Remember I said that I made carrot cake? Well, it turns out that getting the last tub of cream cheese for 50% off at the tiny little grocery shop at the corner is not a score, even if it does say it's good until July.
We had a pretty busy weekend planned. We celebrated our anniversary on Friday night, we were invited to our friends' house for dinner on Saturday night and Steve was going to do a 5 hour mountain bike race today, with me cheering him on. That always means a very early start to our Sunday. Very early. Think 5 am, maybe earlier. Fortunately, cough, I mean unfortunately, we ended up having a very quiet weekend, with Steve getting sick with the cold that everyone living in Melbourne seems to have at the moment. I had it last week but was still very happy to take it easy this weekend. I'm exhausted these days and really run down. It was nice to have an excuse to just chill out! Poor Steve, he doesn't look well in this photo!
So, instead of being on the go, we ate pancakes...
...and sipped lots of lemongrass and ginger tea with honey. My current tea obsession.
Jesse was not happy with the choice of lazy weekend and decided barking at us non-stop as we tried to watch movies and relax would be the best option. It worked on Saturday, when I dragged my sorry butt off the couch and out for a walk but didn't fly today. Today, lazy won.
However, by this evening, I was feeling the need to do something productive and opted for baking a carrot cake and chocolate chip cookies. Oh, and a nice glass of red:)
Steve felt a bit better too and made us his signature Indian dish, which just so happens to be delicious. Jesse thinks so too, and since we didn't get him out today and I felt guilty, he got a few more tastes than usual;)
Have you ever read the "When I Feel..." series to your kids? They are written by Cornelia Maude Spelman and talk about emotions ranging from "When I Feel...sad to angry to jealous, etc... They are fabulous books for teaching children that all feelings and emotions are okay, and how they can express their feelings in a healthy way. Plus, from my experience, the kids love them and seem to just soak them up! The other day at work, I read "When I Feel Loved" to my group of 4 and 5 year olds. As usual, it lead to a lovely discussion, and when I asked them when they feel loved, one little girl responded..."I feel loved when you give me a cuddle." Well, if that doesn't melt your heart, nothing will and ya know what, isn't it the truth? Who doesn't feel loved when they get a good hug or snuggle from someone they care about? This little moment helped to remind me to always make time for cuddles, because not only does it make the people in my life feel loved, but it makes me feel pretty darn good too!:)
Steve and I celebrated 5 years of marriage yesterday. As some of you already know, we take a picture every year on our anniversary, so over the years we'll be able to see how we've changed. Five years in now and we're already starting to look at the pictures and note how we've grown older, lost weight, gained weight, changed. I posted the past 4 anniversary pictures last year. Go here if you want to see them. We snapped this year's picture before going out for dinner at a really lovely steakhouse and then dessert at our newest favorite cake place. Thanks to everyone for the anniversary wishes! xo
...and hanging with this guy...
...and chillin' in my pjs while pancakes cook...
...and taking walks in the park...
...and stopping for take-away lattes and sipping them in the botanical gardens...
...oh and eating weekend treats!
I took this picture on Saturday night when Steve and I went to glow in the dark mini golfing with friends. I've been to glow bowling but never glow golf. How is it everything is cooler when it glows? I swear laundry could make for a really fun night if only it could glow in the dark!
A new addition has been added to my triathlon arsenal, I recently purchased an Orbea Ora Tri bike. It is an awesome ride, handles great, is very fast and extremely comfortable.
Some time ago I signed up for the Capricorn Resort Half Ironman. The race is held in Yeppon Queensland on August 15th. Almost the whole race is held on the Capricorn resort property, for the first time in a long time Cari is excited for one of my events, I think she will enjoy hanging out at a resort while I race. This half Ironman will be my fitness barometer for my Ironman event that will be in Dec. Some pics of the resort below that I found on the net.
I was home sick from work today, or as the Aussies say, I took a "sickie". I have a sore throat and the start of another cold. I've been fighting it all week but woke up this morning feeling pretty yuck. I decided to take the day to rest, rather than push it like I usually do and end up on antibiotics again. Jesse and I spent most of the day sleeping, moving from the bed to the couch. It's nice to have a buddy to be lazy with when you're not feeling well. It helps too that he's warm to snuggle with!
Steve and I watched the documentary, Alone Across Australia, last night. It's about a guy named Jon Muir who in 2001 walked across Australia (2500 km) in 128 days, living off the land for survival. He was accompanied by his beautiful Jack Russell, Seraphine, with a population of only 100 people on the entire route. It's a very inspiring story of inner strength but for me, more than anything else, it was the relationship between him and his dog that still makes me teary eyed now as I write this. The love and loyalty they shared made my heart ache. Sadly, the devoted pooch didn't complete the journey, dying of what was thought to be poison left for dingoes. I seriously woke up every hour last night thinking about that dog and couldn't get her out of my head! I was devastated when she passed away in the film. Think really ugly cry. It's really unhealthy how emotionally attached I get to things I watch! Seriously though, I think any dog lover would understand. I'm so grateful for the loyal pup of my own, snoozing at my feet after our lovely evening walk around our neighborhood. He really does help to make gray days better. As I tell my kids at kindergarten, "I love my dog Jesse like crazy cakes!" xo
It's been chilly lately in Melbourne. Not cold enough to really complain but definitely colder than I ever imagined it would be living in Australia. We've been waking up to 5 degrees Celsius each morning and evenings get pretty chilly, as well. However, unlike Canada this is as cold as it will get and we will never see snow. Plus, the days are quite lovely with lots of sunshine and temps on average between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius. Winter here is basically like a very long Canadian autumn, which suits me perfectly, as autumn has always been my favorite season. So, while I'm not whining about the cold, I am doing cooler weather stuff, like making HUGE batches of soups to enjoy for lunches and drinking a lot more red wine than white! Lots of tea too and much, much warmer pajamas and slippers! I wouldn't mind of pair of these as well, to help keep me cozy. Luckily, unlike our house in Brisbane, this house actually has central heating, thank goodness! Because let's face it, if it didn't, then I would be complaining!
