks!! Greece New Zealand Switzerland OBSERVING My little cat Sushi is getting older! She has been a member of our family for about twelve years since we got her as a teeny tiny kitten. Sushi is pretty small for an old girl but boy does she snore loudly these days. I guess we all do as we get older, my husband says I do but clearly he must be mistaken! Anyway, Sushi likes to hang out with me when I’m blogging away in my garage/office. She curls up on the bean bag and snores so loud, I wish you could hear her now, haha! But, the minute she hears my son Sam come home she jumps up and gallops (yes she gallops!!) towards him. So even though I have been observing that she is getting older. Boy can she move when she hears her favourite person come home! So there you have it friends! Thanks so much for hanging out over here and letting me share with you a few snippets of what I have been currently loving, excited about, watching, seeing and observing. Have a wonderful day!

Hi friends and welcome to What’s Up Wednesday, September 2023. I’m linking up with Shay and Sheaffer to recap a bit of this and that from September. Thanks so much for being here today! WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK Well, it’s the school holidays so I have been very relaxed about everything and that includes meals! Monday- Aldi spiced mango chicken with baked potatoes and capsicum slices. Tuesday- I made a big cottage pie and we have enough left over for tonight’s dinner too. Even though I haven’t totally hopped back on the meal-planning train. Making a meal that is enough for two nights makes me feel like I’m winning (at least for a bit). Wednesday- Leftover cottage pie Thursday- Pizza! I am going to a friend’s house for games night and pizza. So that should be fun! Friday-Roast lamb, baked potatoes and salad. Saturday- Chicken casserole and rice Sunday- vegetable pasta Then there is this… Kangaroo Mince Kangaroo mince……I am very conflicted about this. My younger son has discovered that kangaroo meat is incredibly high in protein and low in calories. He is really into Olympic weightlifting and has been practising it for a couple of years. As a result, he is very conscious about his diet and the amount of protein that he eats. According to him, kangaroo meat is the answer! When he first started weightlifting I was worried because I thought that weightlifting was the same as bodybuilding. I’m not a fan of the whole bodybuilding thing and it took a lot of explaining on his part to help me (sort of) understand the difference. I kept telling him ” I just don’t want you to look like a pinhead!”. I’m clearly not going to win any parenting awards! Anyway, he explained that Olympic weightlifting focuses on strength and technique. While bodybuilding is about …… I can’t remember what he said, to be honest- but it must be about building big bulky muscles, I guess. Anyway, he assured me that there is a big difference and as long as it’s not all about body image then I guess it’s ok. So that brings me back to kangaroo mince….ugh! I just can’t do it! I have said in the past that I am happy to eat anything but the thought of eating one half of our national emblem just doesn’t sit right with me. Thankfully my husband has kindly taken over cooking the kangaroo mince. He has made kangaroo patties and kangaroo stir fry for Sam so that he gets the protein that he needs to keep lifting those weights. Bless him! WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT I went to see a jazz band on Sunday and they played music from movies that I used to watch with my mum. Ever since then, I have been reminiscing about all those sweet and special times when we watched old movies together. WHAT I’M LOVING I love being on school holidays and not having to worry about routine and squeezing in daily chores with full-time work. I love not having the alarm wake me up and I love that the knot on the right side of my neck has gone. It’s crazy how our bodies carry stress in different ways. The right side of my neck always gives me trouble when I am tired and need a break. Five days into the school holidays and my neck feels great! WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO In September we celebrated Father’s Day with a delicious lunch at our favourite Italian restaurant followed by a spectacular cake back at home. We welcomed spring. I fought an annoying tummy bug and had to eat a plain diet for what felt like ages! We sadly lost our fur cousin Leo when he passed away. Enjoyed a few fun nights out with friends. Counted down the days until the spring school holidays and ended term 3 with celebration treats at work! WHAT I’M DREADING Nothing…..yay! WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT Everything! The warmer weather makes me feel excited about anything and everything! I love seeing the pretty flowers blooming everywhere. I’m also excited that my cousins get back from their holidays around Europe next week. I can’t wait to see them and hear all about their exciting trip. Oh yes, and I nearly forgot, daylight saving begins this Sunday. I love longer days even though it takes me ages to get used to it! WHAT I’M WATCHING Virgin River-take four! I have started and stopped this series so many times! But I finally made a big commitment and have stuck with it and I am now up to season 3. It’s pleasant to watch, nothing too terrible happens and I think it’s quite relaxing as the scenery is so beautiful. WHAT I’M LISTENING TO The rain! It’s raining right now and I can hear the big fat raindrops hit the roof of our converted garage/office. WHAT I’M WEARING I would love to say that I am wearing spring clothes but it’s still quite cool. So I have been wearing layers and peeling them off as the day warms up or I have been piling on the layers as the days have gotten cooler. The weather is weird and all over the place at the moment. I have been wearing this light jacket on repeat as it’s perfect for those cool spring days. WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND I don’t have any weekend plans at the moment. So I think that I might get on to painting the doorways and skirting boards I sanded back a couple of months ago. It might just be me and my paintbrush hanging out together all weekend long. WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH Our cousin connect get-together is on the 7th of October! I can’t wait to see my cousins, eat together and hear all about their Europe trip. My cousin’s mother-in-law is visiting from Ohio for a couple of weeks so she’ll be there. I’m really looking forward to meeting

Hi friends and welcome to the August edition of What’s Up Wednesday! I am linking up with Shay and Sheaffer to recap a fun August and share a little of this and that. WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK Over the weekend I made a big batch of granola and it tastes so good. It’s actually my favourite recipe because It has just the right amount of crunch, sweetness and slightly chewy pieces of dried fruit. I love to sprinkle some over natural yoghurt or just eat it on its own as a snack. Steve and I went out for dinner on Sunday night but I made a quiche for Sam in case he was home for dinner. You just never know with teenagers because they are always out and about! Monday – I cooked this delicious mango and sweet chilli chicken that I bought from Woolworths. I also roasted some potatoes and pumpkin, made a salad and it was a super easy dinner to put together. Tuesday -I made fall-apart roasted pork. But this time I made crackling and I felt like a hero because it worked! You guys, this is the first time that I have ever had any success with crackling. When I have made it in the past it’s always turned out rubbery. Bleh! Wednesday -We will be having leftover pork with coleslaw on brioche buns. I actually ordered hamburger buns because I wanted to make turkey burgers. But when I received my delivery I found that they had substituted them for brioche buns instead. I prefer brioche buns with pulled pork so I’ll probably make the turkey burgers on the weekend when I have a chance to go to the shops and buy ordinary burger buns. Thursday – Teriyaki salmon, rice and snow peas are on the menu Friday – Chicken schnitzel, roast veggies and lots of gravy. Saturday- leftovers! WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT To be honest I can’t think of anything I am reminiscing about. Because I am very excited about the upcoming fun warm months ahead! WHAT I’M LOVING Airtasker! We are not handy people, well I am handier than my husband but he won’t know I said that because he doesn’t read my blog hehe! Anyway, we needed a plumber desperately a few weeks ago because the shower head was dripping. At first, it was a slightly annoying slow drip and I knew we had to have it fixed eventually. Then when I came home after work one day it was leaking profusely. I was able to hire a plumber through Airtasker and he fixed the leaking shower head the next morning. So easy! We have a few odd jobs around the house that need doing so we will be hiring through Airtasker for sure! WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO August has been a really fun and busy month. We got together twice this month with all our cousins, once on the first weekend of August and then again last Sunday. Australia went nuts over our Matildas doing so well in the Women’s Soccer World Cup. It was fun joining in all the excitement when Steve and I went to a pub in Newtown to watch them play the semi-final game. We enjoyed cozy date nights at home. As well as some really delicious dinners out. I had a fun shopping trip to Ikea with my lovely friend and was dazzled by all the colours that are trending at the moment. We caught up with friends and enjoyed nice meals together. I went to the local Farmers market a few times and picked up some delicious fresh fruit and vegetables. Which then inspired me in the kitchen. Our preschool got to go on a fun excursion to the local primary school. It was a fun day but it left us all totally exhausted! We had a couple of very low-key birthday celebrations. One for my husband and another for my two cousins who share the same birthday. I went to see Elvis: A Musical Revolution at the State Theatre not once but twice. Haha, which I did enjoy even though I’m not even a big fan. WHAT I’M DREADING I’m not dreading anything and for that, I am truly thankful! WHAT I’M WORKING ON Catching up on all the things because term three has left me beat! This month, I’ve been feeling like I’m constantly playing catch up. My menu planning game? Not so great. The same goes for my blog planning and keeping up with my favourite blogs. But you know what? The one thing that I am still winning at is staying on top of household chores and laundry. It’s been a whirlwind of a month and I am really looking forward to the upcoming spring school holidays. So I guess I am just working on surviving the next few weeks! WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT Saying goodbye to winter and hello to Spring!! It’s no secret that winter is my least favourite season. And I am just bursting with excitement that Friday is the 1st of September because September is my favourite month. WHAT I’M WATCHING I have gone back to watching Sweet Magnolias after stopping and starting a whole bunch of times. For some reason, I have been having commitment issues with TV shows lately. While I can’t say that I totally love Sweet Magnolias. I am enjoying it enough to keep watching it on my iPad while I am doing chores around the house. Or on the Google Home hub when I’m cooking dinner. I am also glad that nothing terrible has happened to any of the characters on the show so far. Because I’m not in the mood for anything too dramatic at the moment. So it’s kind of a relaxing show to ‘watch’ while I’m busy doing other things. I also made a list of movies that I have never watched before and I am planning to watch them on Friday nights. I’m excited to work through

Hello there friends. It’s time to link up with Holly and Sarah for today’s edition of Hello Monday! And today I’m sharing all of my family weekend highlights. August Cousin Connect I always look forward to the first Saturday of every month. Because that’s when we get together for our cousin connect dinners. This Cousin Connect dinner will be our last one until October because most of the cousins are heading to Europe for an amazing holiday next month. I will miss them so much but I’m sure that they will have a wonderful time. And I’m really looking forward to hearing all about their adventures when they get back home. Look at this delicious charcuterie platter, courtesy of my lovely cousin! It was full of dips, soft and hard cheese along with a variety of crackers and bread sticks. Yum! For dinner, she treated us to pizzas and we all got to choose our favourite toppings. We had pepperoni, supreme and ham and pineapple pizzas. But I think pepperoni won hands down as the most requested choice. Then it was time to play our favourite family board game and boy did we get loud! My voice was hoarse from all the fun. We always joke that we’re glad the neighbours don’t call the police with so much noise going on! We got home late and Luke decided to stay over because his fiancee had a night shift. Having our big boy stay the night was a huge highlight! He lives with his partner about 40 minutes drive away so we don’t get to see them as often as we’d like, especially with her demanding work hours. We clearly weren’t ready for the night to end because instead of going to bed. We snuggled into beanbags and the sofa to watch ‘Don’t Look Up’ with Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo Di Caprio. It was a mix of comedy, drama and disaster. We ended up going to bed super late because – hey, we are a family of night owls for sure! Sunday Sunday we slept in and I made everyone a late breakfast. We had scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, hash browns, fried mushrooms and tomatoes. It was so good! We sat around the table chatting for a while and then everyone pitched in to help clean up. It was a rainy Sunday and it was so nice being at home together. I really miss the days when Luke was still living at home. I mean I’m really happy that he has a lovely fiancee who we all love and they have their own place. But I still miss the days when my kids were little …sigh! Anyway, I’ll stop being melancholy and get back to the family weekend highlights! Yes, where was I? Oh yeah, we decided to watch another movie. This time after taking ages to decide what to watch, we picked ‘The Martian’ with Matt Damon. It was a great movie but it got so intense in the last thirty minutes. My heart was pounding and I don’t know why I get so emotionally invested in movies but I do! In the end, there was about five minutes left before the movie finished. But I couldn’t cope so I discreetly googled the ending. It didn’t spoil it for me, it just meant that I could relax and enjoy the last few minutes. The weekend with my family was amazing. We had so much fun and I didn’t want it to end! I’ll certainly treasure these memories until our next fabulous family gathering. Thanks a million for being here and reading my blog. I look forward to being back here on Wednesday. Have a great Monday!

Just like that, It’s bye-bye July and hello August! I can hardly believe how fast the year is going by. And here we are back for this month’s edition of Currently hosted by Jennifer from Overflowing With Thankfulness. It feels like only yesterday we were looking at what we were currently up to in July. Anyway, it’s great to be back for this fun link-up and this month we are looking at what we are currently loving, looking forward to, starting, thinking and wearing. Let’s go! Loving I am loving this artwork that my friend gave me recently when I visited her during the winter school holidays. Her dad painted it a long while ago. I was so touched when she said that her sisters have his artwork and she knew he would want me to have one as well. I love the colours and I also love that every time I look at it, it reminds me of my friend and her lovely Dad. Here I am with my friend’s dad – the artist! Looking Forward To Spring! I am so excited that it’s the last month of winter and we can say hello to spring in September. Now I have to admit that so far we have had one of the warmest winters that I can ever remember. So I can’t really complain. But I just love spring because it’s a time of renewal and optimism. When I see the budding flowers, vibrant colours and the weather starts to feel warmer it really lifts my spirits. Starting I have started to go back to limiting snacks during the week. I used to wait for the weekend before I got stuck into the chocolate, bags of chips and Bundaberg ginger beer. Then gradually I started snacking on treats all week long. I don’t know what happened, maybe it was because I was off from work for four weeks. Or maybe I was so excited and relieved that I no longer had to worry about my thyroid. So I decided that I wanted to celebrate this every night by cracking open a bar of chocolate! Thinking I am thinking that it’s crazy how the price of everything is increasing! Interest rates have gone up, groceries, electricity, and health insurance. You name it, it’s increased! Wearing I wore my pale pink jumper on the weekend when I went to see Barbie. And it was fun seeing so many other people wearing all different shades of pink at the cinema. Even though as I mentioned before it’s quite warm for this time of the year. I have still been layering up because the mornings and evenings are still quite cold. I’m counting down the days to embrace warmer weather outfits! And that’s a wrap for the August edition of Currently! Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog. Until next time, cherish every moment and stay fabulous!    

Hi there friends and Happy Wednesday! Welcome to the July edition of What’s Up Wednesday hosted by Sheaffer and Shay. This is a fun opportunity to spill the beans on what we have been eating, loving, watching, looking forward to and a whole lot more! So let’s get started! WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK It’s still all about cozy winter comfort food over here. Monday- Lamb with roast veggies Tuesday- Turkey Bolognese and homemade garlic bread Wednesday- Leftover bolognese because I made plenty Thursday-Chicken pie, veggies and mashed potato. Friday- Burgers and wedges Saturday- Chicken casserole and rice WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT The winter break almost feels like such a distant memory now. I am reminiscing about being able to stay up super late and then having the luxury of enjoying a sleep-in. But now that I’m back at work I still stay up pretty late but it’s nothing compared to those holiday nights. Right now I am in the middle of writing a post about early risers and night owls. Let me tell you, I am definitely on team night owl! WHAT I’M LOVING I am currently working with not one but two of my besties! There is a temporary change with our staffing arrangements and a good friend of mine has joined our team for three days a week at preschool for most of this term. These two lovely ladies light up my days!! WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO During the winter break, I enjoyed a fun trip to stay at my friend’s house at Avoca Beach. We celebrated Christmas in July with my family. During the July school holidays, I loved having the time to work on my blog and write posts about my favourite topics, like why the 80s was the best decade. For the last couple of weeks, I have been getting back into the usual routine of work and Sam started back at uni this week after a super long mid-semester break. Steve and I are also enjoying our regular date nights and now that he also has Sundays off from work. We have been catching up with friends who we haven’t seen for a while. It’s so nice having him home for two nights of the week. WHAT I’M DREADING I’m not dreading anything and I am extremely grateful! WHAT I’M WORKING ON Lately, I have been on a mission to incorporate some much-needed stretching into my daily routine. It’s a small change that is really making a difference in how I feel. Whether I am at work sitting on those teeny tiny preschool chairs, doing daily chores or working on the computer. I’m making a conscious effort to pause and stretch those muscles. It not only helps with any stiffness, but it also helps my posture. win-win! WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT I can’t think of any big plans that we have that I’m excited about. It feels like we are all just going with the flow. However, I am looking forward to August since it marks the end of winter, and that’s something that I’m really excited about! WHAT I’M WATCHING I started watching ‘Succession’ but I can’t say that I’m loving it because most of the characters are so mean. I have been rewatching old favourites like Gilmore Girls, Law and Order and Everybody Loves Raymond. But I’m looking for something new to watch, any suggestions? WHAT I’M LISTENING TO Right now I am listening to the dryer. Did you know that we only bought a dryer last year and I honestly don’t know how we ever got through so many winters without one! WHAT I’M WEARING I’m still layering up because it’s cold! WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND I’m super excited because on Saturday I’m going to the city with my lovely friend. We have plans to enjoy a late breakfast at The Palace Tea Room at the QVB and then we are going to see the Barbie movie. We thought about getting our nails done in hot pink before the movie. But then we decided not to because we will probably not have enough time. WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH We have our usual Cousin Connect dinner and I always look forward to those! Then it’s my husband’s birthday in the middle of August so I’m sure we will do something fun that involves food. WHAT AMAZON PURCHASE DID I LOVE THIS MONTH Bio-Oil – This is an incredible product that I love using as part of my regular skincare. The good news is that it is also a game changer for my scar-healing journey after my thyroidectomy. It’s going to take about 6 months before my scar is less visible but after using Bio-Oil regularly I can tell that it already feels smoother. And that’s a wrap for the July edition of What’s Up Wednesday! Thank you so much for stopping by to have a read and I hope that you all have a wonderful day! See you back here tomorrow.  

Hi there friends I hope you all had an amazing weekend! Today we are back with Adrienne, Dara, Jen, Joanne, Lauren and Sarah for the July edition of ‘Not Just A Mom’. And this month we are sharing our Top 5 Favourite Family Activities. Life sure does move fast, doesn’t it? Our kids have grown up and are busy venturing into their own exciting chapters. Our oldest son Luke moved out about 5 years ago and lives with his fiancee. And then there’s our Sam who is 18 and living at home but embracing the whirlwind of uni life, going to the gym and enjoying a full social life. So having a favourite lineup of family activities is super important to ensure we keep making memories and stay connected. So here are our top 5 favourite family activities that keep the fun alive even though our kids have all grown up. Top 5 Favourite Family Activities Family Dinners Family dinners are the perfect opportunity to slow down, savour delicious meals and catch up with what has been going on in our everyday lives. We try really hard to get the family together as often as possible to have dinner. This has been no easy task. Because my husband works in hospitality and up until a few weeks ago he worked all weekend long. Thankfully his roster has changed and now it looks like he will be having Sundays off, at least for now. But once the warmer weather hits and the restaurant where he works gets busy. He may have to go back to working Sundays again. But being able to have regular family dinners has been wonderful! Monthly Cousin Connect We all have really strong bonds with our cousins. So to nurture these amazing relationships we organise monthly cousin connect get-togethers. Each family takes turns hosting and we always have a fantastic time. I never take these for granted and I am beyond grateful that we all love being together and get along so well. Movie Nights This is a favourite family activity for sure! I love a cozy movie night and to tell you the truth I don’t really mind what movie we watch (as long as it’s not horror). I’m just happy that it’s an activity that we enjoy doing together. Sometimes we watch comedies, action, classics or cute kid’s movies. A while ago we watched The Godfather trilogy and now we are thinking of watching the good old classic spaghetti western trilogy which includes ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’. Family Jackbox Game Night Luke introduced us to Jackbox Games. Which is made up of a whole lot of interactive games that you play on the TV and everyone uses their own phones or tablets. If you haven’t played this then you really should especially if you have teens. It is hilarious and I guarantee that you will all laugh until your stomach hurts! Family Visit To An Art Gallery Or Museum Most of our favourite family activities involve food and this activity is no exception. I love art galleries and museums but to be honest, the rest of my family are not huge fans. But if I organise somewhere nice to eat either before or after. Then they are all in! So every year I pick an exhibition at a gallery or museum. I also book a table at either a cafe or restaurant and we all go. The good thing is they all end up enjoying the exhibitions too. Well, that’s what they say to me but maybe they are just being kind! 😂 Life has a way of pulling us in different directions, with work and studies taking up so much of our time and energy. These 5 favourite family activities are lots of fun and perfect for keeping us connected!        

Hi friends it’s great to be back again for Friday Favourites with Andrea and Erika. Today I’m sharing a few happy snaps from my first week of term break. I’m actually away for a few days staying at my friend’s place in Avoca Beach. We have been enjoying some lovely walks, eating out at beautiful cafes and restaurants and spending cozy evenings in front of the fire having cheese and wine before dinner. It sure is a lovely part of the world here and I’m excited to share all my adventures with you next week. But for now, here are a few of my favourites from this past week. Camellia Gardens Tea House My friend and I enjoyed lots of delicious treats at the Camellia Gardens Tea House. It was wonderful to sit down and catch up over a fancy high tea. It felt like forever since I had seen my bestie and we had so much to chat about. It’s incredible how filling the high tea was. And I ate everything but had to leave half the scone because I was so full! Camellia Gardens After High tea we went for a stroll through the gardens. Even though it was a grey and very cloudy day, it was lovely to walk around looking at all the lovely plants and camellias. As we walked around there was a strange smell and we couldn’t work out what it was. It smelt like sheep or cows and was not very pleasant. My friend soon discovered the source! See this tree, it’s only one of many trees full of bats! That’s right all those hanging things are not fruit like I first thought when I looked up because I’m no good at seeing distance. They were full of hanging smelly bats!! Lunch Date In The City Steve and I went into the city and had a fantastic lunch at a cute French restaurant. It was such a warm winter’s day and the temps reached as high as 21°C. I sat by the window and the cozy sun was shining right on me and it felt so good! I had paté with bread and cornichons as an entree. Steve had the king prawns. Then we both ordered the most tender veal with a delicious sauce. Steve had the hazelnut and praline ice cream for dessert. And I ordered the créme caramel which is my favourite dessert. The three-course lunch was divine! Afterwards, we walked around looking at Darling Harbour. I haven’t been there in a while and it has changed a lot. There is a lot of construction going on and new buildings are going up. It will be great to see it all finished. Dinner At Home As much as I love going out, I always appreciate simple dinners at home with my family. Luke came over the other day and we had fish and salad. I love it when all four of us are home just like old times. Luke lives about 30 minutes drive away and with everyone’s work schedules, we don’t get many chances to be together very often. After dinner, we watched Paddington Bear 2. It was such a wholesome feel-good movie which we all really enjoyed. It was a welcome change from the zombie movies we have all been watching lately. It’s been a fantastic first week of the school holidays and now as I go into the second week I am really hoping that the days don’t fly by so fast! Thank you so much for being here today and letting me share a few happy snaps from my week. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to being back here on Monday. Happy Friday!